Yes, this is the forbidden subject...the one everyone wanted to blog about a few years ago only to be hounded and eaten alive by trolls, dragons, abstinence awareness speakers, nuns, Ke$ha fan club presidents, the Target check out dude in aisle four, and other even scarier internet creatures.
And yes, I still see a few posts pop up now and again, for example, this one recently re-posted from 2010. Reading this article a few days ago inspired me, not to stand on my soap box and give my own opinions, but to ask the Perfect 10, my teen panel, what they think on the subject. It is technically their books being discussed when the grown-ups engage in heated debates on this topic.
I know that it seems backwards to ask the kids what they think about sex and language in books because they're teens, they love to break rules and get wild, right? Of course they are going to want all the sex, drugs, bad words, and bad choices us authors can possibly cram into one novel, right? They can't possibly make intelligent choices regarding their own potential moral corruption, can they?
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| What Moral Corruption by Book Actually looks lik |
It isn't my place to decide whether each individual pre-teen and teen is capable of determining which books are appropriate for them to read, but I do think it's important that they at least be allowed to voice their opinoin somewhere. And to be honest, I was immensely curious to hear what they had to say on the subject.
So, no, I'm not going to bite the bullet that will inevitably come at me faster than the speed of light should I tell you what I think about this topic, but it's possible I've found more subliminal ways to insert my personal feelings into this post. Keep in mind, I have a tendency to use sarcasm.
Before we go any farther,you should know that the Perfect 10 is an incredibly diverse group of young people. And by diverse, I mean in nearly every way possible-age, sex, race, religious beliefs, country of residents...
On to the Q&A with a few Perfect 10 members....
What are your opinions regarding content in YA fiction such as sex-whether just in reference or explicit description-and language?
