Overview

Boys are less sensitive than girls. Boys don't need emotional intimacy. Boys are rational, intelligent, and competitive. Boys will be boys... Assumptions like these maintain 'boy culture.' This reality pushes boys into gendered roles that leave them disconnected from each other. It's getting worse. In 1990, 3 percent of men reported having no close friends; now, 15 percent do. This crisis of connection has led to 'toxic masculinity,' 'the epidemic of fatherlessness,' and most sensationally 'the end of men,' while real boys all around us are experiencing more depression, anxiety, loneliness, even suicide and violence. As Niobe Way's interviews with boys from all income levels show, children have strong emotional and social skills. Pre-teen boys speak openly about their love for male friends, their desire to share deep secrets, and their need to discuss problems rather than avoiding them. It is only as they grow older and are pressured to 'man up' that these abilities are lost. We can fix it! As Way shows with powerful heart-rending stories, when teens resist 'boy' culture, they experience higher self-esteem, friendship quality, and math achievement, along with lower levels of depression. A caring climate at home, in school, and in society that encourages connection and friendship makes the difference. Culture war stories may get television ratings and politicians elected, but this book will help us nurture our boys.

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9780593184264

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Reviews

"“Insightful… fascinating, particularly her extensive interviews with boys of color… much food for thought.” —Publishers Weekly ""A thoughtful, well-informed look at contemporary boy culture and its many inherent problems."" —Kikus ""Rebels With a Cause is a key intervention - as a developmental psychologist of immense experience, Niobe Way is uniquely positioned to unravel the very notions of (masculine) development that bind our society as a whole into structures of violence, exclusion, and isolation; in the often painful testimony of boys and teenagers, she also finds a compass to show us the way home."" —David Wengrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity ""Reading Niobe Way’s epic new book is one of those experiences that forever changes your understanding of the world you live in. In the mirror it holds up to society and ourselves, we see an urgent, dire need for greater connection, care, and most of all curiosity. The implications of her research create possibilities for dramatic transformation of how we live and how we raise and educate generations to come. Way combines rigorous reserach with compelling personal stories with inspiring examples of trajectory-changing projects and programs. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about our children, our society, and our future."" —Jeff Wetzler, author of Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You Rebels with a Cause may just be the book we need to save America from itself. —Lisa Arrastia, founding director of The Ed Factory and Associate Professor of Education, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts"

"""Rebels With a Cause is a key intervention - as a developmental psychologist of immense experience, Niobe Way is uniquely positioned to unravel the very notions of (masculine) development that bind our society as a whole into structures of violence, exclusion, and isolation; in the often painful testimony of boys and teenagers, she also finds a compass to show us the way home."" —David Wengrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity ""Reading Niobe Way’s epic new book is one of those experiences that forever changes your understanding of the world you live in. In the mirror it holds up to society and ourselves, we see an urgent, dire need for greater connection, care, and most of all curiosity. The implications of her research create possibilities for dramatic transformation of how we live and how we raise and educate generations to come. Way combines rigorous reserach with compelling personal stories with inspiring examples of trajectory-changing projects and programs. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about our children, our society, and our future."" —Jeff Wetzler, author of Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You"

Author Information

"Niobe Way is Professor of Developmental Psychology at NYU, the founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH; pach.org), creative advisor of agapi, and the Principal Investigator on the Listening Project. She was the President of the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), received her B.A. from U.C. Berkeley, her doctorate from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, and was an National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellow at Yale University in the psychology department. Her work focuses on social and emotional development and how cultural ideologies shape families and child development in the U.S. and China. She has been researching social and emotional development of adolescents for 35 years, and has authored or co-authored over one hundred peer reviewed journal articles and seven single authored, co-authored, or co-edited books.     Her latest co-edited book is The Crisis of Connection: Its Roots, Consequences, and Solution (NYU Press). She has also co-edited with Judy Chu, Adolescents Boys: Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood (NYU Press). Her last single authored book is Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection (Harvard University Press), which was the inspiration for ""Close"" a movie that won the Grand Prix Award at Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. She is regularly featured in mainsteam media speaking on the topics of boys, friendships, loneliness, teenagers, gender stereotypes, masculinity, and the roots of violence."

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