Trolling the YA section
May. 6th, 2008 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julieandrewsIn the comments, particularly on the John Scalzi post that I linked to in my previous post, some men are chiming in with a reason they don't go to the YA section of bookstores.
They feel that if they go there, they'll be seen as creepy sexual perverts or predators. They don't seem worried so much that they'll be chased out, but that people will look at them funny or think it.
I won't go so far as to say it's an invalid feeling. The media is at least partly to blame here (aren't they usually?) as you hear and see this sort of thing in the news and on crime dramas. And sitcoms don't help when they decide it's a funny situation to have a guy or guys hanging out around kids and doing creepy things that aren't intended to be creepy. Then isn't it hilarious when the mothers yell at them or the police show up?
It's probably made parents and caretakers of children hyperaware of the potential for danger. And it's also made at least some adult men hyperaware of doing something that might be seen as creepy.
But I don't see it as a valid reason to avoid the YA section of libraries and bookstores.
So let me try to alleviate some of your fears here and dispell some of the beliefs you may have about the YA section.
Firstly, YA means 'Young Adults' also called 'Teens'. You might find 9 year olds reading this sort of stuff, but it's not for young kids. It may be adjacent to or near the children's section of the bookstore or library, but it's quite likely its own section. Many stores have it separated by a row of shelves or a wall or the full distance of the store. Libraries may have it on an entirely different floor. In other words, you won't necessarily be going anywhere near where the little kids and their parents hang out.
Secondly, you're there to browse for books, aren't you? That means you'll be looking at the shelves and the displays. Why should anyone think it's creepy that you're looking at books in a place full of books?
Don't feel you need to bring a beard with you in the form of your 11-year old nephew. You're allowed to shop by yourself!
I hope you don't feel so self-conscious that you make a special effort to only go to these venues when school is in session. Or that you need to have an offhand comment ready that may or may not be true: I'm looking for something for my granddaughter.
Don't be timid about picking up a book that features a young girl on the cover, even if she has her arms wrapped around the cutest wittle pony ever. Chances are the person who'll help you check out won't even comment on it. If they do, it'll probably be to say they really like that book or they were considering reading that book or you should try such and such book which is like that book. Those are the only comments I ever recall receiving, no matter what I was buying/borrowing. And heck, some stores and libraries have self-checkout if you feel like avoiding the encounter entirely.
So walk into the YA section with pride and browse to your heart's content.
If anyone starts watching you suspiciously, rest easy. Maybe they've just decided you're a shoplifter.
They feel that if they go there, they'll be seen as creepy sexual perverts or predators. They don't seem worried so much that they'll be chased out, but that people will look at them funny or think it.
I won't go so far as to say it's an invalid feeling. The media is at least partly to blame here (aren't they usually?) as you hear and see this sort of thing in the news and on crime dramas. And sitcoms don't help when they decide it's a funny situation to have a guy or guys hanging out around kids and doing creepy things that aren't intended to be creepy. Then isn't it hilarious when the mothers yell at them or the police show up?
It's probably made parents and caretakers of children hyperaware of the potential for danger. And it's also made at least some adult men hyperaware of doing something that might be seen as creepy.
But I don't see it as a valid reason to avoid the YA section of libraries and bookstores.
So let me try to alleviate some of your fears here and dispell some of the beliefs you may have about the YA section.
Firstly, YA means 'Young Adults' also called 'Teens'. You might find 9 year olds reading this sort of stuff, but it's not for young kids. It may be adjacent to or near the children's section of the bookstore or library, but it's quite likely its own section. Many stores have it separated by a row of shelves or a wall or the full distance of the store. Libraries may have it on an entirely different floor. In other words, you won't necessarily be going anywhere near where the little kids and their parents hang out.
Secondly, you're there to browse for books, aren't you? That means you'll be looking at the shelves and the displays. Why should anyone think it's creepy that you're looking at books in a place full of books?
Don't feel you need to bring a beard with you in the form of your 11-year old nephew. You're allowed to shop by yourself!
I hope you don't feel so self-conscious that you make a special effort to only go to these venues when school is in session. Or that you need to have an offhand comment ready that may or may not be true: I'm looking for something for my granddaughter.
Don't be timid about picking up a book that features a young girl on the cover, even if she has her arms wrapped around the cutest wittle pony ever. Chances are the person who'll help you check out won't even comment on it. If they do, it'll probably be to say they really like that book or they were considering reading that book or you should try such and such book which is like that book. Those are the only comments I ever recall receiving, no matter what I was buying/borrowing. And heck, some stores and libraries have self-checkout if you feel like avoiding the encounter entirely.
So walk into the YA section with pride and browse to your heart's content.
If anyone starts watching you suspiciously, rest easy. Maybe they've just decided you're a shoplifter.