I bought this book at my son’s school book fair and everyone in the household (me plus the three males living here) has read at least portions of it. (For those even more behind the times on their reading lists than me, GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ edited by Jon Scieszka (2005), is a compilation of stories/memories from 90 male children’s writers and illustrators, including our own![[info]](https://i0.wp.com/stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
davidlubar). The project is part of Scieszka’s literacy initiative designed to encourage boys to read.
It’s a great book. Now that I’ve finished all the stories, I plan on taking it to the library and looking up some of these writers’ books so I can expand our household reading horizons.
But . .
This book makes me wonder what a GALS WRITE FOR GALS READ compilation would look like. Guys’ childhood experiences are by no means universal (okay, maybe farts are a common thread) yet there’s this underlying “guy code” in the book that makes every male a member of the club. Even those boys who weren’t classic guys’ guys knew what was expected of them, and while some didn’t speak the language, they all understood it.
Would it be possible to have a gal edition of this book? Do gals have a universal language? Universal expectations?
While society does place all sorts of expectation on females, females have much more leeway than males in terms of sports (athletic girls are admired but it’s no big deal to be unathletic); the cars they drive (Hummers or VW Beetles are equally acceptable); the clothes and colors they wear (pants or dresses are fine, black, brown, pink, purple – every color in the spectrum is okay); make-up (women are free to wear it or not but men are denied one of society’s greatest inventions – lipstick!). In terms of careers, plenty of men are still intimidated by female doctors, scientists, and race car drivers, but there isn’t a majority unspoken opinion that a woman embarrasses herself by being, say, an astronaut. However, there is a prevalent attitude that men shouldn’t be nurses or dancers.
I grew up with two brothers and two sisters. I was a “tomboy” who threw a better spiral than most boys on the playground but also played with dolls. I climbed trees and sledded, built forts, pushed my cat around in a baby buggy, played dress-up, had pinecone fights, sang into my hairbrush along with the radio, wore lip gloss, laughed at fart jokes, read books.
Maybe my childhood is a representative snapshot of what a GALS WRITE FOR GALS READ story would offer: girls exploring different interests and attitudes.
And perhaps the GUYS WRITE participants would disagree with me, but as I read their stories I wished for a little more flexibility in their lives. Opportunities for them to be true to the real guys inside, whether that meant jumping off barns, composing musicals, designing clothes, or Xeroxing their butts.
Either way, I absolutely want that flexibility for my guys.
Tracy Abell 
Interesting…my husband is a guy’s guy (at least that’s how my brother puts it) — he’s an uber athlete, but he’s also very smart (especially in math). I’m not a girly girl, but I’m also not a tomboy. I played with dolls and read as a child (and played the piano)…pretty much nothing else.
Our son is very athletic already, but he’s also gotten some of the musical stuff from my family. Our daughter is a girly girl…she already changes her clothes twenty times a day and loves dresses and dollies. I think I’d want a girls’ book to be about strength as a woman — kind of a non-fantasy sheroes approach, he-he. But I like your thought about the guys’ book.
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Re your husband being athlete and smart….my younger son has recently confided that he’s glad he’s a good athlete because it means during recess he’s like everyone else (as opposed to the smart boy in class). I think it’s harder for boys than girls to be viewed as smart these days.
I know a girly-girl, too, who also changes clothes all the time. Saw her the other day and she was so proud to be climbing the tree in her front yard. And I was so proud of her, too!
And what a great idea you had: non-fantasy sheroes.
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Interesting…my husband is a guy’s guy (at least that’s how my brother puts it) — he’s an uber athlete, but he’s also very smart (especially in math). I’m not a girly girl, but I’m also not a tomboy. I played with dolls and read as a child (and played the piano)…pretty much nothing else.
Our son is very athletic already, but he’s also gotten some of the musical stuff from my family. Our daughter is a girly girl…she already changes her clothes twenty times a day and loves dresses and dollies. I think I’d want a girls’ book to be about strength as a woman — kind of a non-fantasy sheroes approach, he-he. But I like your thought about the guys’ book.
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Interesting…my husband is a guy’s guy (at least that’s how my brother puts it) — he’s an uber athlete, but he’s also very smart (especially in math). I’m not a girly girl, but I’m also not a tomboy. I played with dolls and read as a child (and played the piano)…pretty much nothing else.
Our son is very athletic already, but he’s also gotten some of the musical stuff from my family. Our daughter is a girly girl…she already changes her clothes twenty times a day and loves dresses and dollies. I think I’d want a girls’ book to be about strength as a woman — kind of a non-fantasy sheroes approach, he-he. But I like your thought about the guys’ book.
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I’m married to a Renaissance man (sigh and swoon), and I raised my sons to value those tendencies in themselves. IMHO, there’s nothing quite like a man who’s strong enough to do physical labor and be protective, but who also has the desire and know-how to do and be “sensitive,” as well.
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Ha, curious icon, that. I didn’t mean to use it, but hey, it works. LOL!
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HA! Would that pic represent the sigh and swoon portion of the comment? Or the hard work of physical labor?
See, it works on several levels!
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That’s how we’re trying to raise our boys. Well-rounded, kind individuals. I don’t doubt you succeeded in those childrearing goals, Melodye.
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I’m married to a Renaissance man (sigh and swoon), and I raised my sons to value those tendencies in themselves. IMHO, there’s nothing quite like a man who’s strong enough to do physical labor and be protective, but who also has the desire and know-how to do and be “sensitive,” as well.
LikeLike
Ha, curious icon, that. I didn’t mean to use it, but hey, it works. LOL!
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Re your husband being athlete and smart….my younger son has recently confided that he’s glad he’s a good athlete because it means during recess he’s like everyone else (as opposed to the smart boy in class). I think it’s harder for boys than girls to be viewed as smart these days.
I know a girly-girl, too, who also changes clothes all the time. Saw her the other day and she was so proud to be climbing the tree in her front yard. And I was so proud of her, too!
And what a great idea you had: non-fantasy sheroes.
LikeLike
Re your husband being athlete and smart….my younger son has recently confided that he’s glad he’s a good athlete because it means during recess he’s like everyone else (as opposed to the smart boy in class). I think it’s harder for boys than girls to be viewed as smart these days.
I know a girly-girl, too, who also changes clothes all the time. Saw her the other day and she was so proud to be climbing the tree in her front yard. And I was so proud of her, too!
And what a great idea you had: non-fantasy sheroes.
LikeLike
That’s how we’re trying to raise our boys. Well-rounded, kind individuals. I don’t doubt you succeeded in those childrearing goals, Melodye.
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HA! Would that pic represent the sigh and swoon portion of the comment? Or the hard work of physical labor?
See, it works on several levels!
LikeLike
HA! Would that pic represent the sigh and swoon portion of the comment? Or the hard work of physical labor?
See, it works on several levels!
LikeLike
I agree with you about flexibility, but I thought the whole Guys Read thing was a kind of response to the fact that kidlit is dominated by women’s perspectives? It’s not particularly boy-friendly in many ways, with all the emphasis on writing emotionally moving stuff–characters that readers can relate to, etc. Aaa, that came out wrong. But I know Sciezka, gah-how do you spell his name? thinks things are tilted in the female direction and that’s why lots of boys think reading is boring. So he’s trying to encourage stuff that appeals more directly to LOTS of boy readers.
??
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I agree with everything you wrote here and do believe that was Scieszka’s motivation for the book. My point, which I guess didn’t come through (aargh!) is that reading this book got me thinking about a female counterpart (and I know it’s not “necessary” in that girls already have lots of books aimed at them and already like to read), which in turn got me wondering about how such a project would manifest since girls don’t have such stringent societal expectations on them.
I had no problem with the content of the stories but felt sad for some of the guys because they seemed to want other “non-guy” stuff in their childhoods but had to play the guy game to get along. That doesn’t seems as true for girls.
Does any of this make sense?!
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Just read what I posted above and want to add: What I really started thinking about was whether there’s a “gal code” counterpart to the guy code; I don’t know whether females have that common language because we’re allowed (by society) to be all over the map, in most instances.
Okay, did that clarify my intent or muddy it?
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Hmmm. Yes, you clarified your point. But I’m not sure that girls are so allowed to be all over the map. Or maybe it’s women I’m thinking of. Yes, there’s a lot more freedom to be whatever, but I think there are still expectations for girls and boys that MANY people still hold.
And I think you could make a girly anthology. In fact, I bet there already are such things. Didn’t Meg Cabot have a story in one recently?
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Yes, there are definitely expectations for both girls and boys. I guess now that I’m a woman who pretty much says and does what she wants, I’ve lost track of some of those expectations. But now that I have two sons, I’m observing up close and personal the kinds of restraints society puts on them.
As for a girly anthology, I guess it would be a counterpart to the guy thing because there would be girls who openly and not so overtly rebelled against the sex role stereotypes when they were growing up.
LikeLike
I agree with you about flexibility, but I thought the whole Guys Read thing was a kind of response to the fact that kidlit is dominated by women’s perspectives? It’s not particularly boy-friendly in many ways, with all the emphasis on writing emotionally moving stuff–characters that readers can relate to, etc. Aaa, that came out wrong. But I know Sciezka, gah-how do you spell his name? thinks things are tilted in the female direction and that’s why lots of boys think reading is boring. So he’s trying to encourage stuff that appeals more directly to LOTS of boy readers.
??
LikeLike
I agree with you about flexibility, but I thought the whole Guys Read thing was a kind of response to the fact that kidlit is dominated by women’s perspectives? It’s not particularly boy-friendly in many ways, with all the emphasis on writing emotionally moving stuff–characters that readers can relate to, etc. Aaa, that came out wrong. But I know Sciezka, gah-how do you spell his name? thinks things are tilted in the female direction and that’s why lots of boys think reading is boring. So he’s trying to encourage stuff that appeals more directly to LOTS of boy readers.
??
LikeLike
I agree with everything you wrote here and do believe that was Scieszka’s motivation for the book. My point, which I guess didn’t come through (aargh!) is that reading this book got me thinking about a female counterpart (and I know it’s not “necessary” in that girls already have lots of books aimed at them and already like to read), which in turn got me wondering about how such a project would manifest since girls don’t have such stringent societal expectations on them.
I had no problem with the content of the stories but felt sad for some of the guys because they seemed to want other “non-guy” stuff in their childhoods but had to play the guy game to get along. That doesn’t seems as true for girls.
Does any of this make sense?!
LikeLike
I agree with everything you wrote here and do believe that was Scieszka’s motivation for the book. My point, which I guess didn’t come through (aargh!) is that reading this book got me thinking about a female counterpart (and I know it’s not “necessary” in that girls already have lots of books aimed at them and already like to read), which in turn got me wondering about how such a project would manifest since girls don’t have such stringent societal expectations on them.
I had no problem with the content of the stories but felt sad for some of the guys because they seemed to want other “non-guy” stuff in their childhoods but had to play the guy game to get along. That doesn’t seems as true for girls.
Does any of this make sense?!
LikeLike
Just read what I posted above and want to add: What I really started thinking about was whether there’s a “gal code” counterpart to the guy code; I don’t know whether females have that common language because we’re allowed (by society) to be all over the map, in most instances.
Okay, did that clarify my intent or muddy it?
LikeLike
Just read what I posted above and want to add: What I really started thinking about was whether there’s a “gal code” counterpart to the guy code; I don’t know whether females have that common language because we’re allowed (by society) to be all over the map, in most instances.
Okay, did that clarify my intent or muddy it?
LikeLike
I think this is a really interesting post, although I’m not sure I agree with all of it. I think the rules imposed on girls can be just as strict, just as harsh, although maybe they manifest themselves in different ways. Like the way pretty much no girl, and later very few women, is satisfied with how she looks. Boys don’t have that same universal emphasis, at least as far as I can see – not saying some don’t worry about how they look, but less than women, I think. So I’m wondering if maybe the pressures on girls are structured in a different way – not so much what they can do, for example, but how they think about themselves.
I also wonder if girls’ roles are more flexible – if indeed they are – is partly do to the tremendous emphasis that’s been put on ‘catching up to boys’ in the last 30 or 40 years – there’s been no similar movement for boys. You still hear ‘making it in a man’s world’ but there’s no concern among men for ‘making it in a woman’s world.’
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Paula, I think you’re right about the pressures being structured differently. It’s so funny how this post evolved. It really started out me thinking about how cool it would be to have a Gals Write book but then I started wondering if that would be possible which got me thinking about the differences between boys and girls and the way we hang together in society. And then I tried mushing my thoughts into a cohesive post but I’m thinking I strayed from my initial question which is: Could there be a Gals book?
And absolutely, I agree with the girls’ movement versus boys’ movement. In fact, you put into words what was nipping at the edges of my brain as I wrote this today. So thanks for that! 🙂
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I think this is a really interesting post, although I’m not sure I agree with all of it. I think the rules imposed on girls can be just as strict, just as harsh, although maybe they manifest themselves in different ways. Like the way pretty much no girl, and later very few women, is satisfied with how she looks. Boys don’t have that same universal emphasis, at least as far as I can see – not saying some don’t worry about how they look, but less than women, I think. So I’m wondering if maybe the pressures on girls are structured in a different way – not so much what they can do, for example, but how they think about themselves.
I also wonder if girls’ roles are more flexible – if indeed they are – is partly do to the tremendous emphasis that’s been put on ‘catching up to boys’ in the last 30 or 40 years – there’s been no similar movement for boys. You still hear ‘making it in a man’s world’ but there’s no concern among men for ‘making it in a woman’s world.’
LikeLike
I think this is a really interesting post, although I’m not sure I agree with all of it. I think the rules imposed on girls can be just as strict, just as harsh, although maybe they manifest themselves in different ways. Like the way pretty much no girl, and later very few women, is satisfied with how she looks. Boys don’t have that same universal emphasis, at least as far as I can see – not saying some don’t worry about how they look, but less than women, I think. So I’m wondering if maybe the pressures on girls are structured in a different way – not so much what they can do, for example, but how they think about themselves.
I also wonder if girls’ roles are more flexible – if indeed they are – is partly do to the tremendous emphasis that’s been put on ‘catching up to boys’ in the last 30 or 40 years – there’s been no similar movement for boys. You still hear ‘making it in a man’s world’ but there’s no concern among men for ‘making it in a woman’s world.’
LikeLike
Paula, I think you’re right about the pressures being structured differently. It’s so funny how this post evolved. It really started out me thinking about how cool it would be to have a Gals Write book but then I started wondering if that would be possible which got me thinking about the differences between boys and girls and the way we hang together in society. And then I tried mushing my thoughts into a cohesive post but I’m thinking I strayed from my initial question which is: Could there be a Gals book?
And absolutely, I agree with the girls’ movement versus boys’ movement. In fact, you put into words what was nipping at the edges of my brain as I wrote this today. So thanks for that! 🙂
LikeLike
Paula, I think you’re right about the pressures being structured differently. It’s so funny how this post evolved. It really started out me thinking about how cool it would be to have a Gals Write book but then I started wondering if that would be possible which got me thinking about the differences between boys and girls and the way we hang together in society. And then I tried mushing my thoughts into a cohesive post but I’m thinking I strayed from my initial question which is: Could there be a Gals book?
And absolutely, I agree with the girls’ movement versus boys’ movement. In fact, you put into words what was nipping at the edges of my brain as I wrote this today. So thanks for that! 🙂
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My husband says that womens’ books are about finding your true spirit and honering the person within and mens’ books are about regret. The funny thing is, I’ve hardly found an exception to his observation. Maybe boys’ books are different than mens’ books, but I thought that was interesting.
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Does you husband give examples of his theory? I’m trying to think in terms of women’s books and men’s books, and don’t even know where to begin. Maybe because I’m so immersed in children’s lit these days. Interesting…
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Let’s see. Good question. “There’s Death of a Salesman”, “Great Gatsby”, “Snows of Kilimanjaro”, “The Life of Pi” are examples of mens’ books that have themes about regret and wasted life.
“Jane Eyre”, “Their Eyes are Watching God”, “Secret Life of Bees” are examples of womens’ books about waking up to your true spirit and finding yourself.
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My husband says that womens’ books are about finding your true spirit and honering the person within and mens’ books are about regret. The funny thing is, I’ve hardly found an exception to his observation. Maybe boys’ books are different than mens’ books, but I thought that was interesting.
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Hmmm. Yes, you clarified your point. But I’m not sure that girls are so allowed to be all over the map. Or maybe it’s women I’m thinking of. Yes, there’s a lot more freedom to be whatever, but I think there are still expectations for girls and boys that MANY people still hold.
And I think you could make a girly anthology. In fact, I bet there already are such things. Didn’t Meg Cabot have a story in one recently?
LikeLike
Hmmm. Yes, you clarified your point. But I’m not sure that girls are so allowed to be all over the map. Or maybe it’s women I’m thinking of. Yes, there’s a lot more freedom to be whatever, but I think there are still expectations for girls and boys that MANY people still hold.
And I think you could make a girly anthology. In fact, I bet there already are such things. Didn’t Meg Cabot have a story in one recently?
LikeLike
Personally, I hope in the future that we don’t have/need a GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ book or its female equivalent. I think by having two different concepts for what males are and what females are we’re just limiting the human race. Really, I’d like to dispense with our traditional ideas of gender altogether but I don’t see that happening anytime soon so I think a good starting point would be what you suggest, Tracy, a wider range of experiences dealt with in books like these so that boys don’t feel they have to to be he-men to be true to their gender.
– C.K.
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Hi C.K.!
I agree with your sentiment about limiting the human race with these concepts. I don’t know about this particular book having a wider range of experiences in it, though, since the experiences they shared were those they lived. That’s what made me sad. Not that they weren’t writing about less “male” things but that some of them seemed to wish for different experiences but had beer-swilling jock dads out in the garage, ready to take them to task for not being manly enough.
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Personally, I hope in the future that we don’t have/need a GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ book or its female equivalent. I think by having two different concepts for what males are and what females are we’re just limiting the human race. Really, I’d like to dispense with our traditional ideas of gender altogether but I don’t see that happening anytime soon so I think a good starting point would be what you suggest, Tracy, a wider range of experiences dealt with in books like these so that boys don’t feel they have to to be he-men to be true to their gender.
– C.K.
LikeLike
Personally, I hope in the future that we don’t have/need a GUYS WRITE FOR GUYS READ book or its female equivalent. I think by having two different concepts for what males are and what females are we’re just limiting the human race. Really, I’d like to dispense with our traditional ideas of gender altogether but I don’t see that happening anytime soon so I think a good starting point would be what you suggest, Tracy, a wider range of experiences dealt with in books like these so that boys don’t feel they have to to be he-men to be true to their gender.
– C.K.
LikeLike
Yes, there are definitely expectations for both girls and boys. I guess now that I’m a woman who pretty much says and does what she wants, I’ve lost track of some of those expectations. But now that I have two sons, I’m observing up close and personal the kinds of restraints society puts on them.
As for a girly anthology, I guess it would be a counterpart to the guy thing because there would be girls who openly and not so overtly rebelled against the sex role stereotypes when they were growing up.
LikeLike
Yes, there are definitely expectations for both girls and boys. I guess now that I’m a woman who pretty much says and does what she wants, I’ve lost track of some of those expectations. But now that I have two sons, I’m observing up close and personal the kinds of restraints society puts on them.
As for a girly anthology, I guess it would be a counterpart to the guy thing because there would be girls who openly and not so overtly rebelled against the sex role stereotypes when they were growing up.
LikeLike
Hi C.K.!
I agree with your sentiment about limiting the human race with these concepts. I don’t know about this particular book having a wider range of experiences in it, though, since the experiences they shared were those they lived. That’s what made me sad. Not that they weren’t writing about less “male” things but that some of them seemed to wish for different experiences but had beer-swilling jock dads out in the garage, ready to take them to task for not being manly enough.
LikeLike
Hi C.K.!
I agree with your sentiment about limiting the human race with these concepts. I don’t know about this particular book having a wider range of experiences in it, though, since the experiences they shared were those they lived. That’s what made me sad. Not that they weren’t writing about less “male” things but that some of them seemed to wish for different experiences but had beer-swilling jock dads out in the garage, ready to take them to task for not being manly enough.
LikeLike
Does you husband give examples of his theory? I’m trying to think in terms of women’s books and men’s books, and don’t even know where to begin. Maybe because I’m so immersed in children’s lit these days. Interesting…
LikeLike
Let’s see. Good question. “There’s Death of a Salesman”, “Great Gatsby”, “Snows of Kilimanjaro”, “The Life of Pi” are examples of mens’ books that have themes about regret and wasted life.
“Jane Eyre”, “Their Eyes are Watching God”, “Secret Life of Bees” are examples of womens’ books about waking up to your true spirit and finding yourself.
LikeLike
Let’s see. Good question. “There’s Death of a Salesman”, “Great Gatsby”, “Snows of Kilimanjaro”, “The Life of Pi” are examples of mens’ books that have themes about regret and wasted life.
“Jane Eyre”, “Their Eyes are Watching God”, “Secret Life of Bees” are examples of womens’ books about waking up to your true spirit and finding yourself.
LikeLike