Wednesday, February 08, 2006
a debate about sex in YA novels
Over on a writer's chat group, there is a raging debate about sex in YA novels. Should it be there? Does it reflect reality? Do teenagers put the books down and run off to have sex asap?
My take on it? I think teens are gonna do what they're gonna do. And I don't think it was any different in 1986 when I was a freshman in high school. Not only did I not date in high school, I didn't kiss a guy for the first time until college. Not because my parents forbade me, just because, well, it didn't happen. And frankly, looking back on it, 18 in college felt right.
So, reading a YA book with sex in it (Forever by Judy Blume, anyone?) or without sex in it was all the same to me. Just figured the ones with sex were living the cheerleader's lives. ;-) And the other ones were about geeks like me (who would, of course, turn into gorgeous erotic romance authors after college).
Your thoughts?
;-) Bella Andre
http://www.BellaAndre.com
My take on it? I think teens are gonna do what they're gonna do. And I don't think it was any different in 1986 when I was a freshman in high school. Not only did I not date in high school, I didn't kiss a guy for the first time until college. Not because my parents forbade me, just because, well, it didn't happen. And frankly, looking back on it, 18 in college felt right.
So, reading a YA book with sex in it (Forever by Judy Blume, anyone?) or without sex in it was all the same to me. Just figured the ones with sex were living the cheerleader's lives. ;-) And the other ones were about geeks like me (who would, of course, turn into gorgeous erotic romance authors after college).
Your thoughts?
;-) Bella Andre
http://www.BellaAndre.com
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When I think about my adolescent reading material, I vacillate between wondering what my mother was thinking, letting me read that stuff, and thinking, good for her - she let me read what I wanted, and trusted me to have enough sense to make good decisions. Besides, the more time I spent *reading* about all that stuff, the less time I had to actually go out and *do* all that stuff. IMO, I think writing YA is the same as any other genre - if it makes sense for the character to be sexually active, then it's the author's job to be true to that character. That being said, I also think the sex scenes should be written differently than they would be in, say, a mainstream romance. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a book that really eroticized sex between two teenagers.
jami--well, yeah, you totally hit on the fact that people reading ya's are also likely reading all the "adult" romances too--with all that entails.....
;-) Bella Andre
;-) Bella Andre
Hmmmm...
I think its like this. If you let your kid read adult romances then you probably think the kid is ready for that kind of scene.
On the other hand, the reason you might buy a book for your kid in the YA section is because you want them to read books that go beyond children's literature, but isn't quite at the adult level. If you did that and it turned out to have sex scenes in it, I think you would have the right to be kind of PO'd.
JMHO, but there is a time and place for everything and YA should mean not-quite-to-the-point-of sex.
I think its like this. If you let your kid read adult romances then you probably think the kid is ready for that kind of scene.
On the other hand, the reason you might buy a book for your kid in the YA section is because you want them to read books that go beyond children's literature, but isn't quite at the adult level. If you did that and it turned out to have sex scenes in it, I think you would have the right to be kind of PO'd.
JMHO, but there is a time and place for everything and YA should mean not-quite-to-the-point-of sex.
I think in YA, the sex should never be written for titillation's sake, but it should either teach a lesson or be part of the moral fabric of the story. I would have been uncomfortable giving my thirteen year old daughter books to read that glorified sex between teens w/o addressing all the negatives of sexual involvement at a young age. I did help my daughter improve her reading by giving her Harlequin romances to read. The bedroom door in the stories always remained closed, but the stories caught her interest enough that she really learned to enjoy reading.
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