I have been thinking about swearing in YA literature lately.
I looked up the topic on the internet and most of what I found was from a
writer’s perspective.
What I would like to ask is: how
do readers of YA literature feel about swearing in YA books? As an
adult or a teen. Tell me in the comments-it will be a great help in my endeavors!
I feel that most teens swear.
Some don’t, and that’s fine. Or they are from another world that doesn’t have
curse words. Also alright. But every day, downtrodden teens? They usually curse
to relieve the stress and give their frustration a vocal outpouring. So there
is the reality, but then there are the readers. You don’t want to offend those
that don’t swear-or anger parents or schools. And when does it become too much?
Interesting question! I feel like it is very much book dependent — certainly YA books that bottle out at the last second and use a replacement word feel unreal but not using them at all can be effective. That was a very non-answer, I know, but it's tricksy. I think it's important not to back down, or write so as not to offend people, because it's an impossible feat. It's also important to be true to the story, though, and know when to use it and when to not?
ReplyDelete<3
I like that you say it's book dependent. When I read YA lit and NOBODY swears, even in the most terrible situations, and not a curse word is written, I laugh to myself. But then you get books like Velveteen, where everyone is constantly swearing when they get together and it's so obviously forced the dialogue gets painful.
DeleteAnd also I agree that an author can't write a story they want to tell if they are afraid of offending people. I've never been so offended by a book that I put it down, though I have written reviews with negative comments because of content.
Oh my, this topic makes me ramble.