# "Coverflip: Maureen Johnson Calls For An End To Gendered Book Covers"



## Ophiucha (May 7, 2013)

Coverflip: Maureen Johnson Calls For An End To Gendered Book Covers With An Amazing Challenge (IMAGES)

_Yesterday, author Maureen Johnson had a great idea. She tweeted "I do wish I had a dime for every email I get that says, "Please put a non-girly cover on your book so I can read it. - signed, A Guy" - and so came the idea for a challenge for her 77,000 followers. A challenge that she called Coverflip. Below, she explains more._



> You are informed about a book’s perceived quality through a number of ways. Probably the biggest is the cover.
> 
> (Other messages include: blurbs (who they are from), comparisons, review coverage, store placement, and categorization.)
> 
> ...









(more on the huffpo website; but I hate using their slideshow feature so here's this for those who'd rather not)​


----------



## Steerpike (May 7, 2013)

Heh. Those images are good.

I read plenty of books with so-called "girly" covers and don't feel self-conscious about it. Not sure why people would let that stop them reading a book.


----------



## Ophiucha (May 7, 2013)

People can be surprisingly nosy on transit - I thought that reading off of my Kindle would stop that since you wouldn't be able to see the cover, but I ended up with people actually _asking_ me what I was reading instead. (I guess if you were self conscious about what you were reading, you could use that as an opportunity to say something more manly, but I just hate talking to strangers so I prefer the people who just lean down and try to catch a glimpse of the cover myself.)


----------



## Shockley (May 8, 2013)

I have to say, the 'girly' Clockwork Orange cover is bad-a.


----------



## Feo Takahari (May 8, 2013)

Off-topic, _Every Day_ sounds kind of awesome. I'll check and see if my library has it.


----------



## Jess A (May 9, 2013)

This is amusing. A friend posted it up on her Facebook page, and I remembered seeing Maureen Johnson's name on Mythic's chat thread.

It's interesting, the variety of books whose covers are clearly 'gendered'. 

Just an off-topic comment on the "Georgette Martin' book - I really don't like computer-generated pictures, I hate seeing these on fantasy books - I like traditional art for book covers, or photography. Ugh am I a snob or what?!

Edit: Actually that's untrue. Digital imagery can look very traditional and utterly stunning. It's the weird, 3D look I really despise, like cartoons.


----------

