This is a fascinating topic, Artiste. The branch of philosophy started by Rousseau held that Nature is good and that in order to be good we have to go back to our roots and be part of Nature. When he espoused that boys do this as a rite of passage, perhaps he was a prisoner of the times when boys and girls were raised very differently, boys for the world at large, and girls for the drawing room and hearth. One could argue that, were Rousseau alive today, would he broaden his prescription to solve society's woes to encompass all genders?
Rousseau's philosophies extended far beyond Europe. In fact, the very first Western (or so it's called) novel by Owen Wister, The Virginian, presented its protagonist as "Nature's Nobleman" a cowboy who owes his virtuousness to his life in Nature, subject to her laws and teachings. This strain of thinking was preserved and expanded by Thoreau and many others. In fact, Annie Proulx sent our boys up on the mountain where they truly learned right and wrong, in a manner that Rousseau would have definitely approved!
