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| John Wayne - An All-American Hero |
Here's a thought provoking article from Elizabeth Vail that appeared on the Huffington Post website. It discusses young adult heroes and heroines. After you read it, come by and hear my thoughts. I'll wait. *whistling*
Now, here are my personal thoughts on the matter...
Throughout my life I've always hated trends. To be more specific, if people say that I should like this or that, I would instantly question this or that and sometimes rebel against this or that. This continued when I started writing.
I wanted to write a novel about a teen girl who gets a chance at racing a Formula 1 car. I could have done the same story with a boy because that's safe and familiar, especially in the sports genre. But I wanted my young adult novel to be different and interesting. So why can't it be a girl? They certainly have been woman drivers in the past and present, (Thanks Janet Guthrie!) so why not?
Now, if you look at the history of literature and in most films, the girls don't get to be the heroes. They support and sometimes assist the hero to save the world, but girls don't stop the bomb from going off or fly the X-wing that destroys the Death Star. And my thinking has always been, why not?
I think it's short-sighted to think that boy readers can't empathize or even relate to their female counterparts the same way girls can when reading about a male protagonist. People are not giving the guys much credit. The Hunger Games and Harry Potter examples used in the Huffington Post article are good cases in point. The notion that manhood would be stripped away if guys actually took the time to understand girls is a weak theory that I think young adult writers and readers can prove incorrect. I know from my experiences that writing from a female point of view has changed the way I look at women and understand them.
Okay, not fully understand them, but it does help.
My last point is more global in perspective. In an age where in some countries girls are shot for wanting to have an education, showing boys that women of all ages are capable of great feats is a positive thing that should be encouraged.
This is why I like writing girls as heroes.
Does this mean I don't like writing boy heroes? Of course not. In fact, my next young adult book features a teen boy protagonist. And I'm hoping guys and girls will enjoy the novel because I wrote it for both of them.
What do you think? Are young adult novels stripping boys of their manhood?
Well said all around, Doug! And the answer to your question from this humble reader (and mother of a pretty cool boy who is now a pretty cool man) is NO. I believe that raising a well-rounded, respectful male requires an emphasis on equality. You wrote a YA novel about a girl who fought for what she loved to do, regardless of the obstacles. For me, that's a HUMAN story and one that boys and girls can relate to regardless of gender.
ReplyDeleteI always have to chuckle at the whole hero/heroine gender argument. A good story is just that...a good story!
Great post, Doug! "I think it's short-sighted to think that boy readers can't empathize or even relate to their female counterparts the same way girls can when reading about a male protagonist." Agreed! And if they truly can't there's a much bigger social problem at work that we need to work on...
ReplyDeleteJules - Thank you! You nailed it. We should always aim for a HUMAN story, something both sides can empathize with.
ReplyDeleteC.K. - Thank you, also! True, if boys can't empathize with girls at all, then there IS a bigger problem that needs fixing. And attacking the literature isn't going to do that. It's funny because I've heard recently that more girl readers WANT to read more YA books with a male protagonist.