Mass shootings and boys' "crisis of connection"
The assassination attempt on the former president is the latest high-profile shooting committed by a young man. The list of such incidents continues to grow, as does the speculation of shooters' core motivations to take others' lives.
In this CNN interview, professor of developmental psychology Dr. Niobe Way discusses her view that the fault lies with society's persistent embodiment of stereotypical masculinity. She says vulnerability, communication, and expression are skills societally regarded as "soft,” and "we disconnect from our soft sides because of a boy culture that doesn’t encourage and support those skills."
Dr. Way says it's these traits that foster communication, understanding, and acceptance of self and others, and in their absence lies fertile ground for depression, anger, and anxiety. In some males, she believes the desperation for empowerment is a primary motivator of mass shootings.
What are your thoughts about Dr. Way's perspective? Is a societal shift regarding masculinity and deeper connections the key to reducing shooting incidents? On the flip side, some argue that it’s the feminization of today’s boys that inspires gun violence as a means to recapture their lost masculinity.
Whatever the root cause, we all want to see a solution that ends the rampant and senseless loss of life.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/health/boys-mental-health-niobe-way-welln...
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Evangel
I suspect there are two or three main causes that intersect. But “feminization” of boys is not one of them. We don’t see softer, more sensitive boys going out on killing sprees. What we see instead is how society thrusts boys into an unrealistic world laden with testosterone and pornography, where pumped up men get to do anything and everything uncomely to women.
Most boys can’t imagine winning in that world, which makes them feel “weak” or “unsexy” and incapable of “killing it” with girls, in sports, or in any competitive event. Those who break under the pressure to kill it will surely find something else to kill, be it a woman, a crowd of movie-goers, or a presidential candidate.
Another observation about what’s most notably changed in our society is the waning tendency to prize boys over girls in a family. Girls have come up in the world much to the chagrin of male classmates. They tend to do better in the classroom and in college, outpacing boys in earning college degrees. So the privilege of gender superiority that automatically crowned boys of generations past is largely gone. Today, they have to earn status by excelling in the fields of sports or STEM, and for many both are a struggle.
Overall, I agree with the author. I believe boys should be valued and praised for having a tender heart above all else. But we’re not there yet. Societies still value men for their “killer instinct,” their machismo, and their “brute” strength—along with service in any arm of the military.
Slipstream
This is certainly an interesting article about a very complex subject. I'm afraid I'm at a loss for why or what the cause is. However, regarding this latest shooting, if there hadn't been any guns in the house, it might not have happened.