Gender and power

Femist novel comments by Atwood in her preface

In the classroom:

The mature content makes this novel best fit for high school students.
This would be a great novel to teach and facilitate a discussion on narrators and their reliability. "I made that up. It didn't happen that way ... It didn't happen that way either. I'm not sure how it happened; not exactly" (261-3).

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

A dystopian novel set in the near future, where fertility rates have rapidely declined and a ultra-religious group staged a coup, killing most of the three branches of the American government. The new system put in place is an extreme patriarchy that takes part of the Old Testament as a guidebook, where most people are assigned jobs, including handmaids, whose job is to try to become impregnanted by their married "commanders". Told through the eyes of one handmaid, Offred, the story reveals the power-struggle, passive protest and power embalance.

"Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse for some" (221).

Essential questions:

What are some of the steps that can end up leading to complete disempowerment of a group? “Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub you'd be boiled to death before you knew it.”
What is the language of the oppressed? "Hand lotion, I said ... Our skin gets very dry. For some reason I said our instead of my" (158). What types of language do those in power often use?
What can literature teach us about history and politics? What can we learn from dystopain societies like the one Atwood portrays?

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Despite having written her most acclaimed novel nearly 50 years ago, The Left Hand of Darkness is about a world that is still relevant to today’s discussions around gender and sexuality. Winter is a planet where the people who populate it are androgenous. Readers learn about this planet mostly through the lens of a man from Earth who is sent there as an ambassador from a intergalaxic organization.

"Alone I cannot change your world. But I can be changed by it. Alone, i must listen, as well as speak. Alone, the relationship I finally make, if I make one, is not impersonal and not only potical: it is individual, is personal, it is both more and less than political" (259).

Essential questions:

In what way are gender and power intertwined?
How would the world look if our culture put more emphasis on being present rather than progress? "The people of Winter, who always live in Year One, feel that progress is less important than presence" (50).
If less emphasis was placed on gender, how might it change the way that individuals/communities/countries interact?
Do we sometimes understand a place better once we are no longer living there? Does reading about a new world offer this same opportunity? "I began to understand Karhide better, after a halfmonth in Otherhord" (59)

In the classroom:

This would be a great fit for middle and high school students with a lexile of 970 but with swtiching perspectives and a world that plays with traditional understanding of gender, some struggling readers may need support.
Themes:
- - Power
  - Gender
  - Time
  - Patriotism

The 57 Bus

By Dashka Slater

This book will change you. Slater tells the true story of two teenagers and their infamous meeting on a bus in Oakland, California. One was Richard, a young guy looking to impress his friends by doing something he thought would be funny. The other was Sasha, an agender teen wearing a skirt. When Richard took a lighter to Sasha's skirt, they suffered life-threatening burns and Richard was charged with two hate crimes and a life-sentence. The book's glossary of terms around gender and sexuality is just a small piece of the education this book offers for people who do not fit into our heterosexual, cis-gender society. It also gives a glimpse into one teenagers reckless mistake and his struggle through the criminal justice system.

"I know he hurt me. He did something that’s really dangerous and stupid. But then again, he’s a sixteen-year-old kid and sixteen-year-old kids are kind of dumb. It’s really hard to know what I want for him."

Essential questions:

How critical is gender and sexuality in determining ones identity?
Can we forgive someone for their decisions?
How just is our criminal justice system?

In the classroom:

Great for middle and high school students
In addition to educating students on the LGBTQ community, this can also reveal information on justice reform and journalism as it required years of research and interviews to put this comprehensive story together.

In the classroom:

Could be used for ALL ages.
Short and easily accessible stories that can be read independently or all together.
Project idea: students must find another boy's story to add to this book and write it in the same genre.

Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different

by Ben Brooks

This book is told in short biography bursts, sharing stories of boys and men who show their strength, intelligence and humor in ways not always admired and honored in our culture. From poet and non-violent protester Percy Shelley to tri-athlete Rick Van Beek (who competes while carrying his daughter who has cerebral palsy) these are stories of true heroes. Uniquely illustrated, kids of all ages could read one story each day or gobble up the entire book in a few hours.

Essential questions:

What makes someone heroic or different?
What does our country and society value? Do some cultures value different traits? How have those values changed over time?

Theme:

Diversity
Gender

This is How it Always Is

By Laurie Frankel

This is the story of Claude, a five year old boy who knows exactly what he wants to be: a girl. It is also the story of Claude's loving family who tries to support Claude's identity, however clunky and difficult that may sometimes seem. Frankel weaves humor, emotions and insights of her own experiences raising a transgender child into this exception novel.

“I wish for my child, for all our children, a world where they can be who they are and become their most loved, blessed, appreciated selves.”

Essential Questions:

In the classroom:

This book is best fit for high school students and all teachers who want to better understand the layers of complexity behind a gender transition. The Lincoln Akerman book club read this recently and every member thoroughly enjoyed it. It also sparked some of our best discussions yet.

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