The Status of Boyhood Studies

Abstract

EDITOR'S NOTE The following are responses to a request to the members of our editorial board and contributors to Thymos on the theme of the status of boyhood studies . The twelve contributions take quite different perspectives on the topic. They raise very different questions and present distinctive interests. All have trained their scholarly eye on what boyhood studies means today. Each points to an area of scholarly work that demands the attention of those of us interested in boyhood and the lives of boyhood- as we determine just what these notions mean. Suggestions for further reading offered by the contributors are given at the end (p. 147). THE MISSING DISCOURSE ON BOYS' DEVELOPMENT JUDY Y. CHU (STANFORD UNIVERSITY) Recent research on boys' development has positioned us to see boys in a new way, namely by pushing us to question our assumptions about what boys are like and to broaden our expectations regarding how it is possible for boys to be. For instance, we have learned how boys, as active participants in their learning and development, can mediate the effects of their gender socialization. Rather than being passive recipients of boyhood culture, individual boys can influence their developmental outcomes through the ways they make meaning of cultural messages about masculinity and respond to societal pressures to conform. We also know that boys are bom with a fundamental capacity and primary desire for close relationships that are evident during early childhood and carry forth through adolescence, even though boys' relational capabilities may become more difficult to detect over time. Nevertheless, we must actively resist the pull towards more familiar and conventional norms of masculinity. If our goal is to support boys' healthy development in ways that are relevant to boys' lives, it is important that we continually strive to move beyond stereotypes and to understand what it is like for boys to grow up male in today's society. Although certain themes in boys' development have remained constant, such as the need in most cultures for boys to prove their masculinity, the specific issues and challenges that boys encounter nowadays often differ from what they were decades or even a few years ago. We must therefore make a conscientious effort to update our understanding of what boys are going through and what they feel they are up against. Likewise, as we seek in our research to inform developmental models that reflect a range of boys' experiences, it is important that we consider and account for group and individual differences among boys. Although necessary, it is not sufficient simply to include diverse groups in our research samples. There is the risk of evaluating participants from diverse backgrounds according to models based on the dominant culture. In order to truly appreciate, represent, and learn from the diversity of human experiences, we must work to incorporate diverse perspectives during the process of theory-building and not just as an afterthought during theory-testing. To a large extent, discourse about gender (along with race and ethnicity) is often reduced to categorical comparisons (for example, who is better or worse off, the strengths and weaknesses of each group). Seldom considered are ways in which gender as a culturally-specific lens through which individuals perceive and are perceived by others (Bern, 1993) can enhance or limit a person's possibilities for self-expression and interpersonal engagement. Moreover, there has been a tendency in the literature on boys' development to talk about boys as one monolithic, unified group. Further research is needed to explore how gender (particularly as it intersects with race and ethnicity) can influence the ways in which boys see themselves, interact with others, and navigate their social and cultural contexts. It could be argued that more research on boys is unnecessary, given that the vast majority of past research was conducted almost exclusively on all-male samples. …