If You're Reading This, Statistics Suggest You’re Female
What’s going on with literacy among men, guys!?
NADOFOTOS | Canva When I was young, there were few ways to get the mean girls to dogpile you like being seen enjoying a book. As you could imagine, reading was something I didn’t do in public — even though I worked as a page in a library. Reading was, by and large, a “boy thing” to do.
It was the guys, not the girls, talking about the books they read. It was the girls who were just dolling themselves up with makeup, talking about who did what, and trying the latest dance from Britney Spears.
In my childhood, it was only my best friend Lira* and I who were really into books. All the others who were book crazy were guys from the Gifted class, not girls.
Like many, I always thought that stereotype of girls not reading would continue. However, it seems like the tables have turned. Statistics are now showing that women are beginning to make the literary world boom, not men.
Since the 2010s, women have been more consistent readers than men.
Studies consistently show women to be more avid readers than men. This is true almost entirely across the board, but even more noticeable in the world of fiction. In recent years, female authors have been grabbing the spotlight in larger numbers than ever before. BookTok is mostly female-led, which means that reviewers are starting to take over the traditionally male book review trend.
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The divide between male and female readers is growing fast. In fact, it’s showing signs of accelerating as years pass. After all, boys are less likely to attend college and more likely to fail out of school. That’s not an indicator of a demographic that wants to read.
Older men are still avid readers, but young men? Ooh, yeah, not so much. Of course, reading rates among young women also dropped.
What gives?
So, there are a lot of factors at play here, many of which also have a surprising lot to do with our current political environment.
Let me explain.
1. Bad schools
I’ll start with the writing on the wall: America’s schools suck. A large portion of schools stopped using the tried-and-true methods in favor of things like Common Core, which happen to be incredibly confusing for both children and after-school tutors alike.
Most of us older folks learned to read thanks to phonics. There was even a major teaching product called “Hooked on Phonics” back in the day. Phonics was what helped kids learn how to read phonetically, giving them a way to pronounce words with a fairly predictable outcome.
Yep. They got rid of phonics in favor of context clues, with pretty terrible outcomes. Many schools are starting to make the switch back to more traditional methods because their literacy rates are plunging so badly.
Even though there’s ample evidence that current systems are failing, many admins are just digging in their heels harder with bad strategies. Most kids are also not disciplined very well, leading to school being an afterthought for many. This seems to cause more problems with boys than girls, though it’s not certain why.
2. The changing face of misogyny
Has anyone else noticed the big push Red Pill influencers have been making toward anti-intellectualism? I sure have. When I was a teenager and young adult, the most anti-woman people I met were all men who majored in STEM.
Those guys made a point of flaunting how many books they read, even when the books were full of garbage. As messed up as it sounds, I almost miss that form of misogyny compared to what we have now.
Lately, the worst misogynists I’ve been seeing are the ones who seem almost proud of not reading. These are the same guys hitting the gym, pumping iron, and growing out their beards because it’s “manly,” while they say feminism is awful.
It’s not just an assumption I made when I say this. This Vox article explains how Andrew Tate started to tell men that reading is “for losers who are afraid to learn from life.”
If you think guys aren’t taking that in and following Tate’s words, you are wrong. Tate and his copycats have become a major problem among teachers, especially when it comes to their ability to teach.
When an activity is framed as “girly” and “weak,” men will shirk away from it. It’s a lot like what happens with careers. When a job becomes “pink collar,” wages tend to shrink, and men leave it.
A lot of guys simply don't want to be associated with anything girly, even when it benefits them. Reading is no exception to the rule, clearly.
3. The turn toward conservatism
Sometime around the 2010s, conservatism turned from a quietly anti-intellectual movement to an overtly anti-intellectual movement. When the pandemic hit, we got our moment when the mask fell.
Conservatives are not the people who treasure research, science, or education. I mean, really, look at what they’re currently doing. They’re wrecking America’s already-ailing education system.
The GOP is currently dismantling the Board of Education, penalizing universities over teaching materials, and openly rejecting data-backed research on vaccines. These are not people who want to read.
Conservatives just want to tear stuff down if they don’t like how it makes them feel. With men becoming increasingly right-wing, it’s not surprising to see so many once-rational men become anti-intellectual, anti-book, and anti-library.
4. Gender differences
I’ll also add this little tidbit to the common explanation: women are far, far more likely to read to help them get their rocks off. Spicy romance novels have been a woman’s thing for ages.
Men are more visual. They are more likely to enjoy regular spicy videos rather than written spice. This can make a major difference when it comes to the scale of books read and bought, especially if you’re feeling randy.
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So, what does this mean for literature?
Literature is likely going to become increasingly female-run, with fewer men being included in the book game. Women are going to continue to excel in almost all professions thanks to their love of reading. That’s true.
But what about the men? Well, that’s where it gets interesting. The men who continue to read will end up having an almost unfair advantage in virtually any part of life. Think about it:
- Male readers will be able to get degrees and will be more likely to get scholarships, so they can get cushy jobs rather than work in blue-collar circuits. It’s worth noting that a degree goes very, very far when it comes to expatriation. Highly literate, degree-holding men tend to earn some of the highest wages.
- Male readers will also have more knowledge and faith in science, so they won’t end up doing stuff that could destroy their lives. Heavy readers are far less likely to be antivaxxers.
- Male readers will also be able to navigate finance issues better than those who don’t. I mean, personal finance books can be a major lifesaver when you’re just starting out or when you’re struggling in life.
- Men who read will be more likely to do well on dates. I mean, have you ever had a guy who talked to you about your favorite author on a date? That’s a big swoon point for many women. Being able to relate over common interests is a big deal.
- Men who frequently read fiction (particularly fiction with a female lead character) are more likely to become empathetic toward women. This is another major perk for men in the dating scene. It helps when you see women as people. Books can help facilitate that.
Men are already the top of the proverbial food chain in society. Men who read are going to be the ones who enjoy all the benefits of being a man in today’s world, plus the knowledge to figure out how to make the most of their lives.
As for women and nonbinaries who read? The pages they flip through will likely help save their lives. I know reading’s done that for me, so I have faith that it’ll do the same for others.
Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer whose work has been featured in Yahoo, BRIDES, Your Daily Dish, Newtheory Magazine, and others.
