Boys Will See Boys

In <i>Boys Will See Boys: Folklore Friendships and Emotions in Boyhood Snapshots</i> author Jay Mechling examines snapshots--photographs of boys taken by boys--to uncover the private inner lives of American boys away from adult surveillance. At the heart of the project is a collection of vintage snapshots collected over the years--all anonymous orphan photographs acquired by the author through eBay. Mechling argues that taken together these snapshots serve as a history of white American boyhood. Since the boys are being photographed by and with their peers in a relaxed environment the photographs resonate with authenticity. <p/>The project includes deeper looks at adolescent male friendship as well as the links between boyhood and child culture such as play sexuality adolescence bonding and violence among others. Using the lens of American culture studies Mechling expertly reads each photograph outlining the social cultural intertextual and historical context to deepen our understanding of boyhood within our larger cultural system.