Tayari's Blog: Is This For Girls???
Posted by TayariJones on September 27, 2006 08:57 AM
Filed under
Bookshelf
Lakshmi Chaudhry wrestles with this issue:
why do men make up only 20 percent of fiction readers in the United States, Canada, and Britain? Biological differences could play a small role, she says, but the gap is probably best explained as a consequence of cultural factors.
The issue is an interesting one, particularly to those of us who write fiction. Very often my friends ask me if I meet "any interesting guys on (my) book tours." I have to laugh. Guys, as in MEN, at a book event? (There are lovely exceptions, of course.)
For a while I wondered if the absence of men at book events just meant they didn't like so much to come out to signings. Different strokes, or whatever. But when I started indentifying myself as a writer to random men seated next to me on airplanes, on the Greyhound, etc. I frequently was told, "I don't read fiction." Or "I don't like to read books by women." Or even, "Maybe I'll look for it. It's not for girls is it?" Just flat out like that.
I this it is strange how comfortable people are insulting women and thier cultural work. The very same person who would say, "I don't read books by women," won't exactly mean me any harm. He might turn around and ask me out for a cocktail. I have these experiences fairly frequently and they always leave me feeling a little shaken.
(more on this topic later. Thx Joya for bringing this to my attention.)
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There are 3 comments on "Is This For Girls???". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by kpdreams ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
Every time I tell a man that I'm an aspiring writer they say, what do you write romance books? As if a woman couldn't write anything, but fluffy, mushy, overly sentimental books.
No diss to romance books, because I've been known to enjoy a few of them in my day. :-)
Kizzy
September 27, 2006 03:12 PM
Comment #2, by Michael Fischer
This is an interesting topic.
I've worked at several bookstores and have seen this issue played out numerous times in person. This is how one particular incident unfolded:
The wife plopped Jane Austen, Toni Morrison, and Lee Smith on the counter; the husband plopped Tom Clancy, three Para-military novels about Special Forces troops in Vietnam, and one of those silly Sean Hannity books with “freedom” in the title. The husband said he only reads “military fiction” and “nonfiction.” Then, he looked at his wife's books, looked at me, and said "chick lit," as if I were supposed to participate in some kind of manlaw ritual with him.
I was too horrified to respond.
Unfortunately, I think part of the problem is one of chauvinism. Many men believe that “non fiction” is more “serious” and “practical,” while “fiction” is more “flighty” and “whimsical” (of course, fiction that is “militaristic” or “historical” is “okay,” since such fiction is based on “facts”).
Chauvinism aside, I also blame this on a larger problem: the average person not knowing the differences between "genre fiction" and "literary fiction." I've met many well-meaning men who, without realizing it, displayed patronizing attitudes toward "fiction,” as if all “fiction” were Harlequin romances and Nicholas Sparks. This is one reason why I hate bookstore sections labeled “literature” and “fiction.” When the average person thinks of “literature,” he or she thinks of “the classics”—those boring books I read in HS. So they go to the “fiction” section...where they find primarily thrillers, vampire novels, Tom Clancy, romances, etc. They don’t realize that tucked away in the “literature” section, amongst “the classics,” are many great works of contemporary literary fiction.
So why not have sections labeled “contemporary literary fiction” so people can begin understanding that “fiction” itself is too broad of a term? I think if more bookstores created sections labeled “contemporary literary fiction,” more men (and people in general) would realize that some contemporary fiction is indeed “serious.”
September 28, 2006 08:16 AM
Comment #3, by Jackie
Observation: My grad school son says he doesn't read fiction, period. Says he has no time for what's not real. Can you believe that? Ah youth, plus he's an artist. Ironically, his girlfriend is the same way. They read the 9/11 Commission Report, but wouldn't even pretend to be interested in any fiction writers. When I was his age, I didn't read fiction either except for a few black authors (Morrison, Walker, etc). Like them, I thought I didn't have time for make believe. Then one day, say my early 30s, I realized all that I was missing and now can't read enough, period, be it fiction or non-fiction, road signs, instructions.....it is suprising what you can learn by reading instructions. I kicked into overdrive on fiction about ten years ago.
Alas, I am hoping that my son will return to fiction one day, return to that which he was raised on.
September 28, 2006 11:33 AM