It's a symptom of in-betweenish-ness, not yet an adult man but not a teen male either. A lot of young people learn to become mature, responsible, capable men and women by family role modeling, sports, working or military service but many miss out on the lessons for whatever reason so they try to gain it by using symbols. If I think that way then me collecting the symbols of what I think an ideal adult male should look like gets me closer (not really) to being the real deal. It is surface stuff, all show. The hipster clothes, kilts, man-scaping, dredlocks, shaved head, facial hair/no facial hair, tattoos, piercings, tight or loose pants, stupid hats, Dickies/Carhart clothes and work boots that neither one ever get dirty.....what a sorry way to live. Anyhow, it is a symptom of no one having expected much from them while they should have been growing up and them realizing much later that their man potential is seriously lagging. Don't be shy about letting these boys know that being a real man is not about costumes or accessories but is inside your head being who and what you say you are all the time, dependable, hard working, honest, can commit long term, sense of humor, ready to destroy if needed but more prone to nurture, productive, ready to make decisions.....in other words, no longer childish or Peter Pan in a grown body.
