In response to concerns about boys' academic underachievement as well as the international gender imbalance in our teaching force composition, a call has been made to hire more male teachers and practice "boy-friendly" pedagogy. Our investigation of effects of male reading teachers and use of computer-based books demonstrated their ability to de-feminise boys' views of reading but no differential effects were evident on boys' reading achievement or reader self-perceptions between boys taught by males or by females, whether or not they use technology in their reading practices. (Contains 1 table.)