Among the all the comic books, one particular set of magazines was a clear outlier—at least by the cover. Unlike the rest of the comics, Calling All Boys did not have colorful comics on the cover but instead, it had a photograph of a young teenager with a pensive look on his face. With yellowed down pages and tears along the edges, the white letters of “April 1946” stood bright and clear in the corner. It becomes evident that during this time the concept of adolescence is acknowledged, as this magazine content is clearly modified to its target audience: adolescent boys. This magazine proves to be an intermediate between comics and newspapers; it moves away from the typical colorful comic book and into more adult-like concepts. Calling All Boys incorporates a wide range of useful and interesting topics for most adolescent boys—theoretically “all” boys— bridging the gap between childhood and adulthood.
Calling All Boys uses some common interests among adolescent boys to guide their growing maturity. For example, it has a heavy presence in sports content including highlights of recent golf tournaments and baseball games. By using current events in sports, it not only speaks to the boys’ interests, but it also emphasizes the importance of current events. Learning and wanting to keep up with current events is an important of growing up. This may not seem like an obvious milestone of adolescence; however, it illustrates the growth in teenagers, especially when compared to children, as it represents more appreciation and interest in the world around them. Aside from guiding an interest in sports, this can also lead to forming a habit: listening to the news or radio on a more regular basis. Calling All Boys recognizes the increased awareness amongst adolescents and uses it to cultivate maturity and sense of habit.
With increased awareness, it is likely to easily become self-conscious especially at a vulnerable stage like adolescence. Calling All Boys recognizes this vulnerability and provides space for teenage boys to open up about their problems, similar to an advice column in a newspaper. Particularly, in the section named “Let’s Talk About It,” Joecomplained about a curfew set for when he went out with a girl. In response, Stephen R. Strong, a boys’ counselor, explained that young teenagers new to dating may not be mature enough to make the decision of when to leave. He continues to explain how a young man must be considerate of both his date and well as her parents so as to not bring her home at a late time. Mr. Strong’s explanation bridges the gap between Joe’s child-like desire for everything and his adolescent milestone of dating. It brings the perspective of an adult and the growing responsibilities of teenagers into context. Calling All Boys specifically picks out problems that are quintessential to adolescence that most boys can easily relate to. This emphasizes the importance of emotional maturity in handling conflicts, proving that communication can resolve conflicts. Not only does this provide a healthy example of resolving conflicts, but it also addresses common struggles amongst teenagers.
While the Q&A was much more direct, Calling All Boys addresses universal struggles and milestones of adolescence in more subtle way. For example, one page included an advertisement for a suit—the Sampeck Suit. At first glance, this may seem irrelevant to adolescence. However, adolescence is a time where boys become increasingly keener of their dressing style. And this particular advertisement appeals to the adolescent’s growing sexual maturity by depicting a girl attracted to a boy’s dressing style. It subtly illustrates the effects dressing can have on society (and girls), and how to use it properly. Calling All Boys provides direction regarding dressing for young boys who have just recently become more aware of their appearance. The subtlety of these advertisements normalizes adolescent milestones like dating and dressing into a more common part of life.
More importantly though, Calling All Boys realizes the impact adolescence can have on adulthood and provides role models and other positive examples for boys to look up to. Perhaps the most obvious way Calling All Boys achieves this is with the article “BOYS in the News.” This article includes recent news events in which teenage boys have accomplished something significant. For example, it includes a 16-year-old tennis star winning a match as well as a 14-year-old attending Yale University. Though some of these boys are very high achievers, it still provides a role model for young boys to look up to. Praising such accomplishments and giving similar examples of other adolescents can give adolescents a sense of direction in life.
Calling All Boys creates a friendly, helpful medium demonstrating both the struggles and successes of adolescence in which young boys can turn to for guidance. The acknowledgement of adolescence in itself is quite an accomplishment for the time period. Yet, this magazine goes beyond that: it caters its content to mimic adolescence by balancing both entertainment and important issues. With content so specific to adolescent boys, Calling All Boys both acknowledges adolescents as an own entity and provides information to help ease this transition between childhood and adulthood.
-Akshaya Sudhakar
Calling All Boys. Calling All Boys Inc. New York, NY. April 1946. Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library.
Representing Adolescence @ Pitt 