Boys (straight ones) are brought up to believe that the world is their oyster and that all of it’s pearls are theirs for the taking if they will just swagger confidently over and scoop them up. This works for some guys, but for many of them it creates a lot of pressure and disconnection from parts of themselves that are considered unmasculine. I just read this excellent article which discusses this more clearly than perhaps any other that I’ve seen on the topic.