'Adolescent Boys: Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood,' edited by Niobe Way and Judy Y. Chu

Adolescence, Spring, 2005

WAY, Niobe, & CHU, Judy Y. (Eds.). Adolescent Boys. Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood. New York: New York University Press, 2004. 380pp. $65.00 (h), $22.00 (p).

A flurry of best-selling works has recently urged us to rescue and protect boys. They have described how boys are failing at school. acting out, or shutting down emotionally. Lost in much of the ensuing public conversation are the boys themselves--the texture of their lives and the ways in which they resist stereotypical representations of them. Most of this work on boys is based primarily on middle class, white boys. Yet boys from poor and working class families as well as those from African American, Latino, and Asian American backgrounds need to be understood in their own terms and not just as a contrast to white or middle class boys. Adolescent Boys brings together up-to-date empirical research focused on understanding the development of boys from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The authors show how the context of boys' lives, such as the schools they attend, shape their identities and relationships. The research in this book will help professionals and parents understand the diversity and richness of boys' experiences.