Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Oneworld Publications (2019), 384 pages
Description
Fearless feminist heroine Clementine Ford is a beacon of hope and inspiration to hundreds of thousands of Australian women and girls. Her incendiary first book, Fight Like A Girl, is taking the world by storm, galvanising women to demand and fight for real equality and not merely the illusion of it. Now Boys Will Be Boys examines what needs to change for that equality to become a reality. It answers the question most asked of Clementine: 'How do I raise my son to respect women and give them equal space in the world? How do I make sure he's a supporter and not a perpetrator?' All boys start out innocent and tender, but by the time they are adolescents many of them will subscribe to a view of masculinity that is openly contemptuous of women and girls. Our world conditions boys into entitlement, privilege and power at the expense not just of girls' humanity but also of their own. Ford demolishes the age-old assumption that superiority and aggression are natural realms for boys, and demonstrates how toxic masculinity creates a disturbingly limited and potentially dangerous idea of what it is to be a man. Crucially, Boys Will Be Boys reveals how the patriarchy we live in is as harmful to boys and men as it is to women and girls, and asks what we have to do to reverse that damage. The world needs to change and this book shows the way.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member adam.currey
This book covers a very important issue in today's society with humour and brutal forthrightness. Clementine Ford doesn't pull any punches or sugar coat anything here - she tells it exactly how it is.
Don't think this is a man-hating 'feminazi' just beating up on men - this is about the culture of
Don't think this is a man-hating 'feminazi' just beating up on men - this is about the culture of
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masculinity and misogyny, not about individuals. It tackles a serious issue with skill and humour, and I feel that everyone should read it - especially men. If you're a man who's part of a society that oppresses women, you'd like to know about it so you can change, right? Show Less
LibraryThing member questbird
This book is written in the style of an extended blog post or article. It is conversational and engaging but has many references to Australian events in 2018 which will date quickly. It is a book of the moment, decrying misogynistic practices which harm women and men. The book starts strongly with
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hope that the author's young son will grow up learning to respect women. However what follows does not really suggest a way for that to happen; rather it is a collection of mild rants against Mens' Rights Activists, the state of women in politics in Australia, gender representation in movies and the legal system as it pertains to rape, The book is weakest when relying on sources from the USA, whose 'rape culture' is different from ours. The low point is a catalogue of men (many American) who have been accused and maybe convicted of sexual harassment or worse. However flawed the legal systems in USA and Australia, at least they share the basis of 'innocent until proven guilty'. Listing the accused does not make them guilty, and that is a good thing. Show Less
LibraryThing member arelenriel
An honest critique of how we raise young men to become our biggest problems in Western society. Fords' writing is succinct well thought out and relies on solid research to support her claims. Overall an interesting read
LibraryThing member lisan.
Extremely depressing, and very hard to read, but sadly filled with wise information. Basically it sucks to be a woman in this misogynist nightmare of world gone wrong. I did not enjoy reading the depressing statistics, and stories, but I appreciate the women who are out there fighting the good
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fight, and the men who are trying to learn. I'm not sure who to recommend this book for because it's not at all fun to read, but unfortunately, it is necessary information. Show Less
LibraryThing member buttsy1
This is an important book.
If you are male, or if you are the parent of a boy, you should read this.
I am sure that Ms Ford will cop considerable shit as a result of this publication, but that will just prove she is right.
I wish there had been something like this for me to read when I was 16 years
If you are male, or if you are the parent of a boy, you should read this.
I am sure that Ms Ford will cop considerable shit as a result of this publication, but that will just prove she is right.
I wish there had been something like this for me to read when I was 16 years
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old. Show Less
LibraryThing member SarahEBear
Despite vehement protestations from various fringe-dwelling men's movements, "Boys Will Be Boys" by Clementine Ford, is not a man-bashing manifesto, but more an in-depth examination into how our current cultural practices and ideals of manhood and mate-ship, are failing our boys (and in turn our
The book is a follow up to her amazing and powerful memoir "Fight Like a Girl", and is written in the same easy-to-read style. It is well-researched (she doesn't make any statement or use any statistic without thorough referencing it) and contains many frightening real world examples. The letter to her son in the final chapter of the books is particularly heart-wrenching, and a reminder that we need to nurture and support our boys as they grow into men. A must for all parents, boys, girls, men and women.
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girls). The book is a follow up to her amazing and powerful memoir "Fight Like a Girl", and is written in the same easy-to-read style. It is well-researched (she doesn't make any statement or use any statistic without thorough referencing it) and contains many frightening real world examples. The letter to her son in the final chapter of the books is particularly heart-wrenching, and a reminder that we need to nurture and support our boys as they grow into men. A must for all parents, boys, girls, men and women.
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LibraryThing member Chrisethier
Disclaimer: I won an ARC via a giveaway on Librarything.
There are thousands of reasons why you should read this book. I would like to start with just one.
The sentence about Oscar Isaac’s equipment. It is around page 185.
And if that doesn’t do it for you, the line about porn making men’s
But seriously, Ford’s excellent use of humor aside, you should read this book.
Ford’s book about culture and how it not only harms women but also men. In part, this is a mediation on the problems that her son will face growing up, but also the dangers that women face. She dismantles the arguments that men’s rights movements people use and shows how circular and deceptive they are.
The progresses from pre-birth to adulthood. For instance, the book opens with a discussion of gender reveal parties, and ends with a letter to her son describing, in part, what she hopes he grows into.
One of the most damning or interesting chapters is her look at film. You will never look at movies, in particular Disney movies, the same way. While at times in this section, I wondered a few things – for instance, while Rey and Finn are great, the Force Awakens really doesn’t fully pass the Bechdel test does it? Or why not mention comic book movies where the female superheroes rarely seem to talk to each other?
And there are other limitations in the book, which Ford addresses in her introduction, so she is at least aware. The book relies heavily on Australian events (not really surprising considering) but also mentions a few cases in the US and Ireland.
The most anger inducing and upsetting section is about sex education and how that is used to police women and young girls. In part, she is building on the works of writers such as Jessica Valenti, but she also shows how much has not changed and, in fact, how some things have gotten worse.
We live in a world where if a female politician says something people don’t like, she deserves death threats. IT’s her fault. She should keep her mouth shut. We live in a society where a judge tells a rape victim that she should have thought of her rapist’s future before she pressed charges. A world where Lance Armstrong, who maligned a woman who tried to blow the whistle on his cheating, gets redeemed. While all these things happened in America, they are hardly unique to America. Ford’s book shows us how far we must go to do right by both boys and girls.
There are thousands of reasons why you should read this book. I would like to start with just one.
The sentence about Oscar Isaac’s equipment. It is around page 185.
And if that doesn’t do it for you, the line about porn making men’s
Show More
equipment not work is good too. That’s around 134.But seriously, Ford’s excellent use of humor aside, you should read this book.
Ford’s book about culture and how it not only harms women but also men. In part, this is a mediation on the problems that her son will face growing up, but also the dangers that women face. She dismantles the arguments that men’s rights movements people use and shows how circular and deceptive they are.
The progresses from pre-birth to adulthood. For instance, the book opens with a discussion of gender reveal parties, and ends with a letter to her son describing, in part, what she hopes he grows into.
One of the most damning or interesting chapters is her look at film. You will never look at movies, in particular Disney movies, the same way. While at times in this section, I wondered a few things – for instance, while Rey and Finn are great, the Force Awakens really doesn’t fully pass the Bechdel test does it? Or why not mention comic book movies where the female superheroes rarely seem to talk to each other?
And there are other limitations in the book, which Ford addresses in her introduction, so she is at least aware. The book relies heavily on Australian events (not really surprising considering) but also mentions a few cases in the US and Ireland.
The most anger inducing and upsetting section is about sex education and how that is used to police women and young girls. In part, she is building on the works of writers such as Jessica Valenti, but she also shows how much has not changed and, in fact, how some things have gotten worse.
We live in a world where if a female politician says something people don’t like, she deserves death threats. IT’s her fault. She should keep her mouth shut. We live in a society where a judge tells a rape victim that she should have thought of her rapist’s future before she pressed charges. A world where Lance Armstrong, who maligned a woman who tried to blow the whistle on his cheating, gets redeemed. While all these things happened in America, they are hardly unique to America. Ford’s book shows us how far we must go to do right by both boys and girls.
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LibraryThing member bibliogramy
The points and arguments being made are important and certainly well intentioned, but I found it slow to get through as the language was rather abrasive and there was, I feel at least, an unnecessary amount of jokes about her reputation as a so called "feminazi" to the point where it started to
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detract from the subject at hand. I just could have done with less of the comments. Show Less
LibraryThing member RachelRamirez
Ford's scathing evaluation of the patriarchal society and toxic masculinity culture that we have created is an eye-opening look at the challenges facing women in today's world. Ford is able to use humor and chosen profanity to lighten and enlighten on an otherwise dark subject. Her illuminating and
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specific examples are easy to understand and place in context. Her rally cry should be well-received by anyone seeking to understand and shift how we ended up here. Show Less
LibraryThing member redheadedfemme
(Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program and am reviewing it voluntarily.)
The purpose of this book is made clear in the introduction.
"Boys Will Be Boys takes aim at toxic male spaces and behaviors that are used to codify male power and dominance, but
This book is definitely not Feminism 101. It's a fairly dense text, for all that the author makes it as readable as possible and writes with plenty of sharp snarky humor. (She includes her definitions of transgender, cisgender, cissexist/cisnormative, heteronormativity, cis-het and disabled person up front.) If you haven't read any serious work on feminist theory before, I'd recommend you start with bell hooks' classic Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics before tackling this book. There is plenty to chew on here, and only my intense dislike of marking up my books kept this from being scribbled on in the margins and highlighted.
The only (minor) drawback is the fact that the author is Australian, and a great deal of this book discusses Australian politics and culture. (Although she does touch on the United States, including Harvey Weinstein and our so-called President.) One thing she tries to make clear is that men should be as invested in dismantling the patriarchy and its insistence on male dominance as anyone else, because it ultimately imprisons them just as much as women, locking them in rigid, emotionless, stoic and ultimately damaging gendered boxes. It would be so much better if men were allowed to be kind and soft and nurturing, if they could like pink and get butterfly tattoos and wear dresses if they wished, and not be regarded as lesser or "sissy" (God, I hate that slur) because of it.
There's some pretty harrowing stuff in here, especially in the chapter on rape, which is to be expected. But this book is a valuable addition to feminist scholarship, and gives the reader a great deal to think about.
The purpose of this book is made clear in the introduction.
"Boys Will Be Boys takes aim at toxic male spaces and behaviors that are used to codify male power and dominance, but
Show More
that also secure protection from the consequences of them. I've looked at how gender inequality is first learned in the home and then filtered down through pop culture, and how this provides the perfect launching pad into even more damaging practices later on--the embrace of online abuse, rape culture, men's rights baloney and even the freezing out of women from governance and leadership."This book is definitely not Feminism 101. It's a fairly dense text, for all that the author makes it as readable as possible and writes with plenty of sharp snarky humor. (She includes her definitions of transgender, cisgender, cissexist/cisnormative, heteronormativity, cis-het and disabled person up front.) If you haven't read any serious work on feminist theory before, I'd recommend you start with bell hooks' classic Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics before tackling this book. There is plenty to chew on here, and only my intense dislike of marking up my books kept this from being scribbled on in the margins and highlighted.
The only (minor) drawback is the fact that the author is Australian, and a great deal of this book discusses Australian politics and culture. (Although she does touch on the United States, including Harvey Weinstein and our so-called President.) One thing she tries to make clear is that men should be as invested in dismantling the patriarchy and its insistence on male dominance as anyone else, because it ultimately imprisons them just as much as women, locking them in rigid, emotionless, stoic and ultimately damaging gendered boxes. It would be so much better if men were allowed to be kind and soft and nurturing, if they could like pink and get butterfly tattoos and wear dresses if they wished, and not be regarded as lesser or "sissy" (God, I hate that slur) because of it.
There's some pretty harrowing stuff in here, especially in the chapter on rape, which is to be expected. But this book is a valuable addition to feminist scholarship, and gives the reader a great deal to think about.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mandersj73
I wish I could give this a higher rating.
I don't disagree at all with the author's view that toxic masculinity and rape culture are BAD (oversimplifying, here); I just think her message could have been accomplished through more of an essay-length article rather than nearly 400 pages worth of
How can a rational person not agree with her message?
The part I didn't like is that although I had no idea who she was before reading this, apparently many people do and many of them have an ongoing beef with her. She uses this forum to call them out and showcase their behavior and actions time and time again. I think this tends to lessen the credibility of her message by making her seem vindictive rather than having a general desire to draw awareness to the main issues at hand.
I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing.
I don't disagree at all with the author's view that toxic masculinity and rape culture are BAD (oversimplifying, here); I just think her message could have been accomplished through more of an essay-length article rather than nearly 400 pages worth of
Show More
driving the message home.How can a rational person not agree with her message?
The part I didn't like is that although I had no idea who she was before reading this, apparently many people do and many of them have an ongoing beef with her. She uses this forum to call them out and showcase their behavior and actions time and time again. I think this tends to lessen the credibility of her message by making her seem vindictive rather than having a general desire to draw awareness to the main issues at hand.
I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing.
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LibraryThing member Steven1958
WOW! What a book. A book about the patriarchal society we have been living in for centuries and the detrimental effect it has had on women, and girls. Ford explains in a very upfront and straightforward way that this needs to change, especially when girls and women make the life-changing decision
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to bring rape charges against men. This book MUST be read by all men everywhere. Show Less
Awards
Australian Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — General Non-Fiction — 2019)
The Indie Book Award (Longlist — Non-fiction — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
384 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
1786076632 / 9781786076632