Of Boys and Men Quotes

“Back in 2003, the Oregon Center for Nursing produced a striking recruitment poster, which asked, ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH . . . TO BE A NURSE? The ad featured nine nurses who, as the Center’s Deborah Burton, explained, “embody male characteristics in our society.” Among them were a former Navy SEAL, a biker, a karate champion, a rugby player, a snowboarder, and an ex-firefighter. The campaign generated media attention. It was certainly a bold effort with precisely the right intent. But it didn’t seem to move the dial in terms of the rate of recruitment of men in the state.64 It also seems like the ad might have overdone the contrast between stereotypes of nursing and stereotypes of men. Subsequent studies suggest that this approach can backfire, by highlighting what psychologists call the “role incongruity” between ideas of masculinity and those of nursing.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“The goal is not to make professions like nursing, social work, mental health, or teaching seem like masculine rather than feminine ones, but to emphasize a range of opportunities that they can provide for both men and women. We don’t need to make men feel like being a nurse will somehow bolster their masculinity, just that it will not diminish it.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“Progressives resist the idea that fathers have a distinct role to play, afraid that this will somehow undermine mothers or belittle same-sex couples. So they recoil from any proposal that might smack of “fathers’ rights.” Conservatives meanwhile lament an epidemic of fatherlessness but simply want to restore traditional marriage, with clear and separate roles for men and women.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“Finally, granting nontransferable parental leave to fathers will encourage and allow men to become equal partners on the home front. To support a more direct model of fatherhood, we need to think of parental leave as an individual benefit rather than a family one. The evidence suggests that providing father-only “use it or lose it” leave policies significantly increases take-up rates among dads.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“If they divorce, there is a legal apparatus in place to determine custody arrangements, visitation rights, and financial obligations. of course there is often conflict between divorcing couples, but at least they each have legal standing with regard to their children. And in recent decades, family laws have shifted in a more egalitarian direction toward divorce. Courts are now obliged to treat mothers and fathers fairly in determining custody, and the usual legal standard is now the best interests of the child or children. As a result, there has been a dramatic shift toward joint custody arrangements.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“In a study of cases in Wisconsin, Maria Cancian and others show a decline in the proportion of mothers being awarded sole physical custody from 80% in 1986 to 42% in 2008.”
― Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It

“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong about the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling,”
― Richard V. Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It

“Laurence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), p.”
― Richard V. Reeves, Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It