Nudge the boys to read about girls

You often hear men say they don’t know ‘what women want’. Well, why not make an effort to find out

When I was doing the research for my book ‘10 Indian Women Who Were the First to Do What They Did’, I studied a number of books and old letters, trying to dig deeper into the minds of these women I was writing about. I wanted to know what inspired their astounding achievements, especially in a world and at a time when nobody else had walked on that path. Some of these women wrote memoirs and letters, so I got a glimpse into their thoughts and opinions. As for the others, I found almost next to nothing about their personal lives. In fact, in a book about the first doctor, I found more information about her husband than about her.

It got me thinking about why there is next to no information about all these women achievers. One of the major reasons is that most historical and biographical accounts, both then and now, have been written by men, about men, for men. It cannot be that there weren’t any remarkable women in history; just that their stories are lost to us because they haven’t been recorded, most likely because they weren’t considered important. How unfair is that! Don’t more people, both men and women, deserve to know all these incredible stories?

Is there men’s fiction?

Yes. But the reality is different. It is a well-known fact that girls read books about girls and boys equally, but boys usually don’t want to read books about girls. Some boys actually hide the fact that they like books about girls, afraid that they’ll be mocked. This holds true in the world of adult fiction too. Women’s fiction is a category in itself. Why is there no such thing as men’s fiction? Does that mean that books with men or written by men are for everybody, while books about women or written by women are only for women? How does that make sense?

Some argue that boys cannot relate to books about girls. Are girls born with magical powers to make them relate to books about boys? If boys don’t mind reading about mice and monsters, does it mean they can relate to mice and monsters better than they can to someone from their own species? (Whether we really need to relate to a book in the first place is another story.)

Men make a big song and cry about how ‘they don’t know what women want’. How will you know if you don’t make an effort to find out?

This Women’s Day, what if we nudge the boys (and men) around us to pick up a book about girls? It could be the first step towards a world where men see women as human beings, with their own lives, likes and rights! Perhaps, that would make a better investment into a brighter and more secure future for women; a more meaningful way of showing appreciation, rather than a token card or gift, or flowers that will wilt the very next day.

The author got a master’s degree in energy engineering and worked in the IT industry until her daughter dragged out the writer lurking inside her. She has written eight books for children and can be reached at www.shruthi-rao.com

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