Having been a part of the YA blogging community for almost three and a half years, I've seen a lot of stuff happen and read a lot of different opinions. One thing that I have seen often repeated is that people want more male protagonists in YA. People celebrate and cheer when they discover a new book told from a male's point of view, and I have to admit, I used to be one of those people. Discovering a new book told from a male's point of view would fill me with joy, because in the YA Bookosphere these books are pretty much an endangered species.
I haven't conducted any research myself, but you can tell just from browsing your own bookshelves that the amount of female protagonists compared to male in YA is staggering. Anyone could tell you that the scales are certainly tipped in favour of women. And I'm here to tell you why I don't care.
Let's look at some real figures, from real experiments that actual people have conducted. People who are a lot more organised than I am. Did you know that women take up 51% of the U.S. population? That's right, there are slightly more women in the U.S.A than men. And yet, women are outnumbered by men in the media by a staggering amount. In movies,
males out number females 3:1.
This number is crazy to me, because it's not even close to equal, nor is it close to being realistic. People who watch movies are being subjected to a skewed ratio, even though half of movie-goers are women. No matter your gender, when you watch a movie, there's a good chance that there will be a male main protagonist, whether he's saving the world from zombies in a high budget action flick, or the awkward nerd in a romantic comedy. There's a reason everyone is saying that Disney's new movie, Frozen, is a breakthrough, with its two leading females and refreshing views on love.
"Even among the top-grossing G-rated family films, girl characters are out numbered by boys three-to-one."
And it's not just movie buffs who are subjected to this.
I watch a lot of TV shows. Seriously. At one point I was in the middle of at least twenty, both currently airing and finished series. I love TV, I really do, but even on the small screen women are outnumbered and under-represented in favour of men. The figures are similar to the movie ones, with women only being 37% of prime-time TV characters.
"Women are about 37% of prime-time TV characters (they are 51% of the U.S. population). Women 45 and older are only 15% of prime-time TV characters."
This whole situation saddens me, because it means that even from a young age, girls are shown that we live in a male-dominated society, and they're told that it's the norm. They're shown that men will save them from the alien invasion, while women make a brief appearance in one or two scenes, usually to provide eye candy. I'm looking at you, Star Trek Into Darkness. But YA changes this. In YA we have many strong, powerful female protagonists that young girls and teenage readers can look up to an admire. If you asked me to name strong YA protagonists, I would be able to provide you with a very long scroll of parchment. The same cannot be said for movie characters.
How many of us grew up wanting to be Hermione Granger? And have you seen the amount of Katniss cosplays among younger readers?
Young girls, teenagers, and women alike need idols to look up to, to provide escapism from their everyday lives, to relate to, and they can get that within YA. My five year old sister could walk into my room and be greeted by an armada of women who could potentially be her new best friend, and I want her to be able to grow up with this option. I want her to be able to find comfort within the pages of a fantastic book with a main character that she can relate to; one that can teach her, comfort her, to make her laugh - things that she sure as hell would not be able to get out of watching movies 66% of the time.
This is not to say that I think there should be absolutely no male protagonists in YA. This post is not a hate-post. I'm not pulling off some misandry bullshit here. I don't hate guys, and I do often really enjoy reading from their points of view. Harry Potter, Chaos Walking, Unwind, Percy Jackson - these are all series that I love that feature male protagonists. I am just saying that, in a male-dominated industry and society, females deserve more representation and recognition. And while the Young Adult genre isn't perfect, this is the place where women can get that.
Having a balance is important, yes, but this is one instance in which I really don't care. Because YA is the one place where women rule. The one place in the media where girls can find their heroes.
Damn right! People want more male MCs in YA books? Then give us some great female MCs in TV and movies, maybe we'll be more amenable to giving up a corner of our world then. Until then, welcome to YA, Home of the Awesome Females! (boys need not apply)
ReplyDeleteIf the scales are ever balanced then I'd be quite pleased to see more male POVs in YA. But yes, until then I'll stick with my awesome females and the occasional male.
DeleteVery true, though I worry that YA then suffers the whole female-dominated catch-22 of occupations/whatever that are acceptable for women are therefore undervalued (nurses in the US, whereas I know of at least one country where doctors are primarily women and there are paid crap crazy enough). YA still suffers from people looking down their nose at it and I really hope it isn't because it has so many awesome female MCs since that would make me lose faith in humanity a bit ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou know what's sad...I think this does play a part!
DeleteThere are a lot of girly YA books that people look down on, and that sucks. Because there is nothing wrong with being girly! Why does that make anything worth less? When you think of female protagonists that have made it outside the realms of their books...they always have to be super tough, or super smart to get universal recognition. Like Hermione, or Katniss. (I love tough heroines too, of course. Gimme all the heroines) And because not EVERY YA book has female characters like that...YA gets catergorised as silly and vapid which makes me GRRRR. Its like how people with only half a brain (most people) would say that Legally Blonde is a silly film but HOLD UP. WAIT. Elle is a PERFECT example of a fantastic heroine. She's materialistic...she likes girly things...but that doesn't mean she can't kick arse and take names. Yeah, there are tons of silly and vapid YA books...but there are tons of stupid books with male protagonists too. Nobody craps all over those, you know?
Whoa. I didn't mean to rant all over your comment. It just sucks that YA gets such a bad rap when it can actually be some of the most inclusive and diverse fiction out there!
*runs away to take cooling breaths*
I think this is another matter entirely, although I totally agree that people tend to view female-dominated areas as lesser or subpar. This viewpoint definitely needs to change, and I think that Young Adult has the potential to help that along. Female authors dominate the genre, if not the bestsellers list, and I think as the YA genre continues to spiral and expand, people will start to realise that it's not actually a bad thing. Women CAN write just as well as - or better, depending on the person - men. I wish people would realise that your chromosomes don't define how good of an author you are.
DeleteNatalie - YES. People look down upon girly books or characters all the time, and I hate it. Being a strong character doesn't mean you have to be kickass, it simply means you have to be written well, with your own personality that's not a cardboard cutout. YA is always classed as something for children or silly, and this needs to change. The age of the characters shouldn't matter, just as much as their gender shouldn't.
Great post Amber!
ReplyDeleteYou know...I've never really thought about the lack of male protagonists in YA books.
My reading pattern over the years was a bit backward in that I never really used to read YA. The only outright YA series I can think of that I read were the Alanna books, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter. Alanna and Lyra were strong female characters of course, but most of the books that I read were adult fantasy books. These were typically dominated by male characters. Back then, I didn't really think about the lack of women or gender roles or anything like that. So when, in my late teens, I started reading more and more YA - I slipped happily into a world that was dominated by female protagonists.
You mentioned misandry and to be honest, that's what it comes down to me for me. As long as I'm reading a book that isn't full of hate towards women, OR hate towards men...I'll be happy. When I write, I try to maintain a balance but I feel no guilt if I lean towards giving my heroine the most 'screentime' or the most depth. As you said, it's not very often that women are represented as any sort of majority!
Thanks Natalie!
DeleteI didn't read much YA either until around 2009 and 2010. I was more into adult urban fantasy, and my reads were, again, dominated by female characters. I hadn't even thought of this pattern until now! But most of the other books that I read, whether they were contemporary fiction, fantasy, science fiction... they were all dominated by males.
I think that having a balance is the most important thing, and I wish I lived in a world where men and women were represented equally. Until then, keep doing what you're doing, and I'll keep reading about heroines instead of heroes!
You know how much I love this post. I actually never thought about it this way until I read it, because like you said, I always used to get excited whenever I saw a book with a male protagonist because how rare is that?! But comparing it to movies and TV shows, in which men are almost always more prominent than women, made me realize that I like that YA features women (girls) so often. I like that in this way, at least, YA is more progressive, and young girls have people (even if those people are fictional characters) to look up to. The part about Brooke made me cry again goodbye.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I used to get excited too. I remember discovering The Maze Runner and Tempest, and getting all happy because they had a male protagonist. It took me a long time to realise that it's not actually that exciting, considering we have men dominating all other types of media except YA.
DeleteI love this post! It gives me a whole new perspective that I haven't even thought of. I love Male POV in books, not just because it is rare but because it usually is free of silly girl behavior that we too often see, but now I am happy YA books are female dominated. I want generations of young girls to have that positive role model and I want strong women to have their chance to shine. Great, great post!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ The Quiet Concert
Thank you Nicole! I'm actually totally okay with "silly girl" behaviour, because a) it's somewhat realistic, and b) males can be really bloody stupid as well. It's all about balance, both between males and females, and also between females that would be classed as girlish and those who wouldn't. Girls need all sorts of different role models to connect to, so even though I'm not usually a fan of the girly characters, I think they're just as important. Who knows, my sister might end up really loving some of them, and that's what's important!
DeleteThis is a fantastic post, well said!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI never even thought of looking at it this way! I'm ambivalent towards male MCs in YA books. While they're always refreshing, I find that I'm able to relate better to female MCs (no surprise there). So honestly, I've never been one to think the male to female MC ratio in YA needs an overhaul. But, now that I see your opinion of the whole issue, I've got to agree. While young girls get better role models and characters they can relate to, I think it's a good thing for the boys as well, as they'll get a different take on girls, and not the overly stereotypical and unrealistic image that is projected on popular television & movies.
ReplyDeleteI love how thought provoking this post is, Amber! :)
Thanks, Fahima! I'm glad it's giving so many people something to think about, even if they don't completely agree. And yes! I didn't touch upon this point, but I think it's totally important for boys and men to read more female points of view. Not only do they get to expand their reading, but they will realise that women are people to, and they shouldn't be demeaned like they often are in the media.
DeleteYou know what pisses me off though? The fact that YA is supposedly dominated by women, but a cursory glance at the best sellers list tells us that the male writers are still dominating the female-dominated area.
ReplyDeleteThat said, though, I LOVE this post and I love you for posting it! People get their panties in a wad because women supposedly dominate whatever area, but the facts and figures you presented tell the real truth. We are underrepresented in almost every aspect of media. From childhood we're told that we are ornamental at best, there to look pretty and be quiet. I wish that YA was as huge when I was a teen as it is today. At the same time, though, I'm so happy that my sister is lucky enough to have her teenage years when YA is on the rise and that she will be able to have fierce, strong female characters that she can relate to and fall in love with.
I agree, it's disappointing, although I think that female writers have a much better chance at reaching the best sellers lists and success than, say, a female director. I think the book world is slightly more progressive in this way, although there is definitely a long way to go, since male writers in the top twenty outnumber females. I would love to see this change!
DeleteAnd thank you! I love your comment, the bit about your sister gave me shivers.
Wow, great post! I completely agree, it's great that there are so many strong, fierce female characters in YA literature. Hermoine, Katniss, Rose from Vampire Academy... I could list a ton with virtually no effort.
ReplyDeleteI feel like often, when people lament the lack of male POV YA books, it's because they want to get teenage guys interested in reading YA. But I mean... I read plenty of books with male POV. Why can't guys read female POV? Are they really onlyt willing to read about male characters?
Thank you! The list of great female characters in YA is almost endless, with new ones being introduced all the time. The same cannot be said for the TV shows that I watch, unfortunately. Sometimes characters that started out great (Caroline Forbes, for example) become nothing more than a love interest who is caught in a love triangle. It's disappointing. But in YA, all these females have their own story to tell.
DeleteAnd YES, you hit the nail on the head! There is absolutely no reason why guys can't read a female POV and connect with the main character. Us women do it all the time. The problem is that we are taught by the media that men are better, and guys often think that they can't possibly connect with a weak and helpless female who probably only thinks about shopping. This definitely needs to change, and I hope that YA helps to push guys in the right direction.
i love everything about this post tbh. as a kid hermione granger was (and still is) one of the very few female characters i felt connected to; i grew up just before YA took off as a genre but i'm so, so glad it exists for all the young girls growing up today and in the future b/c there are so many great female characters that can be found in different books - not that hermione granger isn't a fantastic character, but it's nice to know that she's no longer the only one.
ReplyDeleteYES, there is much more variety nowadays, and if girls can't connect with one character, they have dozens and perhaps hundreds more to choose from. They're pretty much guaranteed to find their idol in YA. Perhaps several idols.
DeleteYES TO ALL OF THIS AMBER.
ReplyDelete"I am just saying that, in a male-dominated industry and society, females deserve more representation and recognition."
So true. I've never thought about it this way. I've always liked to see a male POV, because it can be interesting to see how they look at the world, but you are so right about this. I hate it when it feels like females don't matter.. That's why most of the books I love are the ones with kick-ass girls who stand up for themselves. I love fairytales, I do, but it's better if the girl doesn't need the boy to save her. We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.
So yes, I agree about the part where we can find strong females we can look up to. It's sad that it's not there in movies - and it's most likely not going to change any time soon.. I do applaud for Disney for taking a step in the right direction.
I... what... wow. Amber, you changed my mind in a blogpost in less than 10 minutes and made me tear up. You're a genius.
ReplyDeleteFor me, ever since I my teenage years, there was never a time when I didn't think that, 'Hey, why aren't there more male protagonists?' and now I hope to never think or utter those words again. I never gave what much thought to what you wrote but I completely understand your approach.
Come to think of it, we girls aspire to be more like Hermione than Harry. As a kid, I loved reading fairy tales and books by Enid Blyton and of course, protagonist gender didn't matter to me back then. But then when I started reading series like Sweet Valley and Nancy Drew, I realized that I wanted to know what goes on in a male protagonist mind. My curiosity was fed when I read John Grisham and Paulo Coelho but I even then, I couldn't get enough of Sidney Sheldon books because he always wrote his books with a female protagonist. I read a lot of chick-lit and enjoyed it. But it was only when I heavily started reading YA that I got this idea that I need more books with male protagonists in my life. But looking at my favorite books, the only male protagonists I find are in JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Carolee Dean's Take Me There and Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy.
So when it comes down to it, hell no, I wouldn't ever give up Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen, Celaena Sadothein, and many others for male protagonists. Especially when I'm getting too much of them when it comes to TV shows and movies.
I love watching action movies and all the runtime actresses get is mostly to appeal male moviegoers with eye candy, like you said. While on the topic of movies, why don't we have a female superhero movie franchise yet? I'd love to have one. This is probably why I love Disney and Pixar movies as much as I do. Half the reason I love Brave is because there's no love story in it. Same goes with The Princess and the Frog as the love story is a bit of a subplot.
About women in TV shows: Ellen Degeneres is the best TV show host ever and I don't think any male host shines a light to her. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey are awesome. Also, I love female characters on shows be it Rebekah from The Originals or Jenna from Awkward. And sometimes I want to read books about characters I see on TV shows because why not.
So yes, in the end, I love that there are more female YA authors than male ones. I love that they choose to write books with female protagonists and I love that I found so many great heroines to look up to. And I hope that one day, your sister does, too.
P.S. If you haven't figured it out already: this post is the best post ever. <3
*claps hands* THANK YOU! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post, for so many reasons! You've really approached the dominance of female protagonists in YA in a refreshing way.
ReplyDeleteLike past you, I always get excited when I stumble on a well-done male POV, because they're so rare in YA. But with males dominating every other form of popular media, why am I so eager to see them dominate YA too?
I love how you described your younger sister walking in to your room, browsing your shelves, and finding a great heroine to look up to. That's more than enough reason for me to actively seek out female protagonists!
Yes yes yes, a million times yes. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting topic! Love your opinion on this :)
ReplyDeleteI love female characters in YA. They really spice up the drama especially when they are strong female characters, but every so often I do enjoy a book from a male prospective.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I love female characters because I feel like I can connect with them better in general because I'm also female. Why should a kickass female in a movie be such a rare treat?
ReplyDeleteYAY FOR THIS POST! I kind of look out for YA guys' POVs because...I don't know why. It's different? I think sometimes authors get into ruts with their female characters...making them dependant on their dude, falling for a guy with green eyes...all that kind of stuff. But I reeally do love the female characters we have to look up to these days. It used to be just Katniss and Hermione, but now we have Alina from Shadow and Bone and Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles, too. It's amazing. I love it. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree so hard. I actually prefer to read YA books with male protagonists because I feel like I connect with them more as a reader. BUT. You are right. Teen girls need this safe space we have here. And like everyone, I love Katniss and Hermione too. To me it's about the character's personality, not the sex of the character. Why does everything seem to have to be a male/female issue these days? That's what bothers me more than anything.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!!! I went through a whole YA w/ a male narrator phase last year and loved it... but I SO agree that having all these strong empowered female characters for people to read about it freaking AWESOME. Primetime Network TV has always been guy dominated. It has gotten a little better in the last 10 years, but man there is still a long way to go. And with all these YA books being made into movies, there's SO many more strong female characters about to be put out there :)
ReplyDeleteYes, this post! *bows* While male perspectives in YA are cool, I'm not really impressed with ~super awesome~ male heroes. I want a heroine that can save herself and hold her own. I hate that females in YA are portrayed as needing a guy to save them, which is ridiculous. It's why I loved Frozen so much -- they took the whole true love trope and made it something that completely changed what Disney does. No more boy-saves-girl, but instead it was sisterly love. And the growth in both Elsa and Anna! Such a great movie. I really applaud Disney for writing it the way they did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Amber . I just want a tad more male protagonist . And specifically more person of color male protagonist and some trans , bi and gay or asexual male protagonists
ReplyDeleteTnx for the post
Great post! I love how there's an abundance of strong female protagonists in YA literature. And, let's face it, most readers of YA are female...so it only makes sense to cater to that audience. But on the other hand, I feel like it's important to get teenage boys more interested in reading. And more male protagonists would probably help do that. But there ARE a bunch of good male-centered YA novels out there, like the few that you mentioned, I'm just saying that a few more wouldn't hurt. I think it's good that it's mostly focused on girls, though — I love reading about the strong girls like Hermione and Katniss.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I, too, think that women's stories are important, more important than they get credit for, and that's why I LOVE YA books. It's girls' stories! And you know what else? Not all of it is romance, and even if it is, boys shouldn't be afraid of reading that. God knows women have been subjected to mens' stories for literally THOUSANDS of years!
ReplyDeleteFantastic post! Great thoughts--I love it, and it's so true. :)
ReplyDelete