Today is going to be a bit of a ramble/rant/whatnot about the recent discussions on shame for reading YA, if you have no idea what I’m talking about then I point you to this article where Ruth Graham wants adults who read YA fiction to be embarrassed. It reminded me a lot of when Alan Moore was unpleasant about adults reading superhero comic books in this interview. Should people be reading specifically for their age and not younger? Do we need to section bookstores into age categories or stop adults going into see PG films at the movies?
In short- no. People reading YA books that aren’t young adults aren’t hurting anyone. Adults reading comic books aren’t hurting anyone. If you’re not hurting anyone or yourself then it’s really nobodies business to judge you. Going back to the title, I realised as I thought about this post more and more, that I get asked now and then what my ‘guilty pleasure’ TV show is, or book, or movie. And I think that is where the problem lies. People being made to feel guilty about getting pleasure from watching or reading whatever they want because people judge them. And that seems pointless.
Have I ever felt embarrassed about things I enjoy? Yes. Am I anymore? Not so much.
I like Snooki. I like books about werewolves called Kitty. I like comic books. I like shows about cosplayers. I like writing stories about TV show characters. My favourite movie is You’ve Got Mail, not Citizen Kane. I have no idea who just brought out a new album but I know all the words to this song in Romanian.
Nobody is going to stop me liking what I like or make me feel embarrassed by what I choose to spend my time on. And I would never want for people to feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk about things they enjoy to me.
Imogen's Typewriter. 