What Boys Are Made Of

I listened to this NPR show on Sunday. I find it disturbing that boys are being punished and shamed for being boys. We are raising a new generation of feminized boys in so many ways I can't even count. We feminize their behavior by making them "play nice" rather than the rough-housing boys need to experience. We feminize their bodies (with soy products and environmental xenoestrogens) and wonder why they grow man-boobs in their teen years. And we feminize their psyches with an emphasis on female emotional traits rather than allowing boys to have their own emotions and feel safe in that.

Anyway, this show explores some of these issues.

WHAT BOYS ARE MADE OF

Program 07-12-09-A

Listen!

Let boys be boys. It's a hard thing to do today with concern over violence
in schools and the seeming violence of boys' play. But what if, thanks to our culture of fear, boys are slipping through the cracks? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we take a look at the inner world of boys. We'll talk with the author of "The Dangerous Book for Boys" who says it's time to celebrate slingshots and skinned knees. And, we'll get to know a South African teenage boy named "Spud."

SEGMENT 1:

Conn Iggulden wrote "The Dangerous Book for Boys" with his brother, Hal. The idea is not to injure children but to help them have more fun, as Igglulden explains to Anne Strainchamps. It must be working since the book's a best- seller on both sides of the Atlantic. Also, psychologist Michael Thompson consults with school systems about how to communicate with boys. He tells Jim Fleming that boys are even more emotionally vulnerable than girls, but we have to learn to accept what they're saying, even if it's succinct.

SEGMENT 2:

John Van de Ruit is an actor, writer, and producer who lives in South Africa and has created a phenomenon with his novels "Spud" and its sequel "Spud: The Madness Continues." Van de Ruit tells Anne Strainchamps about Spud and reads excerpts from the books. Also, TTBOOK producer Veronica Rueckert tells us why she really wanted a girl when she found out she was pregnant, and how much fun it's been (so far)to raise her son, Budgy.

SEGMENT 3:

Teddy Atlas is famous in boxing circles as a coach and color analyst on ESPN's Friday Night Fights. His new autobiography is called "Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become A Man." Atlas tells Steve Paulson about his journey from a violent and criminal youth to self-respect and maturity.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 07-12-09-A.

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Books:

Conn Iggulden, Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys (Harper Collins)
Michael Thompson, Raising Cain (Ballantine)
John van de Ruit, Spud (Penguin)
Teddy Atlas, From the Streets to the Ring: a Son's Struggle to Become a Man (Harper Collins)

Websites:

• Michael Thompson's website:
  www.michaelthompson-phd.com
  
• John van de Ruit's blog:
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1GMNAKDAWYTPT/ref=cm_blog_pdp
  

Music:

• Private CD:
  -Space Kindern/Press Play/Playsoundz
  -Siren Song/Press Play/ Playsoundz
  -Scramble/ California Guitar Trio/Pathways/DGM
  -Bubble Gum Pop/ Press Play/Playsoundz
  -Just the Two of Us/ Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers
  -Rods and Cones/ Blue Man Group Audio/ Blue Man Group Records LLC
  -Opening Mandelbrot/Blue Man Group Audio/ Blue Man Group Records LLC
  

Distribution dates:
week of 12/07/2008 - hour 2
week of 12/09/2007 - hour 1
Click HERE for timings and cues

Tags: What Boys Are Made Of, NPR, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Conn Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys, Michael Thompson, John Van de Ruit, Spud, Veronica Rueckert, Teddy Atlas, Raising Cain, masculinity, boys, education, emotions, psychology