Although essentially a novel about small-town racism, the book is also broadly a study of the pervasive nature of social stereotypes and the demands that society places on people to maintain the status quo. At the start of the novel, Blacky wants to be "tough" and to act like a man. The problem with this is that his father is the most obvious example to him of what being a man is. This is inherently problematical because he sees a man who thinks with his fists, drinks a lot and treats his wife as a subordinate. In order to be a man, Blacky's example is a person who is not particularly evolved. The expectation of being like his father also causes Blackie a lot of stress; he is frightened about facing Thumper at the football game because he doesn't want to get injured, but feels less of a man because of this fear; according to his dad, and to the community in which they live, real men do not feel fear, or any emotion come to that.
However, as Blacky goes through the experience of seeing racism around him, of being singled out for criticism because he has an Aboriginal friend, and of coming to realize that character, courage and toughness are not the same, he begins to realize that the over-exaggerated idea of masculinity is actually superficial and completely unachievable. Blacky's father does not have much respect for him, because of his very reasonable fears for his own safety when doing things that are dangerous or life-threatening. He would actually prefer that Blacky be aggressive and start fights than be the peacemaker in a group. This leads Blacky to really start to question what it means to be a man in his community, and to reject these notions.
This is also a community in which gender stereotypes prevail in the most insidious way. Women are second class citizens, and like Blacky's father most men in the community believe that women should be in the home and have a hot meal waiting for them, but have no greater purpose. In learning how to re-assess these expectations, Blacky comes to realize that the way in which he has been raised is adhering to stereotypes that he does not to reinforce. This is when he is finally able to make a stand for what he believes.
