Thread by @DrTetreault

Really disturbed by a short story I just read - "The Truth about Dino Girl" by @barrylyga in the anthology _Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd_. The book is meant to celebrate teen geeks, but this story...

This realistic fic has a teen get insulted once, and in retaliation destroy the insulter's life on an epic scale, and it's played like the protagonist is completely in the right to do so. That a story like this was written for a YA audience is really upsetting. Spoilers incoming:

In the story, the geek protagonist is low-key stalking another girl's boyfriend. When the other girl finds out, she makes fun of the protagonist for about ten seconds, then walks away. She tells the boyfriend that he's being stalked.

Later, the boyfriend indirectly indicates to the protag that he's aware of the stalking, but doesn't make an issue of it - life just goes on.

This seems pretty reasonable of the boyfriend and the other girl, all things considered.

Protagonist's reaction? She and her friend secretly get naked pictures of the other girl when she's in the locker room, Photoshop them to look like she's in a seedy hotel, and anonymously distribute them all over the school and town.

Not only is the other girl thereby physically exposed to the world, but everyone starts spreading rumors about the girl being a prostitute. And her bf breaks up with her b/c she can't explain the images.

The story ends with protagonist and friend patting themselves on the back for standing up for themselves.

Seriously, @BarryLyga? You're advocating for teens to take nude photos of teens who were mean to them and then share those naked photos widely?

To completely ruin someone's reputation because they had literally one bad interaction with a person? To spread vicious lies with the intent of DESTROYING SOMEONE'S LIFE because they don't get along with that person?

And to play it as if that's how one empowers oneself - by anonymously sharing intimate info on a wide scale?

That is a SERIOUSLY messed up message to give to any audience, but a YA audience most of all, particularly in the social media age.

The story dates back to 2009, when sm was not as prevalent, but even then, online sharing among teens was causing issues, so age of the text is not an excuse.

Even if the other girl is "mean" (according to two characters, each of whom seems to have had one unpleasant interaction with her), telling kids it's righteous to utterly ruin someone's life because they're mean is unconscionable.

What's further boggling my mind is that this story made it through editorial review, and was selected by @hollyblack and @misscecil for inclusion in their anthology. I mean, I get it; I was a teen geek. I felt alone. I had some folks pick on me.

The idea of being the one exacting revenge against my oppressors would have filled me with glee at the time. But stories are not just stories, especially when they're aimed at a younger audience. They provide guidance and suggestions for how to live one's life.

Every kid should be who they want to be and not have to be harangued for it. And while I'm not a fan of in-kind revenge, I can accept that it makes for a good story. It's important for kids to learn to stand up for themselves. But that's not what this story is about.

Clearly, this story touched a nerve for me, and I'm honestly not even sure why, other than it was just so shocking to read after the other empowering and affirming tales in this book. Might be partly because so many times, we brush things off - "It's just a story."

But stories have power. As a teacher, I see students every day talking about what they've learned from what they're reading. I think most rational folk would agree the world's pretty messed up these days. It's on us to help make it better - each and every one of us.

Stories are a powerful way we can do that. But if the stories are showing people exacting revenge and destroying others over slights, and being held up as heroes for it, then what lessons can we expect kids to take?

Before everyone @'s me, I'm not advocating for sanitizing stories. The world can be a hard place, and stories are the windows and mirrors that helps kids see it, and themselves in it. Tough choices need to be made. But stories create models for readers.

Stories don't have to encourage kids to react based on their emotional instincts (which, as teens, are hyper-sensitive). And stories definitely don't have to give them guidance in using their intellect to get away with committing crimes. That's not how things get better.