The Book Lover's Den No. 27: Gender and Fiction/Nonfiction Genres, Part 1

Welcome to my renewed literary musing feature! I have decided 

to post it on Mondays now!

In each weekly post, I explore 

my thoughts on several 

book-related topics.

This Week's Topic

 Are gender and fiction/nonfiction genres always connected? 

In the ongoing, heated debates regarding gender and certain attitudes and behaviors, one important topic, which I'm sure has already been discussed by other book bloggers, is the connection between a person's gender and the type of fiction (or nonfiction, for that matter) s/he reads.  

I'm delving into this topic today because of a rather annoying incident I was involved in, about three years back.  This incident has stayed with me, and I think the time has come for me to fully and boldly address it. Thus, even though I'm sure this is not a new topic, this post reflects my personal take on the matter.

At the time, my husband and I were looking for new digs. We had decided to buy a condo, and, therefore, contacted a local realtor's office in order to get some expert advice. 

Our realtor, a woman, would always take us to see apartments accompanied by her own husband, who turned out to be a high school teacher, as well as an avid reader. So, inevitably, our conversations while going on these apartment-hunting expeditions would occassionally turn to books. 

On one such occasion, I happened to mention, during the conversation, that I greatly enjoyed reading science fiction novels. (I know I've probably mentioned this incident in other posts, but it has annoyed me to such an extent that I must mention it again. Please forgive the repetition.) Well, this man's reaction to my remark was not only instantaneous, but extremely annoying, as well as rather patronizing. 

The man was actually SHOCKED that I would make such a statement. In fact, he replied, "But you're a WOMAN! Women don't read science fiction!" For a few seconds, I didn't know what to say in response. The vehemence with which he uttered those words, almost as if I had personally offended him, just caught me completely by surprise. So I was simply speechless for a few seconds. Then, feeling that I had to offer some sort of defense, as I felt attacked, I rather feebly replied, "Well, I also love reading romance novels." At that point, I saw his wife GLARE  at him. (They were both in the front seat, as it was their car we were riding in. My husband and I were sitting in the back.)

His wife's glare spoke volumes: "Sweetheart, these are our CUSTOMERS. Our bread and butter. You don't antagonize CUSTOMERS." LOL. Her glare was effective, and he immediately clammed up, and did not pursue the matter. (My own husband very wisely kept out of the argument. Lol.) But it has lingered in my memory ever since, and I felt that I should address this topic at length. I might even need a second TBLD post, in order to do it justice.

I must confess to being a rather idealistic, naive person in certain areas. For instance, I really and truly thought that, once the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been signed, racism had come to an end. Well, the current administration is solid proof that it hasn't, but instead, has even seemed to gather more force since that so-called president took office. 

It therefore seems evident that, in spite of the several waves of feminism -- five so far, according to Google -- certain VERY dated attitudes toward women are still around, in this 21st century. In this regard, the present administration has also been responsible for keeping such attitudes alive, and even bringing them back in full force. 

I had hoped, however, that I would not encounter a remark such as the one directed to me by this man, in the year 2015. Again, my naivete and idealism got the better of me.....

Not only did I give a very weak "defense", but also, I allowed an obvious male chauvinist to intimidate me. I then sheepishly (I could kick myself, too!) admitted to reading romance novels, as well, as if to PLACATE this man! WHY, I wonder. Why did I feel the need to let him know that I was a "normal", feminine woman, since I also read romance novels? Most importantly, WHY did I allow this man to intimidate me, which was what he actually did, since he even RAISED HIS VOICE at me, in obvious shock and offense? 

And thus the topic of this post. Does gender have anything to do with the type of fiction (and/or nonfiction a person reads? On the surface, it would seem so. For instance, there are very few men who actually read and enjoy romance novels. And yet, we have men like Nicholas Sparks writing them. (On the other hand, I've noticed that ALL of Sparks's novels have sad endings, something which goes against the ironclad, unwritten rule that romance novels MUST always have happy endings. I therefore totally avoid reading his, lol.)

The question remains, however: should sweeping generalizations be made as to the "appropriateness" of reading matter to a given gender? I would say that, obviously, no such sweeping generalizations should be made. No two people, of whatever gender, are going to enjoy the same types of fiction genres, or even, for that matter, the same types of nonfiction books. Just because someone is a certain gender doesn't mean they HAVE to enjoy reading certain genres.  Where the heck is THAT written?

I happen to be a VERY eclectic reader. I am what could be termed "a mood reader". I will read a given type of book according to my mood at the moment. However, I am also what I am now calling "an intellectual question-of-the-moment reader". If I happen to be pondering a certain topic at a particular point in time, I will want to read books on the subject. Perhaps that has something to do with my mood at the time, as well, but the topic in question will not be one driven by emotion, but by intellectual curiosity, instead. There are times when certain topics just "grab" me, and won't let go. At such times, I will search for a nonfiction book, rather than a novel, of whatever genre.

My point is, whose BUSINESS is it which type of nonfiction book, or which fiction genre, I reach for, when a particular emotional or intellectual mood gets a hold of me? (This is a topic all by itself, as well.) Who the HECK has the right to tell me what I can and cannot read, according to my gender? Who has the right to tell me what is "appropriate" for a woman to read ?! The obvious answer is: NOBODY. I am an adult, and I have free will. (Of course, there unfortunately exist those people -- mostly men, but paradoxically, there are ALSO women -- who feel that THEY have the right to tell women what they should or shouldn't read, based on their gender. Well, let them stew in their own juices in complete frustration. I will read what I decide to read, and I do NOT care who judges me on the basis of my gender!

If I had a time machine...... Oh, if ONLY I had a time machine..... I would go back to that incident, and THIS time, I would not sheepishly reply that "I also read romance novels". OH, NO. I would say, "Well, thank you for pointing out the obvious fact that I am a woman. (accompanied by a smirk) Now, I fail to see what the HELL that has to do with my choice of reading matter!" But, of course, that wouldn't have been POLITE, would it? No, such a response would have violated the STILL unwritten rules that women MUST be polite, demure, certainly NOT strident, or bold in the statement of their opinions. Right? 

Well, I guess we STILL have a LOOOOONG way to go...... I'm sure that a GREAT FEMALE SF author I happen to know, S.J. Higbee, who blogs at Brainfluff, would have calmly responded to that guy, "How interesting that you feel that way, since you are speaking with a female SF author, dear sir." And she would have given this reply with a very sweet, but totally ironic, smile. Well, I must admit that such a reply might have embarrassed him more than my strident one (which never took place, anyway) would have. Still, I would have LOVED to have replied that way to this guy!

Oh, this will DEFINITELY be continued! Stay tuned for next week's post! 

What are your thoughts on
 this topic?
Please leave me a comment
and let me know!