13 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: "A Man Who Reads" from starbreaker.org
I can appreciate why his irreverent tone is appealing. I can even very much get behind "read what you enjoy" and the pushback on the idea that men don't read.
When he talks about not caring who the author is, that is a privileged position though, right? Like, the way he's framing it? He has no problem finding representation so there is no hunger or need for seeing his experience or view point on the page and is free to just follow his curiosity?
It's great that his curiosity takes him to all different people and places, but to me it comes across as the machismo "I don't need to intentionally seek out different viewpoints because my interests just naturally lead me to doing it." It reminds me of the Hader and Mulaney SNL gameshow skit.
Reading for pleasure is good. Reading to broaden your horizons is also good. They can be connected or not, but maybe I'm not connecting with what his point is? I feel like I run into the idea that men don't read online more than in meat space, so that could just be my bias.
Comment by jumpFrog at 01/03/2025 at 18:33 UTC
21 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The idea that men don't read comes from data that says men read less than women. When I look up the actual numbers it seems 73% men vs 78% women (people who have read / listened to a book in the last year). Of people who read women tend to read more books as well. So while there is a difference I don't think the difference is as large as some of the articles written about the subject would purport.
On the author of the article. I got the vibe that the guy is raging against the idea that reading women authors is "woke". He wasn't trying to have some grand statement about himself.
I know personally I HAVE gone out of my way to read books by a more diverse set of authors. I've found that process illuminating in some ways. (Men and women tend to write about relationships differently and more women character pov). But it is always hard to come to grand conclusions as you shift through genres of books as well as publication dates.
Comment by LudditeLover5150 at 02/03/2025 at 00:12 UTC*
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
When he talks about not caring who the author is, that is a privileged position though, right?
Maybe? I don't know the guy, but while he seems to loathe right-wing ideologies he doesn't seem to have much patience for any sort of leftism that isn't about making things better for workers.
Like, the way he's framing it? He has no problem finding representation so there is no hunger or need for seeing his experience or view point on the page and is free to just follow his curiosity?
Or maybe he doesn't believe anybody can write his experience or viewpoint but him? Given how much material this guy's got up, I don't think he's got any trouble expressing his own viewpoint. I can't help but suspect that if he wants Norman Mailer or Chuck Pahlahniuk he knows where to find them.
Actually, I think he holds the very notion of representation in media in contempt. I found this bit where he explicitly talks about representation[1]:
1: http://starbreaker.org/scratch/index.html#january-2025-28
I see people talk about being represented in literature, movies, and TV, and asking me if I feel represented. But I can’t bring myself to care.
I would rather be represented in Congress than in the media. I want to know that there is at least one public official on my side, because in a democratic republic infested with populist demagogues that sort of representation actually matters. I would rather have a trade union behind me, so that I’m not getting fucked over at work.
Whether I can ‘easily’ identify with a fictional protagonist because they resemble me is irrelevant. Besides, I can see myself in any character – regardless of race, sex, gender, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation – if they possess qualities that appeal to me. Being human, nothing human is alien to me. I pity the fool who can only identify with those who closely resemble them.
He also wrote, in a post called "Literature Ain't Burger King"[2]:
2: https://starbreaker.org/grimoire/entries/literature-aint-burger-king/index.html
If you’re not happy with the fiction available, don’t bother complaining. Nobody cares, because this isn’t Burger King. If you want the story written your way, write it yourself, then publish it yourself — or be content with having written it. Nobody else can tell your story but you. Nobody else can represent you. Don’t ask them to try because if they’ve got any integrity they’re doing for themselves what you would have them do for you.