Books by female authors studied by just 2% of GCSE pupils, finds study
Campaigners urge exam boards to diversify English literature set texts to challenge rising misogyny
Reading the output of the average female novelist is going to reduce the hatred of women, is it?
Is this because GCSE Eng Lit has been so thoroughly debased they no longer study Jane Austin, Emily Brontë or even Zadie Smith?
Another case of ignoring the effects of time. “English Literature” covers centuries, of which almost the entirety was in the past. A significant proportion of authors being female is a modern phenomena, so the simple fact that Time exists means that the vast majority of authors to be the subject of study are automatically going to be female.
I think you’ll find all literature that can be studied is from the past.
/-pendant
Molesworth was right ( as ever ) when he said “all books that boys have to read are wrong”
Daughter of friend studied Carol Ann Duffy for Alevel ( compulsorily), whose poems are competent.
Sure, forcing kids to read stuff they aren’t remotely interested in will change their minds.
So I wholly endorse this plan. Replace the whole set with all the wokeness they desire.
It’ll be soooo much fun to see the results…. 3:)
Wise teenage boys will read Miss Austen not just for the pleasure of it but for the insight into female minds.
Has nobody told the dolts this?
And, of course, since Shakespeare was all written by the wife of the Earl of Oxford then in fact the figure should be much more than 2% anyway.
Dearieme, having been forced to work through that particular lady’s output at that tender age because of School… “pleasure” doesn’t come to mind..
As for “insight in the female mind”… At that age you’re aiming for another sight, pretty exclusively.
My experience with reading female literature is having to essentially write college admissions essays for both of my sisters.
Some of their high school assignments as well.
dearieme
Austen’s heroines always end up with the richest bloke in the book. An insight into the female mind and a lesson to us all.
Austen is a pioneer of stately home economics.
@Grikath: the brighter lad realises one insight will help facilitate t’other…
Would love to see the data supporting a rise in misogyny
That’s easy RF as long as you can change the definition of misogyny you can find data to prove what ever point you want
Everything is true for a given value of true
Why does it matter what the sex of the author was? It’s the book you are studying, surely as a piece of literature it stands on its own
BniC
You appear to have lost the thread of the narrative.
The classification of the author is paramount.
Surely you réalisé this?