Not For Girls, Just For Boys

An eight year old girl from London helped strike a blow against gender inequality, even if the topic is books.

This young girl started a petition arguing that books shouldn’t be designated “for boys” or “for girls”. This started when she spotted a children’s book titled Amazing Things for Boys to Make and Do – the “Cap’n of pirate fun books. Pure gold at a Scholastic Book Fair held at her school. “What’s wrong with me I like boys stuff?” is one of the questions she asked. Her petition generated over 80 signatures, signed by family, friends, and teachers.

With the help of the campaign Let Books Be Books , Scholastic decided to stop labeling their books “for girls”or “for boys”. They also decided to remove gender-focus questions from their book wizard tool, a tool used quiz children on their interests.

When I heard about this, I try to think back all the books I read in my childhood. I don’t think I remember reading books that specifically said “for girls”. But I do remember the books I read where gender based and I’m not talking about the plot. When I really think about it, a lot of the book covers gave out the “just for girls” vibe. Take the book series Goosebumps for example. Remember the old covers? It gave out that boyish look but I know some girls were drawn to the series. Yet, Scholastic decided to market it for boys.

There is a gender gap between young girls and boys but hopefully with Scholastic’s recent decision, the gap is starting to close. Let’s hope other publishers follow suit if they want both girls and boys to continue reading.