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A boy is a young
malehuman. The term is commonly used for a
child or an
adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a
man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a boy is "a male child from birth to adulthood".[1]
The word "boy" comes from
Middle Englishboi, boye ("boy, servant"), related to other
Germanic words for boy, namely
East Frisianboi ("boy, young man") and
West Frisianboai ("boy"). Although the exact
etymology is obscure, the English and Frisian forms probably derive from an earlier
Anglo-Frisian *bō-ja ("little brother"), a diminutive of the Germanic root *bō- ("brother, male relation"), from
Proto-Indo-European *bhā-, *bhāt- ("father, brother"). The root is also found in
Norwegian dialectalboa ("brother"), and, through a reduplicated variant *bō-bō-, in
Old Norsebófi,
Dutchboef "(criminal) knave, rogue",
GermanBube ("knave, rogue, boy"). Furthermore, the word may be related to Bōia, an
Anglo-Saxon personal name.[2]
Specific uses
Race
Historically, in the United States and South Africa, "boy" was used not only for domestic servants but also more generally as a disparaging term for black men; the term implied a subservient status.[3][4][5][6] Thomas Branch, an early African-American Seventh-day Adventist missionary to Nyassaland (
Malawi) referred to the native students as "boys":
There is one way by which we judge many of our present boys to be quite different from some of those who were here long ago: those that are married have their wives here with them, and build their own houses, and all are busy making their gardens. I have told all the boys that if they wished to stay here and learn, those that had wives must bring them.[7]
Multiple politicians – including New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie and former Kentucky Congressman
Geoff Davis – have been criticized publicly for referring to a black man as "boy".[5][6]
During an event promoting the 2017
boxing bout between
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and
Conor McGregor, the latter told the former to "dance for me, boy."[8] The remarks led several boxers – including Mayweather and
Andre Ward – as well as multiple commentators to accuse McGregor of racism.[8][9][10][11]
Biology
Sex determination
Human sex is determined at
fertilization when the
geneticsex of the
zygote is determined by whether the
spermcell contains an X or Y chromosome. If the sperm cell contains an
X chromosome, the fetus will be XX and, typically, a
girl will develop. A sperm cell carrying a Y chromosome results in an XY combination, and typically a boy will develop. Variations from this general rule result in
intersex fetuses. [12]
In utero development and genitalia
In male embryos at six to seven weeks' gestation, "the expression of a gene on the Y chromosome induces changes that result in the development of the testes". At approximately nine weeks' gestation, the production of testosterone by a male embryo results in the development of the male reproductive system.[13]
The
male reproductive system includes both external and internal organs. The external organs include the
penis, the
scrotum, and the
testicles (or testes). The penis is a cylindrical organ filled with spongy tissue. It is the organ used by boys to expel
urine. The foreskin of some boys' penises is removed in a process known as
circumcision. The scrotum is a loose sac of skin behind the penis which contains the testicles. Testicles are oval-shaped gonads. A boy generally possesses two testicles. Internal male reproductive organs include the
vas deferens, the
ejaculatory ducts, the
urethra, the
seminal vesicles, and the
prostate gland.[14][15]
Physical maturation
Puberty is the process by which children's bodies mature into adult bodies that are capable of reproduction. On average, boys begin puberty at ages 11–12 and complete puberty at ages 16–17.[16][17]
In boys, puberty begins with the enlargement of the testicles and scrotum. The penis also increases in size, and a boy develops pubic hair. A boy's testicles also begin making sperm. The release of semen, which contains sperm and other fluids, is called ejaculation.[18] During puberty, a boy's erect penis becomes capable of
ejaculatingsemen and impregnating a
female.[14][15] A boy's first ejaculation is an important milestone in his development.[19] On average, a boy's first
ejaculation occurs at age 13.[20] Ejaculation sometimes occurs during sleep; this phenomenon is known as a
nocturnal emission.[18]
When a boy reaches puberty,
testosterone triggers the development of secondary sex characteristics. A boy's muscles increase in size and mass, his voice deepens, his bones lengthen, and the shape of his face and body changes.[21] The increased secretion of testosterone from the testicles during puberty causes the male secondary sexual characteristics to be manifested.[22] Male secondary sex characteristics include:
Boys across various age groups are often part of social circles that establish their own unique norms. These norms serve as a benchmark for boys to assess their peers. The adherence to these group norms often holds more weight than the mere affiliation to the group. In fact, boys who do not conform to these norms are often evaluated lower than those who, despite being strangers, conform to the group’s norms. This phenomenon underscores the powerful influence of group norms in shaping attitudes and actions, and the social implications of conformity. [26][27][28]
Boys who defy gender norms may face a higher risk of abuse, and may experience more depression than gender-conforming peers, as well as
social stigma from parents[29] and peers.[30][31] The
gender policing towards them can increase the risk of alcoholism, anxiety, and depression in adulthood.[32]
In some cultures, the birth of a male child (boy) is considered prosperous.[33]
Boys and child labor
Boys perform the majority of
child labor around the world compared to girls; 88 million child laborers are boys and 64 million are girls. Boys are also the primary victims of hazardous child labor. They are mainly employed in the
agriculture,
construction and
mining sectors. Boy workers also account for about 87 percent of those who died on the job between 2003 and 2016 in the US.[34]
Boys are given a basic reading, writing and mathematics skill and then forced to pursue their father's profession in order to alleviate financial burden of the family. This is one of the main reasons why boys are preferred over girls by the rural communities in poor countries. In
India, by contrast, the majority of adopted children are girls even though boys are preferred in general compared to girls.[35][36][37]
H. H. Malincrodt, Latijn-Nederlands woordenboek (Latin-Dutch dictionary)
Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary
Buck, Carl Darling (1988) [1949]. A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
ISBN978-0-226-07937-0.
^Branch, Thomas H. (January 3, 1907).
"British Central Africa"(PDF). Review and Herald. 84 (1). Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association: 18. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
^Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender Differences (November 28, 2001). Wizemann, Theresa M.; Pardue, Mary-Lou (eds.).
Sex Begins in the Womb. National Academies Press (US) – via www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
^D. C. Phillips (2014).
Encyclopedia of Educational Theory and Philosophy.
SAGE Publications. pp. 18–19.
ISBN978-1-4833-6475-9. On average, the onset of puberty is about 18 months earlier for girls (usually starting around the age of 10 or 11 and lasting until they are 15 to 17) than for boys (who usually begin puberty at about the age of 11 to 12 and complete it by the age of 16 to 17, on average).
Allen, Edward A. (1982). "Public School Elites in Early-Victorian England: The Boys at Harrow and Merchant Taylors' Schools from 1825 to 1850". Journal of British Studies. 21 (2): 87–117.
doi:
10.1086/385791.
S2CID144610133.
Clement, Priscilla Ferguson; Reinier, Jacqueline S., eds. (2001). Boyhood in America: an encyclopedia. 2 vol. ABC-CLIO.
ISBN978-1-57607-215-8.
Fauci, Anthony S.; Braunwald, Eugene; Kasper, Dennis L.; Hauser, Stephen L.; Longo, Dan L.; Jameson, J. Larry; Loscalzo, Joseph (2008). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine (17th ed.). McGraw-Hill Medical. pp. 2339–2346.
ISBN9780071466332.
Giese, Rachel (2018). Boys: What it Means to Become a Man. Seal Press.
ISBN9781443442916.
Hunt, Peter (2004). International companion encyclopedia of children's literature. Routledge.
ISBN9780415290531.
Killian, Caitlin (2007). "Covered girls and savage boys: Representations of Muslim youth in France". Journal of Social and Ecological Boundaries. 3 (1): 69–90.
Liu, Fengshu (2006). "Boys as only‐children and girls as only‐children—parental gendered expectations of the only‐child in the nuclear Chinese family in present‐day China". Gender and Education. 18 (5): 491–505.
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10.1080/09540250600881626.
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Wainman, Ruth (2017). "'Engineering for Boys': Meccano and the Shaping of a Technical Vision of Boyhood in Twentieth-Century Britain". Cultural and Social History. 14 (3): 381–396.
doi:
10.1080/14780038.2017.1314581.
S2CID164528642.
Wolff, Larry (1996). "The Boys Are Pickpockets, and the Girl Is a Prostitute": Gender and Juvenile Criminality in Early Victorian England from Oliver Twist to London Labour". New Literary History. 27 (2): 227–249.
doi:
10.1353/nlh.1996.0029.
JSTOR20057349.
S2CID162188050.