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Age and terminology Manhood is the period in a male's life after he has transitioned from boyhood, at least physically, during puberty. Many cultures have rites of passage to symbolize a man's coming of age, such as confirmation in some branches of Christianity, bar mitzvah in Judaism, or even just the celebration of the eighteenth or twenty-first birthday. A boy is a male human child. For many, the word man implies a certain degree of maturity and responsibility that young men in particular often feel unprepared for; yet they may also feel too old to be called a boy. For this reason, many avoid using either man or boy to describe a young man and prefer colloquial terms such as bloke, lad, chap, fellow or guy. Biology and sex
Gender stereotypes Enormous debate in Western societies has focused on perceived social, intellectual, or emotional differences between men and women. These differences are very difficult to quantify for both scientific and political reasons. Below are a few stereotypical claims sometimes made about men in relation to women: Some of these differences have been supported by scientific research; others have not. For example, in interpersonal relationships, most research has found that men and women are equally aggressive. Men do tend to be more aggressive outside of the home. It is especially difficult and contentious for science to separate the "innate" or biological differences from the learned or social differences. All should be considered broad generalizations; that is, at least a large minority of either gender would fit better with the other gender in any one of these aspects. A number of the above stereotypes were not perceived in the same way as today (i.e., their applications to particular aspects and spheres of life, such as work vs. home) until the 19th century, beginning with industrialization. In terms of outward appearance, few men in Western cultures wear cosmetics or clothing generally associated with female gender roles. (Doing so is generally stigmatized and viewed as cross-dressing.) Culture and gender roles Well into prehistoric culture, men are believed to have assumed a variety of social and cultural roles which are likely similar across many groups of humans. In hunter-gatherer societies, men were often if not exclusively responsible for all large game killed, the capture and raising of most or all domesticated animals, the building of permanent shelters, the defense of villages, and other tasks where the male physique and strong spatial-cognition were most useful. Some anthropologists believe that it may have been men who led the Neolithic Revolution and became the first pre-historical ranchers, as a possible result of their intimate knowledge of animal life. Throughout history, the roles of men have changed greatly. As societies have moved away from agriculture as a primary source of jobs, the emphasis on male physical ability has waned. Traditional gender roles for middle-class men typically involved jobs emphasizing moderate to hard manual labor (see Blue-collar worker, often with no hope for increase in wage or position. For poorer men among the working classes the need to support their families, especially durring periods of industrial change and economic decline, forced them to stay in dangerous jobs working long arduous hours, often without retirement. Many industrialized countries have seen a shift to jobs which are less physically demanding, with a general reduction in the percentage of manual labor needed in the work force (see White-collar worker). The male goal in these circumstances is often of pursuing a quality education and securing a dependable, often office-environment, source of income. The Men's Movement is in part a struggle for the recognition of equality of opportunity with women, and for equal rights irrespective of gender, even if special relations and conditions are willingly incurred under the form of partnership involved in marriage. The difficulties of obtaining this recognition are due to the habits and customs recent history has produced. Through a combination of economic changes and the efforts of the feminist movement in recent decades, men in some societies now face women who recieve educational and workplace benefit based solely on gender. Modern men in Western society still face challenges in the workplace as well as on the topics of education, violence, health care, politics, and fatherhood - to name a few. Research has identified anti-male sexism, and the effects of its expansion may increase hardships for many males. Gallery Image:William Laney.jpg|A Tasmanian Aborigine man Image:Buddhadasa118.jpg|A Buddhist monk from Thailand Image:Rhumsiki crab sorceror.jpg|A man from Cameroon Image:Sierra Madre indian - Carl S. Lumholtz 1895.png|An indigenous man from Mexico Image:Wheelchair tennis.jpg|A man from the United States playing tennis in a wheelchair Image:Kuarup3.jpg|Two indigenous men from Brazil Image:Tagore3.jpg|An Indian man (Rabindranath Tagore) Image:Sabaa Nissan Militiaman.jpg|An Iraqi militiaman Image:Old Hmong Man (Sapa Vietnam).jpg|An old Hmong man from Vietnam Image:Major.JPG|A Native American man meditating Image:Soldier running in water.jpg|A U.S. Marine running through water Image:Bedouin man with Fez.jpg|A young Bedouin man Further reading Polity Press, 1995 See also | ||||||||||||
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