Sir, - Hugh F. Ryan (November 10th) comes close to the problem at the heart of the current debate. He says that we should celebrate the "courage, generosity, energy and, yes, the natural ebullience of boys". He goes on to say that as a teacher he "valued the many and frequently different qualities of the female students".
Herein lies the problem. Surely girls can be courageous, generous, energetic and ebullient?
Moreover, to say that there are "necessary" or "natural" masculine qualities is to suggest that if a boy lacks these he cannot be a "real" man. This can lead to low self-esteem, prejudice and intolerance.
I believe that "Exploring Masculinities" can help adolescents to embrace difference. They can learn to appreciate different human qualities and virtues which are not in themselves necessarily masculine or feminine. More importantly, they can learn to question received notions and stereotypical images of what it is to be a man. It is this process of critical self-reflection, of embracing freedom and difference, which is central to being your own man. - Yours, etc.,
Dr Tom Inglis, Department of Sociology, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4.