YA Gender Bending!, Barry Lyga Dot Com

YA Gender Bending!

Posted on: 05/12/09

Here's today's challenge: Think of your favorite YA novel, then switch the gender of one character. How does this change the story? DOES it change the story? Why or why not? Is the book better or worse or just plain different?

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Good question
By: Chris on Thu May 14, 2009, 03:34:40

What would Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak be like if Melinda Sordino was a boy? His situation would be similar, but different. I think it would make one heck of a book though.

I like this question even though I didn't really answer it. Now I'm think what if for a few books including Josh in Boy Toy and Q in Paper Towns.

It really makes me stop and think (and hopefully, I'll remember to think again) if the gender of a character really matters. Which comes first a character's voice or their gender? And should it matter?

Re: YA Gender Bending!
By: Barry on Thu May 14, 2009, 12:15:14

@Chris: Wow, that's a real gender-bender! Yeah, it sort of makes you think about the nature of gender and sexuality in fiction. I can't imagine Josh as a girl, for example. Just can't do it.

Question *thumbs up*
By: Dana Magee on Tue June 02, 2009, 21:54:19

Thats a pretty good question. I makes you really think.

I just imagined Fanboy as a girl. How weird would that be?! Or Kross as a girl. He would be just like his mother, Stalking Leah like that. Wow, that would make the story really different.

Re: Ya Gender Bending!
By: auckingfawsome123 on Mon February 22, 2010, 19:44:39

this one short story in the book 'Geektastic', which i recomend to YA readers, where the main character was in a quiz bowl and liked a boy on the characters team. you dont figure out that he is a guy untill like, the end of the story, and it totally changes your perspective of the character, and i had to almost re-read that story because it almost made no sense at the end. Either that or switch the gender of the main character of just about any YA novel, just to suprise the readers at the very end.

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