tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post8136569140770263030..comments2023-10-21T06:32:59.556-05:00Comments on Imagination in Focus: The Pendulum of YA: "girls who do things" and boys who don't do anything at allAmeliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14767350676055319412noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-45714314835587317422010-03-24T18:04:52.409-05:002010-03-24T18:04:52.409-05:00I wouldn't DISAGREE with you, but I wouldn'...I wouldn't DISAGREE with you, but I wouldn't agree with you either. <br /><br />I completely agree with you that guys and gals don't need and should NEVER be overbearing. However, I do disagree on the Love Triangle part. There's a good way to do it, and there's a bad way to do it. I don't mind a good love triangle as long as it's not annoying and guys are playing girl-tug-of-war or girls playing guy-tug-of-war. I would prefer if the girl (or guy) in question be totally fine with two boys chasing after them and maintain a strong personality. However yes sometimes they can be annoying.<br /><br />And about the annoying famminist-kick-butt-type women: Again, I disagree. There's a way not to make the girl stupidly feminist how *gasp* OMG SHE WANTS TO BE A GUY!!! Or: *gasp* OMG SHE NEVER WANTS TO GET MARRIED BECAUSE SHE DOSEN'T WANT TO LOSE HER FREEDOM EVEN IF SHE'S MET THE LOVE OF HER LIFE!!! *cough cough* The Luxe Series *cough cough*<br /><br />I see where you're going, and I agree that authors don't do it very well these days. It's really sad, especially in Historical Fiction where we see girl Highwaymen or women who break up with their boyfriends because they never want to get married. It's all about the quality of the character and unfortunately, there's not much quality nowadays. What a shame... :(The Critichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05574402536643261259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-65224505140319507052010-03-24T11:41:01.661-05:002010-03-24T11:41:01.661-05:00You're absolutely right, Amelia.That is, in my...You're absolutely right, Amelia.That is, in my opinion, why people should read books(any kind)in the first place, to expand their mind and to start thinking more...well, to start thinking in general, I guess.If you get obsessed about a character and desperately want to be like her/him,and miss all the positive stuff a book can give you, then what's the point? But I think I've gotten a bit off topic here,and I'm sorry for that.<br />Overall, writers whose books target a specific audience, should be a little bit more sensitive and a little bit more careful about what they write.It sounds like a big generalization, but I truly believe most of them should.A Story Untoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904185201569328227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-13005776249087145052010-03-24T11:15:39.609-05:002010-03-24T11:15:39.609-05:00“female chauvinism" = SO true!“female chauvinism" = SO true!Tales of Whimsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10938494589922620170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-74093040684128616542010-03-24T10:12:19.992-05:002010-03-24T10:12:19.992-05:00That's a good point, AtenRa. If I have fiction...That's a good point, AtenRa. If I have fictional role models (and there aren't very many) they're like from CS Lewis or Tolkien - major writers. But yeah, these characters are ultimately FAKE! And yet you know that there are some teens and young people out there who can't distinguish very well and so it does get a little weird to think that they're searching for role model characters in books...or worse, on TV!Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14767350676055319412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-36450053001170010792010-03-24T06:08:18.729-05:002010-03-24T06:08:18.729-05:00As I totally agree with you about YA books,and mos...As I totally agree with you about YA books,and mostly the paranormal ones, having a weak female character that's always depending on her man to make eeeeverything alright, I have a question to ask : Who, on his/her right mind, would have a totally fictional book character as a role model?I mean, books are great and all but they are just stories, fairy tales.Bella is as much a role model for me as Cinderella or SnowWhite is.But that's just cynic old me!A Story Untoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904185201569328227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-16703981119337905472010-03-24T04:05:05.510-05:002010-03-24T04:05:05.510-05:00Emm..pretty interesting. I just realized about thi...Emm..pretty interesting. I just realized about this when i read your post. i dont mind to read any girl to lead in books but somehow i love to read a male lead in books too.especially in YA books.these past few days i read about 6-7 YA books and my head rather spinning to munch all those.i prefer middle grade.i read sidney sheldon, jeffrey archer, grisham as early as when i was 15..<br /><br />this is a great post Amelia..honestly.Darlynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04927101155673957650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-44167108167786912072010-03-24T00:03:28.383-05:002010-03-24T00:03:28.383-05:00Ooh, interesting post!
You are right that kickbut...Ooh, interesting post!<br /><br />You are right that kickbutt female characters are sometimes a bit too extreme. But it's just my personal preference: I LOVE books where girls are completely independent of boys--and the overbearing aspects & other problems within their characters that you pointed out don't bother me quite as much. I guess that's just the feminist part of me speaking, though :)<br /><br />I have to say I agree to some extent, but at the same time I'm all for kickbutt heroines.<br /><br />Also, you're completely right about MG authors getting it right. Earlier today I was considering only reading MG for a while so I could cool down with all the problems I'm having with YA at the moment. <br /><br />Great, thought-provoking post! :)in which a girl readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12563423294648988362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-29579504705122354672010-03-23T23:55:53.866-05:002010-03-23T23:55:53.866-05:00This is a fantastic post, Amelia. I completely agr...This is a fantastic post, Amelia. I completely agree with you with everything you just said! Especially though, with Annabeth's character in the Percy Jackson series. She is not dependent on men, and she can handle herself completely on her own, but she does not pretend that she can handle everything on her own. She wants company and friendship -- from boys or girls. To me, that is the kind of character that I root for. I do like Twilight, but Bella's character is kind of horrible to me. Too needy. But then again, that is just me. No offense to anyone!<br />Awesome thoughts. Keep writing :)Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07629286727932554109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-46651007564292565412010-03-23T23:00:54.525-05:002010-03-23T23:00:54.525-05:00Fab points! No arguments. Nada. I second you!Fab points! No arguments. Nada. I second you!bookaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13443052150200806183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-63561343428603624632010-03-23T22:55:00.688-05:002010-03-23T22:55:00.688-05:00Ok, fine... you got me. I'm Sheri, one of you...Ok, fine... you got me. I'm Sheri, one of your many goodreads friends, and I'm stepping out of the protective shadow of my google reader and officially declaring that I read your blog daily and love it lots.<br /><br />Just wanted to note that I am in complete agreement with every word you just posted. I don't have a whole lot to add, because quite frankly I'm a bit intimidated by your intelligence and flawless grammar (even if I am almost 10 years older than you). I've never been to college - give me a break! :o) I'm all about strong female characters, but a line definitely needs to be drawn in order for me to still respect the author in the morning. <br />Fantastic thoughts!Sherihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09012588091459851038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-594502524570705142.post-76819088386102327702010-03-23T20:54:36.114-05:002010-03-23T20:54:36.114-05:00Wowza! Amen! Regardless of the fact that I did rea...Wowza! Amen! Regardless of the fact that I did read the Twilight series and liked it for the most part I do feel that there is an imbalance in the way female protagonists are portrayed in YA novels. Probably my biggest pet peeve is the lack of self respect that female protagonists seem to have. While I think it is important to write about sex and characters that have had sex before marriage you don't see any mainstream popular main characters that are in healthy "balanced" relationships that include healthy age appropriate sexual behavior without actually having sex. I actually enjoy reading a book where the female character starts out questioning her self worth, lacking in morals, or dealing with insecurities and going on a journey with her in discovering her inner resilience, strength, etc while not becoming the "overbearing" female protagonist you are speaking of.<br /><br />Its got me thinking about what YA novels I have read that have balanced characters....The Book Guruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01355448424023801086noreply@blogger.com