Modern-day superheroes to promote macho, violent stereotypes for boys, according to U.S. research psychologist. They are very different from the superheroes of yesterday, which has a more vulnerable side. The only alternative male role models in modern media are lazy people, who shirked responsibility, the study said.
Professor Sharon Lamb has surveyed 674 boys aged four to 18 to find out what they read and watch on TV and in movies. With his team at the University of Massachusetts, he then analyzed the type of male role models children were affected.

This study suggests two main types of people - the superhero aggressive or lazy people who do not even try. "There's a big difference in today's superhero movies and comic book superhero yesterday," said Professor Lamb.

"Superhero this day was too much like action heroes who participated in non-stop violence, he was aggressive, cynical and rarely speaks to the virtues of doing good for humanity."

"If not a superhero costume, men exploit women, showing off bling and convey their manhood by the high-powered rifle."

The boys could see up to learn from past comic book heroes outside their costumes because they were "real people with real problems and vulnerabilities of many".

He said another option for boys is being a slacker.

"Slacker's funny, but lazy is not what the boys had to fight for; lazy people do not like school and shirk their responsibilities."

"We want to know if the boys get the message about saving face through slacking glorified can affect their performance in school."

In the second presentation, Dr. Carlos Santos, from Arizona State University, examined the ability of 426 secondary school children 'to reject emotionally resilient, independent and physically tough - stereotypical images of masculinity.

He found that could withstand macho image - especially aggression and autonomy - the transition decreases as boys become teenagers, and this decline in their mental health put at risk. "Helping children since the beginning rejected this behavior seems to be an important step to improving health and quality of their social relationships."


Source: BBC