A Pile of YA Novels with Non-binary Protagonists (Part 2!)

For my PhD thesis—which was submitted in August 2022, resubmitted with revisions in May 2023, and officially wrapped up in July 2023—I studied the increasing presence of non-binary main characters in young adult fiction. With my graduation (funny hat and cape and all) coming up this month, it’s time for a long-delayed follow-up to my initial recommendation pile from last year! Here, we’ve got a variety of stories with heroes under the non-binary umbrella, from dark thrillers to soft magical adventures. This features some newer releases, too, as well as a “classic”.

From Painters to Pirates: A Study of Non-binary Protagonists in Young Adult Fiction

I have a new scholarly paper out, free to read in the International Journal of Young Adult Literature! This scoops up and lays out a bunch of my thesis data, representing a lot of research work. Check it out if you’re interested!

Abstract:

Non-binary gender is a marginalised queer identity increasingly receiving mainstream media representation, a subject that warrants investigation. Non-binary is an umbrella term under which many experiences of gender fall, a factor that necessitates a nuanced variety of narrative representations to avoid perpetuating or creating static and singular archetypes. This article examines a sample of young adult novels with non-binary protagonists published between 2017 and 2020, exploring the various ways these texts express and explore their central characters’ gender identity. My findings reveal thematic commonalities between these novels, with particular focus on the language used to describe these characters’ felt sense of gender, their experiences with dysphoria/euphoria, their relationships to broader queer communities within their story worlds, and the intersections of queer gender and speculative elements. I argue that this subset we might call ‘non-binary YA’ serves as an emblem of the development of queer YA overall, its rapid expansion through various genres and narrative types providing a microcosm of the growth of the literary field and pointing to its future.

Download the full PDF here!