Y.S. Lee's Blog, page 31
February 24, 2011
The Pretty Pink Girl Thing
Sometimes, the universe seems to steer me towards a subject. Then it clobbers me over the head with it, repeatedly. (It's not subtle, my universe.)
In this case, a Facebook friend shared a link to a terrific slam-poetry performance. Then I read Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter. After that, generous friends gave us 3 enormous bags of sweet, tasteful, hand-me-down clothes.
And you know what? Our girl isn't even born and I'm already experiencing Pink & Pretty overload. I avoid the pink aisles in children's stores. I know that Barbies, Bratz, and yet more bumptious dolls await. And I've noticed that clothing for small girls is relentlessly – even furiously – feminine: pink and purple, frills and tucks, flowers and hearts. Depending on the day, I sigh, shudder, or rant.
What I'm less certain of is why this bothers me so. Little boys are equally stereotyped: blue and more blue, trucks and dinosaurs, "action figures" (can't call them dolls, or society will collapse!) and toy guns. But to me this seems less dangerous, less toxic, less generally loathesome. Also, less compulsory. Am I under- or over-estimating boys, or being unfair to them in some way?
These questions churned in my brain as I read Cinderella Ate My Daughter. The pretty/pink conundrum torments Orenstein, too, as you'll see if you read her book (I recommend it). And here's where I think Orenstein really gets it right. She says:
It would be disingenuous to claim that Disney Princess diapers or Ty Girlz or Hannah Montana or Twilight or the latest Shakira video or a Facebook account is inherently harmful. Each is, however, a cog in the round-the-clock, all-pervasive media machine aimed at our daughters – and at us – from womb to tomb; one that, again and again, presents femininity as performance, sexuality as performance, identity as performance, and each of those traits as available for a price. It tells girls that how you look is more important than how you feel. More than that, it tells them that how you look is how you feel, as well as who you are.
That's it, right there – the core of my anxieties, uncovered.
And the slam-poetry performance I mentioned earlier? It's Katie Makkai's "Pretty". I think all girls should hear it – as mine will, one day. (Thanks, Coco.)
—
On a completely different subject, The Agency: A Spy in the House was recently shortlisted for an Agatha! These are readers' choice awards (yes, named for Agatha Christie) and the members of Malice Domestic will vote for a winner at their April convention. (Check out the full shortlist here.) I'm so very honoured. Thank you, mystery fans!
Pink, Pretty, Performance
Sometimes, the universe seems to steer me towards a subject. Then it clobbers me over the head with it, repeatedly. (It's not subtle, my universe.)
In this case, a Facebook friend shared a link to a terrific slam-poetry performance. Then I read Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter. After that, generous friends gave us 3 enormous bags of sweet, tasteful, hand-me-down clothes.
And you know what? Our girl isn't even born and I'm already experiencing Pink & Pretty overload. I avoid the pink aisles in children's stores. I know that Barbies, Bratz, and yet more bumptious dolls await. And I've noticed that clothing for small girls is relentlessly – even furiously – feminine: pink and purple, frills and tucks, flowers and hearts. Depending on the day, I sigh, shudder, or rant.
What I'm less certain of is why this bothers me so. Little boys are equally stereotyped: blue and more blue, trucks and dinosaurs, "action figures" (can't call them dolls, or society will collapse!) and toy guns. But to me this seems less dangerous, less toxic, less generally loathesome. Also, less compulsory. Am I under- or over-estimating boys, or being unfair to them in some way?
These questions churned in my brain as I read Cinderella Ate My Daughter. The pretty/pink conundrum torments Orenstein, too, as you'll see if you read her book (I recommend it). And here's where I think Orenstein really gets it right. She says:
It would be disingenuous to claim that Disney Princess diapers or Ty Girlz or Hannah Montana or Twilight or the latest Shakira video or a Facebook account is inherently harmful. Each is, however, a cog in the round-the-clock, all-pervasive media machine aimed at our daughters – and at us – from womb to tomb; one that, again and again, presents femininity as performance, sexuality as performance, identity as performance, and each of those traits as available for a price. It tells girls that how you look is more important than how you feel. More than that, it tells them that how you look is how you feel, as well as who you are.
That's it, right there – the core of my anxieties, uncovered.
And the slam-poetry performance I mentioned earlier? It's Katie Makkai's "Pretty". I think all girls should hear it – as mine will, one day. (Thanks, Coco.)
—
On a completely different subject, The Agency: A Spy in the House was recently shortlisted for an Agatha! These are readers' choice awards (yes, named for Agatha Christie) and the members of Malice Domestic will vote for a winner at their April convention. (Check out the full shortlist here.) I'm so very honoured. Thank you, mystery fans!
February 17, 2011
Write what you love
This week, to mark the paperback release of The Body at the Tower, I'm guest-blogging at TeenReads about why you, dear aspiring author, should Write What You Love. It all began when an unpublished writer of historical YA asked for advice on what he should be writing vs. what he's passionate about writing. I blinked, shook my head, and thought, what can I say?
As it turns out, a fair amount.
February 10, 2011
Rabbit, Read
Happy New Year, to everyone who celebrates the lunar new year! It began last week, on February 3, and continues for 15 days. That's 15 days of festivities, food, and family. I was hoping it would also be 15 days of delightful children's books but I'm coming up a bit short, here.
My local library has a good selection of round-the-world folk tales for older children and a couple of books that explore Chinese New Year customs. (I'm not being exclusive, here – the books I found are specifically about Chinese practices, not other Asian traditions). And they're… pleasant. Beautifully illustrated, in some cases.
Charmingly told, in others.
But they're all very Serious. They have Morals. They are – gasp! – deeply Earnest. This isn't terrible, of course. Morals are useful and earnestness is our national characteristic, here in Canada.
But this week, my plea to you is: could you suggest some beautiful, charming, light-hearted, Asian-inspired books for young people? Books about the New Year would be fantastic, but I'm also interested in all-year-rounders, at all reading levels, fiction or non-fiction, illustrated or not.
And at the moment, we're loving Rachel Isadora's Happy Belly, Happy Smile.
Thank you, friends!
P.S. This week, A Spy in the House was released in paperback! That was fast.
February 3, 2011
Snow Day!
Yesterday, instead of going to daycare and working, my son and I:
- frolicked in the snow
- marvelled at its relentlessness when all signs of shovelling were obliterated after an hour
- waited for my brother to say he'd arrived safely in Toronto
- built an elaborate railway only to dismantle it after the bridge fell down 15 times in as many minutes
- chanted "Pease Porridge Hot" approximately 50 times
- made cookies
- and played a game based on this book (which my mother-in-law found at a jumble sale, and which is utterly charming):
I didn't know it until yesterday but writers, like kids, get snow days. Another reason to call it the finest job on earth! What did you do in the snow?
P.S. I've done a short interview for Kingstonist. My interviewer was Caitlin Fralick, a public librarian, which feels like an all-round win.
January 27, 2011
My ebook problem
It's okay, friends – I'm not up on my piracy soapbox today. But I was recently asked for my general opinion of ebooks and realized, I seldom think about them. As you know, I love books with a fervour that approaches the religious and have plenty of opinions about technology, but where those two things collide, I just shrug and go, "Meh."
Basically, I'm suspicious of the medium. Dedicated e-readers look frumpy, cumbersome, fragile. When I look at them, I think, "Landfill." Smartphones are sleeker and newer iPads have some green credentials, but they're still not that sustainable. Analyses vary, but the number I hear most is that you have to read at least 40 ebooks a year to outweigh the environmental cost of the same number of new paper books. (That's if you believe the most-quoted figure.) For how many years? More than it takes to get the next generation e-reader, for sure.
I already spend my days on a laptop, drive a car, fly long distances to visit family, and eat for pleasure rather than sustenance. Sometimes, I slip carrot peelings into the garbage instead of the composter. And without going all Willy Loman on you, I'm putting off buying a dishwasher because new ones are designed to last only 6-8 years. I think I'm turning into a cranky hippie but basically, I dislike stuff.
So today, I'm thinking of things that need to happen before I'd want an e-reader or smartphone. My first device should:
- last more than 5 years
- be made without sweatshop labour
- be recyclable (and not just in theory)
- cost less energy to produce than, say, 25 paper books (roughly the number I bought new last year)
- be beautiful
And that's excluding all the readerly functions I'd want: huge range of titles, full-text searchability, linked index, ability to turn more than one page at a time, proper illustrations.
What about you? What are your criteria for getting an e-reader? If you already have one, what persuaded you it was worthwhile?
January 20, 2011
Personal, meet authorial
Hello friends! I have an announcement to make and feel rather nervous about the whole thing. Mostly, I like to keep my work (Y S Lee) and personal (Ying) lives distinct. Yet this recent development in my personal life just keeps butting in. It won't leave the author alone to work, it keeps asserting itself and interfering, blah blah blah.
Other reasons I'm anxious: I'm not the most ceremonious of people. And I hate drawing attention to myself. Oh, and at some level I believe that talking too much can jinx a thing. Yes, I am a ridiculous human being.
So with that lengthy and inglorious disclaimer, I am actually utterly delighted to announce that I'm pregnant. The baby is due in late May, and she's a girl.
We are thrilled, and nervous, and eager to meet her.
Our son is over the moon (he's been campaigning for a baby for ages).
And Y S Lee? She's somewhat dismayed by the drop in energy levels, but promises to be back. Oh yes.
January 13, 2011
Piracy, borrowing, theft
Yesterday, a discussion about illegal e-book downloads exploded on Twitter. Some of the comments were illuminating, others sanctimonious, still others plain illogical. It makes for frustrating reading. (You can find the unedited discussion here.)
In brief, though, lots of readers appear to believe that illegal downloads are "like a library card on the Internet". There are lots of problems with this assumption and today I'm just going to pick at the 3 most basic:
1. Libraries buy books and lend them as a community service (paid for with your taxes). "Free ebook" sites steal books for personal profit.
2. When you borrow a library book, you agree to return it after a short period. You are under no obligation to return a stolen ebook.
3. Authors are paid for their work when libraries buy their books. Authors earn nothing from pirated ebooks.
Basically, downloading illegal copies of ebooks is theft. Authors who can't get paid for their work may soon be out of work. Publishers who can't earn back the cost of producing books may reduce the number of books they publish.
This is extremely simplistic, of course, and I hope you don't feel personally patronized. But for much of yesterday's Twitter discussion, this was the level of discourse and so I started with the basics.
And now I'm tired, and jaded, and these specious comparisons of book-thieves to librarians make me want to soothe my spirit at a real library: one with ebooks and traditional books, one staffed by smart, bookish people with plenty of great recommendations, one that's a vibrant part of my community. I hope you'll join me.
January 6, 2011
The Traitor and the Tunnel
At long last! I now have official permission to share with you the UK cover for The Traitor and the Tunnel, coming in August 2011 from Walker Books.
The full jacket is here. You can click on the image to read the official description.
So, what do you think? (And thank you, Becky, for the tip-off!)
December 29, 2010
My best books of 2010
Hello, friends. This week, I'm guest-blogging at the Book Smugglers. My subject, of course, is the best books I read in 2010.
There's a contest, too! To celebrate my birthday, I'm giving away a prize pack that includes the very last Agency t-shirt. So what are you waiting for? Get over there! And I'll see you here in the new year.
