Men Will Be Boys by Salley Jenkins

¶ … Boys

Men Will Be Boys"

Sally Jenkins

In "Men Will Be Boys," Sally Jenkins takes her readers behind the scenes of the male dominated world of sports from the female perspective. Although much of the book is filled with humorous observances, Jenkins also touches on the serious and dark side of the sports world.

Jenkins has written a book that is apropos for anyone, male or female, who is a sports enthusiast or who lives with one, whether personally or by association. Parents of athletes or daughters who are dating an athlete would find this an appropriate gift or recommended reading. Jenkins points out the differences between males and females and their perspective view of sports and that neither is more right or wrong than the other.

For over four months out of the year, Jenkins estimates that approximately forty million women watch the NFL football games every Sunday and Monday (Jenkins 1996). In fact a "variety of recent surveys cited by the National Football League have discovered that a full forty percent of the league's television audience is female" (Jenkins 1996). And moreover, women are not only spectators of sports, they are playing sports. According to Jenkins, "In 1971, only 294,000 girls played varsity high school sports, one in every twenty-seven...Today, one in three wears a letter jacket, more than two million" (Jenkins 1996). Furthermore, "In 1994, women outspent men on athletic gear and sports paraphernalia" (Jenkins 1994).

However, although most women are as savvy about football as they are about the men in their relationships, however, while she may be yelling about fumbles and hooraying over touchdowns, she is at the same time most likely wondering why game officials wear "beltless pants" (Jenkins 1996). Women may appreciate the game they are watching, but they view it differently than men (Jenkins 1996). According to Dr. Lawrence Wenner, director of the University of San Francisco Sports and Fitness Management Program and editor of 'The Journal of Sport and Social Issues,' "The fact that female viewers are there doesn't mean they are having the same experience" (Jenkins 1996).