| While mallratting one evening, 7Ghent and I struck up an interesting conversation. Although he's read far more than I, and my body of knowlege is largely eclipsed by his, there appeared to be a discrepancy in the "young adult" novels we'd read.
When I was 12-ish, I used to read a bunch of books aimed, essentially, at 12-year-olds. Boys AND girls. 7Ghent mentioned that this seemed to him like the literary equivalent of cross-dressing. (Turns a nice phrase, 7Ghent does.)
I got to thinking - was it? I am a very heterosexual guy (as far as I know) so this was not indicative of some kind of sexual confusion. I think perhaps it was simple curiosity. I was and continue to be inherently interested in how the other half thinks, which would explain this literary gender-bending as well as my current interest in Shoujo Manga.
Is it okay for guys to read girl books? Are such definitions even useful? Is thinking about it a complete waste of intellectual energy? Probably. | 
