Being a female, it is difficult for me to say whether or not boys are more reluctant readers than girls. I only have my own experience as a reader to go on. When I think back to my school days and envision my various classrooms where reading took place, I can't recall an instance that would lead me to believe that boys are more reluctant readers. Perhaps the content and subject matter that boys chose to read about often differs from what girls chose, but I'm not sure that they are more reluctant to read anything than girls are. I think reluctance comes mostly from a lack of confidence in ones skills or a fear of adhering to something that is socially passe for one's gender roles. I know an argument exists that females do worse at math because it has been engrained in them that math is something for boys to succeed at and that girls who are good at math are just brainy and nerdy. I think that that stereotype is going away now that females are no longer strictly encouraged to simply stay home and look pretty and raise babies and males are no longer strictly encouraged to make lots of money and crunch numbers as the family provider.
Despite my own personal observational experience with boys and reading, however, I can see why highschool aged boys wouldn't want to be caught reading a more reflective, intellectual piece of literature. Take, for example, Shakespeare. Any literature that invovles love and poetry may not seem masculine enough for the types of reading that boys are "supposed" to do when adhering to their prescribed gender roles. They may be fearful of seeming weak or feminine to their peers if what they read does not, on the surface, embody such themes as war, sex, violence, or other themes that are outwardly "boyish." Even though Shakespeare certainly does include these themes, most of what highschoolers think of when they think of Shakespeare is Romeo and Juliette, which may seem feminine on the surface. Even more contemporary pieces of writing like The Catcher in the Rye or the Pigman, which deals less with gore and blood and more with personal reflection and interpersonal relationships, thing that on the surface seem to concern teenaged girls more than teenaged boys, may seem too "girly" for boys to be seen reading. Because of this, I can see why boys, when they enter high school and are required to read heavier, more difficult intellectual pieces of literature, may be reluctant to step away from their prescribed gender roles by reading and actually enjoying these pieces.
Despite my own personal observational experience with boys and reading, however, I can see why highschool aged boys wouldn't want to be caught reading a more reflective, intellectual piece of literature. Take, for example, Shakespeare. Any literature that invovles love and poetry may not seem masculine enough for the types of reading that boys are "supposed" to do when adhering to their prescribed gender roles. They may be fearful of seeming weak or feminine to their peers if what they read does not, on the surface, embody such themes as war, sex, violence, or other themes that are outwardly "boyish." Even though Shakespeare certainly does include these themes, most of what highschoolers think of when they think of Shakespeare is Romeo and Juliette, which may seem feminine on the surface. Even more contemporary pieces of writing like The Catcher in the Rye or the Pigman, which deals less with gore and blood and more with personal reflection and interpersonal relationships, thing that on the surface seem to concern teenaged girls more than teenaged boys, may seem too "girly" for boys to be seen reading. Because of this, I can see why boys, when they enter high school and are required to read heavier, more difficult intellectual pieces of literature, may be reluctant to step away from their prescribed gender roles by reading and actually enjoying these pieces.
2 comments:
I would have to agree with the idea that girls do worse at math than boys. I also heard that as well. Hopefully my lesson can help figure some of these ideas of boys being reluctant, and why. Thanks for blogging.
I'm intrigued with our notion--often something we like to translate into a type of truth--that boys will be uninterested in reading if it does not touch on more masculine themes, like violence, sex, war, rebellion, etc. (as you have mentioned). I don't wish to imply that you believe that yourself, as I think you are playing with the notion yourself, but how fascinating that we continue to think this--and then feed it.
Can a boy enjoy Jane Eyre? Pride and Prejudice? I'm disturbed by my own tendency to relegate these novels and their themes into "masculine" and "feminine" and then take it a step further by assuming that I ought to add some more dark or violent texts so that I can appeal to my "boys"
Gah. I'm not sure how or when I will start to see the problems associated with this type of rationale and learn to address them properly. Thanks for giving me pause to think about these issues again.
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