The practice of gender branding has been widespread for a long time. Indeed, most of us will have been familiar with it for most of our lives. Is it a useful and focused method of reaching a specific audience, or does it restrict the varied interests of the individual?

At Badger Learning we have a reluctant reader fiction series called Gems, aimed specifically at engaging girls, but we believe that the draw with these is that they are not ‘girly’ in the traditional sense. There are a variety of subjects covered, but the main similarity is the presence of a distinctive female protagonist. The stories include subjects such as alien creatures, twisted fairy tales, sea monsters and football. We believe that Gems are appealing and relatable to girls because many of our female leads actively strike out against the norm of what is considered ‘girly’. It then seems logical to label this message ‘for girls’ in our advertising.

All children need a diverse range of role models, and there is the view that there is no need for a gendered focus. Towards the end of last year, Ladybird, among other publishers, announced that they would no longer label books for ‘boys’ or ‘girls’ as it could be seen as “limiting”. View article here.

Concurrently, at Badger Learning, we have produced series – most recently our hugely popular Teen Reads – that are aimed at struggling readers – boys and girls alike. The stories are generally tense and angst-ridden, discussing emotional issues, but varied enough that they have something to appeal to the diverse interests of individual reluctant readers. There are male and female characters, but none are stereotypical, so that both boys and girls feel represented without feeling pigeonholed. Our covers are pared down, brooding and photographic, feedback from which has shown a positive impact on both boys and girls (see below).

BIG_5663_YAR_COVERS_PRF2_Page_04 (2)smallBIG_6097_TEENREADS_III_COVERS_PRF1_Page_08smallBIG_6097_TEENREADS_III_COVERS_PRF1_Page_03smallBIG_6097_TEENREADS_III_COVERS_PRF1_Page_01smallBIG_5663_YAR_COVERS_PRF2_Page_08 (2)small

Is this the sort of thing we should be moving towards, or is tailoring a series for a particular gender – as with our Gems – sometimes the right way to go, to focus their choice and include them from the outset?

We want our fiction to inspire confidence in reluctant readers, not just in their ability to read, but in their sense of self, so we are always careful not to patronise or prescribe a certain way of thinking in our fiction that is typically ‘boyish’ or ‘girlish’. Our gender branding, where it exists, is to make our readers feel represented, whoever they are and whatever they like.

This is an issue worth interrogating, as we want to put conscientious thought into every single book we publish, as well as the way we label them.

Email clairemorgan@havenbooksgroup.co.uk to join in the conversation! We would love to know your thoughts on this issue as we move forward with new publishing.