There is absolutely no evidence that boys raised by single mothers are somehow more feminine. That's another myth out of this narrative. And as I noted more than once, what's best for kids is to have a warm and close relationship with both parents (whether they are still together or not). Unfortunately, a huge number of dads abandon their kids - but the good news is, those kids can still grow up OK if they get the right kind of support from other adults - which is the point of this story.

Kids who don't have a dad are often poor - as already noted in the OP. The poverty is what drives all those negative outcomes much more than the lack of a man in the house.

"(University of Cambridge fatherhood expert Michael) Lamb says that decades ago, researchers were concerned about risks to children, and “their concerns were driven by a lot of cultural assumptions, which led them to propose kids are better off in the traditional family.”

“The evidence, on the whole, hasn’t supported that, but the beliefs have persisted in society,” he says.

Another expert on fatherhood, sociologist Tim Biblarz of the University of Southern California-Los Angeles, says the evidence shows economics plays a significant role in the risk for negative outcomes, such as poorer grades and lower educational attainment, substance abuse or poor social adjustment.

“Those who grow up with single mothers with adequate socioeconomic resources tend to do well. The children of poor single mothers are more at risk,” Biblarz says. “Many of the results that say that kids are at increased risk for negative outcomes have to do with economics.”

“What’s important is not whether they are raised by one or two parents. It’s how good is the relationship with the parent, how much support they’re getting from that parent and how harmonious is the environment.

Single Moms’ Sons Can Succeed, New Research Shows