澳大利亚前NRL运动员兼BookTok创作者Luke Bateman主张需要创作更多"男孩书"来鼓励男性阅读，称男性中"没有很多读者"[1]。国际测试数据支持这一现象的存在——女孩在几乎每个国家的阅读测试中都优于男孩，澳大利亚也不例外[1]。然而，研究表明这个问题的成因远比性别本身要复杂得多。
根据已有研究，同一社会经济水平内的性别阅读差异远小于不同社会经济地位间的差异[1]。这表明社会经济地位、种族和地区因素在阅读成绩差异中扮演的角色比性别更为重要。许多男孩之所以不愿承认或表现出对阅读的热情，源于社会化的性别观念——他们担心这样做会影响在同龄人中的融入[1]。研究已证实年轻人普遍被社会化认为阅读是"女性化活动"[1]，这种根深蒂固的刻板印象才是男孩回避阅读的主要障碍。
专家指出，"男孩书"的概念本身强化了有害的性别刻板印象，反而会缩小男孩的阅读范围[1]。因此，真正的解决方案应指向建立性别中立的阅读文化，而非通过强化性别分化的方式来改变男孩的阅读习惯。
Australian former NRL athlete and BookTok creator Luke Bateman has advocated for writing more books specifically targeted at boys to encourage male reading, citing concerns that there are "not many readers" among men.[1] International testing data supports his observation that girls outperform boys in reading assessments across nearly every country, including Australia.[1]
However, research suggests the gender reading gap is not simply a matter of book selection. Studies reveal that within the same socioeconomic level, gender differences in reading achievement are far smaller than disparities between different socioeconomic groups.[1] Many boys avoid openly acknowledging their enjoyment of reading due to concerns about peer acceptance, reflecting deeper cultural attitudes toward literature.[1] Young people have been socialized to view reading as a "feminine activity," a perception documented in existing research.[1]
Rather than promoting gender-specific publishing categories, experts argue that strengthening gender-neutral reading cultures would be more effective.[1] The concept of "boys' books" risks reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes and may actually narrow the range of material boys feel comfortable reading.[1]
