“We found that men do not regard books as a constant companion to their life’s journey, as consolers or guides, as women do,” said Prof Jardine. “They read novels a bit like they read photography manuals.” Women readers used much-loved books to support them through difficult times and emotional turbulence, and tended to employ them as metaphorical guides to behaviour, or as support and inspiration.
“The men’s list was all angst and Orwell. Sort of puberty reading,” she said. Ideas touching on isolation and “aloneness” were strong among the men’s “milestone” books.
The researchers also found that women preferred old, well-thumbed paperbacks, whereas men had a slight fixation with the stiff covers of hardback books.
“We were completely taken aback by the results,” said Prof Jardine, who admitted that they revealed a pattern verging on a gender cliche, with women citing emotional, more domestic works, and men novels about social dislocation and solitary struggle. —Charlotte Higgins —A tale of two genders: men choose novels of alienation, while women go for passion (Guardian)
Not exactly a scientific study, but still interesting.
This list of Best Geek Novels Written in English certainly fits the stereotype of male literature, though I wonder how that list would change if you separated it into male geeks and female geeks.
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That's a very good analysis, Will. The article also says that the men were asked about works of fiction that changed their lives, but that some men volunteered non-fiction books, and one is quoted as saying that fiction doesn't work on him that way.
The novel is a recent literary form, created at a time when large numbers of women formed the reading audience for the first time. I've read elsewhere that boys get turned off to reading in elementary school because their teachers are mostly female, and those teachers tend to teach works that are about families and relationships. The works on this list include epic fantasy, dystopian science fiction, as well as war, policics, and social justice.
The Toys R Us aisles for girls are decorated in pink, mauve, and white, and the Toys R Us aisles for boys are black, purple, and neon green, and the toys on the shelves are very different. Certainly the marketers are responsible for perpetuating cultural differences between the genders, but marketers don't want to query and challenge cultural stereotypes -- at least, not if they think they will make more money by perpetuating them.
I wonder if the question had been phrased, "What works of literature have helped you succeed in your career" or "What works of literature have taught you about manhood," or "What works of literature have taught you to be more sensitive," how would the list be different?
As for the paperbacks vs "fixation with the stiff covers" -- recognize that we're reading a newspaper reporter's summary of the professors' work, and the reporter may have cherry-picked in order to create an article that winks and nods at the reader.
Notice how the choice of language reflects a bias against men's choices -
Women's Choices -
Women, by contrast, most frequently cited works by ... *insert 5 pleasant sounding author's names*...They also name a "much richer and more diverse" set of novels than men...
(More diverse might be objective, but certainly saying someone's reading choices are "richer" is a wholey subjective analysis.)
Men's Choices -
We find that men do not regard books (starting out with a negative) ... Women readers used *insert something nice sounding, like "metaphorical guides"*
The men's list...Sort of puberty reading... (It goes without saying, but describing adults choices as "puberty" is hardly an objective term.)
Finally, "The researchers also found that women preferred old, well-thumbed paperbacks, whereas men had a slight fixation with the stiff covers of hardback books."
I'm afraid this is the point where I said "I don't believe this at all." I don't know any guys who prefer hardback books - even from the cold impersonal point of view that the author feels that men have, a paperback is better because it's smaller and less akward to fit in with other stuff.
Personally, I take this whole "study" with a really, really, really big grain of salt.