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Re: Sex and Sexuality in YA/ Middle Grade Lit
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From: Sarah Hamburg <srhf92_at_hampshire.edu>
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:50:47 -0400
I was thinking about K. T. Horning's question regarding sex scenes that act thematically within a book-- and then also attended a recent event with Kristin Cashore where she talked about sex and power in her Graceling series. Cashore spoke a little about her awareness of power dynamics in general as she's writing, and pointed to sex and sexuality as a place where she explores power in particular. I can very much see this in the Graceling books, where sex can be a context for addressing larger themes about power-- in relation to gender, orientation, class, history... etc. This got me thinking about how other authors treat the relationship between sexuality and power (i.e. notions of different kinds of power being inherently sexy, or the dynamics of power within sexual relationships, or discrepancies in power in claiming different sexualities, or larger power dynamics between characters as played out through sexual relationships.) I was trying to think of other examples of books, like Graceling, that play with or push back against some of the conventions in this regard... and was also interested in hearing others' thoughts about books where these power dynamics are unexamined or problematic. Was also hoping that maybe some of these questions about power can be part of the discussion of The Summer Prince, too...
Unrelated to this (or mostly unrelated!) I was also curious about novels that treat questions of sexuality for a more middle-school audience. People were talking about nonfiction, and middle-school access to materials that are intended more for the YA age group, but I wondered about books that are about middle schoolers and specifically explore some of the experiences of that age group?
One example I thought of is Better Nate Than Ever-- there were some things I didn't love about the book, but one thing I thought it did particularly well was explore questions of sexuality for a younger age. The focus for the main character isn't necessarily one of defined sexual desire or experience, but of sexuality as part of a larger questioning about identity and belonging. Nate knows he doesn't want to kiss Libby, and he feels a sense of validation and expansiveness when he see two men kiss openly at a club-- but Federle lets Nate stay in the realm of questioning, exploring and not quite knowing, which was thematically relevant but also felt true to the age to me. Not that there *aren't* kids at that age who have more overt or directed sexual feelings, but I feel like there aren't enough books that allow for more of a sense of ambiguity... or for feelings that haven't quite found a context or subject yet. I don't know if this makes sense to others-- but are there other books for this age group that aren't just about crushes or first kisses, but which describe a more questioning, not-yet-defined experience of developing sexuality and sexual identity?
Sarah
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Received on Sun 09 Mar 2014 04:51:11 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 17:50:47 -0400
I was thinking about K. T. Horning's question regarding sex scenes that act thematically within a book-- and then also attended a recent event with Kristin Cashore where she talked about sex and power in her Graceling series. Cashore spoke a little about her awareness of power dynamics in general as she's writing, and pointed to sex and sexuality as a place where she explores power in particular. I can very much see this in the Graceling books, where sex can be a context for addressing larger themes about power-- in relation to gender, orientation, class, history... etc. This got me thinking about how other authors treat the relationship between sexuality and power (i.e. notions of different kinds of power being inherently sexy, or the dynamics of power within sexual relationships, or discrepancies in power in claiming different sexualities, or larger power dynamics between characters as played out through sexual relationships.) I was trying to think of other examples of books, like Graceling, that play with or push back against some of the conventions in this regard... and was also interested in hearing others' thoughts about books where these power dynamics are unexamined or problematic. Was also hoping that maybe some of these questions about power can be part of the discussion of The Summer Prince, too...
Unrelated to this (or mostly unrelated!) I was also curious about novels that treat questions of sexuality for a more middle-school audience. People were talking about nonfiction, and middle-school access to materials that are intended more for the YA age group, but I wondered about books that are about middle schoolers and specifically explore some of the experiences of that age group?
One example I thought of is Better Nate Than Ever-- there were some things I didn't love about the book, but one thing I thought it did particularly well was explore questions of sexuality for a younger age. The focus for the main character isn't necessarily one of defined sexual desire or experience, but of sexuality as part of a larger questioning about identity and belonging. Nate knows he doesn't want to kiss Libby, and he feels a sense of validation and expansiveness when he see two men kiss openly at a club-- but Federle lets Nate stay in the realm of questioning, exploring and not quite knowing, which was thematically relevant but also felt true to the age to me. Not that there *aren't* kids at that age who have more overt or directed sexual feelings, but I feel like there aren't enough books that allow for more of a sense of ambiguity... or for feelings that haven't quite found a context or subject yet. I don't know if this makes sense to others-- but are there other books for this age group that aren't just about crushes or first kisses, but which describe a more questioning, not-yet-defined experience of developing sexuality and sexual identity?
Sarah
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Received on Sun 09 Mar 2014 04:51:11 PM CDT
