As a part of my continuing education course on gender and YA literature for Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science, I decided to run a survey to consider book covers and gendered marketing.
The basic idea was to ask the question: from just the book cover image, what do we presume about a book? Who is it marketed to? Who are the main characters?
The survey set up
I asked respondents to weigh in on three questions per cover by filling in the following blanks.
- This book is marketed to ___ (girls/guys/no indication or both).
- This book has main characters who are (girls/guys/no indication or both).
- This book is ok for (girls/guys/both) to be seen reading.
In order to keep anything but the image influencing their choices, I removed the author’s name and the title. I acknowledge this effects the design of the book as the font and word placement is a significant part of cover design. I couldn’t see a way around keeping the information hidden and I offer humble apologies to book cover designers everywhere.
While I first ran this survey only among students in my class, this time I decided to invite a wider group to participate. I targeted two groups: adult library staff and teenagers. Had I known at this stage the outpouring of responses I would get, I would have added more demographic questions (gender identity being one, and a few age ranges for another), but as I’d originally thought of this as a quick informal survey, I didn’t add any more data points.
If I conduct a follow up survey in the future, I would make a few changes and collect more categories of data, but despite its simplicity, I still think it’s informative to look at the results of this basic survey.
The overall statistics
I showed 64 covers total.
The responses:
- 926 people took the survey (775 completed the survey while 151 were partial responses)
- 506 identified as adult library staff
- 420 identified as teenagers (7th-12th grade)
- 163 left further comments
According to the results, in answering who the books are marketed to:
- 27 titles are for both or give no indication
- 21 titles are for girls
- 16 titles are for guys
The main characters:
- 33 are both or give no indication
- 16 are guys
- 15 are girls
Who would carry around each book:
- 44 titles would be ok for both to carry around
- 17Â titles would be ok for girls to carry around
- 3 titles would be ok for guys to carry around
Of all of the comments I received from 163 of the 926, the most common are:
- IÂ noticed as IÂ completed the survey that IÂ was checking off that most books were fine for girls to read or be seen with while IÂ decided far fewer were ok for guys to read or be seen with. (83 people)
- Girls can read anything while guys can’t. (54 people)
- Gender shouldn’t matter and everyone should read what they want. (29 people)
- This was fun! (33 people — and yay!)
- Guys are discouraged from reading “girl” books while girls are expected to read “guy” books. (13 people)
General conclusions and trends to consider
There was no significant difference between how teens judged book covers versus how the adult library staff judged the same book covers. Â I had been curious if there would be a shift from one age range to the other, but mostly opinions lined up for each age range.
Books are for girls OR both guys and girls, but rarely expressly for guys
I was happy to see people deciding that the majority of covers are for both genders or give no indication of gender marketing.  At the same time, it is disheartening to note that while 43 covers were thought of as ok for both genders to carry around, only three titles were emphasized as OK for guys to carry around.  This shows that there is still a significant feeling that very few books are considered a positive thing for guys to be seen with in their daily lives. In the comments section, a number of people commented that guys can’t be seen with any books, no matter what the cover.
On a related note, 14 covers were judged as marketed to guys and ok for both to be seen reading, while only 6 covers were judged as marketed to girls and ok for both to be seen reading.  15 covers judged to be marketed for girls are seen as ok only for girls to carry around.
Neutral covers
Covers that were considered for both or which gave no indication of gender were almost all covers which featured objects, not people. Â There are a few body parts visible, like hands, but these covers don’t always have enough of a person visible to necessarily determine the gender of the owner of that hand is.
The exceptions would include
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (guy on the cover, though younger than most teen books would show)
- Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel (both genders visible in stylized form on the cover)
- Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (falling angel on the cover who appears to be male)
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (both genders visible in silhouette on the cover)
- Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar (guy visible on the cover snapshot)
- This Girl is Different by J. J. Johnson (girl visible on the cover)
Food for thought: when we know the gender of the characters and/or author, I do wonder how much that influences who we, as librarians, recommend titles to along gender lines.  As just one example, Code Name Verity’s cover image was concluded to be gender neutral, but how many staff think to recommend the book to guys?
When a person is visible
Many covers depict a character which can be easily identified as being one gender or another, either as a photograph of a model or in the cover art. For those covers with a guy on the cover, 13 were for guys, 3 were for both, and 1 was for girls.  For those covers with girls on the cover, 12 were for girls, 3 were for both, and 1 was for guys.  If there are both a guy and a girl on the cover, 3 were for girls while 1 was seen for both.
It’s interesting to note when the content of a book turned out to be the opposite of what people concluded. For example, Candy by Kevin Brooks is about a guy and written by a guy, but as there is a girl on the cover, it’s concluded to be for girls. Craig Thompson’s Blankets, as there is a guy and girl on the cover, is also concluded to be for girls despite it being about a guy and written by a guy.  The Vast Fields of Ordinary, which features a guy on the cover is…also considered to be for girls, though it is also about a guy and written by a guy. (I’m thinking perhaps because of the more objectified pose of the guy on the cover? Speculation welcome.)
If you look at who would carry those books around, the majority of titles with girls on the cover are considered expressly ok for girls to carry around (10) with a few ok for both to carry around (4). On the other side, the covers featuring guys on the cover (14) are overwhelmingly ok for both to carry around, with only 2 as designated expressly ok for guys to carry around.  Titles with both on the cover (6 total) are considered ok for girls or both to carry around, none voted as ok for guys to carry around.
Ultimately, it becomes clear that being seen with books is always ok for girls, no matter what the cover, while guys have to walk a much finer line of acceptability.
Gender and sexuality
One survey responder did comment on how the questions didn’t take in to account sexuality. I do think that gender identity and sexuality are separate parts of a whole person, but the two are frequently interrelated in marketing stereotypes.  It is telling that four of the five titles that featured main characters interested in same sex relationships — Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Empress of the World by Sara Ryan, Putting Make-up on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright, The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, and the Saints of Augustine by Patrick Ryan — were seen as being for girls. Only The Saints of Augustine was identified as being a cover aimed at guys. Given that four out of the five are about gay teen guys, something would appear to be amiss in how the covers are targeted as well as how society conflates gender and sexuality.
Results per cover
The following shows everyone the basic results per cover. First you’ll read how the majority voted for each title. Then read on for quantifiable facts of the book relating to gender: the gender of the author and the gender of the main character.
For each cover, I’ve included the scrubbed image each survey responder saw in taking the survey, the original cover, and then, if examples are available available, other published covers people might see (paperback, from the UK, Australia, or updated editions.) Take a look at all of the potential covers and think about how one might have decidedly differently with a different cover presented.
Then charts! Yay charts! Each title has a bar chart showing the percentage answers for each question, so you can see the strength of each answer — how many people agreed or how close categories were in percentage.
To give everyone and easy want to scan down the list, I’ve added a color coded dot to each entry. If a book is (in all three questions) for girls by the majority, it gets a purple dot. If a book is for guys according to the majority, it gets a blue dot. If for both (or there’s not indication), then the dot is yellow. For those books who ended up with a divide between the first question (who the book is for) and the third question (who will carry around a book), I’ve split the dot so you can scan those differences as well.
Any and all calculating mistakes are mine, and please do comment with any mistakes or corrections you see. Â I’m very curious to hear what folks think of the results: what seemed predictable, what surprised you, and what any of this might mean for marketing and gender within the YA literature world.
Scroll on for each cover!
The Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
VOTED: For guys, male lead character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male lead character
Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway
Audrey, Wait by Robin BenwayVOTED: For girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
VOTED: for both, both as main characters, ok for girls or both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, both main characters
Blankets by Craig Thompson
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls or both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
 Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
VOTED: for girls, female main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Brainjack by Brian Faulkner
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Candy by Kevin Brooks
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main characters
Death Benefits by Sarah N. Harvey
VOTED: for guys or both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Dumping Princes by Tyne O’Connell
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Face Relations ed. by Marilyn Singer
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: multiple authors, multiple main characters
The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Final Four by Paul Volponi
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for guys to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, female main character
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
Hard Love by Ellen WittlingerVOTED: for both, female main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman
VOTED: for guys, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, female main character
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male protagonist
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Legend by Marie Lu
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, both main characters
Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen
Leverage by Joshua C. CohenVOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for guys to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male protagonist
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Never Back Down by Patricia McCormack
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Passenger by Andrew Smith
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, both main characters
Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, male main character
The Returning by Christine Hinwood
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, both main characters
River Secrets by Shannon Hale
VOTED: for girls, both main characters, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, both main characters
Rotters by Daniel Kraus
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
The Saints of Augustine by Patrick Ryan
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Schooled by Gordan Korman
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar
VOTED: for both, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for guys to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
VOTES: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
This Girl is Different by J. J. Johnson
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for girls to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
VOTED: for guys, male main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
Whirligig by Paul Fleischman
VOTED: for guys, male main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
VOTED: for girls, female main character, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: female author, female main character
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman
VERDICT: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author/female artist team, female main character
You by Charles Benoit
VOTED: for both, both main characters, ok for both to be seen reading
FACTS: male author, male main character
