This article explores the empirical and political debates surrounding boys' academic experiences in America and the United Kingdom. It unearths the ways in which boys' problems in school have been blamed on feminism, and how race and class are ignored in both debates. Additionally, this article addresses same-gender mentoring as a remedial, gender-based strategy for the ‘problem’ of boys in schools. We offer a critique of the mentoring of boys, highlighting the ways in which it ‘others' boys of marginalised race and class status and legitimises hegemonic masculinity. This article concludes with an analysis of the potential of mentoring in the work with boys.
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