In Michael Kimmel's story of "Guyland," he offers a view into the minds and times of America's sons, brothers, and boyfriends, and why so many of these guys seem to be stuck between adolescence and adulthood. The passage from adolescence to adulthood was once clear, consistent; in their late teenage years and early twenties, guys seemed to mature faster and enter their futures as responsible adults. As in today's era, it seems as growing up for these young men has become more complex and confusing as they drift casually through college and beyond. Most of the guys tend to hang mainly out, party, play video games and watch sports. The average young American man today is moving through a new stage of development, a buddy culture untroubled by the demands of parents, girlfriends, jobs, kids, and other annoyance of adult life. To understand this world and this life stage, that these young men go through can be very challenging and quite annoying. Some might just give up on them as they just seem never to grow up, but we can teach these young men to create their paths, to stay true to themselves, so they can travel safely through Guyland, and they will eventually become responsible formed men. .
"Reviving Ophelia," by Mary Pipher poses one of the most groundbreaking questions that so many are concerned about and that is what is truly happening to the identities of these young girls as they travel through adolescence. Mary Pipher starts off her passage with many examples of young girls stories who came to her for therapy. She started to become frustrated with these growing problems. So many of these girls were turning to therapy at such a young age for very concerning reasons. Some included eating disorders, low self-esteem, and suicide attempts. These young girls were entering an age of unrealistic ideals of beauty and images of dehumanized sex. "Reviving Ophelia," provides and offers important tactics, empathy, and strength, and urges a change where young hearts can flourish again, and rediscover and re engage their sense of self.
