About two and a half years ago, I was at lunch with my group of friends, and, as always, I had a notebook and a book with me. I noticed one of the guys looking at the book I was reading - I think it was Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira or Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross. Anyways, the guy asked the title, and I said it and then started telling him what the book was about. I remember saying he might like it. Before he could even reply, another guy at the table said Guy #1's man card would have to be revoked if he read the book.
Recommended for you
I'm not the type to swear, but I definitely have some choice words for that remark.
But anyways, after Guy #2 said that, Guy #1 backed off and didn't ask again about the book. I'm pretty sure I scoffed at Guy #2's remark, but there wasn't much I could do except stew and think up the perfect way to prove him wrong. Which meant I wrote a blog post (which has turned into an ongoing post series) entitled "Girly" Books for Manly Guys.
This has been an ongoing issue that several middle grade and young adult authors have spoken up about, particularly Shannon Hale. (Links to two of her posts will be at the bottom of this post.) Whenever these authors do school visits, they often find that they're speaking to a group of female students, and the boys are off doing some other activity. It's like the administrators and teachers think that boys can't enjoy books featuring girls.
If girls have to read books by male authors, with male protagonists, why don't we have the same standard for guys? Don't you think that, if guys read about girls, they might understand the opposite sex better? Wouldn't they be able to relate to some of the problems girls face? Shouldn't they see examples of strong women kicking butt and taking names?
I interviewed a male book blogger a few years ago for my post series, and he's read plenty of books and series that most guys would turn their noses up at. This blogger said, in response to my question as to why he was willing to read "girly" books, "I don't think of them as girly books. Just because it has a female main character or some romance doesn't define a gender for it in my opinion. If I'm interested in a book, then I read it; I don't think about whether I'll be judged for it as some guys do. In fact, some of my really close friends became close with me because of our mutual interest in 'girly' books."
It's all about correcting a way of thinking. Guys have to be secure enough to read books with girls on the cover or about female characters. To do that, we have to start at the bottom, before they've learned the incorrect attitude. We have to teach books by women and about women in our schools. There's a reason one of my fellow Asburians doggedly petitioned for a women's literature class (and the first semester we had said class, it filled up within the first few days of registration). Most literature classes are composed of books and poems by white, middle-aged men; my British Lit II class this past semester barely touched on the women writers of the time. Jane Austen wasn't included at all, and neither was Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Of course, this isn't just a collegiate issue. Our corrections need to start in elementary and middle schools; otherwise, boys will grumble and complain about reading so-called girly books when they get to high school.
If you're a fellow book-lover, when your guy-friends or brothers or whoever ask for book recommendations, don't think about if the book has a male protagonist or if there's a romance. If you love the book and it's in a genre he likes, tell him the title and author. No, do better than that and encourage him to read it. If you own a copy and are comfortable lending out your books, do it. I recommend books on the regular to anyone I know who's looking for suggestions, and I don't give the protagonist's gender any thought. My philosophy is, if I think a book is good, than why wouldn't I recommend it?
Shannon Hale's posts: here and here
