Gender is defined as psychological attributes and behaviors expected from people by their society regarding their sexual classification. In the case of the American black male, his notions of what it is to be a man are shaped largely by the society in which h

Sherry Ortner held the belief that an ideology exists which proclaims women to be inferior to men. The underlying patriarchal notions and concern regarding boys' academic underachievement seem to support the existence of such an ideology. For example, girls' underachievement in school is thought to be due to women's "innate" nature of possessing inferior intelligence to men. Ortner's other belief that women universally experienced subordination to men is also apparent within the article, when it states that the problem of male underachievement has become a concern within many countries due to common underlying patriarchal notions of masculinity in academics.

In Pat Mahony's article, "Girls Will Be Girls and Boys Will Be First", the underlying patriarchal notions of masculinity are examined in the context of the current outcry over the "academic underachievement of boys". Mahony points out that in reaction to th

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Approximate Word count = 618
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)