Carnival of Aces: Words and Music

[primeideal]

What do the main characters in eight- or nine-year-olds' favorite books do?

 

I can think of a couple sorts of things. Some of them go to school or fight with their siblings or resent their parents or play sports with their friends--in short, things that the readers of those books might themselves do (but many adults don't). On the other hand, they might cast magic spells or ride dinosaurs or slay dragons or chat with Martians, which are impossible for readers of any age.
 

 

Characters from adults' favorite books might do those impossible things also. Then again, they might cheat on their taxes or get fired or abuse alcohol or have extramarital affairs--again, opportunities afforded to their readers (but not most eight-year-olds).
 

 

So, we speak of "children's" and "adults'" and "young adult" literature, even if we don't always know how to delineate these. And the wide array of genres available testifies that there is fiction available for every interest. Especially for kids, this makes sense. Reading is a valuable skill and adults want to encourage children to develop it, so why not target their passions? Everything from baseball to aliens (or both at once) is up for grabs.
 

 

But this is not the case with music. Last weekend I went to karaoke nights and heard singers of all ages. The list of available songs featured two "Children's Songs" (Three Blind Mice and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). But the kids on stage avoided this repertoire, choosing instead the narrower fare of their elders. So we were treated to the sight of kids barely if at all into the double digits rhapsodizing about their romantic liaisons and exciting drug use.
 

 

This month's theme for the Carnival of Aces is age and ageism. When you're a child, nonsexuality is the default--the image and portrayal of childhood life we get from fiction is by and large a world where platonic and familial relationships are prized. But come adolescence, there are expectations of a new default, where romance and sex become the norm. And for popular music, there are really very few lyrics celebrating things other than romance past the "diamond in the sky" phase.
 

 

In many ways, I am much the same person I was aged ten or so (suffice it to say I'm a ways past that now). My religious and political views haven't changed, I still love mathematics and writing stories on the computer, I've still never had a romantic or sexual relationship. The list goes on. While consistency may be a virtue, this has its downsides. When I see ten-year-olds' somewhat mediocre writing, I don't think "well, they're ten" but instead "I haven't changed much from that age; has my writing ability plateaued as well?" And when I look for heroes or lyrics that speak to me, I really have to search them out. (Musical theater helps--songs with plots!--but you can imagine my disappointment when "Chess" fell outside the realm of "stories about some people's special interest" and into the "Cold War love triangle" category).

 

I don't exactly identify as asexual (but it's closer for now than "hetero-," "homo,-" or "bi-,"), but the issue of media representation is one that means a lot to me. I'll keep looking for the right songs, but even as I get older, it doesn't get easier.