About

Boys face tremendous challenges  in trying to understand “masculinity” – a term that is heavily weighted with expectations and burdened by too narrow a meaning. In our words and in the entertainment we offer our sons, we provide a very clear and very restrictive definition of masculinity – one that equates manliness with dominance, physical strength, and a decided absence of vulnerability and real emotion. Achilles is a perfect example of this hyper-masculine ideal, hence my decision to use him as a kind of reference point.

The goal of The Achilles Effect is to raise awareness among parents of the gender bias that is all around their sons, and to give both parents and their sons the tools to combat it. Parents are the people best positioned to monitor the main influences on young children’s lives – media, toys and language – and they are the people who most affect their children’s worldview.

By talking about sex roles and masculinity, parents will help their sons move beyond the belief that gender issues are exclusively women’s issues. They will make their sons aware of the negative effects of both male and female stereotypes, and give them the chance to break free of the “warrior” ideal that they have been trapped by for so long. Most importantly, they will bring boys into the conversation about gender equality – a discussion from which they are often excluded – and inspire them to be part of the solution.

After all, we cannot resolve the issue of gender inequality unless both sexes participate fully in the efforts to eradicate it.

All posts are © Crystal Smith 2008, 2009.