In this article, the author, a mother of twin boys in middle school, shares excerpts from her sons' writings which she thinks are too violent and action oriented. She marvels at their knack for pacing, detail, and metaphor, but in the back of her mind she wonders what the content will make readers think of them as a boy and of her as a parent. She is consistently intrigued by the ways that culture, in the form of gender identity and socialization, influences how children engage in literacy practices and how their teachers' responded to them. The construction and display of gender identity is of huge importance to young men and women. It is a time when boys and girls alike are torn between forming an individual sense of identity and establishing group identities; gender is a central part of these explorations and negotiations. It should be no surprise that the literacy practices of adolescents are often connected to issues of gender. Yet the kinds of literacy practices to which boys are often drawn--connected to action, violence, and popular culture--are usually prohibited in the classroom where the emphasis is often on "high-culture" literature driven by character and nuance.