A quote from the article:
I heard it a hundred times with Hunger Games: “Boys, even though this is about a girl, you’ll like it!” Even though. I never heard a single time, “Girls, even though Harry Potter is about a boy, you’ll like it!”
Source: http://shannonhale.tumblr.com/post/112152808785/no-boys-allowed-school-visits-as-a-woman-writer
This has never actually occurred to me. I’m a girl, and no one has ever said “Oh, you’ll like this even though it’s about a boy.” I’ve never considered not reading something because the book was in a boy’s POV (though I have passed up reading books that I know are by male authors, I am guilty of that). I have thought about how men will not enjoy my books as they are mostly about romance, and that they wouldn’t like my YA stuff because it would all be in a girl’s POV.
I guess it never occurred to me to question it, to say, “Excuse me, I’m a girl and I can read in a guy’s POV, why the fuck can’t boys do the same?”
I urge you to read the original post, especially if, like me, you’ve never thought as deeply on the topic. It just never came to mind.
I’ve never thought about that, either. I read books in both male and female POVs. Neither one matters to me. If the character is memorable and likable, then I’m sold. I don’t care what the gender is.
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Ah, I love Shannon Hale. Very interesting stuff.
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Me too! I’ve read Princess Academy probably a dozen times.
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