The Myth of Boy Books & Girl Books
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•2,163 views
These slides accompanied a talk I gave to Skokie Public Library staff as part of our in-house Brown Bag It talks and trainings series. We discussed the repercussions of talking about books as "boy books" and "girl books," in particular for young audiences, as well as brainstormed better strategies for talking about books.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (20)
Similar to The Myth of Boy Books & Girl Books
Similar to The Myth of Boy Books & Girl Books (20)
More from Amy Koester
More from Amy Koester (14)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
The Myth of Boy Books & Girl Books
- 1. The Myth of Boy Books & Girl Books Brown Bag It | September 2015 Amy Koester, Learning Experiences
- 2. Question: What makes a book a “boy book” or a “girl book”?
- 4. The library’s goal: Expand readers’ worlds and empathy through books.
- 5. Marketing’s goal: Tell you who you are so they can sell you something “perfect for you.”
- 6. Coverflip, Huffington Post, 5/7/13 #coverflip
- 7. Coverflip, Huffington Post, 5/7/13 #coverflip
- 8. Coverflip, Huffington Post, 5/7/13 #coverflip
- 9. Coverflip, Huffington Post, 5/7/13 #coverflip
- 10. Bad news: Sexism is systemic.
- 13. When we play into the boy books and girl books myth, we’re part of the problem.
- 14. What’s the harm to boys?
- 15. CC BY 2.0 Flickr User JD Hancock
- 16. CC BY 2.0 Flickr User JD Hancock
- 17. What’s the harm to girls?
- 18. CC BY 2.0 Flickr User JD Hancock
- 19. CC BY 2.0 Flickr User JD Hancock
- 20. “Systemic” means it’s on us to make change happen. So what should we do?
- 21. When asked “Where are the boy books?”… • Gently state that we don’t have boy books and girl books. We just have books. • And believe it. Stop ascribing gender.
- 22. When asked for a readalike… • Focus on themes and topics. • Offer a range of options based on what you’ve learned from the reader, not on assumptions.
- 23. When asked for a reading recommendation… • Describe themes and topics. • Check your language; ask yourself if you would describe a male character/author in the same way you’re about to describe a female character/author.
- 24. To sum up: Stop talking about books as for boys or for girls.
- 25. CC BY-SA 2.0 Flickr User Wendy Now let’s chat.
Editor's Notes
- Marketing spoon feeds us our “acceptable identities.” All humans are susceptible, but children especially so. Marketing tells us that boys are one thing, but girls are another. And that there is always a clear difference.
- The message that we’re sending to boys: There is only one way to be male, and that is to be stereotypically male. Feelings bad. Power good. And you deserve all the things.
- The reality is that boys are human. Humans have feelings, and boys have feelings. Humans cry, and boys cry. Humans care about friendships, and boys care about friendships. There are as many ways to be male as there are males.
- The message that we’re sending to girls: Your voice doesn’t matter. Only male voices and experiences are important. Girls are less than. We reinforce this concept when we encourage boys to ignore pink/princesses/stereotypically “girlie” things.
- The reality is that girls are not one thing, and they are not less than. Girls’ voices and experiences matter to EVERY HUMAN because they are human experiences.
- We are the authoritative voice in these interactions. If we say something like “this book is good for boys,” even offhandedly, the patron goes through a cognitive process that turns “good for boys” into “ONLY for boys” and vice versa.
- The reality is that girls are not one thing, and they are not less than. Girls’ voices and experiences matter to EVERY HUMAN because they are human experiences.