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Lalwendë · 11-14-2005, 05:13 PM

Getting back to the question of whether The Hobbit is a "boys' adventure", I wondered what had made these young women come to that conclusion. Plainly the book focusses on male characters, but it would have to be something more than this to make it a book exclusively for boys. Adventure is not exclusive to males, nor is fighting and danger, and fantasy and magic. It begs the question of what is a "girls' story"?

Some time ago (well, less than five years ago actually) I complained in Sainsbury's as I was sick and fed up with them labelling their magazine shelves "Men's Interest" and "Women's Interest". Under the former category came not just Loaded and FHM, but also Q, NME, Empire and Private Eye. Under the latter section came parenting, interior decoration and cooking magazines. Go into any British newsagent and while the shelves may no longer be blatantly labelled as gender specific, all the magazines are still divided up in this way. Do men not raise kids or cook meals? Do women not listen to music or watch films?

I'm thinking that years of media influence may also have had an effect on these young women. I've met many a woman who bemoans her partner's interest in Sci-fi, and who believes all those who love Tolkien to be somehow mentally deficient. Tolkien is not something we are supposed to like; no, better leave that to the men with their childish games whle we get on with the serious business. Which all too often simply boils down to having the latest handbag.

What is a man's book? And if we have those, then do we also have men's films (don't answer that

) or men's music? I'd say that there is no such thing, so why are we able to label a book in that way? There are films made for the young male audience such as the whole Vin Deisel ouvre, but there's nothing in them to prevent a woman from enjoying them if she likes adventure, tough guys and fast cars. There are songs such as Teenage Kicks which are from a man's point of view but which women love too, and contrary to what mas like Cosmo would have us believe, yes, there are many women who love metal and rap and who don't find it beneath them. What makes books so different? Is it that they are being read in the academic world where the critical mind takes precedence over pure enjoyment? It's possibly something which cannot be avoided, and as such it ought to be no surprise that such opinions do arise more often.

11-14-2005, 05:13 PM	#55
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Getting back to the question of whether The Hobbit is a "boys' adventure", I wondered what had made these young women come to that conclusion. Plainly the book focusses on male characters, but it would have to be something more than this to make it a book exclusively for boys. Adventure is not exclusive to males, nor is fighting and danger, and fantasy and magic. It begs the question of what is a "girls' story"? Some time ago (well, less than five years ago actually) I complained in Sainsbury's as I was sick and fed up with them labelling their magazine shelves "Men's Interest" and "Women's Interest". Under the former category came not just Loaded and FHM, but also Q, NME, Empire and Private Eye. Under the latter section came parenting, interior decoration and cooking magazines. Go into any British newsagent and while the shelves may no longer be blatantly labelled as gender specific, all the magazines are still divided up in this way. Do men not raise kids or cook meals? Do women not listen to music or watch films? I'm thinking that years of media influence may also have had an effect on these young women. I've met many a woman who bemoans her partner's interest in Sci-fi, and who believes all those who love Tolkien to be somehow mentally deficient. Tolkien is not something we are supposed to like; no, better leave that to the men with their childish games whle we get on with the serious business. Which all too often simply boils down to having the latest handbag. What is a man's book? And if we have those, then do we also have men's films (don't answer that ) or men's music? I'd say that there is no such thing, so why are we able to label a book in that way? There are films made for the young male audience such as the whole Vin Deisel ouvre, but there's nothing in them to prevent a woman from enjoying them if she likes adventure, tough guys and fast cars. There are songs such as Teenage Kicks which are from a man's point of view but which women love too, and contrary to what mas like Cosmo would have us believe, yes, there are many women who love metal and rap and who don't find it beneath them. What makes books so different? Is it that they are being read in the academic world where the critical mind takes precedence over pure enjoyment? It's possibly something which cannot be avoided, and as such it ought to be no surprise that such opinions do arise more often. __________________ Gordon's alive!