"...is it somehow not okay for boys to be reading books by female authors or with women as the lead characters? And what role does a woman recommending a book have on the psyche of a potential male reader?"
First: it should be okay (I have read many female authors' books and have feminine characters as my major story protagonists). Second: such recommendations would have more value to me if they made recommendations beyond mainstream literature and romance books, which they seem to be fixated upon. The latter in particular has an audience base that actively excludes men as readers and writers as much as possible.
Your point about making recommendations beyond mainstream is well made. In doing research for this piece, I also learned about the process of how some of these books are selected. The overwhelming majority of the titles from Reese and Jenna come from the Big 5 publishers, so you are not wrong at all.
I don’t know the answer to this problem, but as with any problem, i think it needs to be correctly diagnosed. That will require looking into a large list of related data. I tend to assume that large shifts or discrepancies like this are connected to many other things, and once those things are nailed down, it becomes necessary to sort out correlation and causation.
Off the top of my head, some questions:
1. are boys/men spending more time with activities that either leave less time for reading, or that erode the cognitive skills that make reading productive and enticing? (Video games, for one.)
2. If they are curious about the world, are boys/men inclined to seek information from sources other than reading?
3. Does our education approach make reading appealing to girls in a way that it doesn’t to boys? I would suggest research on the phenomenon when I was younger (it may still exist, i don’t know) of girls being less interested in math, or more stressed about it, etc. Perhaps expert insight into that issue might help shine light on this one.
4. I think our culture and our media generally push people away from reading. It’s probably wise to start with that, and how effective that anti-reading message is, and then proceed to why the message affects men and women differently. One guess i would have is that TV and film content that appeals disproportionately to one gender may also differ from the other side in degree of disconnect with a prose sibling. Bluntly put— competitive sports is about watching, and superhero films provide a visceral experience that can’t be replicated in a book. The experience of watching a romance show or movie is not as dramatically different from the experience of reading the same story. In fact, it’s quite possible for the book version to be MORE involving, more appealing.
It's a tough one, Karl, which is why I have far more questions than conclusions. I'll definitely be doing much more research on this because I believe reading is that important. Thanks for the suggestions :)
I’m glad you’re on the case, because somebody has to be! I’ll try to keep up with any posts you do on this topic.
Anecdotal data that I have— My son hated reading, school didn’t help, until— all of a sudden— it did. After assigning many dull junky books in middle school, in high school they assigned him a Toni Morrison book (the bluest eye, I think) and he really dug it. He would come home and want to talk about it. Now he’s 20 and he reads for pleasure.
I don’t know what to conclude from that. But I remember he was just really interested in it, even when he found some parts difficult, he never thought it was boring. It triggered his curiosity, rather than just pandering to him. I think that school lit teaching is often either stuff they think kids will think is “fun,” or stuff they think will teach kids a life lesson that has nothing to do with the power of prose.
I’m tempted to say the lesson is don’t assign superficial books that teach a kind of hamfisted lesson, instead give kids a well-written serious book. But that’s me using confirmation bias, and plus— I haven’t even read the book so my perspective is limited. Also— I’m sure there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But I’ve read some Morrison essays and I assume that even in her most accessible stuff she is still going the challenge the reader to pay attention and not just drift through the book.
That is such a great story, and definitely speaks to what I'm writing about here. The Bluest Eye is a tough read and has a female character as the lead, so from the outside looking in, it would seem counter to what a boy would like to read. But that was not the case at all, and Toni Morrison also happens to be my favourite author in the world (I've read all her books) who I've been reading since high school so what does that tell us? I'll definitely keep digging into this, Karl. Thanks for sharing that story.
It has probably to do with stereotypes and we know how hard that is to overcome. For instance ( this is a one point sample space only but feel it is intuitively true for most guys)
I asked my nephew would he join a book club to discuss any books he liked or books proposed by the club to read and discuss at the next meeting.
His answer was no. I asked why ?
He said it is "girly" social thing to do, he would rather shoot three pointers or play video. LOL So there you have it !
I said is it because they are female leads in the story? Again he said not really, in fact he loved watching Ahsoka and Sabine, Dune prophecy and other female hero roles.
I told him it would enrich his life and expand his outlook if joined a book club.
His final words were: he could not see himself sitting in a room full of women; being the odd man out, eating Devonshire scones and drinking tea. LOL
So the actual culture of book clubs was the issue for your nephew, not the books themselves? Or I should say the perceived culture? I know it's just one example but I feel like that is an important insight.
I think you are right about stereotypes. The point you raise also makes me think how generally, it is tougher (and less appealing) for young boys to sit still in yet another classroom-like setting and discuss a book. I remember reading psychologist Stephen Biddulph’s book “raising boys” that talked much about this issue. Boys need to move. Girls need to move too of course, but they are better at sitting down than boys. Which is also (amongst other things) they tend to do better at school. Our education system, biddulph argues is built for girls. Of course things are more subtle and there are many other points to consider, but this is just another one.
Thanks for highlighting this conversation. When my son was in middle school two years ago, he signed up for a book club for his age at our local indie bookstore. Month after month, he was the only boy there. This is an important issue that impacts even young males and the relationship to reading that is formed early on.
Such an important issue. And it's so impressive your son went back month after month. Trying to figure out how we can make it normal for boys to feel welcome in those spaces is so key to their engagement in books.
I remember this being an issue as I was doing my doctorate research on reading groups throughout the years. Women and minority groups formed their own book clubs mainly because of exclusion from mainstream publishing houses. This is why the Harlem Renaissance was formed and existed, and it was why groups formed that were more inclusive for gay writers. I wonder if the same is true today. In other words, I wonder if there is an overlap of those same issues and not so much a "boys don't read" issue?
Hey Nancy!! Great insight, as usual. You're right that book clubs have been exclusionary in some ways, and queer and black folks have been part of those excluded groups. It's almost like there are "mainstream" clubs and every other club is on the margins, and maybe boys have become one of those groups sitting on that margin. More research coming on this soon. Too much to analyze in one week.
I think you've put your finger on a crucial problem. There is a long history to this, as you point out. I'm not sure of the solution. My personal experience tells me that men are better able to conglomerate around a work of literature in an online community, not in an in-person group. Is this BECAUSE the in-person meets are mainly matriarchal? I'm not sure. It's a fascinating question. That is my response to it though: mainstream publishers are publishing very politically correct fiction and awards are also going to those works. An online community is able to embrace a niche- like the fiction of J.G. Ballard for instance.
PLENTY of men reading out there but it feels like they have to find each other. NY Times "Top Tens" just aren't hitting that demographic. It's a broad enough demographic they're going for that no one will be offended, but it's also very feminine.
I also observe men reading more older books online and women reading newer ones.
Just my observations and thoughts. Thank you very much for writing this.
Yes, I've noticed men reading more older books, also. I follow a few male booktubers and so many of the books they prefer are from the early to mid twentieth century. I don't want to ignore the fact that most of the authors during that time were male and the fact that has changed is a positive, but it is also why I am asking these questions. The stats show the male readership itself isn't exactly declining, but it is declining when it comes to the popular literature of the day, which does play a crucial role in defining literary culture. So yes, men now need to do a bit more work to identify the books that speak to them, but because young boys don't have that agency, that's where things get a bit complicated. That said, it still doesnt answer the question of why boys/men feel differently about reading female led characters. So much to talk about with this topic. I've really only scratched the surface with this piece.
Correct, on all fronts. This is an IMMENSE topic - and it matters for publishing.
The question about boys and girls is very challenging. I have never taught younger than teenaged kids, where reading is best self-directed.
On the other hand, I have a completely unqualified theory that boys prefer to read about men as well because they - even grown men - engage in more "hero worship." Male concentration on fictional works is more limited. More men read more nonfiction. It's about hero worship (I find this less common with young women) - and it's one less barrier of disbelief. Even I find myself reading and writing more nonfiction as I age. (Still mostly fiction though).
Look, part of escapism is escaping from narratives like "white men should not have their own spaces because they shouldn't have any escape from our guilt-tripping empathy lessons." That is not going to come from an industry with the personality of a middle school vice principal, and certainly not one that's so self-reinforcing about it. That's why I don't read anymore even though I used to love it.
Frankly, your decision to push the idea that boys should read "diverse books" seems malicious.
Thanks for your comment, Scatterbrawn. I made it pretty clear that being seen in books is extremely important. And I never once "pushed" the idea that boys should read diverse books. I posed a question: "Should we be trying harder to find male-driven books to appeal to young boys or should we be finding creative ways to help open up their aperture for diverse stories?" And I made that statement right after saying that it's important for boys to be seen AND showing that the publishing industry being 80% female could potentially be playing a role in boys not reading as much and as broadly as girls. Maybe you can point me to where I was pushing some kind of agenda? Then we can discuss it further.
Okay. If I'm being entirely honest, I was gonna delete this comment, especially the last two lines, several hours ago. Problem is, I'm still sort of unfamiliar with some parts of the app, and couldn't find the essay again.
I'm sorry, man.
In all seriousness, I did think that your assessment of women having zero problem reading about male MCs was somewhat exaggerated, especially given that single readers read many books. I also misread the intent of the 'is it somehow not okay for boys to read about girl MCs' line (paraphrasing obv). I've heard similar rhetoric before, usually said because the speaker gets the impression that too many MCs are male and more "room" needs to be made.
One of the major publishing houses posted some stats that verify this only a few weeks ago. Women split their reading about 50:50 (male to female authors). With men it's more like 70:30. I'm being a bit lazy here. I could look up the exact figures for you - but time for me to close Substack and go exercise. You get the idea. I don't have any answers - but I do think the answer to the question might lie in ASKING men and women, boys and girls, what they ENJOY reading and what they get out of it. If there are gendered differences in the answers, then we know there need to be gendered differences in the books. Though of course, that's assuming we're not going to say the gendered differences are due to socialisation - because then instead of a solution we now have a new problem - how to use socialisation to influence people's tastes in books. I think it's good to take a first principles approach to this. Match people with the kind of books they want to read. Glorify great literature. Would having men's reading groups help?
"Glorify great literature." Yes! In response to your last question, in my observations, men reading groups take on a bit of a different form. I follow a male led literary podcast and they have a solid following of male readers who engage with the books the hosts speak about. They don't necessarily recommend books, but the conversations are happening around literature. So maybe men are not gathering in the same way women do, yet they still share community.
Your blog about this is very timely. Just saw an opinion piece in the New York Times that notes the same trend: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone
I’ve written about the gender gap as it specifically applies to the fantasy genre and can tell you from the inside of the genre publishing business that women, either authors or publishers, didn’t push men out. Young men left entirely of their own accord even while books were being written and marketed specifically for them. The publishing business didn’t lose a generation of men because of any version of sexism, but because of video games. Publishing reacted to shrinking male readership by shifting marketing efforts to women. Publishing has never been any good at predicting let alone creating trends. It’s essentially entirely REactive and essentially never PROactive.
Thanks so much for this perspective, Philip. Hearing it from the inside is really insightful. Do you think publishing should've been more patient and creative with its approach to marketing books to boys/men?
My thoughts when reading this post was going rather in the direction how female authors (like myself) may choose unconsciously a male as main character when the story is not a romance. Somehow my brain is wired to associate different types of stories with man rather than women or viceversa, associate female characters with stories, which too often involve romance.
As a published writer (12 books, short stories in several collections), and writing mentor and workshop leader to adults and young people, I've seen this from a few sides. First, most editors, marketing managers, etc are female. The majority of readers are also female. This is fantastic when women are frequently not in the majority in any field of work.
However, male publishers, editors and male authors almost always receive more pay than women.
Men are published different and marketed differently. They are asked about the book, not about their lives. It's assumed they're writing something serious and not borrowing their own lives to turn into fiction (see Jo Jo Moyes article about this).
My publishers have told me that my books will not be read by men, since they're written by a woman, even though half of my books feature male protagonists.
On a Radio 2 show presented by Simon Mayo, I was told by him and the other male presenter on live radio that they didn't want to be seen reading my book on the tube (Metro) because it was written by a woman and had a picture of a woman on the front cover. (They loved the book though!)
I've started two book clubs myself and have tried to encourage men to come. I realise this is absolutely not true of most men, but the majority of the men in my book clubs talked over the women and chose books that were sexist and depicted violence against women. In the end, the other women asked these men to leave.
I don't have any answers, other than to do my best to speak to young people and praise their talent and abilities no matter their gender.
This breaks my heart. The men who don't want to be seen reading your book is particularly sad because it lends more credence to the assumption that this is a cultural thing, this meaning men not reading women authors or joining book clubs. This is why I think it's not enough to just give young boys books with male leads. We need to widen their scope so we can change the culture of what is permissable. It can not be okay for publishers to just concede that men will not read your book. That can not be the default. (I'm not even gonna give attention to those sexist men in your book group. They're not worth it).
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words. I agree it’s so sad. I was devastated- by the men on the radio show and by my female publishers’ refusal to try and change the status quo. I agree we need to change the culture. I’m cautiously optimistic. 🌸
You raise interesting questions. I have recently listened to a 3 hour interview with social scientist Richard Reeves (writer of “Of Boys and Men”) who opened my eyes to the many struggles of men, especially young men, I had never considered. It was a very compassionate interview and I shared it with practically every feminist friend I have, especially those with boys. So far, I’m sad to report, none of them have listened to it. It’s much easier to blame “toxic, white masculinity” for the problems in the world than to explore this subject with more nuance and compassion. By the way, Reeves had a hell of a time trying to publish his book, because there is no less popular topic than speaking up about men’s struggles. This is a much larger topic, but I think it relates to the subject of books too.
I remember this being an issue as I was doing my doctorate research on reading groups throughout the years. Women and minority groups formed their own book clubs mainly because of exclusion from mainstream publishing houses. This is why the Harlem Renaissance was formed and existed, and it was why groups formed that were more inclusive for gay writers. I wonder if the same is true today. In other words, I wonder if there is an overlap of those same issues and not so much a "boys don't read" issue?
And, on that note, I encourage you to check out Yahdon Israel's book club based in Brooklyn, NY -- https://www.literaryswagbookclub.com/. As background for Yahdon, he is a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster. I sat in on a free webinar hosted by VONA (https://www.vonavoices.org/) where he mentioned the issue for writers of color and offered encouragement. First, the highest percentage of readers in North America (probably more in the US than Canada) are Black females aged 30-40. They often shop for books in Target and Walmart over the online indie bookstores and possibly even Amazon, although I'm not sure.
This is important because, as you mentioned, most mainstream influential book clubs (other than Oprah's) are operated by women. So many years later, women are excluded in so many different ways that they have to find their way to have their voices heard.
Is it more of a cultural issue rather than a reading and publishing issue? Just pondering.
I'm starting to notice through these comments that maybe it is more of a perceived cultural issue rather than a reading/book issue. Still so much to uncover with this topic. And I know about Yahdon!
As a children's writer, I'll add one thought to this mix--we do a great job of boy-targeted books up until about age 8 or 9. Think Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Last Kids on Earth, etc. Girls certainly like these books too, but my point is that it's totally normal and cool for 8 and 9 year old boys to be seen reading this books.
Then once they get about 12, 14, 16, the off-switch is stark and dramatic. Suddenly there's nothing. Or at least, it's MUCH harder to find. There are no funny adventure books for kids this age. There is quite a bit of contemporary, and for the YA readers, quite a bit of romance. Lots of books specifically targeted for the girls. But the boys are a bit abandoned.
Again, I'll just point out that I'm a huge proponent that girls and boys can all read the same books, whether its a male or female protagonist. Boys should read "girl books" and vice versa. But I still see a significant problem that the spots these Wimpy Kid and Dog Man books fill for young boys is left completely empty when they get a bit older. And that, in turn, takes them off the track to being reading adults.
Really good point. I've heard from my publisher that the middle grade books targeted towards boys are missing. Again, my piece is to suggest that boys can and should read a diversity of books (and I know we agree on this point), but to your message, maybe that absence of books is having a larger impact than we are admitting.
Exactly. Even boys and grown men who aren't consciously trying to avoid "girl books" or anything like that might just have fallen out of the habit because they've started feeling like there are no books for them.
Thanks for clearing that up and for understanding that your last line was not the rhetoric I was going for. I actually think we need more male MCs over a broader range of character and personality types, not less. My pieces are meant to be challenging though so I'm happy we can talk this out without internet hate LOL. As for editing comments, I believe you can but only for a certain time period once it's posted and not at all when someone responds. I could be wrong though so don't quote me on that. Next time, click the 3 dots at the top right and see what happens.
"...is it somehow not okay for boys to be reading books by female authors or with women as the lead characters? And what role does a woman recommending a book have on the psyche of a potential male reader?"
First: it should be okay (I have read many female authors' books and have feminine characters as my major story protagonists). Second: such recommendations would have more value to me if they made recommendations beyond mainstream literature and romance books, which they seem to be fixated upon. The latter in particular has an audience base that actively excludes men as readers and writers as much as possible.
Your point about making recommendations beyond mainstream is well made. In doing research for this piece, I also learned about the process of how some of these books are selected. The overwhelming majority of the titles from Reese and Jenna come from the Big 5 publishers, so you are not wrong at all.
I don’t know the answer to this problem, but as with any problem, i think it needs to be correctly diagnosed. That will require looking into a large list of related data. I tend to assume that large shifts or discrepancies like this are connected to many other things, and once those things are nailed down, it becomes necessary to sort out correlation and causation.
Off the top of my head, some questions:
1. are boys/men spending more time with activities that either leave less time for reading, or that erode the cognitive skills that make reading productive and enticing? (Video games, for one.)
2. If they are curious about the world, are boys/men inclined to seek information from sources other than reading?
3. Does our education approach make reading appealing to girls in a way that it doesn’t to boys? I would suggest research on the phenomenon when I was younger (it may still exist, i don’t know) of girls being less interested in math, or more stressed about it, etc. Perhaps expert insight into that issue might help shine light on this one.
4. I think our culture and our media generally push people away from reading. It’s probably wise to start with that, and how effective that anti-reading message is, and then proceed to why the message affects men and women differently. One guess i would have is that TV and film content that appeals disproportionately to one gender may also differ from the other side in degree of disconnect with a prose sibling. Bluntly put— competitive sports is about watching, and superhero films provide a visceral experience that can’t be replicated in a book. The experience of watching a romance show or movie is not as dramatically different from the experience of reading the same story. In fact, it’s quite possible for the book version to be MORE involving, more appealing.
It's a tough one, Karl, which is why I have far more questions than conclusions. I'll definitely be doing much more research on this because I believe reading is that important. Thanks for the suggestions :)
I’m glad you’re on the case, because somebody has to be! I’ll try to keep up with any posts you do on this topic.
Anecdotal data that I have— My son hated reading, school didn’t help, until— all of a sudden— it did. After assigning many dull junky books in middle school, in high school they assigned him a Toni Morrison book (the bluest eye, I think) and he really dug it. He would come home and want to talk about it. Now he’s 20 and he reads for pleasure.
I don’t know what to conclude from that. But I remember he was just really interested in it, even when he found some parts difficult, he never thought it was boring. It triggered his curiosity, rather than just pandering to him. I think that school lit teaching is often either stuff they think kids will think is “fun,” or stuff they think will teach kids a life lesson that has nothing to do with the power of prose.
I’m tempted to say the lesson is don’t assign superficial books that teach a kind of hamfisted lesson, instead give kids a well-written serious book. But that’s me using confirmation bias, and plus— I haven’t even read the book so my perspective is limited. Also— I’m sure there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But I’ve read some Morrison essays and I assume that even in her most accessible stuff she is still going the challenge the reader to pay attention and not just drift through the book.
That is such a great story, and definitely speaks to what I'm writing about here. The Bluest Eye is a tough read and has a female character as the lead, so from the outside looking in, it would seem counter to what a boy would like to read. But that was not the case at all, and Toni Morrison also happens to be my favourite author in the world (I've read all her books) who I've been reading since high school so what does that tell us? I'll definitely keep digging into this, Karl. Thanks for sharing that story.
We didn’t have any idea what that particular boy liked to read, until he was handed something that challenged him.
Good points to consider
I'll take a guess with this Kern.
It has probably to do with stereotypes and we know how hard that is to overcome. For instance ( this is a one point sample space only but feel it is intuitively true for most guys)
I asked my nephew would he join a book club to discuss any books he liked or books proposed by the club to read and discuss at the next meeting.
His answer was no. I asked why ?
He said it is "girly" social thing to do, he would rather shoot three pointers or play video. LOL So there you have it !
I said is it because they are female leads in the story? Again he said not really, in fact he loved watching Ahsoka and Sabine, Dune prophecy and other female hero roles.
I told him it would enrich his life and expand his outlook if joined a book club.
His final words were: he could not see himself sitting in a room full of women; being the odd man out, eating Devonshire scones and drinking tea. LOL
So the actual culture of book clubs was the issue for your nephew, not the books themselves? Or I should say the perceived culture? I know it's just one example but I feel like that is an important insight.
I think you are right about stereotypes. The point you raise also makes me think how generally, it is tougher (and less appealing) for young boys to sit still in yet another classroom-like setting and discuss a book. I remember reading psychologist Stephen Biddulph’s book “raising boys” that talked much about this issue. Boys need to move. Girls need to move too of course, but they are better at sitting down than boys. Which is also (amongst other things) they tend to do better at school. Our education system, biddulph argues is built for girls. Of course things are more subtle and there are many other points to consider, but this is just another one.
Thanks for highlighting this conversation. When my son was in middle school two years ago, he signed up for a book club for his age at our local indie bookstore. Month after month, he was the only boy there. This is an important issue that impacts even young males and the relationship to reading that is formed early on.
Such an important issue. And it's so impressive your son went back month after month. Trying to figure out how we can make it normal for boys to feel welcome in those spaces is so key to their engagement in books.
I remember this being an issue as I was doing my doctorate research on reading groups throughout the years. Women and minority groups formed their own book clubs mainly because of exclusion from mainstream publishing houses. This is why the Harlem Renaissance was formed and existed, and it was why groups formed that were more inclusive for gay writers. I wonder if the same is true today. In other words, I wonder if there is an overlap of those same issues and not so much a "boys don't read" issue?
And, on that note, I encourage you to check out Yahdon Israel's book club based in Brooklyn, NY -- https://www.literaryswagbookclub.com/
Hey Nancy!! Great insight, as usual. You're right that book clubs have been exclusionary in some ways, and queer and black folks have been part of those excluded groups. It's almost like there are "mainstream" clubs and every other club is on the margins, and maybe boys have become one of those groups sitting on that margin. More research coming on this soon. Too much to analyze in one week.
I think you've put your finger on a crucial problem. There is a long history to this, as you point out. I'm not sure of the solution. My personal experience tells me that men are better able to conglomerate around a work of literature in an online community, not in an in-person group. Is this BECAUSE the in-person meets are mainly matriarchal? I'm not sure. It's a fascinating question. That is my response to it though: mainstream publishers are publishing very politically correct fiction and awards are also going to those works. An online community is able to embrace a niche- like the fiction of J.G. Ballard for instance.
PLENTY of men reading out there but it feels like they have to find each other. NY Times "Top Tens" just aren't hitting that demographic. It's a broad enough demographic they're going for that no one will be offended, but it's also very feminine.
I also observe men reading more older books online and women reading newer ones.
Just my observations and thoughts. Thank you very much for writing this.
Yes, I've noticed men reading more older books, also. I follow a few male booktubers and so many of the books they prefer are from the early to mid twentieth century. I don't want to ignore the fact that most of the authors during that time were male and the fact that has changed is a positive, but it is also why I am asking these questions. The stats show the male readership itself isn't exactly declining, but it is declining when it comes to the popular literature of the day, which does play a crucial role in defining literary culture. So yes, men now need to do a bit more work to identify the books that speak to them, but because young boys don't have that agency, that's where things get a bit complicated. That said, it still doesnt answer the question of why boys/men feel differently about reading female led characters. So much to talk about with this topic. I've really only scratched the surface with this piece.
Yes, you have :) but you have raised some very interesting questions.
Correct, on all fronts. This is an IMMENSE topic - and it matters for publishing.
The question about boys and girls is very challenging. I have never taught younger than teenaged kids, where reading is best self-directed.
On the other hand, I have a completely unqualified theory that boys prefer to read about men as well because they - even grown men - engage in more "hero worship." Male concentration on fictional works is more limited. More men read more nonfiction. It's about hero worship (I find this less common with young women) - and it's one less barrier of disbelief. Even I find myself reading and writing more nonfiction as I age. (Still mostly fiction though).
Look, part of escapism is escaping from narratives like "white men should not have their own spaces because they shouldn't have any escape from our guilt-tripping empathy lessons." That is not going to come from an industry with the personality of a middle school vice principal, and certainly not one that's so self-reinforcing about it. That's why I don't read anymore even though I used to love it.
Frankly, your decision to push the idea that boys should read "diverse books" seems malicious.
Thanks for your comment, Scatterbrawn. I made it pretty clear that being seen in books is extremely important. And I never once "pushed" the idea that boys should read diverse books. I posed a question: "Should we be trying harder to find male-driven books to appeal to young boys or should we be finding creative ways to help open up their aperture for diverse stories?" And I made that statement right after saying that it's important for boys to be seen AND showing that the publishing industry being 80% female could potentially be playing a role in boys not reading as much and as broadly as girls. Maybe you can point me to where I was pushing some kind of agenda? Then we can discuss it further.
Okay. If I'm being entirely honest, I was gonna delete this comment, especially the last two lines, several hours ago. Problem is, I'm still sort of unfamiliar with some parts of the app, and couldn't find the essay again.
I'm sorry, man.
In all seriousness, I did think that your assessment of women having zero problem reading about male MCs was somewhat exaggerated, especially given that single readers read many books. I also misread the intent of the 'is it somehow not okay for boys to read about girl MCs' line (paraphrasing obv). I've heard similar rhetoric before, usually said because the speaker gets the impression that too many MCs are male and more "room" needs to be made.
One of the major publishing houses posted some stats that verify this only a few weeks ago. Women split their reading about 50:50 (male to female authors). With men it's more like 70:30. I'm being a bit lazy here. I could look up the exact figures for you - but time for me to close Substack and go exercise. You get the idea. I don't have any answers - but I do think the answer to the question might lie in ASKING men and women, boys and girls, what they ENJOY reading and what they get out of it. If there are gendered differences in the answers, then we know there need to be gendered differences in the books. Though of course, that's assuming we're not going to say the gendered differences are due to socialisation - because then instead of a solution we now have a new problem - how to use socialisation to influence people's tastes in books. I think it's good to take a first principles approach to this. Match people with the kind of books they want to read. Glorify great literature. Would having men's reading groups help?
"Glorify great literature." Yes! In response to your last question, in my observations, men reading groups take on a bit of a different form. I follow a male led literary podcast and they have a solid following of male readers who engage with the books the hosts speak about. They don't necessarily recommend books, but the conversations are happening around literature. So maybe men are not gathering in the same way women do, yet they still share community.
Speaking of, can I edit comments? "In all seriousness" was a HUGE mistake in wording.
Your blog about this is very timely. Just saw an opinion piece in the New York Times that notes the same trend: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone
Nice. I'll check it out.
I’ve written about the gender gap as it specifically applies to the fantasy genre and can tell you from the inside of the genre publishing business that women, either authors or publishers, didn’t push men out. Young men left entirely of their own accord even while books were being written and marketed specifically for them. The publishing business didn’t lose a generation of men because of any version of sexism, but because of video games. Publishing reacted to shrinking male readership by shifting marketing efforts to women. Publishing has never been any good at predicting let alone creating trends. It’s essentially entirely REactive and essentially never PROactive.
https://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/2024/05/14/romantasy-science-fiction-and-the-publishing-gender-gap/
Thanks so much for this perspective, Philip. Hearing it from the inside is really insightful. Do you think publishing should've been more patient and creative with its approach to marketing books to boys/men?
My thoughts when reading this post was going rather in the direction how female authors (like myself) may choose unconsciously a male as main character when the story is not a romance. Somehow my brain is wired to associate different types of stories with man rather than women or viceversa, associate female characters with stories, which too often involve romance.
Interesting how that happens almost subconsciously
As a published writer (12 books, short stories in several collections), and writing mentor and workshop leader to adults and young people, I've seen this from a few sides. First, most editors, marketing managers, etc are female. The majority of readers are also female. This is fantastic when women are frequently not in the majority in any field of work.
However, male publishers, editors and male authors almost always receive more pay than women.
Men are published different and marketed differently. They are asked about the book, not about their lives. It's assumed they're writing something serious and not borrowing their own lives to turn into fiction (see Jo Jo Moyes article about this).
My publishers have told me that my books will not be read by men, since they're written by a woman, even though half of my books feature male protagonists.
On a Radio 2 show presented by Simon Mayo, I was told by him and the other male presenter on live radio that they didn't want to be seen reading my book on the tube (Metro) because it was written by a woman and had a picture of a woman on the front cover. (They loved the book though!)
I've started two book clubs myself and have tried to encourage men to come. I realise this is absolutely not true of most men, but the majority of the men in my book clubs talked over the women and chose books that were sexist and depicted violence against women. In the end, the other women asked these men to leave.
I don't have any answers, other than to do my best to speak to young people and praise their talent and abilities no matter their gender.
This breaks my heart. The men who don't want to be seen reading your book is particularly sad because it lends more credence to the assumption that this is a cultural thing, this meaning men not reading women authors or joining book clubs. This is why I think it's not enough to just give young boys books with male leads. We need to widen their scope so we can change the culture of what is permissable. It can not be okay for publishers to just concede that men will not read your book. That can not be the default. (I'm not even gonna give attention to those sexist men in your book group. They're not worth it).
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words. I agree it’s so sad. I was devastated- by the men on the radio show and by my female publishers’ refusal to try and change the status quo. I agree we need to change the culture. I’m cautiously optimistic. 🌸
You raise interesting questions. I have recently listened to a 3 hour interview with social scientist Richard Reeves (writer of “Of Boys and Men”) who opened my eyes to the many struggles of men, especially young men, I had never considered. It was a very compassionate interview and I shared it with practically every feminist friend I have, especially those with boys. So far, I’m sad to report, none of them have listened to it. It’s much easier to blame “toxic, white masculinity” for the problems in the world than to explore this subject with more nuance and compassion. By the way, Reeves had a hell of a time trying to publish his book, because there is no less popular topic than speaking up about men’s struggles. This is a much larger topic, but I think it relates to the subject of books too.
It is definitely a much larger topic. I've only focused on a narrow piece of what is something that pervades so many parts of society and culture.
I remember this being an issue as I was doing my doctorate research on reading groups throughout the years. Women and minority groups formed their own book clubs mainly because of exclusion from mainstream publishing houses. This is why the Harlem Renaissance was formed and existed, and it was why groups formed that were more inclusive for gay writers. I wonder if the same is true today. In other words, I wonder if there is an overlap of those same issues and not so much a "boys don't read" issue?
And, on that note, I encourage you to check out Yahdon Israel's book club based in Brooklyn, NY -- https://www.literaryswagbookclub.com/. As background for Yahdon, he is a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster. I sat in on a free webinar hosted by VONA (https://www.vonavoices.org/) where he mentioned the issue for writers of color and offered encouragement. First, the highest percentage of readers in North America (probably more in the US than Canada) are Black females aged 30-40. They often shop for books in Target and Walmart over the online indie bookstores and possibly even Amazon, although I'm not sure.
This is important because, as you mentioned, most mainstream influential book clubs (other than Oprah's) are operated by women. So many years later, women are excluded in so many different ways that they have to find their way to have their voices heard.
Is it more of a cultural issue rather than a reading and publishing issue? Just pondering.
I'm starting to notice through these comments that maybe it is more of a perceived cultural issue rather than a reading/book issue. Still so much to uncover with this topic. And I know about Yahdon!
As a children's writer, I'll add one thought to this mix--we do a great job of boy-targeted books up until about age 8 or 9. Think Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Last Kids on Earth, etc. Girls certainly like these books too, but my point is that it's totally normal and cool for 8 and 9 year old boys to be seen reading this books.
Then once they get about 12, 14, 16, the off-switch is stark and dramatic. Suddenly there's nothing. Or at least, it's MUCH harder to find. There are no funny adventure books for kids this age. There is quite a bit of contemporary, and for the YA readers, quite a bit of romance. Lots of books specifically targeted for the girls. But the boys are a bit abandoned.
Again, I'll just point out that I'm a huge proponent that girls and boys can all read the same books, whether its a male or female protagonist. Boys should read "girl books" and vice versa. But I still see a significant problem that the spots these Wimpy Kid and Dog Man books fill for young boys is left completely empty when they get a bit older. And that, in turn, takes them off the track to being reading adults.
Really good point. I've heard from my publisher that the middle grade books targeted towards boys are missing. Again, my piece is to suggest that boys can and should read a diversity of books (and I know we agree on this point), but to your message, maybe that absence of books is having a larger impact than we are admitting.
Exactly. Even boys and grown men who aren't consciously trying to avoid "girl books" or anything like that might just have fallen out of the habit because they've started feeling like there are no books for them.
Thanks for clearing that up and for understanding that your last line was not the rhetoric I was going for. I actually think we need more male MCs over a broader range of character and personality types, not less. My pieces are meant to be challenging though so I'm happy we can talk this out without internet hate LOL. As for editing comments, I believe you can but only for a certain time period once it's posted and not at all when someone responds. I could be wrong though so don't quote me on that. Next time, click the 3 dots at the top right and see what happens.