To the Editor:

Re “The Boys Are Not All Right,” by Michael Ian Black (Op-Ed, Feb. 22), which links violence by boys and men to our concepts of masculinity:

Mr. Black asks how we can help boys. Humans are not born empathetic. Empathy is taught. Parents, caretakers, teachers and coaches must teach boys empathy by showing them affection, compassion and understanding. By responding to their needs. By giving them a safe place to express emotions and an ear to discuss them. By nurturing them.

When someone tells my 5-year-old son, “Boys don’t cry,” he answers, “That’s not true.” Boys cry as much as girls until they’re scolded or insulted when they do. When our son cries, we let him. When he hurts himself, we comfort him. When he’s angry, we try to understand what’s bothering him. The result? His teachers tell us how kind, gentle and thoughtful he is to other children. He is still a confident, outgoing, pirate-loving boy. But we have raised him without false, demeaning, sexist views about what it means to be male or female. To us, it isn’t about gender. It’s about love.

ABIGAIL ROSE SOLOMON NEW YORK The link