Should boys read young-adult fiction novels? Should girls read books about the Civil War? Stereotyping has become a natural trait in humans that is constantly being passed on to their children. I personally think that anyone can read whatever they want, as long as they enjoy it. A lot of males enjoy reading books from the teen fiction section at Barnes and Noble. Girls usually love any type of young adult literature. Boys who read these types of books may be able to offer a different perspective and it makes them more relatable to others. But the real question is: why should genders be restricted to certain genres?

When a person, typically an adult, sees a teenage boy picking a novel up that the girl next to him just happened to pick up, they automatically assume he is gay. This is a stereotype. I have no idea why. Just because we see more girls reading these amazing books does not mean that males are refrained from doing so as well. Some males just happen to be interested in the same genres as girls. The point is: a guy who reads young-adult fiction novels is not always gay.

Everyone knows some girl who only reads the popular books, like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. However, there are the other girls, like myself, who enjoy other genres like mythology, history, et cetera. While girls typically read more of the teen fiction genre, they may also enjoy reading books from other genres based on other interests. This goes back to that whole debate about how girls cannot do what guys can. Hey, guess what! If you do not think someone should be reading these other genres because they are a girl, you are stereotyping!

JesseTheReader is one of many BookTubers who reviews all different types of books. However, he reviews a lot of young adult books and there are always a few people who comment on his videos about how he should not read these books. He made a video about the comments he received and what he thought about the topic. His opinion inspired me to write this article you are reading now.

I have always believed that a person can read any book or any type of book as long as they enjoy it. Authors write books that they think people will enjoy based on their interests, so why should the audience be limited to one gender or another?  Why should girls only be able to read a contemporary novel but not a book about a battleship? Why should a guy only read books that educate them about something like a war but not a novel about a utopian society? I ask myself these questions and wonder why anyone would want to be limited in their reading choices. Males and females should be able to read whatever they want at any point in their life without being judged.