JUST GUYS

Here in our very last chapter, Kimmel untangles and sorts what all this dead end horrific things do to boys and where it puts them. Guyland however is not a place where even most guys end up, but more of something a lot of guys tolerate. He provides an example for instance where two college pledges who were forced to heckle girls doing the "walk of shame" in the morning.  It only took one boy to talk with another about their shared aversion to it, and together spoke up.  Speaking up as a team revealed how almost everyone was very against the activity.  A lot of what seems to drive these activities is the assumption that you are they are the only one resisting or having second thoughts, when what driving the activity is tradition. This kind of thinking happens in many arenas of society such as religion, patriotism, sports, etc.,  and it takes courage to question any kind of tradition, especially when it is supporting your indentity as a human being.  

Another vital key to manhood is a boys non-romantic relationships to women.  As they are often targeted for encouraging feminization of boys, mothers and sisters can teach a boy to be respectful of women.  I strongly agree with Kimmel's point that non-romantic relationships are key for a lot of guys- it builds the idea at an early age that we are all people for one, and respect for the opposite sex can really be strengthened in a non-romantic friendship.

I for one have always always had as much as or more guy friends than girl friends- and in a way I think for both genders it is equalizing and balancing.  Being close to guys enables me talk about physically doing and getting confidence to do the things I conceptualize, and I and my guy friends are equally reliant on me to talk about things that are perhaps a little harder to bring up around other guys.  To feel confident however, I feel that both sexes need the company of the same sex to legitimize their sexuality or gender- there will always be large gaps between male and female.

I really do think that courage is the next step for guys.  I feel like no matter where a guys interest lies, or however feminine it may seem, courage and self respect take guys to a certain level of manhood.  Most things I read within Guyland reflect a large amount of cowardice, defensiveness, or fear of committing."Most guys are desperate for permission to do the right thing, rather than swallow their complicity with the wrong thing."  Here I think is the underlying sentiment in the mind's of guys, as if they are waiting for consent from other guys to do what they think is right, or do what makes them happy.