A school librarian introduces me before I give an assembly. âGirls, youâre in for a real treat. You will love Shannon Haleâs books. Boys, I expect you to behave anyway.â
Iâm being interviewed for a newspaper article/blog post/pod cast, etc. They ask, âIâm sure youâve heard about the crisis in boysâ reading. Boys just arenât reading as much as girls are. So why donât you write books for boys?â
Or, âWhy do you write strong female characters?â (and never asked âWhy do you write strong male characters?â)
At book signings, a mother or grandmother says, âI would buy your books for my kids but I only have boys.â
Or, âMy son reads your books tooâand he actually likes them!â
Or, a dad says, âNo, James, letâs get something else for you. Those are girl books.â
A book festival committee member tells me, âI pitched your name for the keynote but the rest of the committee said âwhat about the boys?â so we chose a male author instead.â
A mom has me sign some of my books for each of her daughters. Her 10-year-old son lurks in the back. She has extra books that are unsigned so I ask the boy, âWould you like me to sign one to you?â The mom says, âYeah, Isaac, do you want her to put your name in a girl book?â and the sisters all giggle. Unsurprisingly, Isaac says no.
These sorts of scenarios havenât happened just once. They have been my norm for the past twelve years. Iâve heard these and many more like them countless times in every state Iâve visited.
In our culture, there are widespread assumptions:
1. Boys arenât going to like a book that stars a girl. (And so definitely wonât like a book that stars a girl + is written by a woman + is about a PRINCESS, the most girlie of girls).
2. Menâs stories are universal; womenâs stories are only for girls.
But the truth is that none of that is truth. In my position, not only have I witnessed hundreds examples of adults teaching boys to be ashamed of and avoid girlsâ stories, Iâve also witnessed that boys can and do love stories about girls just as much as about boys, if we let them. For example, Iâve heard this same thing over and over again from teachers who taught Princess Academy: âWhen I told the class we were going to read PRINCESS ACADEMY the girls went âYay!â and the boys went âBoo!â But after weâd read it the boys liked it as much or even more than the girls.â
Most four-year-old boys will read THE PRINCESS IN BLACK without a worry in the world. Most fourth grade boys wonât touch PRINCESS ACADEMYâat least if others are watching. There are exceptions, of course. Iâve noticed that boys who are homeschooled are generally immune. My public-school-attending 11-year-old sonâs favorite author is Lisa McMann. Heâs currently enjoying Kekla Magoonâs female-led SHADOWS OF SHERWOOD as much as he enjoyed the last book he read: Louis Sacharâs boy-heavy HOLES. But generally in the early elementary years, boys learn to be ashamed to show interest in anything to do with girls. Weâve made them ashamed.
I want to be clear; if thereâs a boy who only ever wants to read about other boys, I think thatâs fine. But Iâve learned that most kids are less interested in the gender of the main character and more interested in the kind of bookâaction, humor, fantasy, mystery, etc. In adultsâ well-meant and honest desire to help boys find books theyâll love, we often only offer them books about boys. We donât give them a chance.
Whenever I speak up about this, I am accused of trolling for boy readers when they arenât my âdue.â So let me also be clear: I have a wonderful career. I have amazing readers. I am speaking up not because Iâm disgruntled or demand that more boys read my books but because my particular career has put me in a position to observe the gender bias that so many of us have inherited from the previous generations and often unknowingly lug around. Iâve been witnessing and cataloging widespread gender bias and sexism for over a decade. How could I face my kids if I didnât speak up?
And hereâs what Iâve witnessed: âgreat books for boysâ lists, books chosen for read alouds, and assigned reading in high schools and colleges, etc. are overwhelmingly about boys and written by men. Peers (and often adults) mock and shame boys who do read books about girls. Even informed adults tend to qualify recommendations that boys hear very clearly. âEven though this stars a girl, boys will like it too!â
This leads to generations of boys denied the opportunity of learning a profound empathy for girls that can come from reading novels. Leads to a culture where boys feel perfectly fine mocking and booing things many girls like and adults donât even correct them because âboys will be boys.â Leads to boys and girls believing âgirlieâ is the gravest insult, that girls are less significant, not worth your time. Leads to girls believing they must work/learn/live âlike a manâ in order to be successful. Leads to boys growing into men who believe women are there to support their story, expect them to satisfy menâs desires and have none of their own.
The more I talk about this topic, the more Iâm amazed at how many people havenât really thought about it or considered the widespread effect gendered reading causes. I was overwhelmed by the response to a blog post I wrote earlier this year. To carry on this conversation, Iâm working with Bloomsbury Childrenâs Books to create #StoriesForAll. Each day this week weâll feature new essays on this topic from authors, parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and readers. On twitter, instagram, and tumblr, join us with the #StoriesForAll hashtag to share experiences, photos, book recommendations. Discuss: How deep is the assumption that there are boy books and girl books? Does it matter? What have you witnessed with regards to gendered reading? What damage does gendered reading cause to both girls and boys? What can each of us do to undo the damage and start making a change?
I yearn for that change. For our girls and for our boys.
Shannon Hale is the New York Times bestselling author of over 20 books, including the Ever After High trilogy and the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy. She co-wrote The Princess in Black series and Rapunzelâs Revenge with her husband, author Dean Hale. They have four children.
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