If Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp were to suddenly appear in front of me and demand a list of my favorite things, "feminism" and "YA lit" would be right at the top. And when those two worlds collide--whoa, man. I love me some feminist YA protagonists, I love authors who identify as feminist, I love novels that explore the topic.
And I love, love, love that this is something people are talking about.
Sexism and misogyny abound in all facets of life, and the two are particularly evident in publishing. Take, for instance, Nice and Pretty and Brave and Smart, two children's books. Guess which one is marketed to young girls.
Or how about that time Nicholas Sparks insisted that his books are fiction, not romance, and that "love stories" are somehow entirely separate from romance novels. Right, okay. I'm sure your disdain has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it's women who are usually relegated into the romance genre.
Then there's the whole "domination" of women in YA lit which, as it turns out, doesn't end sexism. Especially when you consider that one of the most prolific, recognized, and critically-acclaimed young adult authors is a man.
This is why, when I see articles and blog posts and tweets bringing attention to feminism in YA, my heart gets all a-flutter--I'm just so happy about it.
Recently, Jezebel--a self-described feminist blog--had an article by Rachel Shukert called "How to Write a Feminist Young Adult Novel." I'm not the biggest fan of Jezebel, but I had to read that post.
Except once I did, I immediately wished I hadn't. (Though you may want to, just so some of my points end up making more sense.)
Disregarding the fact that the article is more a plug for Shukert's latest book than the actual how-to the title promised, I found myself very uncomfortable by the bits of the article that did stay on-topic. The same night this came out, a few YA authors, Maureen Johnson in particular, tweeted their disappointment in the article, too.
But their reasons for being annoyed--mainly that Shukert isn't very experienced as a YA author, and that there are LOTS of feminist YA authors already out there who have more to say on the topic--didn't exactly match up with mine.
I read the article one, two, three times through before it hit me: I was upset with the article because Shukert and the YA authors on Twitter never once mention why feminism in YA is important.
Yes, I'm really thrilled that there are feminist characters in YA lit. Yes, I'm glad the authors are proud of this fact.
I do not, however, need a list of every single feminist trait these characters have.
When I see that, do you know what I'm thinking? It's not, "Wow, this character sounds really inspirational and potentially influential to the girls reading this novel." Often, my thoughts are more along the lines of, "Huh. Cool. Should I give you a pat on the back?"
Because saying, "Look how feminist this character/book is!" is irrelevant without first asking, "Why do we need feminist characters/books?"
Let me give you a snapshot of who I was in high school: Braces. Frizzy hair. An entire wardrobe consisting of Delia's clothes. Jewelry from Claire's. Total and complete lack of awareness of my own internalized misogyny.
I was a slut-shamer. I criticized other girls based on their appearance, as though I was really one to talk. I'm actually almost positive that the sentence, "Feminists are so annoying," was a legitimate thing that came out of my mouth.
But I was also hopelessly insecure. I had a massive self-loathing for my own body. I had zero command of my sexuality.
My main forms of escape were reading and writing--you guessed it--young adult lit.
Do you know how many books I read in high school that had a masturbation scene featuring a boy? At least five. It's Kind of a Funny Story sticks out the most clearly in my mind, but The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a biggie, too.
Do you know how many books I read in high school that had a masturbation scene featuring a girl? None. Zero. Zip. I'd heard of Judy Blume's Deenie, but never read it, and even now I don't think I can name any recent titles with a girl masturbating. (If you know of any, lemme know!)
The thing is, I never even realized that there was something wrong with this. I was under the (false) impression that sexual exploration was for pubescent boys only, despite sex-ed classes and late-night sleepover conversations telling me otherwise. But it's one thing to hear these things than to be able to apply them to yourself.
A huge aspect of reading is that it allows the reader to find a bit of herself in the character she's reading. It's what makes books and stories such an intimate experience. And, at that point in my life, when I figured I was confined to waiting for a boy to give me pleasure rather than giving it to myself, it would have been massively helpful to read about a character going through that same struggle. It would have been massively helpful to see the experience through someone else and realize that I am so much more than a future plaything for a boy, and that my self-worth and self-love are not dependent on another person.
I know these are struggles that other girls go through, too, but we're taught not to talk about them for any variety of reasons. But maybe if we could read about them, talking might get a little easier.
When I read books that featured huge amounts of slut-shaming--usually aimed at a peripheral character with much more sexual experience than the (typically) virginal protagonist--I didn't bat an eyelash. I thought that was normal. I thought I was allowed to dislike a girl because of how much sex she had.
I was wrong.
It wasn't until I started college that I began reading up on feminism and realizing, wow, this is something that's extremely important to me, and it wasn't until just recently that I became comfortable enough to proclaim, "Hell yeah, I'm a feminist. What's it to ya?"
I just needed the right role models and motivation.
Which is where feminism in YA comes in.
I'm sure it's clear, but in case you missed it, I was a total asshole in high school. But that doesn't mean I was incapable of change.
So, while it's wonderful that we're talking about feminist characters and feminist YA, repeatedly praising books just for this fact without going into the reasons why this is such a great thing doesn't really get us anywhere. Yeah, cool, no on slut-shames in this book--but why is slut-shaming harmful and what are the consequences of it to teenage girls? Great, this character is allowed into an exclusive science club--but why is it that girls are so often pushed away from math and science?
This is about a conversation. Conversation that doesn't deny that teenage readers are capable of changing their views and opinions, conversation that doesn't alienate these readers, conversation about how feminism in YA might be the very spark someone needs.
So. Let's talk.
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