Your thoughts on a lot of these problems being created by the fear of boys (and men) of appearing feminine?

“Feeling your feelings,” “journal writing,” and some of these other tips are put in the “feminine” category by the media, society and our young people. I also think boys have a major fear of being called “gay,” and that makes the “Earn Good Friends” advice harder. You want a friend you can connect with, but if you’re talking to a guy-friend on the phone — well, that’s not just what guys are supposed to do!

I think boys repress a lot, and feel a major need to conform to the expectations of their friends and society (don’t be good at school… be good at video games…). I think we have a responsibility to get our boys to stop caring about changing our boys into “men,” and care more about changing them into good people. That’s a large scale change, it requires us all to move away from our sports-driven cool-car-driving view of men. I think a lot of your tips do that, so kudos.

But this whole concept of “men” may contribute to the problem.