Boyhood Studies

For this, the sixth issue of Thymos, which will conclude its third year of publication and with a lively plan of upcoming issues already in place, I asked the members of our editorial board and all past contributors to Thymos to informally respond to this question: “As someone who has written about ‘the boy’ and ‘boyhood’, how do you conceptualize and define these terms as you begin to study and write about issues facing ‘boys’, in the cities, in rural settings, in schools, in various contemporary cultures?” I also suggested that the meaning of “the boy” and “boyhood” may, in fact, be the central issue of boyhood studies at this point. The question elicited eleven remarkably different responses, which follow.

The following are responses to a request to the members of our editorial board and contributors to Thymos on the theme of the status of boyhood studies. The twelve contributions take quite different perspectives on the topic. They raise very different questions and present distinctive interests. All have trained their scholarly eye on what boyhood studies means today. Each points to an area of scholarly work that demands the attention of those of us interested in boyhood and the lives of boyhood—as we determine just what these notions mean. Suggestions for further reading offered by the contributors are given at the end (p. 147).

Once upon a time, coming of age as a man was simple to define. Not necessarily simple to achieve, but simple to define. A man was a male adult—someone whom other male adults had certified in a ritual context, a rite of passage, as qualified to take on responsibilities not only for his own family but also for the larger community or nation.

Is there a boy crisis, and if there is, what are its symptoms? And what are the dynamics underlying those symptoms? We know that in the last quarter-century, there have been books of federal programs as thick as a Manhattan phone book on programs for girls only, on girl power, and female-only scholarships. The equivalent book of federal programs with boy-only scholarships and special programs for boys only, is, well, invisible.

The war against boys has not ended. But it is a lot less ferocious these days. And boys have more allies than ever before. In the early nineties when I began research for the War Against Boys, few educators or journalists were talking about boys’ academic deficits. There were no books like The Dangerous Book for Boys on the bestseller list. And there certainly were no conferences like this one on behalf of young men. I am very impressed with your director, Tom Golden—and to all of you—for making this event happen.

How many men in this room have ever heard the words “You’re not dealing with your feelings”? Raise your hand. (many of the men raise their hands) Yeah, that’s most of us. And hopefully, in the next 20 minutes or so, as we talk, you’ll begin to have a different way of looking at that. I’ve spent about 25 years of my life working with traumatized men—men who were in deep trouble, and I’ve learned that men have a different way of handling their stress, loss, and emotions and it is often overlooked or misunderstood.