Boys will be Boys Review

Last week, I wrote a review for Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford, and today I will be reviewing its companion Boys will be Boys. While this book can be read on its own, as it addresses a slightly differently issue than the first book. However, I do advise that you read Fight Like A Girl first, as goes into more depth, and talks about what to do now, and not how we can change our future in the future.

Synopsis

earless feminist Clementine Ford’s incendiary first book, Fight Like A Girl, is taking the world by storm, galvanizing 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?”

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 — this book shows the way.

Review

This book is very similar to Fight Like A Girl in terms of tone and content (unsurprisingly), however there is a little more polish in the terms of flow and readability, as to be expected as someone develops their craft. Once again, due to the weight of the topic discussed, it take a while to read this book, and is definitely not suitable for a light read, but it is very good.

Everyone’s afraid that their daughters might get hurt. No one seems to be afraid that their sons might be the ones to do it.

In this book, the author talks about how she wishes to raise her young son to protect him from the dangers of toxic masculinity, and the power that his assigned gender will give him. (Ford acknowledges that her son may not actually be male, but at the moment he is not capable of communicating such concepts). While this book shows women what a good and healthy relationship should look like, and help guides them to get there, it also spends a lot of time highlighting how toxic masculinity and male privilege has shaped our world, and makes it hard for us to make progress.

Remarkably, the world wasn’t knocked off its axis by the sight of a boy child in a dress, because it turns out the integrity of the earth’s gravitational pull isn’t as fragile as twenty-first century masculinity.

This book takes time to point out case studies and anecdotes that help explain each argument, making the content much more relatable and less abstract. It also uses lots of statics and scientific studies to back up its claims, making it a good place to learn about things you may not have considered yet, and to find information to back up your own arguments.

This book contains descriptions of various kinds of assault and abuse.