The way girls are represented in YA is something that interests me so much. So much so that I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on it.
A lot of writers are doing girls a disservice with the way they present their characters. Girls are written as one dimensional stereotypes, none of which are very flattering. It seems that in the wonderful world of YA, girls only get two choices of the type of girl they want to be. They can be the tomboy (or the hero, depending on which subgenre the book is) and spurn many aspects of femininity so that they're proclaimed "not like other girls." Or they can be the standard ditsy girly-girl, who often in YA is seen as some sort of antagonist, usually a bully or the "other woman" - the only thing standing in the way of the protagonist and their love interest.
Now, I'm in no way saying that these girls don't exist in the real world, they do. But they also have more to them than this, they can even be both of these things, and this is rarely if ever shown in YA. Usually writers will choose the tomboy to be their protagonist, which results in other girls being 'Othered'. Othering is a way that writers to show which groups of people better than others. It creates a divide based on simple traits. In this case, writers often promote the idea that girls who deny traditional gender roles are superior to girls who adhere to them.
While they do this to encourage girls that it's okay to not be feminine (which is absolutely true, traditional femininity is not a requirement for being a girl) they reinforce the idea that femininity is weak and something to be ashamed of, which isn't true. Girls can be whoever they want, be they embracing gender roles, rejecting them, or a combination of both. All are worthy of respect, and all are worthy of being protagonists. A lesson many YA writers need to learn.
Of course not all writers are guilty of this, some even go against the grain and purposefully write realistic, well rounded female characters, even having them as the leads in their books. Some of my recommendations of writers to check out are:
Holly Bourne - Holly writes amazing, feminism centred stories that include a wide range of girls who are all different and realistic.
Cathy Cassidy - Cathy was a favourite of mine as a teenager, her characters are all quite flawed, but their character development is always positive.
Jacqueline Wilson - The classic. Jacqueline has been in the game for a long time, and she has always provided girls with realistic characters who aren't always perfect, but who always come out right in the end.
To read more about this, check out these articles:
"In Defense of Other Girls in YA" by Sharanya Sharma.
"Teen Talk: It's Okay to be a Girly Girl" by Tasman Kekai
"Are Girls Free to be Girly in YA? Short Answer: Yes" by Gwen Katz
