Book Sexism

Dear Kira,

Your last post was quite thought provoking. Personally, I've been on the fence about this question for a while. I think that the sorts of books you read can definitely inform your thinking, but the idea that reading shapes your personality kind of makes me nervous. While I think the whole, tabula rasa theory makes a good point, I like to think that certain aspects of your personality are inborn. I mean, it would be sort of a scary world where who you are as a person could be totally shaped by outside forces; that's sort of like being brain washed.

So, to make a long story short, I'm going to answer your question by saying yes, I think that someone's personality shapes their reading. I realize that this is a kind of controversial topic in our society. We live in a society where books are often grouped into categories based on gender.

For example, I've been informed on multiple occasions that I don't like Hemingway's work because Hemingway is a man's man. I can't appreciate his writing because I'm a woman; I don't understand. I take issue with that on several levels. Firstly, I don't dislike Hemingway because I'm a woman, I dislike Hemingway because I don't have a lot of respect for him as a person and because I think fishing is boring. Secondly, I'm sure there are women out there who like Hemingway and I'm sure that there are men out there who don't. It's all a matter of personal taste.

But I think that there are a lot of women out there who let this sort of thing keep them from reading "serious" literature (however you want to define that). I call this book sexism, which, like normal sexism is bad. One particular instance of book sexism has been bothering me a lot lately. As you know, Game of Thrones (both books and television show) has sort of taken over my life lately. So, when I read this review of HBO's Game of Thrones television show, it made me really angry. The reviewer, Gina Bellafante, wrote of George R.R. Martin's books

"While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin’s, I can honestly say that I have never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to “The Hobbit” first. “Game of Thrones” is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population’s other half."

Okay, let's take a minute to be angry about this and another minute to wonder why someone so obviously flawed in their reasoning skills writes for the New York Times, which I used to think was a reputable publication. First of all, I have no idea who Lorrie Moore is, so I guess that means that I just lost my second X chromosome. Oops. Secondly, I take it as a matter of personal affront that Bellafante equates "woman" with "book club attendee".

While Bellafante may feel that she's defending a woman's right to read the degradingly named genre known as "chick-lit", she's really implying that a woman can read nothing else! As if the single woman in the universe (Bellafante's universe that is) who wants to read "The Hobbit" is some how a misfit who is the "quirky" mascot of the group who has to be pitied and spoon fed romance novels.

I know plenty of girls who like sci-fi and fantasy novels and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Nor do I think there's anything wrong with reading books by Lorrie Moore, whoever she is, if you want to. I just deplore the social convention that says you must read this book or that book. By the way, I think that this works both ways. If a boy wants to read Twilight, he should be allowed to without being made fun of. Though, I'm still at a loss to discover why anyone of any gender or species would want to read Twilight, though, if you want to, I maintain your right to do so.

What do you think? Have you ever been the victim of book sexism?

Maria