adwinner of the family, the son internalizes the idea that a man is someone who is depended upon for stability and practicality. If, as many men have noted of their childhoods, their father is emotionally unavailable, then boys are taught that the mysterious thing that is masculinity is about stoicism, silence, and a willingness to bear things out on ones own. When a boy is brought up apart from any real-life male role models, he is forced to turn to the men he sees in books, magazines, and film for guidance along the path to manhood. Even young men with father figures in their lives are beleaguered by these caricatures of masculinity. Often what boys encounter when turning on the television or flipping through pages of books and magazines is our societys love affair with the lone gun man. He is romanticized in all forms of media. He is physically strong, stoic, quiet, aloof, and untouchable. He is John Wayne, Ernest Hemingway, and Indiana Jones. This, boys often infer, is what real manhood is all about, for these are the sort of men that women desire and other men emulate.When boys reach school age, they encounter further socialization in the form of peer groups, as well as difficulties within the learning environment. For every one girl that has ADD, there are six boys with the dysfunction. For better control of the class, teachers most often punish rowdy behavior while praising those students that possess the ability to sit quietly and listen. Boys have more difficulty with this quiet-time mentality, as well as the language and reading skills that are focused on at an early age. As a result, they often feel inadequate or hostile to the learning environment. The need to prove themself usually results in dominating behavior. Dominating behavior is linked to viewing others as a threat, and viewing others as a threat leads to emotional isolation. Herein lies the key to male depression. Ever since depressi...
