GROWING UP, SEX ED

A Boyhood Studies special issue
berghahnjournals.com/boyhood-studies

Interim Editors:
Jonathan A. Allan, Brandon University
Chris Haywood, Newcastle University

Ongoing calls in the United States to censor or remove materials involving sex, gender, and sexuality from school libraries is the latest example of how contentious sex education in schools can be. To explore the consequences of these measures not only in the US, but also in other regions of the world where these challenges to school curriculum arise, this special issue seeks contributions on growing up, puberty, sex education as they relate to boys, boyhood, and masculinities.

We welcome papers that consider formal and informal sex education, sex education in the home, discussions of puberty, representations of sex education, new approaches to the study, teaching, and representation of puberty and sex education. We think here of the ways in which sex ed can often cast boys and young men as possible perpetrators of sexualized violence, while also trying to promote healthy relationships. Sex ed also becomes a space to explore gender transformative approaches to the body, sexuality, and relationships. In thinking about the cultural landscape, we are thinking about the anxiety surrounding what boys are reading and consuming. We seek papers that consider books that are being called “pornographic” when they are marketed and sold as sex education (i.e. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley, or Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan). We seek papers that consider literary, filmic, online, and cultural artifacts the address the complexity of growing up, gender, and relationships (i.e. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe or All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson). Finally, papers may consider institutional challenges to these topics. For instance, public libraries are facing threats to their funding for hosting events such as Drag Queen Story hours, or for maintaining collections with books that are deemed by some to be “obscene,” while “educational” for others. Librarians have become targets for censorship, while also being gateways to knowledge. How might these challenges affect boys use of libraries? How might these challenges impact boys’ literacy?

• Sex Education in the Home • Sex Education at School • Sex Education and Pornography • Sex Education Beyond the Binary • Sex Education and Sexualized Violence • Sex Education and Sexual Misconduct • Sex Education and Consent • Sex Education and Censorship • Sex Education and 2SLGBTQIA • Sex Education and Safe/r Sex • Sex Education in the Global South • De- and anti-colonial perspectives on sex education/ indigenous sex education • Informal Sex Education and Social Media • Feminist Approaches to Sex Education for Boys • Masculinity and Sex Education • Sex Education, Class and/or Caste • Sex Education for Disabled Boys • Representing Sex Education • Histories of Sex Education for Boys

These topics and others can be approached from any number of critical theories and/or lenses as long as they attend to boys, boyhood, and masculinities. Boyhood Studies is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal devoted to the critical study of boyhoods. 

Submissions should be original works that are not previously published or currently under consideration for another journal or edited collection. Abstracts (250-300 words) will be accepted until 1 August 2025. If a full paper is already written, please do consider submitting the full paper. Contact: boyhoodstudies@gmail.com Decisions will be made shortly after receiving the abstract. Full submissions (6.000 – 8.000 words) will be due by January 2025; however, early submissions are appreciated.