#RealTalk: The Female Of The Species by Mindy McGinnis, is changing the way we talk about rape culture. . . one page at a time.
Everyone who has read The Female of the Species can agree that this is one of the most powerful and important YA books of all time. Mindy McGinnis’s The Female Of The Species is making waves this fall as it sparks thought-provoking conversations and challenges the way our society thinks about women, feminism and rape culture.
Why I Wrote The Female of the Species
I’ve been asked a few times how you write a book about rape without it being too upsetting. To which I say, it should be upsetting. Deeply disturbing, in fact.
I just checked the news before turning off all my connectivity to write this. The top two stories from my local NBC affiliate dealt with rape. The ages of the victims were 10 and 15. The ten year old did not survive. On CNN there was an article about a high school athlete who sexually assaulted two girls while they were unconscious. He received two years probation.
Meanwhile, a man who shot a police dog while robbing a gas station received 45 years in prison.
I know it’s not easy to talk about, read about, hear about. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a reality for many, many girls – and boys too, don’t forget. In the US, one in four girls will be sexually abused before they turn eighteen.
I’m betting you know more than four girls under the age of 18.
When I wrote A MADNESS SO DISCREET I had many people ask me why I would include a subplot about the main character being sexually abused by her father, in a book written for teens. My answer was – and is for THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES as well – because it happens to them.
It happens to them and they need to see themselves reflected in fiction, so that they may process the enormity of their experience in a safe place, free of judgment.
THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES is about a lot of things. Rape, vengeance, assault, but also friendship, community, and teens with aspirations beyond their small town. It won’t be an easy read, a beach read, or a feel-good read.
But it’s an important read.