Today I'm over at Stellar Four spotlighting some YA reads that have an equal partnership between the male and female leads, where the skills of each are valued.
I would love for my children to live in a world where their skills are valued, regardless of gender. The idea that the only way for a male to be masculine is if the female is submissive is just so full of wrong I get stabby thinking about it.
Please share your favorite partnerships in the comments here or over on S4.
That article -- the one you were responding to -- was just so weird. I'm still sort of mystified by it. It's like, "look, I can pick and choose any books I like to prove any point I like." If anything, YA literature has incredible diversity in it these days, in which nobody has to fit rigid roles, and that seems like such a solidly good thing. It was as if she was saying YA doesn't let boys be heroes any more, instead of realizing that YA lets boys be human heroes, flawed and yet still amazing. Ie, Harry Potter? Percy Jackson? I do agree that Twilight doesn't offer the best male role models, but it was a strictly female fantasy imo, as evidenced by the two gorgeous guys both worshipping at the feet of the totally average and somewhat whiny girl. As for equal partnership, I'm picking Fire and Brigan from Kristin Cashore's Fire!
ReplyDeleteCashore's leads are excellent examples.
DeleteYeah - there are so many strong characters in YA, both male & female. And if you throw in Middle School books, the list is astronomically large.