That's not how masculinity works, that's not how culture works. Boys need conditions, ideals, challenges, goals, struggle, exposure. It is abusive to idealize boys in some vacuum within which they are supposed to make every choice for themselves out of a pure act of will: "I want this, period." That's the logic of liberalism and capitalism -- about as culturally normative in its own way as you can get these days, sadly -- that drives us into oblivion. I call that out as abusive. |