BOYS

Surging from the zeitgeist of cultural hot topics such as toxic masculinity, the #metoo movement and the Women's March, comes the urgent narrative nonfiction debut from award winning journalist and editor, Rachel Giese.

Giese reveals that our current ‘boy crisis' in The West cannot be understood or solved by decrying it as a by-product of feminism. This is not The End of Men, or a winner-takes all grudge match. In fact Giese would like us all, as mother, father, husband or wife, to reset the conversation on the so-called gender wars and declare a truce. Girls advancement requires the involvement of boys, and our boy's imminent future success and well-being requires our attention like never before.

What does it mean to grow up male at the beginning of the twentieth-century, when traditional ideas of masculinity are in flux? And how are adults preparing boys for the challenges and new expectations facing them? With a journalist's eye, Rachel Giese travels deep into the heart of guy culture to discover the truth about contemporary boys' lives. She reports from boys-only sex education classes and the sidelines of recreational sports leagues; she visits a juvenile detention centre, a support group for transgendered teenagers, and a Boy Scout convention; she also learns to play video games with her son and hangs out with comics fans. She tells stories of real boys navigating the transition into manhood and how the upheaval in cultural norms about sex and sexuality is affecting this coming of age process.

Drawing on her own experience as the mother of a boy, as well as extensive research and interviews with educators, coaches, activists, parents, psychologists, sociologists, and young men themselves, Rachel Giese examines the myths and realities of boy culture and the challenges facing boys today. With lively reportage and clear-eyed analysis, she reveals reasons to feel hopeful for our young men, and shows that this new gender reality has the potential to liberate us all.

RACHEL GIESE was the deputy editor of The Grid. Previously, she was a senior editor at The Walrus, a columnist for the Toronto Star, a host and producer at CityTV's BookTelevision, a writer and editor at CBC.ca's Arts Online, a senior editor at Chatelaine, and a journalism instructor at Ryerson University. Her writing, which has been nominated for several National Magazine Awards, has appeared in Toronto Life, Canadian Business, Flare, The Globe and Mail, and Report On Business. She appears on CBC TV and radio, as a regular pundit on The National's Three to Watch politics panel and a commentator on Metro Morning. She's been the guest host of Day Six and a frequent contributor to Q. Currently she's working on a 10-part CBC radio documentary series on the lives of children and the culture of childhood, which will air in the summer of 2015. She has a degree in history from the University of Toronto. Giese lives in Toronto with her family.