Derogatory nicknames (*triggers*)
We're doing a men's study class at our church called "Wild at Heart - Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul", by John Eldredge. From the back cover: "...John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart..." It's excellent so far. We're on chapter 4, which is about the "wound". Eldredge says that all men sustained some type of emotional wound in their childhood, almost always from their father. (Wow, Eldredge knows me!).
Anyway, a question he asks in the workbook is: "What did your father "name" you - what identity did he bestow on you as a boy and young man? Perhaps there might even be an actual name he gave you, like seagull, or fatty, or S#@!head."
Well, that brought back memories. I hadn't thought of it in years, but I recalled that whenever my father would get mad at me he would always call me "Boy". Even when I was in high school, 18 years old, it was always "Boy". I knew exactly what he meant by it as well - it was like he was saying "You're not a man, Boy, and don't you forget it." The meaning was all too clear.
Anyway, a question he asks in the workbook is: "What did your father "name" you - what identity did he bestow on you as a boy and young man? Perhaps there might even be an actual name he gave you, like seagull, or fatty, or S#@!head."
Well, that brought back memories. I hadn't thought of it in years, but I recalled that whenever my father would get mad at me he would always call me "Boy". Even when I was in high school, 18 years old, it was always "Boy". I knew exactly what he meant by it as well - it was like he was saying "You're not a man, Boy, and don't you forget it." The meaning was all too clear.