Origins of the “Immature Boy” Stereotype

Frat boys and lumberjacks are the best forms of masculinity being embraced by younger generations.

Readership: Christian Men
Theme: Problems with The Red Pill / A Failure of Imagination / Faux Masculine Archetypes
Length: 750 words
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Late 20^th Century

The ‘Immature Boy’ archetype was originally a form of low-brow cynicism regarding the Metrosexual persona which came about in the mid-90s, regarding the narcissistic, effeminate young man concerned with color-coordinated fashion, exfoliation, and manscaping.

There is good reason to believe that ‘Frat Boy humor’ and ‘Lad Lit’ journalism which surrounded the Metrosexual image being sold was a media innovation designed to cash in on the Xers egocentric tastes in dignified professionalism. Ironic, but true.

Interestingly, the Metrosexual image was an iconoclastic deviation from the Grunge culture that was then the current rave, and so appealed to a markedly different array of demographics, most notably conservative Christians* and the upper class who were both appalled by Grunge, and g@ys who found the poignant refined tastes to be a form of personal expression.

* The underlying spirit of the Grunge movement was authentic, introspective, and pessimistic, and as such, was a reiteration of the Beat movement that occurred in the late 1940s and 1950s. In terms of conscious idealism, these movements should have held a greater appeal to Christians. However, (cultural) Christians preferred to aspire to a refined image for themselves that contrasted with the surrounding culture, and so materialism won out over conscientiousness.

Early 21^st Century

Spornosexual was introduced in 2014 as the replacement hip term for Metrosexual, but with an emphasis on physical fitness and cultural dandiness. The most ostentatious examples proffered by the media (e.g. David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Tom Brady, Johnny Depp, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Ryan Reynolds, Christiano Ronaldo, et al.) made a big sploosh with wimmin as they were seen as being both narcissistic and among the highly desirable top 10% of men. Post adolescent chicks and Cougars alike referred to men who fit this image as ‘boytoys’ and ‘dream beaus’.

Modern masculinity has discarded raw courage and has taken on a philosophical edge.

There were many other ‘[Insert X]-sexual’ terms that were bandied around at the time (e.g. retrosexual and übersexual), each receiving a short airplay among trendy teens.

With the partial exception of the Lumbersexual, all these other images and terms were sensationalistic products of 3^rd Wave Feminism, designed by media hosts to use the perceived peer pressure of social relevancy to extort cash from the sexual proclivities of the young, make light of masculinity, and parade the effeminate and immature but conspicuously wealthy (play)boy as the charming delight of the age.

However, these terms never really gained much traction in popular usage among the targeted audience (Millennials).

The most obvious reason is because Millennials were less egocentric and more nihilistic than Xers.

Another reason is because this image was directly replaced by the huskier Lumbersexual which had already appeared as the next boon in men’s fashion at that time. But for obvious reasons, this was a dead end as well in terms of marketing male frivolity. Apart from the clothing industry, the Lumbersexual archetype was considered too ‘deplorable’ and too retro-masculine by marketing elites to receive a concerted cultural airplay.

A third key reason is that these terms were concocted by media marketing strategists for a targeted demographic and had no real use in the common vernacular of common people. The reality is that very few men actually had the money, leisure, and physique required to adapt to this stereotype, and truth be told, were more accurately described as ‘Soyboys’ instead.

Zac Efron reviving frat boy humor.

But hold my beer, dude!  More recently, the frat boy humor has been revived (or continued) in the form of Fratire. Similar to the Lumbersexual image, the general impression and subject matter of Fratire is a definite break away from W0ke interests.

Epilogue

The important point from this brief review of marketing history, is that the general image of dandified adolescent masculinity presented by the media actually caught on with the public. While civic responsibility was being replaced by environmental consciousness, young men abandoned traditional role models of masculinity lauded by earlier generations (e.g. Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, John Wayne, et al.), patently dismissing them as the geriatric gorilla goons of an archaic, uncivilized, and bygone age. Instead, they felt comfortable in accepting an image of masculinity that was decidedly more effeminate, more Gillette, more W0ke, more willing to cater to the demands of others and especially of women, and also less concerned, even apathetic about achievement, responsibility, developing personal and professional capability, and amassing character building life experiences.

In summary, Lumbersexual and Fratire have posed some degree of backlash to the media’s concerted effort to eviscerate and feminize masculinity. Furthermore, certain concepts of masculinity arising from the Manosphere (e.g. detachment, dread, purpose, etc.) have slowly made inroads into the public awareness of manhood, adding to the fray.

Unfortunately, the Manosphere has not yet succeeded in overturning the ‘Immature Boy’ image of maleness.

Related

For those interested in further reading about the transmogrification of masculinity at the onset of the 21^st century, the following articles offer well-written snapshots of what was happening at the time of authoring.

• In These Times (Lakshmi Chaudhry): Men Growing Up to be Boys (2006/3/17)
• Forbes (Jenna Goudreau): Has The Rise Of Women Turned Men Into Boys? (2011/3/3)
• Style Caster (Ashley Papa): 10 Surefire Signs That You’re Dating a Man-Child (2015/11/5)
• Inc. (Benjamin P. Hardy): 10 Habits That Change Boys Into Men (2017/7/31)

• Σ Frame: Ladies Should Respect the Man and Love the Boy (2018/6/28)
• Σ Frame: Redefining Manhood as Boyish Immaturity (2021/6/14)
• Σ Frame: Faux Masculine Archetypes (2022/5/2)