Boys and young men are increasingly inclined to act tough at the expense of their school work, according to new research. Yet the popular masculine ideal associated with this is actually a mirage and never achieved.
Dr Anne Phoenix, of Birbeck College, was describing her surveys of 11- to 14-year-old boys in a number of London schools. "More middle-class males are ascribing to the view that school work shouldn't be done" as it is "anti-masculine", she told a session of the British Association meeting at Cardiff University.
The majority of the boys measured themselves against a "hegemonic masculinity" which dictated that doing well at school was feminine, challenging the teachers was good, and being tough and also good at sport was almost essential.
"Being hard is the pinnacle of masculinity," she said. "You also have to be seen not to work." Surprisingly, when asked how each boy measured up to this ideal, most admitted they didn't, nor did they know any boy who really made the grade.
For example they admitted to being "fair" in confrontations rather than simply beating up another boy to demonstrate they were tough.
Her findings were important because it confirmed a trend already seen in education, with a gradual decline in academic achievement in males matched by a steady rise in female achievement.
This she believed could be linked to what had been described as a "crisis in masculinity" brought about by societal changes, such as the evolving new roles for men and women in the modern world.