The Riches

There is a brilliant new television show on the FX channel called the Riches. It stars Eddie Izzard, and Minnie Driver. The show is very well put together, and the acting is superb .

One of the great parts of the show is the character Sam. Sammy is a little boy who likes to dress up in his sisters old dresses. It adds such an incredible dynamic to the family, and they treat him so well.

In one episode, Minne Driver's character sits him down and tells him that he needs to decide who he is going to be for school. "If you wanna be a girl, than you have to stay a girl, if you want to be a boy, then you have to stay a boy. But not for me, you can be what ever you want for me, but for school, you pick one."

It is such a tender moment in the show. I think the boy who plays Sammy does such an incredible job.

Judging Amy - Boys Will Be Girls!!!! ;-)

This is a great little clip from the show Judging Amy. The boy does a great job in this episode. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to play that part. Or, maybe it was easy.

I really liked watching the reactions of the father, as he puts his arm around his child.

It is nice to see this subject appearing more and more in prime time television.

Beautiful-Christina

I love this video. I don't think you could say it any better than she does in this video. My favorite part in this video is the boy lifting weights. Somehow it makes me sad. He wants to be something he is not, whitch isn't a problem by itself, but why does he want to be bigger and more muscular. Probably because society has told him that to be a real man, he needs to be strong.

I hope you all like this video as much as I do.

The Three Myths

William Pollack discusses three myths about boys. They are:

1. Boys will be Boys

This myth says that boys will naturally be agressive and violent because of their testosterone. It says that basically they are a slave to their biology, and that no amount of nurturing will keep them from their insensativity, risky behaviors, and aggression.

2. Boys Should be Boys

This myth says that boys must fullfill the stereotype and become that agrressive man. He should never act like a girl but always be manly.

3. Boys are Toxic

This third myth says that their is something inherently wrong with boys, treating them as if they were psychologically unaware, emotionally unsocialized creatures.

In his book he gives answers to each of these myths. I highly recomend this book to everyone.

What is this?

This blog was created as a final project for my Gender and Contemporary Issues class. My goal in this blog is to discuss the issues of boyhood, and the gender stereotyping that we put on them.

In his book Real Boys: The Truths Behind the Myths, William Pollack says, "There are three major myths about boys that persist in all kinds of situations and among all sorts of people, even among the most thoughtful and progressive families, schools and communities. They are so deeply embedded in the culture, that without realizing it, they oftern short-cuircuit aour ability to see and love the real boy before us - the true boy behind these old faschoned ideas."

Over the cours of this I hope to discuss these myths and other stereotyps, and find the reason we have these "old fashined ideas."