Confessions of a Grrrl...
To start from the last question, I doubt there is much you could do to get your class to appreciate The Hobbit to the same degree that you do. I've tried to convert many a person to Tolkien and it is certainly not easy because so many have prejudices about his work. That's a danger with teaching something you really love, that 'they' will knock it down.
When you are talking about a class of students then peer pressure might have taken effect. Having been a female undergraduate, I have been through the pressure to conform, to say the right thing in class, to appear knowledgeable about 'grown-up, serious' issues, to be appreciated for my considered opinions. To openly declare my admiration for Plath was a wonderful thing and it was in no way feigned; I remember (shamefully, now) pursuing another student in a rigorous Plath discussion when I became suspicious that she was a 'bluffer' and merely trying to
appear 'correct'. Likewise, I kept my head down in discussions on Middlemarch because I found the book utterly tedious and couldn't be bothered reading beyond the first 50 pages, but I would have been mortified if anyone had
known I was a bluffer*. I'm sure any 'Downer who has been through, or indeed is, at University will agree that there can be tremendous intellectual peer pressure.
What are they talking about? They are University students and being asked to read texts with a critical eye, with the conscious mind, instead of just grabbing a book off a shelf through free will and just reading. They read each text to find things, to collect ideas they can give in response to their teacher. They read texts in the same way I read a policy paper (though are more likely to get some pleasure from their reading
). One of those critical 'eyes' will be trained to collect perceptions on gender, just as I might use an 'eye' for inherent risks in a plan.
There
is a lot of literature which is aimed squarely at specific gender groups. Some of it is utter trash, and some of it is pernicious. I find the Bridget Jones films funny, but the 'image' of Bridget Jones is now imprinted on the minds of men who think we are all neurotic about our knickers. Cheers. It has also spawned miles of pulp that I hate. But equally, there are many works which are also 'women's literature which I have enjoyed, e.g. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. I think it down to what we identify with. I am not given to being neurotic about what men think of me, so I don't identify with Bridget Jones, but I do know a lot about strange Northern towns and the culture of the Chapel, so I like Jeanette Winterson's novel.
However, I do realise that me being able to identify or not with a character or situation in a novel is not the ultimate deciding factor on whether I will enjoy it or not. I admit I will use that line as an intellectual excuse for not liking something which others get a lot of pleasure out of. It could be that this class is using this as an excuse for simply not liking The Hobbit (or more likely the
thought of having to read it).
Why do I like The Hobbit? The simple answer is because I've always liked folk tales, myths, legends, poems about magical things and so on. I was brought up on these. As a child I loved Brer Rabbit, Rupert The Bear, Alice In Wonderland (though I had to read this myself as my father hated it and refused to read it to me), Goblin Market, Godzilla, Battle of the Planets, The Faraway Tree, The Phoenix and the Carpet etc etc.... But I think there is more to it. I also used to enjoy the Katy Did books, and Mallory Towers - which in retrospect was one long essay in how to be a prig. I think it is that I've always been a little bit contrary and liked to search out the unusual. As a five year old I declared I did not want to be a nurse or a secretary, I wanted to be Prime Minister. I used to spend hours making dresses for my dolls, but next day would find me playing War! (this game had a capital W and a ! because it involved noise and mud bombs and getting filthy and scabby knees) or getting done for running my 200+ toy cars down my grandparents' stairs. As an adult I take immense pride in the fact that my name will not fit on most standard workplace forms. That's how I am. Awkward.
I think in Tolkien I again satisfied my need to find the unusual. I know I am not alone, as my best female friends have all been similar to me, sharing a preference for loving obnoxious music and hating sappy pop, watching sci-fi and war films and being knowledgeable about cars, amongst other 'traditionally male' pursuits. I would be willing to place a substantial bet that such girls lurk in this class. But peer pressure is a horrible thing for us women, and we often just go along with the herd in order not to be universally despised; the only other option is to go along with the men and be friends with them instead, but then the other women seem to hate us even
more.
When reading for pleasure to be perfectly frank I don't really notice the absence of any particular gender. I
do notice a sexist comment or behaviour in a character, but I don't need there to be either men or women, just a story I enjoy.