There is always a lot of talk in children and young adult literature circles about what boys will read and what girls will read, and whether books and authors appeal to only one gender. There are panels at conferences, blog posts (including my own), academic research, and social media discussions and wars. The arguments lie on all sides - what the dominance of women in children's publishing means for boys; that books about boys, by boys, and for boys take home a disproportionate number of awards; that male authors don't feel the need to understand girls before they write about them. And on and on. We can't stop writing about gender, and we certainly can't agree on what is right when it comes to gender in children and YA literature.
The other day I came across this post in YALSA's The Hub on an article that I think a lot of us can agree on. Sarah Carnahan, a middle school and upper school librarian, wants to get the right books into the right hands, but she wants to do it without reducing it all down to gender. Carnahan gives some really easy advice on how to get at the crux of what a youth wants from a book, without reducing it to being a "girl book" or a "boy book." Her list of questions include:
The other day I came across this post in YALSA's The Hub on an article that I think a lot of us can agree on. Sarah Carnahan, a middle school and upper school librarian, wants to get the right books into the right hands, but she wants to do it without reducing it all down to gender. Carnahan gives some really easy advice on how to get at the crux of what a youth wants from a book, without reducing it to being a "girl book" or a "boy book." Her list of questions include:
What books were your favorites?
- What did you like about a book – dialog, action, character? By asking open ended questions, the teens choose their descriptors and will mention character traits and “he” or “she” and you can see if there is a preference of the gender of the characters.
- What type of book? Focus on genre and time period and less on character labels.
These questions aren't hard, and they are probably even questions that librarians are already asking. Carnahan makes it clear that you can get at exactly what a youth wants from a book without ever bringing gender into it. Maybe a kid does want a stereotypical "boy" book and you will lead them to it, but you can do it without reinforcing gender stereotypes and pigeonholing a kid. For me, one takeaway is that I need to keep reading books from all variety of genres, authors and styles. It is easy to break books down into "girl books" and "boy books "without having read them, but much harder to know about the deeper nuances of a book without having read at least part of it.
And finally, on this same note, I was beyond thrilled when I came across the #StoriesForAll initiative the other day.
And finally, on this same note, I was beyond thrilled when I came across the #StoriesForAll initiative the other day.
Shannon Hale is working with her publisher, Bloomsbury Children's Books, on getting out essays on the topic of gender in youth literature from various authors, librarians, teachers and others who care about this issue. I think that John Scieszka, founder of Guys Read, says it best in the Tumblr post below: