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I say this as a man who’s noticed how female dominated most literary spaces tend to be. Most book clubs are female dominated, a lot of booktok and whatnot seems geared towards women, and many online literary communities/forums seem to be mostly women. I know a good deal of men who haven’t seriously read a novel in years. And it’s like a positive feedback loop: the more feminine that reading seems, the less interested men are in doing it.
I see this as an issue, firstly, because of how much men could benefit from reading more. A lot of my greatest life lessons have come from sources as diverse as Harry Potter, Ulysses, The Old Man and the Sea, and Song of Solomon. Regularly reading substantive books sharpens intellect, strengthens concentration, and, perhaps most importantly, builds emotional intelligence and empathy. Moreover, I have few men to talk with about books. Obviously, I don’t mind discussing with women, but as men, we bring our own unique perspectives in analyzing literature due to our generally different life experiences when compared to women. Just as women add unique elements to the discussion based upon their experiences, I feel we miss out on so many unique, interesting interpretations of literature because men simply don’t read.
I don’t know what the solution to this problem is, but I thought I’d share and ask if you saw a similar phenomenon. Sure, you have male-geared literature like Lord of the Rings and Hemingway, but I increasingly notice even the LOTR books are being read more by women, although the movies seem to still be more popular with men.
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