Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week's topic is all about the gender stereotypes that we see in YA readers.
I'm just going to be upfront here and state the obvious, and that is that most YA readers a girls. Similarly, most YA book bloggers are girls as well. I think, that in the two years I've been blogging and in the even more years I've been reading YA, I have interacted with only about 3 male bookworms. Now while I'm sure there are many more out there, it is saddening that not many males are enjoying and appreciating YA books. YA books should be for everyone, but I think it's developed a stigma that it's "only for girls".
I can't tell you the amount of times I've walked into a bookstore to see a section for "Teen Girl Books". It's annoying because it's not even like all of these books are about princesses and fairies, but they're popular YA books. I've seen books like Divergent being labelled as a girl book. And why is this, because the protagonist is a girl? Many girls read books where the protagonist is a boy, i.e. Harry Potter, but that's certainly not just a boy book.
I think that another contributor to the problem is the lack of male YA authors there are. While there are a hefty few, there's no denying that girls outweigh the boys in YA. Because of this, YA writers write protagonists that are relatable to them, which most of the time, happens to be a girl. Then comes that feeling for a boy that they won't be able to relate to the protagonist, and so this becomes a book that is "girls only".
I just want more boys to stand up for YA and realize that they can read it if they want to. Most YA is more than just sunshine and rainbows, it contains real themes and great emotion that anyone can relate to. They shouldn't be afraid of the female protagonists.
It frustrates me especially that certain genres are attributed to females, especially romance. For school, the teachers always try to pick a required reading book that is "gender neutral", but this usually means little to no romance for fear that it will scare the boys off or something. Now I'm not saying that we have to read all romance novels, but teachers shouldn't be afraid of exploring different themes in books just because they're associated to one gender.
Now I'm not saying that all boys hate YA, like I said, there are a handful of great male YA bookworms and bloggers out there, I just wish there were more. Being the YA nerd that I am, I just want to make sure that I'm spreading the gift of YA to everyone and anyone, and so that includes boys. YA shouldn't have standards.
What do you think on the subject? Do you have any favourite male bloggers/bookworms?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I think a big problem for guys is that reading isn't 'manly' and it's too 'soft' and 'girly' and 'nerdy'. And in our hyper-masculine anti-female society it's not cool to enjoy books. I think another big thing is covers. Due to the majority of protagonists being female the covers tend to be more centred around them and more traditionally feminine things and boys don't want to be seen with stuff like that. I've actually had to tell a male reader that it's no one else's business what he buys/reads, and if he's that concerned shop online or say it's a gift. Not that anyone should have to do that - I'm a firm believer of reading whatever the heck you want. Great post though, Emily. We should be encouraging readers not turning them away and making them feel alienated.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like it isn't cool to read books anymore doesn't it? It's very sad :( Boys should read what makes them happy, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't read at all! Reading in general doesn't have a gender. Thanks Charlotte!
DeleteEhrmagad I get annoyed when things get gender-fied! I hardly ever come across male book bloggers for any genre - because for some bizarre reason it's not 'manly.' If a dude wants to read chick lit with a freaking fluffy cover - THEN HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO. Lord knows, he'll probably enjoy it more than I do.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the comics/graphic novels online world is mainly men (especially non-manga comics, & superheroes.) To such an extent that apparently I'm not allowed to have an opinion on Red Sonja (a character I adore, but I feel gets overly-sexualised time and time again) because I'm a woman and not the 'target audience.'
While there are some rocking female comics bloggers and reviewers (and I tend to trust their opinions the most, not because they're female, but because they know what they're talking about) there's still v much a boys-club vibe to a lot of that portion of the Internet.
But I include tons of comics-y stuff on my blog, because I really don't get why it should partitioned off from other reading. Plus, no-one can shut me up ;)
I think the main thing is to make reading - reading *whatever* you enjoy - more socially normal. I had about 3 or 4 boys in my A-level English class, and they pretty much all dropped out. The teachers were surprised we had any boys at all. My brother doesn't read at all - which I find really weird. I think it's important to encourage dudes to find their own books, and to read what they enjoy - but also to try something new every now and then.
Wow, this was an epically long comment - sorry!
(P.S. You seem to be slowly joining my crusade to force reading on THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD!!!! MWAHAHAHA!!! Lol.)
XD <3
The good thing is in my school, English is mandatory all four years so boys have no choice but to participate, but they definitely aren't all that happy about it. I have a great respect for people who go against any gender roles and just do what they love. I am totally on board with spreading reading to the world!
ReplyDeleteIt's mandatory here up until year 11 - which is about 16 yrs old. After that, we only take about 3 or 4 subjects, so nothing is mandatory.
DeleteIn my school, for some reason, we were split into boys and girls classes for English at GCSE (14-16.) To this day I have no idea why they bothered.
And good - welcome to my mission! XD
Hmmm yeah that would confuse me! Our grade 12 is equivalent to your year 12, and even then everyone must have at least 6 classes, one of which HAS to be English.
DeleteIt wasn't that confusing - and meant we had a lot of free lessons. Which, like the rebel I am, I usually stupidly spent working and stressing.
DeleteI took English anyway (and got an A, thank you very much. Lol.)(And technically it was 'English Language and Literature' - it's possible to take lit and lang separate here in some schools.) But I was seriously worried by how many people in my class couldn't handle basic spelling etc - yet somehow managed to get good grades :/ Then again, there were people in my History class who didn't understand that 'of Spain' meant it was a Spanish king. (Sigh.)
I wish I could have that many free lessons, that would be a dream lol! Yeah the amount of people in my class who have bad grammar is worrying!
DeleteI definitely feel like the book blogger community/booktube is dominated by females and female characters. Interestingly enough though, I feel like in real life though, the audience is more diverse. At my high school and even at my college and know a lot of guys that read YA. Hell my little jock of a brother reads YA. I think the difference between us and most males is that we aren't afraid to broadcast our love for YA, while for the guys it might seem too "feminine" even though reading shouldn't be genderized (I think I just made up a word). This might sound bad, but I tend not to read books with male POVs. I just can't relate to them that much.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you know many males that read YA! At least in my experiences, I have never seen any males read it. I think I definitely read more female pov's, but a male pov won't necessarily turn me off a book, if anything, it gets me more interested.
DeleteSuch a good post Emily! Why do we have feel like things must only appeal to certain genders? WHY?
ReplyDeleteIt's very strange because for most of history, literature (like everything else) has been dominated by old white males. Even now, YA authors and adult authors that are male are some of the most fantastic ones out there. Their books receive tons of awards and acknowledgment. So the content is obviously being made...
So why don't boys read? Good question. It's something a lot of educators have been struggling with, hence the marketing of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Winger, etc.
I think there are a few issues. One: people, in general, don't read that much anymore. I feel like literature is becoming more and more of a business and less an art, and that breaks my heart. Two:The YA content is not always great for boys (I think). There are a lot more female authors and female protagonists, and I think that in general boys' interests and how they perceive the world during teenage years isn't really accounted for. Winger, The Outsiders, The Catcher in the Rye all do a great job of portraying teen guys. Three: In general, boys don't understand that reading is NECESSARY. A lot of guys I know want to be "successful" and "smart", but don't read. Reading is a basic form of absorbing knowledge. To me, I think it has done more to boost my education than anything else.
There's a lot to be said about this topic. I love that women are dominating the YA scene, but I also think it narrows the perspective and the experience I get from reading.
It does really narrow the experience, so we become kind of torn between wanting that female representation, but also wanting males to read! I do think in general reading isn't that popular, which doesn't help the situation either. I LOVED the Outsiders because it gave me that different perspective and I think it's really important for teenage boys to read that book to be shown that a female author can write about things related to them.
DeleteThis discussion is SO amazing! It definitely got me thinking a lot.
ReplyDeleteI also despise how some books are promoted as "girls' novels", especially contemporary. Why boys can't read books about romance? Or a coming of age story with a lot of heart on it? These are both topics EVERYONE can relate to, boys AND girls. There are so many contemporary novels I feel like guys would enjoy as well; however, they're unlikely to pick up because of the marketing behind it.
I have to admit, though, the fact female protagonists dominate YA makes understoodable how boys rarely pick these novels. For example, I know a lot of guys that have read THE MAZE RUNNER or PERCY JACKSON, because the protagonist is a boy! But I don't know a lot of boys that picked up DIVERGENT or THE HUNGER GAMES. However, I think it's also time to open up guys' mind. Girls read about male perspectives THE WHOLE TIME, so why they can't do the same?
Anyways, that was a really amazing discussion. I hope I expressed my thoughts well!
Thank you Lais, I loved your opinions! I do think that if many males just gave books a try and didn't focus on the marketing, they would find that they would love a lot of books! It's nothing to be ashamed about.
DeleteI agree- as a guy blogger who reads a fair amount of YA I really wish more guys would read some of the stuff out there. There's a lot of good YA, whether it's male or female protag- I've read plenty of both that are good- and a lot of times at the bookstore the fantasy/sci fi section will be full of guys but they don't go near the YA section lol. Which is a shame because I've read some good sci fi stuff in YA. And it would be nice to see some more male Ya authors, although I think there are some good ones.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we as a society seem to downplay reading for guys, and why it isn't "cool", but that's so idiotic!
Great post!
Thanks for your views on the subject, Greg! I think that it's awesome that you can read what you want to read and not care about society's norms, it just baffles me that it's not like that for everyone. There definitely needs to be more of a male representation.
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