An Investigation Into Misogyny in YA Literature

Hey guys! In my interview with Kat Colmer (which can be found here), Kat brought up the differences between female and male protagonists and the need for a female character to be likable, as opposed to their male counterparts, which can be unlikable with little to no hate. This got me thinking: what other misogynistic patriarchal or discriminatory tropes are embedded into literature? And what are the other misogynistic mindsets that we harbour, which help fuel these tropes?

Sexism and misogyny are so deeply embedded into literature and into our society that it's actually hard to realise what you're reading has misogyny in it, or to realise that you're being sexist. An example is the point which Kat brought up in our interview, which is that female characters can't afford to be traditionally unlikable, whereas male characters can be. Male characters can afford to be morally grey or questionable in their actions- if you're part of a bookish community on any social media platform such as Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr, then you'll know that's the type of stuff that people eat up. For example, Kaz Brekker, from Six of Crows, is one of the most popular characters in YA fiction at the moment (I'll admit, I love him too). But if Kaz was a girl, would everyone still love him? I don't think so. Jude Cardan, the female protagonist of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is a morally grey character. Jude is loved by some, hated by others. I've seen posts slamming Jude for making questionable, shady decisions. Her equally morally grey male counterpart, Cardan, gets a lot of praise and adoration. I have seen some 'hate' for him, which usually is expressed like so: 'I hate Cardan because of the ending of the second book, but I still love him.' So yes, the general public really does 'hate' him. Male antiheroes dominate the entertainment industry, with people adoring characters such as Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl, and the Winchester brothers from Supernatural. Author V.E Schwab herself mentioned this at the recent Supanova Comic Con in Australia, stating that she gave her female protagonist, Lila Bard, from her novel A Darker Shade of Magic, the most celebrated qualities in a male antihero, and received hate mail for it. This highlights the double standards between male and female characters in literature- male characters can afford to be villainous at times whereas female characters need to be pure and innocent to be likable. Girls are inherently held to different standards than boys are, and this can be seen not only in literature itself, but in how we, the readers, react to works of literature.

Then, there's the issue of sexist tropes within the novels themselves. These include girl on girl hate, the 'quirky' main character, and the 'shallow' girls. Girl on girl hate actually encompasses most if not all of the other tropes listed here. Girl on girl hate is a sexist trope that feeds into the stereotype that women can't get along. This trope is seen often in YA novels, and it's an inaccurate depiction of girls, especially in high school. This trope is mostly seen in high school contemporaries, but I can assure you as a high school student, that girl on girl hate rarely happens. At least, not like in the novels. This is where the tropes of 'quirky' main character and 'shallow mean' girl come into play. Girl on girl hate in novels is most prominent when the main character is seen as the nerdy, 'quirky' girl no one talks to, and the antagonist is the 'mean shallow' popular girl. There are so many things wrong with these tropes. First off, the 'quirky' girl- reading a book and liking different things doesn't make someone 'quirky.' So many people I know enjoy reading, but there are other qualities in each of them that make them different from each other. I'm 80% sure that reading does not warrant the amount of bullying and name-calling that novels set in American high schools indicates. The 'quirky' girl trope also interlinks with the whole 'I'm not like other girls' spiel (I'll link a video talking about this mentality down below). 'I'm not like other girls' is a stupid, harmful ideology, as it insinuates that being 'like other girls' is a bad thing. And it most certainly is not. 'Other girls' is made to make us think of girls who enjoy shopping, dressing up, putting on makeup and other stereotypical 'feminine' things, and it insinuates that girls like this are bad or undesirable. This is degrading as it insinuates our entire self worth is based off of being wanted by boys. The 'other girls' mentality is also a result of girl on girl hate and competition- this need to one-up one another or be better than her.  In fact, even girl on girl hate as a whole is used for male approval, with author Jodi McCalister commenting on how women are pitted against each other for male approval and attention at the recent Supanova Comic Con in Australia. The 'not like other girls' trope is also prevalent in fantasy and sci-fi novels, with the female protagonist wanting to 'kick ass' and all those other traditionally 'masculine' things, while scorning the other women in their world for being content with their traditionally 'feminine' lifestyles. This leads into our next trope- the 'popular, shallow mean girl.' Mean girls rarely ever have any depth or character building- they just hate the different, quirky girl for no reason at all. The only thing this character is good for is playing into the stigma that girls who like fashion, makeup or possess any traditionally feminine qualities are bad. This is such a harmful trope- I walk into the library or bookstore wearing a skirt and a crop top, and think to myself 'I should've worn my Harry Potter shirt and jeans so the other patrons won't judge me or think I'm a dumb bimbo.' And then I'll catch myself, and scold myself for not only caring what others think, but for playing into the stigma that fashionable girls are equal to shallow dumb bimbos. This is precisely why sexist tropes are so harmful. My clothes don't dictate whether I'm shallow or not. Why should anyone have any right to judge who I am based on my clothes or how I appear? These tropes box women into one or the other- you either like fashion or you're smart. It teaches us that we can't be both. I say these tropes can suck it. I love fashion and nice clothes, but I also love reading, writing and science. We don't have to be on or the other. We can be both.

Another example of misogyny in YA literature is the desire for 'strong female characters.' YA author Rachael Craw stated that this implies that there is a presence of 'weak' female characters which is incorrect, and she also stated that "any character who is 3 dimensional and has depth has strength on the page without having to kick down doors or wield a shotgun." This ultimately leads us to how we perceive female characters in YA fantasy and sci-fi. I'm constantly seeing the question 'who's your favourite badass female character?' on bookstagram- and I have to be honest; I'm definitely guilty of asking or answering this question myself. There's nothing wrong with the question or answering it- it's how we answer it. I can not recall answering this question, or even asking it, with 'feminine' women in mind. To be badass, a female character shouldn't have to have 'masculine' traits- take Cress from Cress by Marissa Meyer. I recall her being quite sheltered and shy, maybe even timid. Yet, she's still a badass character as she fought for what was right. Lara Jean from To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han is another example of a female character who's not traditionally viewed as badass or 'strong' but who I think is badass. She doesn't wield a gun or take down a government (she's in a contemporary romance novel after all), but she is still a badass because she fights for what she wants. Another example of this is MJ from Can't Beat the Chemistry by Kat Colmer. MJ fights for what she wants and the right to be who she wants to be, and that's what makes her a badass. Furthermore, a female character doesn't need to be courageous at all times to be badass- the complexities of humanity stems from insecurities and cowardice, as well as bravery and confidence. Women in YA literature are seen as weak when they have insecurities or are scared at certain points of a novel- but they wouldn't be real, three-dimensional characters if they didn't have these fears and insecurities. Swinging guns and flying fists doesn't mean a female character is 'strong' or badass- she's a badass regardless as long as she's developed, with her own ambitions, dreams, fears and insecurities.

Here are the links I used to help write this post:
The article Kat referred to which inspired my post
A post about girl on girl hate
A post on the 'not like other girls' trope
A video analysing the 'not like other girls' endemic

This post was very interesting for me to research and write. I definitely think I'll be more aware of misogyny in YA books, especially if it's subtle (I definitely was not aware of the female vs male antihero issue, or the ;not like other girls' trope in fantasy novels!) I hope this post was educational but also intriguing for you all (I didn't cover everything because I didn't want to bore y'all). Please also note that this post is about my take on things, and this post isn't the work of an expert. I'd like to say a huge thank you to Kat Colmer for inspiring this post and Rachael Craw for her amazing help in informing me of the discussions at the Supanova Comic Con in Australia recently.