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Nov
04
Ms. Magazine Names “Kick-Ass Girls & Feminist Boys” of Young Adult Fiction
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
And Bella Swan ain’t on the list, folks!
I know, I know. Try to contain your shock and outrage.
Y’all know I love to read about feminism and to rave about fiction with strong female characters, so I was thrilled when I found out that Ms. Magazine devoted four pages of their fall issue to celebrating “kick-ass girls & feminist boys.” Writer Jessica Stites begins thusly:
For many of us destined to become feminists, there’s a period where gender roles become ill-fitting and maddening, but we’re not sure why. At that crucial moment, certain books can offer refuge or escape—or provide our first “click!” moment, when we realize the problem’s not us, it’s society, and we’re not alone.
Stites notes that what most of these books have in common is female characters who are “young, brave, rebellious, and independent.” She gives shout-outs to Jane Austen’s Lizzy Bennet and Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series and notes that “in the past century, they’ve been joined by a host of literary sisters who are unrepentantly bold.” After all, the majority of young adult readers are female, and what they’re looking for is simple: “cool girls.”
And it’s especially important for girls who don’t see themselves represented in many other forms of mainstream media.
For girls of color, marginalized by the triple whammy of age, race, and gender, YA can provide a thrilling moment of self-recognition.
Stites illustrates her point with the help of several contemporary women writers, including Erin Blakemore, whose recently published celebration of women in literature, The Heroine’s Bookshelf, is a Book Lady favorite. Blakemore recalls turning to books when “my parents had become strangers, my body was going psycho, and my friends had turned into evil junior-high aliens,” and fantasy writer Sarah Rees Brennan, author of The Demon’s Lexicon, notes that it is refreshing to see teenage girls—an oft-mocked demographic—making reading cool again.
It’s thrilling that teenage girls, who are pretty often denigrated as silly, shrieky girly—have created this golden age of a genre by loving literature.
Rees Brennan is just one of 18 women fantasy writers who headlined the “Smart Chicks Kick It” book tour this September, the popularity of which is another testament to the power and importance of women readers and writers.
So just who made the list? Stites cites a couple dozen books in the body of her piece, and a colorful sidebar identifies eleven titles under the heading “Ms. Picks Our YA Favorites.” I’m not going about to spill the whole list for you—you’ll have to pick up a copy of the fall issue of Ms. if you want to get the goods—but I’ll tell you that Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games trilogy kicks off the list (a selection I agree with even though I hated Mockingjay); Annie on My Mind gets a nod as the first lesbian book pretty much of any of us ever read; and Sylvia Plath (who else?) takes the “angst” category in what had to be a landslide victory.
And, of course, there’ the requisite acknowledgment of the original queen of YA, Ms. Judy Blume, without whom we’d know nothing of first periods and first kisses and, well, you know. *wink wink*
My hat is off to Ms. for this fabulous list, and I’m glad to have been reminded of several books I’ve had on the “meaning to read someday” pile for far too long. If you’re a reader of YA—or you’re trying to encourage a young woman in your life to love books—pick up a copy of Ms. (better yet, get her a subscription) and check out the full list of “Kick-Ass Girls & Feminist Boys” ASAP.
Now tell me: who are the characters that would make it on to your personal version of this list?
Related posts:
- Get Your Feminist Fix with Jennifer Baumgardner’s F ‘EM!
- Just Read It: CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER by Peggy Orenstein
- A.S. King Is Sorry If She Makes You Uncomfortable…But She Wants You To Read This Anyway
- Book Review & Giveaway: The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
- My “Click” Moment (or, how church camp made me a feminist)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rebecca Schinsky and Rebecca Schinsky, Lorraine. Lorraine said: RT @bookladysblog: My take on Ms. Magazine's list of "Kick-Ass Girls & Feminist Boys" in YA: http://bit.ly/cK5Ul0 [...]
EEEEE! Thanks for posting this…I ran over to the newsstand and there it was! The women’s college-attending, card-carrying feminist in me is a-swoon.
Erin Blakemore´s last [type] ..Things I Learned On The Littlest Book Tour
Man, I want to know who’s on the list! I’ve got to get me this issue of MS. Even though I’m not a femenist I do like that girls are becoming more empowered to enjoy strong role models in literature. Especially in an age where most of who we see on television are over-sexed girls acting ten times their age.
Michelle´s last [type] ..ARCs Float On
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog reflects on strong female characters in YA fiction. [...]
[...] only pretend not to notice that she is not a man.” One of the foremothers of the now myriad “kick-ass heroines,” Alyx played in the sandbox once monopolized by Conan the Barbarian and Doc Savage. The fun Russ had [...]