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[a_white_rain]

The Boy ProblemThis pisses me off. BAAAAW IT'S SO HARD TO BE A BOY. AND BOOKS STARING GIRLS GIVE THEM COOTIES. BAAAAAAAAAAW BOYS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH REPRESENTATION IN LIT. EXCEPT EVERYWHERE

Comments

[boosette]

Harry Potter is a unique case in that it starts out middle grade and ends YA; I think that switch happens somewhere around Goblet of Fire (which is anecdotally where I completely lost interest in the series; Order of the Pheonix was the first book I didn't finish due to being bored out of my mind).

Ultimately my issue with YA is that I have a hard time suspending my disbelief over fourteen-year-olds saving the MacGuffin (which is an issue of personal taste, YMMV), so I probably wouldn't read more YA just because it portrayed the boys therein as people rather than accessories, but I think that I would enjoy the YA I do read more if that were the case.

[cypsiman2]

WHAT IS SHE EVEN ON???

[a_white_rain]

ALSO I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE NOT ENOUGH BOYS IS YA. LOL YES. THERE ARE.

[akai_senshi]

Meh, I didn't like YA because a lot of it was dumbed-down, not because of the OMG MALE STEREOTYPING.

But then again, when I was of the age for YA lit, I was reading exclusively nonfiction. So yeah.

[meganbmoore]

There must be something in the water. Second post on this that I've read this week.

[a_white_rain]

It's that fucking enraging.

What was the other post if you don't mind?

[meganbmoore]

http://community.livejournal.com/enchantedinkpot/62614.html

This one is more "so, I noticed that there were no boys in the YA section of the bookstore. Let's discuss if that's a problem, and if having accessible books written for you as a teen affects your likelihood of reading later in life" and less "Male characters are so mistreated! We need less about girls and more making sure boys get appreciated!"

[a_white_rain]

Thanks. Um. I think.

[ellenel13]

The only reason I find books with female leads is because I seek them out. I also make a point to look for books written by women because I found it easier to relate to books written by women. I used to feel guilty.

Finding books with non-white leads is much harder though. Same for books with protagonists from lower classes. A lot of books with the "everyman/everywoman" character start with "X is an utterly normal person living in house in the suburbs with Mom and Dad going to the school with a drama club and a varsity football team" and I'm like . . . what? Those are rich people!

. . . Also, why does Firefox think "everywoman" is not a word.

[a_white_rain]

Yeah. I'm lower class and I could never relate to half of what I read. HOW CAN YOU AFFORD ALL OF THIS SHIT!?!

I'm not saying I find a lot of fiction staring characters of color - I just have a better chance in YA.

Because everywoman needs to be smacked.

[ellenel13]

Okay, I read the blog post and I didn't even want to finish it. This woman is completely missing the point. Also, I hate it when women are referred to as chicks.

I think the reason boys are not reading more (if it is indeed true) is that reading is characterized as a "girly" thing to do. Boys are expected to like video games, sports, space, and robots. Literature has been characterized (I guess) as something girls do and for most young boys, the worst thing is to be considered girly.

I think black and Hispanic boys have to deal with more of this than white boys. I know they have the lowest enrollment rate in the US and that their standardized test scores. I can't speak for black people, but I know that masculinity is extremely important in my culture. Where I grew up, academic achievement was considered to be something women did.

[a_white_rain]

Nothing is worse than being girly!

I also don't feel like I can talk about Latino and black men/boys. It's not my culture and I'll admit it's not a place I've done a lot of reading on. I really should amend that.