Awards for Good Boys

March 18, 2019
This pithy extension of comedian Lorman’s Instagram account combines illustrations with essays to comment on dating and living among the “good boys”—a label Lorman uses to refer to “the praise we heap on men for meeting the barest of minimums, for avoiding being the Out-right Worst.” Her simple line drawings depict medals and trophies inscribed with such accolades as “Isn’t openly threatened by your competence” and “Interrupts you to make it clear he’s still listening.” These are accompanied by Lorman’s signature wide-mouth faces, mostly of men, but occasionally of women as well, whose exclamations feed into this concept of “goodboydom” (“It’s up to us goodboys to tell other people just how good we are!”). While Lorman’s illustrations take center stage, the written vignettes add personal background that her fans will appreciate: the time a first date disappeared without a word within minutes of meeting her (she thought he had ducked back inside the coffee shop to “take a nervous poop”), and the time she and a group of friends were catcalled, yet she was “respectfully spared” when one of the harassers pointed at her and said, “oh... not you.” Lorman’s Instagram followers will enjoy her commentary on the more subtle side of misogyny.

June 1, 2019
At the 2019 Oscars, Best Supporting Actress winner Regina King got her heels tangled in her dress on the way up to the podium. Actor Chris Evans, who was sitting next to her, offered her his arm; she made it up the stairs, and the internet exploded. The social-media accolades Evans received for this act?essentially, not idly watching as a fellow human fell on her face during a career-defining, very televised moment?exemplifies what Awards for Good Boys is all about?the frustrating reality that cis men get heaped with praise for doing the absolute minimum. This collection of Lorman's Instagram comics is a master class in pithy sick burns: awards are given for being "theoretically open to being wrong" and "interrupts you to make it clear he's still listening." The simple line drawings are interspersed with brief essays that delve deeper into the topics she draws: the perils of dating men, performative feminism, manspreading; even cis women who enable this "good" behavior are called out. A good read for feminists who need to laugh so they don't cry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)