The questionable statistic at the heart of the “men don’t read fiction” discourse.

Summary

Concerns about American men reading less fiction have sparked cultural debates linking the trend to toxic masculinity and political shifts, such as increased support for Donald Trump.

Men read fewer books and less fiction than women, but the gap is modest. 73% of men and 78% of women read books annually, with fiction readership differing by 10-17%.

The exaggerated 80/20 gender fiction market split lacks verified sources.

Critics argue the “crisis” reflects fears about male disengagement, yet male authors still dominate bestseller lists and literary awards, complicating the narrative.

  • @[email protected]English
    6•4 days ago

    Pew’s 2021 study says 73 percent of men say they’ve read a book in the past year, compared to 78 percent of women. Those numbers are up a tad from 2016, when 68 percent of men said they’d read a book compared to 77 percent of women.

    That’s significantly higher than I expected. I know plenty of men and women that almost never get through a book in a year. Or maybe they just do it in secret.