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So What's a Boy?

1st Edition
0335226353 · 9780335226351
“This book bears the hallmark of Open University Press texts. It is well laid out and nicely produced. It manages a good balance between textbook and cutting edge research… The book is impressive in its command of a wide range of writings on sexu… Read More
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Preface

Part one: Normalisation and schooling

'So what's a boy?'
normalising practices and borderland existences
'You have to be strong, big and muscular'
boys, bodies and masculinities
'That's what normal boys do'
bullying and harassment in the lives of boys at school
'Getting into the cool group is like passing an exam'
boys talk about friendships at school

Part two: Diverse masculinities

'It was never openly talked about'
the experiences of sexually diverse students at school
'If you're a wog you're cool, but if you're Asian you get picked on'
multiple masculinities and cultural diversity
'One of the main problems at school would be racism'
indigenous boys, masculinities and schooling
'You're not a real boy if you're disabled'
boys negotiating physical disability and masculinity in schools

Part three: Sites of intervention

'There's no opportunity for guys to get down and think about what they're doing and why they are doing it'
boys interrogating 'masculinity' in schools
'It's the politics of my school that upsets me'
the rhetoric and realities of school policies, structures and pedagogies
'It's not the way guys think'
interrogating masculinities in English and physical education
'So what's a healthy boy?'
health education as a site of risk, conformity and resistance
Conclusion
References
Index.

“This book bears the hallmark of Open University Press texts. It is well laid out and nicely produced. It manages a good balance between textbook and cutting edge research… The book is impressive in its command of a wide range of writings on sexuality, gender, masculinity and schooling.” - Educational Review

"Secondary school teachers, principals and school counsellors would be the primary audience for this book, although youth workers and other workers with adolescent males should also find the boys' perceptions of school and adolescent culture of great interest and considerable use." -Youth Studies Australia

This book focuses on the impact and effects of masculinities on the lives of boys at school. Through interviews with boys from diverse backgrounds, the authors explore the various ways in which boys define and negotiate their masculinities at school. The following questions and issues are addressed:

  • What does it mean to be a 'normal' boy and who decides this?
  • How do issues of masculinity impact on boys from culturally diverse backgrounds, indigenous boys, those with disabilities and boys of diverse sexualities?
  • What issues of power impact on these boys' lives and relationships at school?
What effects do these issues have on boys' learning at school? Through problematizing and interrogating the question of what makes a boy a boy, this fascinating title offers recommendations and indicates future directions for working with boys in school.