In the mystery and fantasy modules, there were books that both followed and disregarded gender roles.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is the obvious candidate for patriarchal, classic gender roles. Bella is pretty, shy and clumsy. Her main expressions of affection toward her father are cooking dinner and cleaning the house while he watches endless sporting events on TV or goes fishing. Enter Edward Cullen, local hottie and eternally 17 year-old vampire. Bella falls in love, shuns her friends, focuses all of her attentions on Edward and is ready to give up everything in her life--her family, her humanity--to be with him forever. Edward, meanwhile, is controlling and jealous. He sneaks into her room and watches her sleep. He constantly warns her that he's a breath away from killing her because she's the tastiest human he's ever encountered. Bitch magazine has a great feminist article bashing the books. They call the Twilight series "abstinence porn" and particularly rage against the conversion of Bella into a 1950's housewife in the fourth installment, Breaking Dawn. On one hand, these books are harmless and appealing. What teenage girl (or stressed out, unappreciated mom) doesn't wish for some rich, gorgeous, devoted man to swoop in and take care of her? It's a simple love story for fans of Jane Austin or Shakespeare. On the other hand, it reinforces all sorts of horrible stereotypes about men and women. A man is the most important thing in a woman's life. Girls shouldn't have sex before marriage. The best option for a woman is to get married and have a baby. It's okay for a guy to act like a creepy stalker and threaten your life as long as he's like Edward Cullen. (And, in the second book, New Moon, is this choice lesson: If your boyfriend dumps you, it's okay to sink into a deep, spiraling depression, emotionally manipulate your best friend, drop him like a hot potato when the ex attempts suicide in Italy, instantly forgive said ex after he barely apologizes for deserting you in the first place and continue to put yourself in danger because you love him. YUCK.) It's a book that's easy to either love or hate (or both). I have mixed feelings about Twilight. I like it and am a dedicated member of the fan fiction fandom. At the same time, I continually ask myself why I enjoy these books so much when their message is so sexist. It's also really hard to explain the events of the plot without being utterly horrified. (Especially when Edward chews open Bella's womb during the birth of their hybrid baby, Renesmee, or when Jacob imprints on newborn Renesmee. Double yuck.) As a parent or teacher, I would want to discuss the gender stereotypes for women in the books and make sure that girls know they have options other than marriage and children. Especially with all of the hype around the movies, it's easy for girls to think that Bella is a good role model or that her relationship with Edward is the ideal. (She's not and it's not.)
As a polar opposite, Maximum Ride by James Patterson and Narae Lee has strong, unconventional female characters. Max and her brood are genetically altered avian/human hybrids who escaped from their school/prison to attempt to have a normal life. When Erasers, lupine/human hybrids, attack the group and kidnap Angel, a young doe-eyed girl, Max and her friends unsuccessfully attempt to rescue her. Max is beautiful, but independent and strong. She fights for her "family", doesn't cook and is a respected leader. She's not romantically involved with anyone and there are no gratuitously sexual representations of her or the other female characters in the graphic novel. It was refreshing to see a female lead in this story--especially since it's a graphic novel. It can be so limiting for readers to assume that women need to behave or think in a certain way or that men always need to be the dominant ones. Maximum Ride offers a story with a teenage girl as the hero rather than just a victim who needs to be saved.
The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci is incredibly realistic but does veer toward stereotypical roles with its female characters in particular. While part of the behavior is based on living in a small town, most of the teenage girls are flirtatious, catty and shallow, engaging in petty jealousies over boys or starting rumors about each other. Casey is bolder--unafraid to go skydiving or mountain climbing. On more than one occasion she is described as beautiful and ditzy. It's tricky because this book is a great portrayal of how teens act in high school. There is pressure from friends to behave in a certain way. You are judged by your clique. It's an ongoing battle to fit in and be cool. I think most readers would respond to this book and to Kurt, the narrator. But it doesn't offer up any good strong unconventional characters of either sex.
Skullduggery by Peter Hautman and Mary Logue is a mixed bag. Roni is smart and sassy. She names her Vespa scooter after Hillary Clinton. She's an investigative reporter for her school newspaper. She's an equal partner in the crime solving duo. At the same time, she spends most of her time in class drooling over cute Eric Bloodwater. She's on a diet. She doesn't always assert herself around her male peers. Boys aren't exempt from stereotypes in this story either. Eric is good looking but dumb while Brian is the unattractive nerd. There aren't any non-traditional male roles in this book, although it's nice that the smart, nerdy guy is the lead rather than the cute, popular jock. However, despite any tendencies toward cliches, Roni and Brian make a great team as friends and crime solvers. Intelligence is valued and they both can take control of the situation. This allows readers to see both females and males as leaders and heroes.
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