Crash Men and Masculinity

Crash has some weird ideas about what women like. Where do you suppose those ideas came from?

There are plenty of things in this world that are terrifying—big bugs, clowns, and running out of ice cream, for starters. But male cheerleaders? They don't seem so terrifying…except to Crash's dad. Don't ask us why, but it's pretty clear that he finds a young boy's extracurricular activity threatening to his own masculinity.

Though you might not know it from the "stuck-up bimbo" comment, Crash really does like Jane Forbes. And no one thinks she's a bimbo; that's just a really nice way that Crash and his friend have of talking about girls. Yikes. Why do you think they need to put her down even though they both want to pursue her?

When Penn becomes a cheerleader, Mike starts calling him "Little Miss Webb." Man, these guys have some gender issues. Penn, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care about the "theater of manliness" that Crash and Mike seem so obsessed with.

Crash's sister, Abby, all but calls him "Little Miss Crash" here. No wonder he feels like he needs to prove his manliness all the time.

Mrs. Coogan is a feminist—at least, that's what we've been led to believe so far. So, what's up with this quote? Is she seriously pawning off this job on her husband because he's the "man of the house," or is there something else going on here?

Okay, so having a male cheerleader on the sidelines is new for Crash. We get that. But "one of the eeriest and uncomfortablest feelings" he's ever had? Seems a little extreme. Why do you think this is so off-putting for Crash? What does this reaction say about him and the way he views cheerleaders?

Here, we have Crash delivering what is surely the worst line in the history of manhood to Jane Forbes. Does it work? Take a wild guess...and then try to explain—to us and to yourself—why Crash thought it might work.

It sounds like a lot of kids at school share Crash's opinions about male cheerleaders. Penn gets a lot of grief from his peers for being into cheerleading. In a sense, then, it's not just Crash who bullies him—it's society itself. How would a male cheerleader go over in your community? Would his age make a difference? Why or why not?

Crash's dad works 70 hours a week, and by the end of the novel, there's no sign he's cutting back. That's in sharp contrast to Crash's mom, who sacrifices her career to spend more time with her family. What sort of message does that send about gender norms?