1. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    Female main character in a male demographic book

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by MilesTro, Jan 1, 2019.

    Can the main character be a girl in a book, which is supposed to be aimed at a male audience? I have a draft that has a female main character, but I want the book to be aimed at young adult boys. What do you think?
     
  2. Nariac

    Nariac Contributor Contributor

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    Boys can like girls. It's fine.

    If you're concerned they might have problems being able to relate to her, you can just make her a tomboy or something. Or give her some kind of badass occupation like spy, or archaeologist. Think Lara Croft. Young adult males love her.
     
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  3. Tristan's Opa

    Tristan's Opa Senior Member

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    Depends on what you deem "male demographic book". I'm also kind of confused by "young adult boys". Oh wait, maybe I know some.

    So Tank Girl comes to mind as well as a few other strong female characters. We also have a new Captain Marvel coming..... what was your question or concern? Are you isolated? ;)

    Hope you know I'm trying to be funny, not mean.
     
  4. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    It's generally a challenge to get boys to read YA regardless, so an off-gender MC may be an extra challenge. But it's certainly been done... Hunger Games wasn't ONLY popular with girls.

    Does your female MC kill anyone?
     
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  5. LadyErica

    LadyErica Active Member

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    Fun fact: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe was aimed at boys, yet 20% of the customers were girls. Just something to think about. :)
     
  6. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    She kills the main villain.
     
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  7. DK3654

    DK3654 Almost a Productive Member of Society Contributor

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    Boys in fact are often quite enamored with girls ;)

    Sex appeal helps too. :twisted:
     
  8. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    I read books by Duane Swierczynski which are aimed at males and feature strong females as kind of leads. Some of us don't care as long as the story is good and we don't have to suspend our disbelief any more than if it were a male lead.
     
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  9. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Second this ^. Though I have never heard of the author of which they speak. :)
     
  10. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    I used to read books with female protagonists, but I also get the idea that I wasn't a typical boy.
     
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  11. Youssef Salameh

    Youssef Salameh Senior Member

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    In my point of view, yes you can. As along as there is a humanitarian moral message, since we are all human beings.
     
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  12. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Simple. Yes. I love Maddie in True Grit.
     
  13. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Wonder Woman and Cat Woman are both comic book heroes, and I do believe American comics were mostly geared towards a male audience.
     
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  14. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    Those were for girls. You can only imagine the disappointment on a laddie's face to see Wonder Woman on the cover.

    [Little boys are like angels, Charlotte's Web, Heidi, we immerse just as proper people - all that delineation, I don't think it quite kicks in - in the way we later perceive as adults. Although a manly man killing things is probably a more secure investment/opportunity ]
     
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  15. LoaDyron

    LoaDyron Contributor Contributor

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    I would say there's no problem as long as you don't make her too perfect. For example, Heather Mason, a female protagonist from a survival psychological horror game comes to mind. She is a typical teenager, that is pushed to a nightmare world where she has to deal with a lot of teenage stuff: abortion, pregnancy, stalking, her image, and a cult that was trying to force her to give birth to a demon.


    While I disagree with his opinion about Silent Hill3 had caused problems with sequels, I have to say he has good points about the protagonist. Do your MC vulnerable, whatever is female. The gender isn't a problem. :superwink: Just explore your character. I hope this helps. Keep on good work and have fun. :superagree:
     
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  16. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    I'm wondering in what way the book is aimed at a male demographic.
     
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  17. Nariac

    Nariac Contributor Contributor

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    Morbidly curious? :p
     
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  18. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Well, we're talking about the fact that male versus female isn't a big deal for the main character--a gender-neutral approach--but apparently the demographic is absolutely not gender neutral. So without knowing the reasoning behind the demographic, it's hard to be confident that a gender-neutral approach for the MC can work.

    Unless I'm totally misunderstanding and the question is just based on the fact that males are included in the demographic, along with females. In that case, my question is irrelevant.
     
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  19. LadyErica

    LadyErica Active Member

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    At first, yes. And not just boys, but "white boys". It's not about racism or anything, but most cominc book heroes are from the 1930s - 50s, and those were different times. But comic books have come a long way since then, and we now have heroes and villains from all parts of the world. We even have a Muslim girl as the current Ms Marvel, the very first Muslim superhero in Marvel. DC went all the way with a Chinese Superman, complete with his own Justice League. These are inspired by the American versions, not "What if Superman was Chinese?". And look at Black Panther. A Hollywood AAA-budget superhero movie with a black superhero as the lead. :)

    The point is, I don't really worry about who the target audience is. If it's good, people will read it. Besides, isn't Harry Potter mainly aimed at kids? And aren't most fans adult? ;)
     
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  20. MilesTro

    MilesTro Senior Member

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    My draft is an action adventure type of story. I was worried because most of the YA books with female characters are aimed to teen girls, and their female characters are strong.
     
  21. The Dapper Hooligan

    The Dapper Hooligan (V) ( ;,,;) (v) Contributor

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    At worst, I'd suggest having a male co-protagonist that's roughly equally matched that you can use as a friendly foil, with preferably a subdued, if not absent, romantic subplot between them.
     
  22. Matt E

    Matt E Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8 Contributor

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    I dunno, at least from the information provided so far, I think you should be thinking of your audience as young people who like action adventure books, not just boys. Thinking too much about audience demographics can be tricky, and can make the book feel unnatural to the story that you originally intended to tell.
     
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  23. John-Wayne

    John-Wayne Madman Extradinor Contributor

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    Lara Croft comes to mind for me... also Jill Valentine, (and I know there are others)
     
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