Boys Will Be Boys?

 

More often than not, I feel like many phrases have been ingrained in our society for a long time. A good example is a common phrase, "Boys will be boys." But what is that even supposed to mean? 

Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash

Quite often, the phrase is used to explain the behavior of men and boys when they do something that other people disagree with. Unfortunately, it has been like that for a long time, and it doesn't seem like much has changed, especially when you look at current politics, sexual harassment, etc. I don't know what others think about the phrase. Still, I believe that it needs to leave our vocabulary and that people need to work on themselves and how they respond and react to different topics where that phrase is used. 

A current example of how the phrase "Boys will be boys" could be used is the recent Johnny Depp/Amber Heard Trial. While I didn't follow any of the hearings, it shows how the phrase could be used to throw the blame on one side versus the other. And, from what I remember, which isn't much, and I haven't looked anything up since then, there was a lot of blame thrown around, and while people might not have said the phrase outright, it could still have been implied. But, of course, since that is all over and done with for the time being, as far as being reported and such in the media, it doesn't seem to matter much if the phrase was used. 

Another thing that seems to have come up in recent years is the term "toxic masculinity." And how it is used to describe the fact that men have to adhere to traditional male roles and expect them to show little emotion. It is also described as a way to assert their dominance. I believe it is a different way of saying that "boys will be boys" but updated to a more modern setting and lifestyle. Women can also suffer from toxic masculinity because it often perpetuates expectations that are often rather traumatizing and restrictive. 

As far as "boys will be boys" and "toxic masculinity" is concerned, I think it partially relates to how children are raised. Whether we realize it or not, they often go hand in hand. This is partly because it is often said that men/boys aren't supposed to show emotion and be macho, etc. Besides that, there is segregation in toy options, where toys like trucks and cars are considered boy toys, and dolls and kitchen sets are considered girl toys. The same goes for the colors blue and pink, separated into boy = blue and girl = pink. I'm not saying that girls can't like pink and boys can't like blue. But it is more of the fact of how society presents these things that are part of the problem. 

We need to realize that we are all human and that "toxic masculinity" and "boys will be boys" needs to change,and be removed from our vocabulary, even if it doesn't happen overnight.