Why Don’t Men Read Fiction?

Spoiler: It’s the Patriarchy

A few things in life are guaranteed: death, taxes, and that every so often, the Discourse decides to fuel itself by musing about why men don’t read novels. (And no, it’s not because book cover design alienates men, though I do have a 1,000-word essay in me about that for another day.) This issue of men and fiction is not a new question, or even, frankly, an interesting one. Since the 18th century, fiction has been aimed at and increasingly ruled by leisured women, and thanks to the magic of capitalist patriarchy in which men are seen as most successfully male when they are most visibly productive, men are incentivized to affirm their masculinity by distancing themselves from any cultural product that is primarily associated with women.

Men receive a centuries-old message that if you want to be sigma (greetings, fellow kids!), you better stay on the grindset, and that means only reading nonfiction, if you read at all. And it’s a huge bummer! Fiction is fun and edifying. Men should get to enjoy all of its benefits, and the rest of us should get to enjoy a world in which men aren’t so constrained by narrow definitions of masculinity. It’s almost like patriarchy is bad for everyone! The next time someone feels the urge to write a “Why don’t men read fiction?” piece, I hope they’ll pick up Liz Plank’s For the Love of Men instead and redirect their time and energy to the real problem.

Jennifer Weiner Offers Fellowship for Emerging Writers

Jennifer Weiner has partnered with Philadelphia-based literary organization Blue Stoop to offer a fellowship for emerging writers. Six recipients will each win a $5000 stipend, mentorship from Weiner, and access career-building resources and publication opportunities and the support of Blue Stoop’s community.

Eligible candidates must be “woman-identified,” which “explicitly includes transgender women, cisgender women, and nonbinary people who feel connected to the identity of “woman.” To qualify as an emerging writer, applicants may not have advanced degrees in creative writing or have previously published a full-length work of prose (or be under contract to do so) with a traditional press, university press, or other established press. As Weiner notes, “Being a writer is hard! Let’s make  it a little easier.” Always nice to see a successful writer committed to not pulling the ladder up behind her.