Author: Parents Must Combat Culture's Model of Immature Masculinity
by Mary Rettig
July 11, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Christian author and mother says parents of boys today need to protect and nurture their sons' masculinity now more than ever. Vicki Courtney is author of Your Boy: Raising a Godly Son in an Ungodly World (B&H Publishing, 2006), as well as numerous books for women and for teenage girls. She says developing strong, godly men is a goal than is sometimes missed by Christian parents.
"A real man is a spiritual leader," Courtney contends. "He's a provider; he's a protector." And yet, she observes, "today we're seeing where even in the Christian community this is not always being covered."
The bad news, the Christian author points out, is that "if parents aren't covering it ... you can bet that the culture is." What her book shares with parents is that "the world" is teaching young people plenty about manhood, only "not from the angle we would hope for," she says.
Just watching what many Christians would consider good, family-oriented television shows can give negative impressions of maleness, Courtney asserts. She agrees with a point of view in an article she says she "stumbled upon" that highlighted some of the many sitcoms that popularize an image of male ineptness.
In shows like "King of Queens," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Home Improvement," and others in the past, the Christian parent notes, "Dad is always kind of the doofus-idiot that needs help from a lead female figure, usually his wife, to help him kind of process his thoughts and his actions, because otherwise, without her he'd be helpless and hopeless." Through shows like these and other influences, the author contends, popular culture tells boys they can be domineered by women.
Also, Courtney warns, popular culture suggests to boys that they do not have to take any responsibility for their families as men by telling them that they can be immature for as long as they want to be. But, even though it is impossible to shield boys completely from these bad examples from the culture, she says parents can offer their sons a biblical foundation for real manhood.
Popular culture may be teaching today's boys how to stay boys forever, Courtney says, but parents do not have to stand by and let those lessons pass unchallenged. The Christian mom says her book is particularly directed at other moms because she believes they can have a huge influence in guiding their sons to be strong, godly men and leaders in their future families.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
