In recent decades, research has repeatedly demonstrated the overrepresentation of boys and men in children’s media (tv and movies, literature, and games). This field of research has, justifiably, focused primarily on the impact of this inequality on girls and women and has grown to consider not only the quantity of representations but also their content.

In this special issue of Boyhood Studies, the guest editors, Cliff Leek and Jonathan Allan, invite scholars to turn this critical lens toward boys. What types of stories do we tell to and about boys? Who is telling the stories? Which stories are overrepresented and which stories are missing? What are the effects of the stories we tell (on boys, on their interactions with people around them, on who boys grow up to be…)? How are the boundaries of stories for boys defined and maintained? How and why do adults reread/revisit/remember the stories of their boyhoods? We invite scholars to consider children’s media not only as leisure/entertainment, but also as a source of children’s socialization and, therefore, a building block of society. We also encourage authors not to lose sight of how boys themselves experience media by considering what it means to read children’s media boyishly.

Submissions could take the following formats:
1) Full length empirical papers relevant to or dealing with gender and children’s media (max 6,000 words including references).
2) Commentary pieces illuminating trends or arguing for new directions in thinking about children’s media – especially as it relates to gender and boys (max 4,000 words including references).
3) Reviews of children’s media (tv and movies, literature, or games) that deal specifically with the gendered messaging to/about boys (max 1,000 words).

Timeline: The deadline for abstract submissions is April 16, 2021. Decisions will be made on which submissions to invite for the special issue by the end of April 2021. Full submissions will be due in October 2021 and the special issue will be published in Spring 2022.

To submit an abstract for consideration for the special issue, please use the form below.