Running head: A PERCEPTION OF IMPORTANCE

A Perception of Importance: Gay YA Novels and the Student Perspective

Nikola Stankovic

Department of English, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

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Abstract

The genre of Young Adult fiction is still relatively new. However, many teachers see the benefits
of including these works into the classroom. This paper analyzed the attitudes of two groups of
university students, who are studying English, towards YA novels. The aim of the paper was to
assess how they felt towards the genre, do they think that such representation is important and
would they want to see more of it. To achieve this, a survey was conducted that took a look at a
100 respondents, 50 from each university. What the results showcased was that the majority of
students at both universities have a positive opinion about gay YA novels and feel like this type
of representation is necessary. What the results imply is that gay YA novels have a definitive
place in the classroom. This also lends support to finding a way to not only implement but also
integrate gay YA novels in the literature curriculum.

Keywords: gay Young Adult (YA) novels, student attitudes, University of Bamberg,
University of Belgrade

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Introduction

Young Adult (YA) literature, as a separate genre, has emerged around the 1940’s and
1950s in America when young readers became a marketable group. There are certain definable
characteristics of YA fiction, such as a specific focus “on the developmental and life phase issues
associated with adolescence” (Jenkins, 1998, p. 298). Furthermore, Professor Jenkins argues that
there are certain identifiable narratives within this relatively new genre of literature, such as a
focus on the “contemporary social issues from the viewpoint of a teen protagonist” (p. 299). Due
to the brevity of this paper, I have chosen to narrow my focus to one specific strain of YA
novels, ones that have a gay protagonist.

Gay YA novels serve a dual purpose. On the one hand, they offer visibility to a
marginalized group within society. This kind of representation in literature is important because
it offers a chance for people to deal with the struggles of “isolation, invisibility, and internalized
homophobia” through “self-acceptance and identification [with] a community." This is
something Jenkins identifies as “self-affirmation” (p. 315). On the other hand, when read by
people outside of this group, it can aid in understanding the everyday struggles, trials and
tribulations that gay people go through. This is instantiated by “surveys of attitudes” that
showcase how people who personally know gay or lesbian people also exhibit more accepting
opinions of the same group (p. 315). Perhaps literature can act as a similar sort of bridge towards
understanding and tolerance.

The aim of this paper is to act as an extension of the studies done on whether YA, and
more specifically, gay YA novels should be included in the classroom. A significant amount has
been written on the teachers’ points of view on the topic, yet little attention has been afforded to
the opinions of students. Therefore, the focus of this paper is on the reception and thoughts of
English students from two respective universities, University of Bamberg (BaU) and University
of Belgrade (BeU), on gay YA literature.

Research Methods

The method utilized to gain insight into the opinions of students who study English is a
survey that has been created via the Google Docs platform which was subsequently distributed to

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students of English at two Universities - BeU and BaU. These surveys were posted on two
individual online platforms. For the students at BeU, it was posted on the facebook group for
English students, and for BaU students it was posted on the Virtual Campus (VC) via the
assistance of several professors.

To account for the spatial limitations of this paper, and to keep the number at a
manageable level, the number of respondents to the survey was kept at a 100; 50 students from
each university. Of those surveyed, the largest groups of respondents were female at both
universities - 74% in Bamberg and 72% in Belgrade. However the first difference is to be
observed in that the rest of the respondents in Belgrade identified as male, whereas, there was
some variation among the students of BaU. The remaining respondents there identified as the
following: non-binary (4%), transitioning non-binary (2%) and (gender) fluid (4%).

The questions in the survey were meant to elucidate if students have either read or would
like to read gay YA novels, as well as to provide an outlook of their opinions on the importance
of such literature and whether there should be more of this type of literary representation. This
information can then be used for the purposes of accessing whether the implementation of gay
YA novels in a classroom setting might be the right step forward in the way we approach the
teaching of literature.

Results

What the results of this survey showed, is that both groups of students displayed a mostly
positive attitude towards gay YA fiction. Whether they had read these works before or not, the
majority has consistently showed an openness towards ideas such as the importance of further
gay representation in literature and subsequently that more representation of this kind should be
published. However in comparing the two groups of students certain conclusions can be made
about the subtle differences in their opinions.

The first real split can be observed when the students were asked whether they typically
enjoy reading YA fiction. At BaU, the majority of the students answered affirmatively (58%),
whereas, amonog the surveyed students of BeU only 44% of that have answered yes to the
question. This leads to the tentative conclusion that the students at BaU are slightly more open

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towards the YA genre of literature, at least among those surveyed. With that said, among both
groups, the percentile of students who have read gay YA fiction is quite low, 22% among BaU
students and 30% among BeU students.

Furthermore, the analysis showed that not only do students at BaU showcase a bigger
propensity towards YA novels, they also seem more willing and open to reading gay YA fiction
than students of BeU. Of the students at BaU who said that they have not read gay YA before,
40% of the respondents said that they might be interested in reading such literature and 36%
said that they would definitely be interested in reading it. The results were positive among the
students of BeU as well, with 32% of them saying that they might be interested and 28% who
said that they would definitely be interested in reading gay YA novels.

Alternatively, those students who have read gay YA fiction before were asked to rate
how much they enjoyed the novels on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being "I didn't enjoy reading them
at all" and 10 being "I thoroughly enjoyed reading them." There were some students whose
answers were contradictory, in the sense that they said that they had not read gay YA fiction
before but then proceeded to answer how much they enjoyed reading these novels. Due to this
fact, I have chosen to remove all those answers in this section from the students who said that
they had not read gay YA novels before. With that being said, the students at the University of
Bamberg mostly rated their experience with gay YA novels as positive. The majority of 41.7%
rated it at a 10, the next biggest group of 25% rated it at a 7 and then 16.7% rated it at an 8, with
one remaining person who rated it a 9. What can be observed is that students at BaU have a
largely positive view of gay YA novels that they have read. When it comes to students of BeU
who have read gay YA fiction, the majority, 35%, rated their enjoyment at a 10, then, 10% rated
it at a 9, a further 10% rated it at an 8, 15% who rated it at a 7, and finally 5% rating it at a 5 and
5% rating it at a 4. Even though the students at BeU rated their experience as slightly more
negative, we can still observe that the overall feel is a positive one.

When those same students who have read gay YA novels before were asked what they
enjoyed most about these novels, with the possibility to choose multiple options, they gave the
following answers. From BaU, all 11 respondents said that they enjoyed the diversity in
characters, 7 out of the 11 respondents said that it was something different or unique, 7 out of 11

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respondents said that what they enjoyed was that there was more representation of minority
characters, finally, 6 out of 11 respondents said that they could relate more to the protagonists.
For BeU, 9 out of 15 said that they enjoyed diversity in characters, 9 out of15 said that they
enjoyed more minority representation, 8 out of 15 said that they enjoyed that it was something
different or unique, 5 out of 15 said that they could relate more to the protagonists and finally 1
person responded that it was the same as with any other novel.

Interestingly enoug, the students at BaU resoundingly and almost unanimously agreed
upon the idea that this type of representation is important in literature. An overwhelming 92%
voted affirmatively while only 4% said that it wasn’t important and 4% said that they were
uncertain as to whether such representation is important. On the other hand, the students of BeU
were more mixed on the issue, 64% of the respondents felt this kind of representation is
important, while 22% of students were uncertain and finally the number of people who
responded with no is 14%.

However, when asked if they felt that there should be more of this kind of representation
in literature the numbers went down among both groups of students. Among the students of BaU,
of the 70% of respondents who said that this representation is important, only 58% said that there
should be more of it, with 22% uncertain. It would be interesting to do further research and
understand the cause of this discrepancy. Among Serbian students this discrepancy is not nearly
as great, with the percentage of students who think that there should be more of such
representation falling to 58% and the uncertain group rising to 26%.

One possible answer for this discrepancy might be found in the answers to the final
question of the survey. When asked if they knew someone in their environment who reads or
would enjoy reading these works, the students of BaU answered thusly: 58% of them answered
yes, 32% of them answered no and 10% of them answered that they were uncertain. Perhaps the
reason some students felt like there shouldn’t be more representation of this type correlates with
the fact that a large number of them (32%) don’t know anyone in their surroundings who reads
or would enjoying reading this type of literature. The numbers among Serbian students are
similar, with 56% answering yes to the question, 24% saying no, and 20% being uncertain.

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Conclusion and Implications

The results of this study indicate that students at both BeU and BaU are open to the idea
that gay YA novels represent an important aspect of literature as well as that they would like to
see more of it. The viewpoint of those that have read these works has also been largely positive.

What the data also shows is that students of Bamberg University seem to have a
propensity to be more open to the idea of gay YA fiction. There is a number of reasons why this
might be the case, however, it would be remiss of me to provide any generalizations in this paper
and come to subjective conclusions about the causality of these findings. Further research into
this topic might provide more answers.

One of the constraints of the books we use in the classroom is that they don't rightfully
reflect of the contemporary young readership. Young readers come in all shades and literature
should reflect that. Books serve the purpose of presenting as with an alternate reality, but with
most “good” books, this reality is to a decent degree merged and interwoven with our own. In
such a way, reading books is not simply an act of escapism, but it is also a reflection on oneself
and the society one lives in. This engagement of books and stories is fundamental. In fact, in a
survey conducted by Barbara Samuels, she found that of those teachers she surveyed, the
majority felt like YA novels "serve[] important developmental and emotional needs" (Samuels,
1983, p. 87).

Re-imagining a curriculum to include some of the contemporary YA stories with

LGBTQ+ content is something that is certainly feasible and, based on the opinions of students
and many teachers, also something positive for the overall formation of reading habits and
literature class interaction. Santoli and Wagner write that introducing YA to a clasroom can help
students to "participate in satisfying literary experiences, read more and become lifelong readers"
(Santoli and Wagner, 2004, p. 65).

One limitation of this paper, however, is that there is no space to further investigate the
possible ways of integrating this literature in the classroom. Although, there has been research
done about the possibility of such implementation and integration, further research is definitely
necessary vis-à-vis the Serbian and German school environments. Further research into the topic
could instantiate a plausible or feasible way to go about taking a closer look and potentially
implementing gay YA novels whether as readings in the classroom or outside as a way to foster
the love and habit of reading in young people .

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List of References

Jenkins, C. (1998). From Queer to Gay and Back Again: Young Adult Novels with

Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-1997. The Library Quarterly: Information,

Community, Policy, 68(3), 298-334. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309229

Samuels, B. (1983). Young Adult Literature: Young Adult Novels in the Classroom? The

English Journal, 72(4), 86-88. doi:10.2307/817086 Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/817086

Santoli, S., & Wagner, M. (2004). Promoting Young Adult Literature: The Other "Real"

Literature. American Secondary Education, 33(1), 65-75. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41064624

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Appendix 1

Reception of Gay Young Adult Novels - Survey

1. Age

2. Sex

o Male
o Female
o Other:

3. Sexual Preference

o Straight
o Gay
o Bi
o Other:

4. Do you typically like to read Young Adult (YA) novels?

o Yes
o No

5. Have you heard about any gay YA novels?

o Yes
o No

6. Have you read any gay YA novels? (like "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," "More
Happy than Not," "Will Grayson, Will Grayson," "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of
the Universe" etc.)

o Yes
o No

7. If you haven't read them, would you be interested in reading gay YA novels?
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o Yes
o No
o Maybe
o Doesn't apply to me

8. If you have read them, how much did you enjoy reading gay YA novels?

From 1 (I didn't enjoy reading them at all) to 10 (I thoroughly enjoyed reading them)

9. What did you enjoy most about gay YA novels? (Tick all answers that apply to you)

o I could relate more to the protagonists

o It was something different/unique
o I enjoy diversity in characters
o There was more representation of minority characters
o Doesn't apply to me
o Other:

10. How were you first introduced to gay YA novels?

o Through friends
o Through social media / online
o Seeking it out yourself
o Doesn't apply to me

11. Do you think this type of representation is important in literature?

o Yes
o No
o Uncertain

12. Do you think there should be more representation of this sort in literature?

o Yes
o No

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o Uncertain

13. Do you know anyone in your circle of friends who reads or would enjoy reading gay YA
novels?

o Yes
o No
o Uncertain

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