The Feminisation of the Male
It is true to say that boys who play sport will rarely get into trouble and I have a theory about that. Sport for boys in Ireland means hurling & football, rugby and soccer in the main. Those four games cover about 95% of all sporting activity for boys and young men.
These are contact sports and are, in reality, damned rough too. There is kicking, punching, head-butting and wrestling and what may come as news to some people, is the fact that boys love it. I believe that it is in the DNA of all boys to get physically violent. It is hard wired in and no amount of denying it will make it go away. Boys like fighting and competitive physical force where there are clear winners and losers. As a boy myself, I loved the rough and tumble of it and friendships were made that lasted a lifetime back then in the heat of battle. And a battle was what it was. The friendships emerged through the shared experience of battle scars, simple as that.
Today, society now views these natural tendencies as inappropriate and it frowns on 'dirty play' on the pitch. In one notable period, we had sight of Paul O'Connell kicking the head off Dave Kearney, (Munster V Leinster), and Luis Suarez biting the Chelsea centre-back. The former didn't mean it and the latter most certainly did, but that doesn't matter. Women in general and little men in particular, are appalled at the sight of a six foot six Limerick man stampeding around kicking the little fellow on the ground. O'Connell appeared to be trying to move Kearney out of his way without politely asking the flying winger to move.
In rugby, the little guys learn early to stay out of the way of the trundling forwards or else. Training sessions can leave as many marks as an actual game and boys instinctively know that it is the price to be paid for the pleasure of partaking in the first place. Soccer is a team sport as well and Luis's little bite will be remembered long after his incredible pass that led to Liverpool's equalizer in that match. Both Paul and Luis went on to better things but both still have that" edge" to them and we love them for it.
It is my theory now though, that boys are being feminized and their natural hardy natures are under threat of being watered down or swept under the carpet. The young male finds a natural outlet for his aggression among his immediate peer group on the field of play. But, with rules and a referee, it becomes "controlled" aggression, and that is the vital distinction. You see, contact sports allow the young male to express himself in an orderly fashion, giving as good as he gets. He has the narrow window of opportunity during the period of any game to push himself to his limits and by the final whistle, he is exhausted and placid as well. He can shake hands with a guy he was trying to beat the head off only minutes earlier. He will have pitched his skill and strength against the other guy in the fight and win or lose, he will have given his all.
Hours after such a game, there is a gentle glow of satisfaction that precludes the need to fight or cause trouble. Boys who play sports do not end up in street gangs that terrorise neighbourhoods in a cowardly fashion. In fact, the sporting boy is the enemy of the street bullies. The sporting boy is trained and fit and he is, by definition, strong to survive on the field. The neighborhood bully is a physical and mental weakling and he understands the inherent danger of taking on the team player. One punch could leave the bully marked for life.
The feminisation of boys seeks to see this behavior on the field as barbaric and sees the street gangs as a matter for the Gardai. Feminists are appalled by the antics on the field and fear the dangers on their own streets due to wild young boys roaming about. The feminine nature would like to see boys playing happily with no physical contact and in the end, everyone wins and everyone gets a prize. That is pure and unadulterated horseshit. What the feminist fails to see when she looks at the big powerful young male, is that he is the gentle protector, not a threat.
The young male needs the outlet for his natural aggression and when you deny it in a controlled environment, it will come out instead in an uncontrolled environment. A young GAA player will not drag you down the street by your handbag. A young boxer will not punch you in the face on the street. A young rugby player will not pick you up and throw you across the room either. They neither need to nor want to.
I fear for a society that it is seeking to make the natural urge for rough physical contact in the young male appear to be something 'abnormal.' For a growing lad, it is as natural as having his dinner. And weirdly for young boys and men, the very society that frowns on them now for their rough play will have a high expectation in war that they will go in their droves to kill the enemies who threaten our society. Boys who have had their natural aggression trained out of them will hear those very trainers refer to them then as cowards.
I wonder will that make those sporting boys angry?