Teen Fiction and Feminism

I'll think about it some more, but what jumps to mind first as good is Rona, by the Pippi Longstockings author Astrid Lundgren [sp?].

Feminist and humanist. Not the edgy and cynical style of contemp teen fiction good or bad. But a lot of teens would probably like it. [My daughter read it before she was one of them.]

My daughter and wife have better memories [and read more], I'll ask them.

Interesting sidenote on lit for younger children. We have German exchange student who says the German translation of Pipi Longstocking is much edgier. And presumably thats true of the Swedish original. If so, that would make it more like Rona.

My son -- he's 14 -- and I have recently read, together, The Diaries of Adrian Mole, three volumes.  Adrian was thirteen and three quarters when the books began -- the same age as my son.  We thoroughly enjoyed them.

We followed that with Nick Hornby's Slam.   Slam is written in the voice of a 16-year-old boy.

Both these books are consciously aware of and positive about feminism. Adrian's girlfriend, for example, is a left-wing feminist and is a very appealing and respected character. There's a lot of anti-Thatcherism in the books. 

Slam is about teenage pregnancy and actually deals with it well and deals with the circumstances of both the teenagers and how important it is for the young father to accept his responsibility.

I would say that both these books -- intended for boys, not girls -- are feminism-positive.

(We're now engrossed in the incomparable The Catcher in the Rye. He's loving it so far.) 

Believe it or not, I've never read The Catcher in the Rye. It wasn't part of my high school curriculum, and even though I picked up a copy a few years ago, I've never read it!

Then, jrose, some of the pleasures of life are still ahead of you.

One thing good about Rona is that its a story that centres on a relationship between a boy and a girl [who start as literal enemies].

I wouldn't call the Tree of Avalon series specifically teen fiction. But teens who like fantasy will like it. The main character is a boy. But the majority of leading characters and co-adventurers are girls and women. And the world view under assault is eco-feminist. Its also to my mind an unusually, rich and 'untrivial' overarching story. Includes a creation story still undergoing change.

My daughter really liked the the series Uglies, Pretties, Specials. Didn't read them so don't know the order. So far my wife the school librarian and feminist cannot think of any non-fantasy books that are not fairly problematic.

I picked up Twilight to have something to read and to understand the 'buzz'.

I enjoyed it so much I went out and bought the other 3 in the series.

My the third book I was "make it stop", and only reading because I felt I just needed to know where the hell it was going.

I did like the profile FN peoples had in the books.  It was nice to see

Very interesting, rural - Francesca. Everyone I've spoken to who has read the series have managed to pick up the whole series and read it from start to finish in a day or two, each calling it pretty addictive!

As the mother of a 10 year-old boy, I wonder what others think about the importance of female protagonists being marketed to boys as well as girls.  Just as many girls read Harry Potter as boys, but I'm not sure that it's the same the other way around.  Do as many boys read Junie B. as girls read Harry Potter?

This IS improving, however.  There are way, way more female protagonists in book genres that have been traditionally marketed to boys - like science fiction and fantasy.  But I still gag at how many girly-girly princessy-fairy books and series there are out there marketed at girls only.  To the point where boys are downright contemptuous of those books, and understandably so.  Can't blame boys for seeing through the bullshit, but I think it's unhealthy in that it sets up in boys' minds the idea that "girl stuff" is inferior to "boy stuff".

Certainly boys are strongly discouraged in our society from liking the pink-and-pretty princess-fairy glurge that we spoonfeed our girls.  As the mother of a boy, I'm always wondering whether it's better to ignore that crap and let my son be as contemptuous of it as I am - thereby reinforcing the idea that "girl stuff" is stupid - or whether I should occasionally buy that stuff for him in order to break the gender stereotype of him thinking that he shouldn't read it because it's "for girls".

And then part of me also wonders whether I'm just falling into a sexist trap myself for considering it "glurge" because it deals with traditionally feminine juvenile fantasy (princesses and fashion and relationships) as opposed to masculine juvenile fantasy (dragons and cars and major league sports).

I'm starting to get a real and genuine appreciation for adult "chick lit", which generally falls under "woman in big city navigating boyfriends, husbands, fashion, nightlife and financial woes" type plots.  I still admit to reading it with a self-deprecatory tone, but maybe I should stop that.  Maybe it appeals to me because I can relate to it, and maybe that's not all bad.  So maybe I should stop feeling contemptuous of juvenile "chick lit" too.

These are old suggestions but The late Andre Norton, and the still very living Ursula K. LeGuinn are two women who wrote wildly entertaining adventure fantasy sci-fi that have broad array of characters female and male that are nuanced and compelling.

 ..not to mention numerous charcters of uncertain and nuanced gender.

I've read my share of juvenile "chick lit" crud that makes my blood boil, but I've also picked up some really cool ones, including some that I've read for the rabble book lounge (i.e. the graphic novel Skim). I think the key is media literacy. I think you and I are able to read this books and laugh at the ultra-consumerism, narrow views of femininity, etc. etc. that I've found in some of the books I've read, I just hope that teens and "tweens" are literate enough to do the same, and emphasis that I hope exists in the school system. (At least more so that it did when I was in middle and high school.)

Back to Twilight, I'm listening to Bitch Magazine's podcast right now, and they're talking about the magazine's take on the series, which can be found at http://www.bitchmagazine.org/article/bit-me-or-dont.

Here's just a brief look:

  
Bite Me! (Or Don't)

Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-infested Twilight series has created a new YA genre: abstinence porn

"The Twilight series has created a surprising new sub-genre of teen romance: It’s abstinence porn, sensational, erotic, and titillating. And in light of all the recent real-world attention on abstinence-only education, it’s surprising how successful this new genre is. Twilight actually convinces us that self-denial is hot. Fan reaction suggests that in the beginning, Edward and Bella’s chaste but sexually charged relationship was steamy precisely because it was unconsummated—kind of like Cheers, but with fangs. Despite all the hot “virtue,” however, we feminist readers have to ask ourselves if abstinence porn is as uplifting as some of its proponents seem to believe."

SNIP

"Breaking Dawn’s Bella is a throwback to a 1950s housewife, except for the fact that Edward has turned her into a vampire. But this act is one of ’50s-esque female self-sacrifice: It’s precipitated by Bella’s need to let her human self die in order to save their half-vampire baby. Their monstrous offspring is frightening, but what’s really frightening is Bella and Edward’s honeymoon scene. Edward, lost in his own lust, “makes love” so violently to Bella that she wakes up the next morning covered in bruises, the headboard in ruins from Edward’s romp. And guess what? Bella likes it. In fact, she loves it. She even tries to hide her bruises so Edward won’t feel bad. If the abstinence message in the previous books was ever supposed to be empowering, this scene, presented early in Breaking Dawn, undoes everything."

SNIP AGAIN

"Of course the paradox is that the more Meyer sexualizes abstinence, the more we want Bella and Edward to actually have sex. This paradox becomes extra-convoluted when we find out, in a moment that for some is titillating, for others creepy, that sex could literally equal death for Bella. In one scene in Twilight, Bella asks Edward in a roundabout way if they would ever be able to consummate their relationship. Edward responds, “I don’t think that…that…would be possible for us.” Bella responds, “Because it would be too hard for you, if I were that…close?” Yes, Edward tells her. But more than that he reminds her that she’s “soft” and “so fragile” and “breakable.” “I could kill you quite easily, Bella, simply by accident.”"

Ayoye..abstinence porn. I was all psyched when that movie came out and now it's the opposite. I don't want to see it.

Anyhow, in this fall's edition of Bitch there's an article about YA lit.

My daughter and I have always shared an appreciation for books and movies that others-  her mother and many friends- find too weird or creepy.

She loved the Twilight books. But the more I hear about them the more I'm afraid they are going to be too creepy for me.

   Cripes. 'abstinence porn'.  Now there's two words that I never considered being used together.  Ugh.  Great article Jrose. Thanks for posting it. 

 I'd never heard of Twilight until I saw the stuff on tv on the craziness around the movie coming out.   It seems to be everywhere right now.

 I just put my name on the waiting list at the library to check it out for myself.  I'm number 26 if that's any indication it's popularity.  

ohhh, wish you would have asked this question 20 years ago when I was a teen. Reading was a passion ( wish I had as much time to devote to it now ) and though I didn't conciously go towards feminist books I loved reading books with strong women characters and never connected with more stereotypical roles in books.

If you don't mind older books of the top of my head I remember a few - Jasmin by Jan Truss, of course The Diary of Anne Frank and some of the Judy Bloom books ( if I remember correctly some were good and some were not but I would have to look it up to confirm ). I will see if I will have to try and remember any more because most of the books, unfortunately are long gone!

ElizaQ, I just did the same, and my number on the waiting list is over one hundred! I have a feeling it might be awhile! :)

I don't like "girly" books, if that means girls acting silly and helpless and manipulative, but I do like books in which girls, as fully-developed characters, live well-rounded interesting and adventurous lives. 

And not like boys -- I really object to the idea that girls must act/be like boys in order to be interesting.

Going back further than Refuge did, I think the girls in L.M. Montgomery's books have lives worth reading about.  I know families where the boys read about Anne and Emily along with their sisters and don't find it unusual at all -- in answer to Michelle's question above. 

Yes, I loved all of the books by Montgomery.  In fact I have an urge to go get the books again!

This is slightly unrelated to the thread at hand, but I think it relates to Michelle's comment above. Shameless magazine posted this picture on their blog, which is part of an art project looking at gender by Korean Photographer JeongMee Yoon

http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2009/01/does-it-come-in-hot-pink-no-well-i-dont-want-it/ [20]

   I unpacked and dusted off my old copy of Anne of Green Gables just last week.  Partly due to this thread and partly due to watching the tv version of the book that was rerun in the previous weeks.

 Love them. I read them all when I was younger and it's been a joy to revisit them.  I'm realizing now how much influence they had on me.  

I'm reading Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume right now. I remember reading it as a youth, and enjoying it, so I checked it and a few of her others out of the library. They're nice, quick reads, that give me quite the dose of nostolgia!

I was just going to write and add L.M. Montgomery books. I am not just recommending this because I am from PEI, but due to the role model that Anne Shirley presents. Someone who does not care about what boys think and most importantly does not try to change herself to make boys like her. She is passionate about what she wants out of life and has a drive to succeed and get what she wants.

I also loved reading the Cynthia Voigt series as a teen, that featured the main character "Dicey". I thought she was a feminist at the time, and loved her.

I also second the Judy Blume suggestions, however do not know anything about current or recently published fiction.

For feminst and queer friendly teen fiction check out Toronto local Kristyn Dunnion

"Dunnion paints a brutal urban reality that mocks the saccharine sweetness of many teen novels. Back alley fixes, weblog rants and honest friendships blend together to create a tender, original and powerful read. Teens will devour it, parents will fear it and smart booksellers will stock it."
~Canadian Bookseller~

http://www.kristyndunnion.com/novels.html

Searchers for non-creepy feminist teen fiction may want to check out Martyn Godfrey's Ms. Teeny Wonderful series.  The heroine preferred to jump garbage cans with her bike than put on make up.  I don't remember how many books there were in the series, but at least two or three. 

 Now the big question is whether or not these 1980s gems are still in print... 

"Searchers for non-creepy feminist teen fiction"

 What's that supposed to mean?

Thanks for turning me on to the Bitch podcast, jrose!  It's excellent.  And it was disheartening hearing all those girls at the movie theatre saying that they all wished they could go out with a vampire, and that the female protagonist was "lucky" to get him.

Gah!  What are we teaching our girls about relationships?  (I know, I know - the same thing we've always taught them...)

That was the first time I discovered the Bitch Podcast, too! (Well, it's been on my iTunes for awhile now, and I just finally got around to listening -- and loved it!)

This one is just as disheartening (but hilarious!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R99kuIfJVA

(I can't get it to embed, so just go to the link!)

I know I'm craaaaazy late on this post, but I wanted to add my contribution.  Everyone has great points about strong female characters primarily existing in sci-fi and fantasy and I totally agree, but I wanted to add to the small list of non-scifi/fantasy teen books with strong female elements.

*  Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

*  Bridge to Terabithia

*  Boy Proof (I, personally, hated it, but it had a very independent main character)

*  Speak (not everyone might agree, I know)

*  Empress of the Sun

*  Far from Xanadu

(Many of these books are for LGBTQQA, which goes to show that teenagers need to break gender roles to be feminist, which is exclusively true)

Glad to see this thread pop up again!

I recently read Half World by Hiromi Goto. It was great to read an exciting adventure story of a youth being sucked into a dangerous realm with a female lead character. Young women can fight slimy goblins and bring peace to an ancient realm as well!

It's a good read.

Can't wait to see how this one measures up!

The Future of Literature Lies in Lauren Conrad's Hands: http://jezebel.com/5312612/the-future-of-literature-lies-in-lauren-conra...

The headline itself is terrifying.

How about award-winning, and well known, at least out here on Canada's left Coast, Canadian author Shelley Hrdiltschka 

http://members.shaw.ca/shelleyhrdlitschka/

Maybe Sook-Yin Lee knows Shelley, and could interview her, as Shelley is a delightful person.

I really enjoyed this post that just showed up on the Tightrope Books blog a few minutes ago:

http://tightropebooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/curmudgeons-world-over-are-frequently.html

It says:

"So when a book comes along that becomes hugely - and in some cases inexplicably - popular with youngsters, said curmudgeons jump for joy. I spent three years working in an indie bookstore with a sizeable children's section, and when I got into discussions with parents about the teen book phenomenon du jour, I often heard, "Well, it might not be Shakespeare, but at least it gets them reading." No matter how damaging the messages, no matter how poor the writing, it seems that parents were just happy to see their teen sitting and reading for a while.

What is about the act of reading, in and of itself, that makes it inherently positive? Is it really better for a young girl to read the Gossip Girl series than, say, updating her blog? Or hanging out with her friends? Or even watching TV? In other words, why are parents happy to see their kids reading Gossip Girl when many of them wouldn't be too keen on them watching the show?"