Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia

Shirley R. Steinberg · Michael Kehler · Lindsay Cornish

Jun 2010 · ABC-CLIO

About this ebook

In this two-volume set, a series of expert contributors look at what it means to be a boy growing up in North America, with entries covering everything from toys and games, friends and family, and psychological and social development.

Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia spans the breadth of the country and the full scope of a pivotal growing-up time to show what "a boy's life" is really like today. With hundreds of entries across two volumes, it offers a series of vivid snapshots of boys of all kinds and ages at home, school, and at play; interacting with family or knocking around with friends, or pursuing interests alone as they begin their journey to adulthood.

Boy Culture shows an uncanny understanding of just how exciting, confusing, and difficult the years between childhood and young adulthood can be. The toys, games, clothes, music, sports, and feelings—they are all a part of this remarkable resource. But most important is the book's focus on the things that shape boyhood identities—the rituals of masculinity among friends, the enduring conflict between fitting in and standing out, the effects of pop culture images, and the influence of role models from parents and teachers to athletes and entertainers to fictional characters.

166 entries on specific aspects of boyhood life in North America today, ranging from boy-centered toys, games, and media to issues of masculinity and confusing notions of manhood

Expert contributors from a variety of academic and professional disciplines, providing insight into a range of issues related to the lives of North American boys

Bibliographic listings of works cited and further reading in print and online

A comprehensive index

About the author

Shirley R. Steinberg is the cofounder and director of The Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for Critical Pedagogy. She currently teaches at McGill University.

Michael Kehler is associate professor at the Faculty of Education, the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

Lindsay Cornish is a freelance editor and writer.