Synopsis of The Achilles Effect
The Achilles Effect discusses pop culture messages about masculinity, their impact on boys, and the benefits of introducing more gender balance to boys’ lives.
The book begins by defining traditional masculinity and describing the limits it places on boys and men. It then traces this narrow view of manhood back to its point of origin—the stories of mythical heroes like Achilles.
An outline of common male stereotypes follows, along with a discussion of the hierarchy in which male characters are placed. Traditionally masculine warriors are at the top, brats and clowns are next, and wimps and nerds sit at the bottom.
The impact of female stereotypes on boys is discussed throughout the book, as is the general devaluing of females and femininity in pop culture, seen in the marginalizing of female characters and the often deliberately diminished role of mothers.
A discussion of negative portrayals of fathers–another common theme in children’s popular culture–covers such topics as the absentee father, the harshly critical father, and the impact of toy advertising, which pushes boys away from all things domestic.
Male dominance, often thought to affect girls more than boys, is considered from the male perspective with a thorough demonstration of its effect on boys.
Superheroes and sports stars, with their powerful hold on young boys, merit a chapter of their own that touches on issues of aggression, isolation, and body image.
Language exerts a powerful influence on a boy’s perception of gender. The impact of the vocabulary and voices of fictional characters is described in detail.
The book closes with strategies for introducing greater gender balance to boys’ lives and with recommendations of gender-positive television shows, films, and books for boys.
[i]“The book begins by defining traditional masculinity and describing the limits it places on boys and men. It then traces this narrow view of manhood back to its point of origin—the stories of mythical heroes like Achilles.”[/i]
I’ll have to give it a read before I formulate an opinion, but it seems to be a narrow view of masculinity that says masculinity is a narrow view. If we accept the traditional gender norms as defining masculinity and femininity, then I wonder where some of these positions came from.
Achilles, like other mythical heros, aren’t pitched to 6 years olds in their base, raw, classical form. Young boys might know of Zeus, but taking the form of an Ox and creating Hercules through beastial rape isn’t something I imagine toy companies to be explaining.
Furthermore, masculinity seems to be prominently featured in westerns and frontier stories where you might find more gun slingers than the average parent would like, but to remove it would be a white washing of history, and rare is any act of female dominance there, is the culture of propriety, ever shown without due rebuke.
Yep. You might want to read the book. I’m not trying to sound sarcastic, but the book is saying something quite different. My Squidoo lens explains the connection to Achilles and the Google Books preview includes the Introduction which explains it all in more detail.
Technical issue: The text “Boys, Masculinity, and Gender Stereotypes” barely shows up on my browser. Don’t know if others can view it or not.
Thanks. I know it is hard to see. I need to look at the settings for my WordPress theme to see if I can change it. It’s on my to-do list