The series Paper Girls written by Brian K Vaughan is an example of a narrative written by a man for an audience of both genders, but interestingly featuring only female main characters. The story follows four paper girls in the 1980s who get caught up in a science fiction time travel plot, which sounds very much like the kind of narrative usually aimed at boys. What makes this story so interesting is the fact that it features four pre-pubescent girls as opposed to boys, as is arguably the norm. A media contemporary of this story is the Netflix television show, Stranger Things, which has similar themes, but features four young boys. The series was a hit with both genders, becoming a sensation on Netflix which has continued into its second series released in late 2017. The main difference between these two stories is the gender of the main protagonists. A story that features only male main characters may prove popular among girls and boys alike, but an alarmingly similar story featuring a main cast composed of women or girls may not be as popular with boys, for the simple reason that it will be considered 'girly' because it features girls.
Vaughan also discusses menstruation during Volume 3 (2017: page) of the series, in a very nonchalant and matter of fact way. One of the girls starts her period whilst on the adventure, much to the disgust of one of her, also female, peers. Vaughan could be commenting on the attitude many adolescent boys have towards the process. Despite it being a very natural and normal thing that half of the world's population experience, menstruation is still an embarrassing topic of conversation and stigmatised. Perhaps Vaughan is saying that this, and other experiences, both biological and social, that boys and girls experience as they grow up, should not be considered so taboo from the other side of the gender spectrum. It is perhaps necessary for members of the opposite gender to learn about what the other goes through as they come of age, both physically and mentally, and then perhaps their relationships with each other may be easier to understand.
Vaughan is a popular figure in the comics industry, having many stories under his belt. another popular series he currently writes is Saga, also published by Image Comics. This story, like Paper girls, could be considered to have an ungendered target audience, despite featuring many elements of the science fiction genre that could be considered only for boys. The story is essentially a forbidden love story between two members of rival species, at war with each other across a galaxy. The story is narrated by the product of their relationship, a young girl called Hazel. As the story takes place over a number of years, we are told it through Hazel's narration as she herself grows up. It was an interesting choice to combine two genres that are socially accepted to be for one gender - science fiction and romance - into a story that both genders can enjoy. STATS HERE? It may have also been a concious decision to make the child a girl. ASK BRIAN HIMSELF?
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