Boys Will Be Boys

May 13, 2019
In this fierce, often sharp treatise, activist and author Ford (Fight Like a Girl) considers how patriarchy is harmful to men and reflects on how society can collectively educate boys on resisting the siren songs of male privilege and sexist attitudes. Having recently had a son, Ford has personal insight on how gender roles become prescribed at an early age—“boys are cars and touchdowns and arrows and rifles and guns”—and advises other parents on how to avoid the trap of these prescriptions (rule #1: no gender reveal parties). She notes the need for more female-centered stories in film and television and to teach boys that stories about girls are worth their attention; discusses societal attitudes about sex, which demonize girls for being sexually active and deride boys if they are deemed insufficiently sexually motivated; and carefully outlines exactly how one might have a conversation with a young man about sex, consent, and pornography. About halfway through the book, Ford zooms out to look more broadly at patriarchy and its discontents, including the misdeeds of murderous men’s rights activists, misogynist pickup artists, and Donald Trump. The analyses here may not be novel to readers already familiar with contemporary feminism, but this could serve as a useful entry point for those newer to the topic or contemplating how to parent in light of it.