As a thirteen-year-old getting bullied at an all boys' school, it's fair to say that Bart thinks about masculinity a lot in Bullyville. And that's just at school. At home, having recently lost his father, Bart tries to step up as the man of the house. To protect his mother's feelings—and to avoid any "weak" (his word, not ours) displays of crying—Bart tries to be stoic. He stuffs down his emotions as much as he can. The thing is, they don't just go away, and eventually, all those emotions bubble up into displays of aggression, including vandalizing Tyro's car and getting into a fistfight. Oops.
Questions About Masculinity
- Why does Bart think it's masculine to hide his emotions? Why does he thinking crying is feminine? Does this tie into his mom's crying at all?
- Why does Bart seem so disgusted by Dr. Bratton? Be specific and compare Dr. Bratton to Bart's concepts of ideal masculinity.
- Could Bullyville have been an all girls' school and could this book feature a female lead? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Stereotypes about masculinity don't help anyone in Bullyville.
Nola shows Bart that the dividing line between strength and weakness isn't so clear, and in doing so, enables him to embrace grief and sadness as part of masculinity.