Boys, Boyhood and the Construction of Masculinity

Abstract

This introductory article explains the aims of the interdisciplinary conference "Masculinity and the Other" held at Balliol College, Oxford, August 29-30, 2007, at which all of the papers comprising this special issue of Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies were first presented. It points out the prominence which the notions of the "boy" and boyhood and the life-cycle enjoyed at the conference and seeks more generally to suggest the benefits a more fully integrated discussion of these topics might bring to the fields of masculinity and gender studies.