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.

  • @ArgentRaven
    4•4 days ago

    I used to sell books at Borders (so far before MAGA crap) and you are 100% correct. Most men were reading books as well, but they really didn’t gravitate to Ann Rice’s vampire series, Twilight, or even most mystery books. Is was Sci Fi, fantasy, history, general knowledge sort of stuff.

    The sheer volume of women buying romance novels was staggering, and I think speaks more to porn habits than anything. These women kept the store alive long enough for corporate to fuck up and bankrupt themselves.

    Now that I think about it, there was a whole row of JUST Star Wars books. But because Disney erased so much of the Expanded Universe canon that they wrote, they all faded away. I don’t even have one in my local Barnes and Noble. Not even a single novel, from what I saw. Everyone totally lost interest and Disney doesn’t care to rekindle that spark.