Who are the heroes in Young Adult literature? I've stumbled upon two very interesting articles that really get into which teens are represented and - perhaps more importantly - which ones are not in recent YA titles.
This article, compiled by blogger Tiana Smith, talks about the physical descriptions of female protagonists in 50 of the hottest teen novels from this year. Apparently the old adage used to describe heroines in medieval fairy tales is still true as blonde = beautiful. Most characters, however, are brunettes described as "ordinary" or "almost beautiful."
This blog post by Kate Hart looks at the covers of YA books from 2011 and breaks down what is featured there. It's a pretty extensive study as she looks at race, gender, colors, and other items in great detail. Apparently publishers think that white girls in pretty dresses sell books.
This whole issue which kinds of characters are presented in teen books is worth considering. Are we doing teens a disservice by not featuring more diversity in our books? Are girls in pretty dresses affecting teen self esteem in the same way that beauty magazines can? It's food for thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment