Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/24680
media I TWEENS The Kid Wimps Out W BY ALLISON KIMMICH Why can’t tween literature empower boys and girls at the same time? IMPY BOYS ARE BAD FOR girls. I can say this with confidence now that my daughter and I have read the first three installments of Jeff Kinney’s graphic series for 9- to 12-year-olds, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Amulet Books, 2007–2009). The Wimpy Kid books are bright lights in the publishing world, with more than 15 million copies of The New York Times bestselling titles in print and the fourth book just re- leased. And Wimpy Kid has gone mul- ti-platform: You can find YouTube reader reviews, Facebook fan groups and an upcoming movie that should reach theaters in 2010. At first glance, Kinney’s wimpy an- tihero, Greg Heffley, might seem like the kind of character feminist parents and educators would want to em- brace. After all, the concept of a wimpy lead character could suggest a rethinking of what it means to be a boy, an idea that could be liberating for boys and girls alike. “Books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid are so popular, in part, because boys get tired of fantasizing greatness and once in a while like to see their everydayness or mediocrity humor- ously reflected in literature,” says Lyn Mikel Brown, coauthor (with Sharon Lamb and Mark Tappan) of Packaging Boyhood: Saving Our Sons From Superheroes, Slackers and Other Media Stereotypes (St. Martin’s Press, 2009). But unfortunately, as Brown points out, the Wimpy Kid books also con- tain damaging messages for boys by featuring characters who dismiss school and parents. And the problem goes beyond just the themes, because “[t]he cartoon pictures and large print and the silly characters seem to suggest…that boys aren’t very good readers.” The slacker stereotype may hurt boys, but its accompanying sexism damages girls. Ms. magazine’s own “No Comment” page has long offered just this sort of feminist critique: that cultural messages and images enforce and reinforce denigrating anti-woman attitudes and behaviors. Kinney’s sexist message is hardly camouflaged: The author draws on gender stereotypes on the first page of the first volume, as Greg explains why he records his thoughts in a di- ary. “This was Mom’s idea, not mine. But if she thinks I’m going to write down my ‘feelings’ in here or whatev- er, she’s crazy.” Kinney’s character thus establishes himself as a stereo- typically masculine—even sexist— boy by belittling feelings (because those are feminine) and his mother’s expectations, despite the fact that he himself is sometimes bullied by big- ger, tougher male classmates. While his status with the other boys may brand him a wimp, Greg uses his dealings with girls or things feminine to declare himself an alpha male through and through. Greg and his best friend, Rowley, sleepwalk through school and fanta- size about unattainable girls. Female characters are objectified bit players at best. For example, in one Wimpy Kid book, Greg describes another student as “the fourth-prettiest girl in the class, but the top three all have boyfriends.” My daughter, Maya, loves these 50 | FALL 2009 www.feminist.org 2007 WIMPY KID, INC.