Re:A lack of male protagonists is making it harder to get yo...
by empath75 on Sunday November 08, 2026 @08:38AM
(#50413257)
It is more or less inevitable that successful representation pushes will overcorrect and you get a situation like this. It doesn’t have to be badly intentioned, and it’ll work itself out as the market corrects itself. But my boys have plenty of books to read with male protagonists if they want them. Percy Jackson alone has carried one of my kids through a long stretch of recreational reading. There is, you know, centuries of literature for children available during which male protagonists were over represented.
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Re:A lack of male protagonists is making it harder to get yo...
by fn-mote on Sunday November 08, 2026 @08:45AM
(#50413321)
> successful representation pushes
Certainly this is one possible hypothesis.
There are plenty of other cultural pressures for boys to read less than girls, though. For example, the prominence of male-dominated sports could be drawing their attention.
I’m wondering if the causal arrow goes the other way: fewer male readers leading to fewer male protagonists.
If that’s the case, we are already looking at the market correction, we just don’t like it.
Re:A lack of male protagonists is making it harder to get yo...
by empath75 on Sunday November 08, 2026 @10:36AM
(#50414160)
I think that is plausible also, and also video games.
I think in general the market is going to sell what people are buying.
Re:A lack of male protagonists is making it harder to get yo...
by hunterpayne on Sunday November 08, 2026 @04:41PM
(#50417609)
The sales data in video games tells a different story. The exact problem is only for those that aren't selling what the market wants or will buy. Studios that make what the market wants do just fine. Those that are concerned with other factors do not. How this is surprising to anyone is a source of amazement to me.