Two Gender Yargs

[mrissa]

So here I am looking through children's market listings, making notes, and I came upon this statement, quoted verbatim from the publisher in question: "We want nonfiction specfiically targeted to girls. If the approach would appeal to boys as well as girls, it is not right for American Girl Library."

This reflects a view of both boys and girls that is so alien to me that I can hardly even count how many fundamentla disagreements I have with this mindset. It's a very good thing I have no intention of writing for American Girl Library nor ever have, or my dream would be hereby crushed.

And then, the Victoria's Secret holiday catalog arrived. They always send this ridiculous thing, where you can order two sweaters, five pairs of panties, and a safari, or something stupid like that. This time, on page four, it reads, "No matter what role you play, underneath it all, every woman is an angel."

What freakin' year is this? 1886? Honestly!!! Every woman is an angel my lily-white angelic ASS!

Comments

Re: Male and Female

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Those things are: 1) fictional rather than nonfictional conventions and 2) entirely stereotyped in what appeals to whom.

Re: Male and Female

[mackatlaw.livejournal.com]

Ah. There I go, comparing apples and oranges in a discussion again. You're right that the divisions are fictional, and this seems especially pertinent since "The Sandman" is an epic story about the nature of stories -- all the discussion is about the nature of stories.

But you're saying that the fictional conventions of boy's and girl's stories have no correlation to who reads them? Or upon further reread of your initial posts, you're saying that there is no real division between male and female of who sees a given type of story? I feel confused and possibly a little dense. I do see in my daily life that, for instance, certain movies (action blockbusters) are marketed primarily at men, and certain other types of movies ("The Horse Whisperer") are marketed primarily at women. I don't particularly fit into the categorization itself, but I think male and female genre stereotypes are alive and well for many people. I don't think this is a great thing, but I do see it, at least here in the American South.

Mack

Re: Male and Female

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

It may be true that certain books appeal to more members of one gender than the other, but that's not what AG said. They said "If the approach would appeal to boys as well as girls, it is not right for American Girl Library." That suggests to my eye not just "girls will like it better" but "boys won't like it at all."

Re: Male and Female

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Are you saying that these genre conventions apply into the nonfiction world? If so, can you list for me the nonfiction genres that are of interest solely to one sex or another?

Also, having something marketed primarily at one sex or another doesn't mean making absolutely sure that the opposite sex is disinterested. As wilfulcait said.