Why are there so many male protagonists in all cool books?

[Artemis Fowl]

Maximum Ride as well...

But I agree with what Hitman said... 

[Claudi - Ann]

I believe this is better discussed in the Books & Author section so I'll move it there.

[fireshadow]

u read my mind! i'm always thinking about this stuff. i know, why do guys always get the good roles? and why r guys always way cooler in books than in real life? in life guys can b kinda annoying and immature (no offence). but, if u want, here are some books with cool girl protagonists u may wanna check out  :

- hawksong by amelia atwater-rhodes
- demon in my view by amelia atwater-rhodes
- shattered mirror by amelia atwater rhodes
- midnight predator by amelia atwater-rhodes
- the chronicles of faerie (series) by o r melling
- locked inside by nancy werlin
- maximum ride (series) by james patterson
- the dreaming place by charles de lint
- the blue girl by charles de lint
- the onion girl by cherles de lint
- avalon: web of mahic (series) by rachel rhodes
- avalon: quest for magic (series) by rachel rhodes

[fob96]

Okay it's annoying how it's always a male that all the time is the hero but if you think about it let's say in movies which do you think will make more money including stuff to do with the hero like merchandise a man that most of the girls adore (I'm not trying to be sexist) or a woman hero that men will think looks hot but won't buy anything or do anything (e.g. visit websites) to do with her because the're too embarassed?

[King22]

I think the all thing about protagonists is about leaders and there are more male leaders which is about the male body which is bigger and stronger


You will also notice that protagonists are almost never short, ugly or nervous

Its all about being a leader (the perception) in my IMO

Its not that i don't think girls are more stupid or anything like that (in fact I'm pretty convinced of the opposite) its just the way it is.

Also it has a lot to do with the gender of the writer of the stories. Apart from that you will almost never find white writers writing about stories with black protagonists- it's  not because they are racists it's because they don't pay attention to things they don't think about.

Sorry if I posted anything politically incorrect here I didn't mean to offend anyone

[masterwolfie]

The "His Dark Materials" series by Phillip Pullman has a female protagonist - a lot of Phillip Pullman's books have female protagonists actually...

and a "cool" book is also a matter of definition, I suppose...if you define "cool" as action books, then most action books are written for a male audience, so tend to have male protagonists. A lot of books with female protagonists tend to be fantasy books...a lot of it has to do with gender stereotypes that still exist in our society today.

[Lioness]

Im not sure what age group your looking at, but there are some great books out there with female protagonists. My list mostly includes childrens/young adult.
In the realm of fantasy, Tamora Pierce has some fantastic books with main female characters. Song of the Lioness Quartet, the first book is Alanna: the First Adventure is about a young girl that trains to be knight. Although not set in modern times, it involves the girl fighting, swords etc (if that comes under your definition of cool), most of Pierce's other books (many of them set in the same land of Tortall) also involve female protagonists.

There's also Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles which has already been mentioned, but unfortunately it seems the series is quite hard to get out of Australia...

hmm a little something in a slightly more modern setting could possibly be Nancy Drew. I wouldn't necessarily go by the recent movie, but i loved the books when i was younger for providing a girl who could solve mysteries, catch criminals etc (although even these might be slightly dated)

and one last thought in the realm of action would be John Marsden's Tomorrow when the war began series, i think Elii would have to be an amazingly strong female protagonist and i'd say you could classify them as action. If you haven't read them, id take a hint from the title...basically 5 or so teenagers undertake guerrilla/fighting the enemy activity when another nation invades their country (set in Australia).

I'd also agree about Philip Pullman, his Sally Lockhart series are great!

[Maiar]

I had to look at this for my english coursework last year and between me and my english teacher, we came to the following conclusion-

A majority of boys refuse to read a book with a female protaganist, as they subliminally feel it goes against the male role in society, which is predetermined as the strong protector.

Girls, on the other hand, have no qualms with reading a book with a male protagonist. Mainly 'cause a)its the case with many books. b)they have the subliminally pre-defined role that girls should be subservient to men anyway.

So its all to do with socialisation and stuff really...

So more of the books geared towards both boys and girls, will have a male protagonist; books aimed primarily at girls will generally have a female protagonist. Some authors, however, have caught onto this and aim for a balance.

One example of the balance is 'His Dark Materials' with Lyra (female) and her daemon, Pan (Male.) You also have the fact that Roger is frequent in book 1, and Will becomes a protagonist in 'The Subtle Knife' and its balanced again in 'The Amber Spyglass'.

'The Book Thief' has a female lead, I grant you, in the form of Liesel. Death, on the other hand, is male.

Terry Pratchett books have predominantly male leads, and indeed male characters, with perhaps the exception of at least 4 (i can only remember 4, having only read 2 of his ). Yet these books are read by both male and female audiences.

Linda Newbery, on teh other hand, has written incredible books about the holocaust and the first world war, yet because her protagonists are female i no of no boy who has read them.

Jasper Fforde is perhaps one of the only modern authors who can claim to have appealed to both genders with a female protagonist in his Thursday Next series. (The Eyre Affair). I know an equal number of men and women who have read the books... but, in his other series (Nursery Crime) the lead is shared between Jack Spratt and Mary Mary.

So thats my contribution to the arguement. Its too do with authors wanting to be successful. And regardless of why they say theyre doing it, theres a part of everyone who does something 'cause theyre successful at it, and not just because they enjhoy it. (Part of the enjoyment comes from the sucess!)

[xshivx]

what about Garth NIx's books?  the old kingdom??? i rckon there prtty cool and all of the have a female as a main charecter
=]

[Maiar]

I havent managed to read them but its possible that some books do, its just more have the male laed.

[Yaxley]

 

I had to look at this for my english coursework last year and between me and my english teacher, we came to the following conclusion-

A majority of boys refuse to read a book with a female protaganist, as they subliminally feel it goes against the male role in society, which is predetermined as the strong protector.

Girls, on the other hand, have no qualms with reading a book with a male protagonist. Mainly 'cause a)its the case with many books. b)they have the subliminally pre-defined role that girls should be subservient to men anyway.

So its all to do with socialisation and stuff really...

So more of the books geared towards both boys and girls, will have a male protagonist; books aimed primarily at girls will generally have a female protagonist. Some authors, however, have caught onto this and aim for a balance.

One example of the balance is 'His Dark Materials' with Lyra (female) and her daemon, Pan (Male.) You also have the fact that Roger is frequent in book 1, and Will becomes a protagonist in 'The Subtle Knife' and its balanced again in 'The Amber Spyglass'.

'The Book Thief' has a female lead, I grant you, in the form of Liesel. Death, on the other hand, is male.

Terry Pratchett books have predominantly male leads, and indeed male characters, with perhaps the exception of at least 4 (i can only remember 4, having only read 2 of his ). Yet these books are read by both male and female audiences.

Linda Newbery, on teh other hand, has written incredible books about the holocaust and the first world war, yet because her protagonists are female i no of no boy who has read them.

Jasper Fforde is perhaps one of the only modern authors who can claim to have appealed to both genders with a female protagonist in his Thursday Next series. (The Eyre Affair). I know an equal number of men and women who have read the books... but, in his other series (Nursery Crime) the lead is shared between Jack Spratt and Mary Mary.

So thats my contribution to the arguement. Its too do with authors wanting to be successful. And regardless of why they say theyre doing it, theres a part of everyone who does something 'cause theyre successful at it, and not just because they enjhoy it. (Part of the enjoyment comes from the sucess!)

They are really quite good points.
I think it depends on what genre you're reading and what sort of a person you are.
A lot of books with female protagonists tend to be aimed toward females, dealing more with emotion etc. I've also found that a lot of female characters exist in Young Adults Fiction - which is more real life-ish and are generally slow paced.

As opposed to spy fiction which is much faster paced and tends to have male protagonists. Thats more geared towards boys who maybe doesn't want to read long twisting plotlines and emotionally charged scenes, so it's just "I've got to cut right to the action". But i think adults will read books regardless of the gender of the protagonist.

Actually I've got more of a problem with female villains, is it just me or do they seem not as well developed characters and always tend to end up dead? Slowly and horribly!

[Maiar]

I know! it's awful... but having said that, Mrs. Coulter is quite incredible as a villain 

[*ME2005*]

Yeah! i agree with that totally...and paired off with Lord Asriel...its a wonder they ever managed to live together enough to have Lyra!
For our coursework we had to do similar research, but ours was regarding Shakespeare (R&J) and the roles of women in society that he portryed in his play. But i suppose the eras are totally different so i really cant compare that to todays male protagonists in 'cool' books. as somone has already said above (MW i think) its depends on your definition of cool too. And the rest of my opinions are stated in Maiar's post. 

[nyarlathotep]

Well, that's because we males are natural born heroes 

But on the other hand, If you check out the books of Tanith Lee & Robin Hobb, you'll see that girls can be good hero's too.

[smilieo]

sometimes boys dont like readin wen the main caracters a girl bt with girls it dosent matta so much...

thats what i find anyway, my brother would chose a book with a male lead over a book with a female lead.

so it gives a wider target market