Most babies are born with the foundation for developing empathy. When kids are responded to with empathy they strengthen their own capacity for empathy. However, how many boys are treated with empathy especially by their fathers? When empathy is linked to femaleness, boys will often need to distance themselves from it, so as to protect their masculinity. If we raise boys to "suck it up" and to only be able to express anger as a substitute for their vulnerable feelings then it's no surprise that some will take it to the extreme.