Monday, November 7, 2011
Girls, these books. Boys, those books.
As I read A Family Of Readers and The Joy of Children's Literature, I thought about the difference between girls and boys and what each gender reads. Each gender is stereotyped to read specific types of books and it turns out that these stereotypes may be reality. Girls read books like Judy Blume books and boys read more sports related books. Since children at such a young age are stereotyped to read these specific books, different from the other gender, I believe this effects us when we grow older. These different books seperate the genders, making girls read books that are more about growing up and teaching them about womanhood. This could make girls believe that this is the lifestyle that they need to grow up to be like because of the types of books they are reading when they are younger. In our readings, it said that girls read more than boys do. Does this imply that reading is considered girly? Why are girls reading more than boys? Maybe it is because 'boy books' are sport related, allowing boys to believe that they have to go outside and play sports and 'girl books' are more life related, relating to relationships and growing up. Since the books allow us to put ourselves in the characters shoes and place, this could be why we have gender stereotypes. In our readings, our books told us several different studies and surveys about the diversity in the classroom and perspectives on each on how the diversity in the classroom effects a classroom.
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Before I read the reading I actually heard that girls do read more then boys. I never actually knew if they did or not. I not only think girl read more because boys books are mostly about sports and may encourage them to go outside, but I also believe that girls have more of a selection of reading. I feel like there are so many books out there for girls to choose from, and not as many for boys to. I don't know if this is because I am a girl and I am not really looking for boy books or if there really are not as many books for boys.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up I was always so surprised whenever I would hear one boy mention a book he read. I really never heard of it in elementary school besides some boys reading Captain Underpants. I don't understand why they separate books by gender because everyone has different interests. In my 9th grade English class we were required to read the book Speak. I loved the book, but I remember reading it and thinking how none of the boys would like it because it seemed so girly to me. In the beginning of our class discussions about the book many of the boys were scared to participate because it was a book they were embarrassed to like. By the end of the lesson on Speak I realized that so many of the boys in my class actually liked the book and that's when I realized that books shouldn't be separated by gender because it brings fear to the opposite gender to try reading a book that isn't 'meant' for them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that girls tend to read more than boys I was not surprised. Growing up, I do not remember ever seeing my brother read a book for fun. Also, he was never given books as gifts, I was. For Christmas one year I remember getting the entire Nancy Drew Mystery Series as a present. I was not a big reader growing up but yet I was still given these books. Of all my books, I was never given sports books or book a boy would be more likely to read. I believe that I have always had the freedom to read whatever books I want including the "books for boys" but I never picked them up because I was conditioned by society not to. The gender roles that are found in society are found in everyday life are also found in books. The gender conditioning is everywhere, even in the books we read.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I always remember girls reading more than boys because they boys thought it was girly to read anything, but sports and cars. It shocks me that from such a young age, we are pushing gender stereotypes on children. Two summers ago I babysat a 3-year old boy and I was surprised when he told me his favorite book was Pinkalicious, a story about a little girl who loved all things pink. It was the definition of a “girly” book, but I was glad to see that his parents were allowing him to decide what he liked for himself. The next summer when I babysat him again, I asked him if he wanted me to read him the book and his response: “No that is for girls.” It’s sad to see that our society is not even giving children the chance to form their own opinions and choose what they want to read.
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