Graff says that boys and men “patrol each other’s masculinity with a level of violence that can seem, to women, nearly surreal” (11). Do you agree with this contention? Do you believe that “males who violate the M-box’s limits on behavior are quite literally risking their lives” (11)?
This essay, written more than forty years ago, has been anthologized many times. To what do you attribute its continued popularity? In what ways is the essay dated? In what ways is it still relevant?
Paragraph 6 of this essay presents a long list of areas in which “girls outshine boys.” Do you find this list convincing? What other information could Sommers have provided to support her case?