This study examined the effects of the gender of reading tutors on 173 third and fourth grade mainly inner-city boys identified as struggling readers. Reading achievement ("Alberta Diagnostic Reading Program") and reader self-perceptions ("Readers' Self-Perception Scale") were monitored over a 22-week reading intervention. Findings indicated that the gender of the reading tutors had no effect on reader self-perceptions in boys who viewed reading as masculine or gender neutral; boys who viewed reading as feminine responded better to female tutors than to male tutors in developing their self-perceptions as readers. The gender of the tutor had no significant effect on boys' reading achievement in either group. (Contains 2 tables and 1 footnote.)