Through a series of carefully constructed themes, ranging from the boy as passive love object to soldier boys, from the boy under the female gaze to "what is a boy?", Greer opens our eyes and invites us to appreciate boys in all their sensuality, flirtatiousness, spontaneity and vulnerability. Whether discussing sculptures of Cupid of Apollo, paintings by Caravaggio or Van Dyck, and photographs by Nan Goldin or Sally Mann; whether quoting Ovid, Flaubert, Milan Kundera or Eminem; whether describing martyred saints, the dancer Nijinsky or James Dean, Germaine Greer explores the iconic ideal of the beautiful boy, with the aid of more than 200 pictures ranging over the whole history of art.

Germaine Greer is an Australian born writer, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century.

Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her ground-breaking The Female Eunuch became an international best-seller in 1970, turning her overnight into a household name and bringing her both adulation and criticism. She is also the author of Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility (1984), The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause (1991), and most recently Shakespeare's Wife (2007).