Systematic Student + random

YA: Love Triangles and the Double Standard

I was thinking about how many love triangles I've noticed popping up in YA literature lately, and whether or not I like them. And, it occurred to me that I cannot think of a single instance of a love triangle involving one boy and two girls. In my experience, it is always one girl deciding between two guys. I was trying to figure out why that is, why there were no cases involving two girls and one guy when I realized that as a general rule, we consider guys who are leading on two different females to be a player or a (insert string of long curse words here).

So why is it then okay for it to be a girl deciding between two guys?!

I'm sure every one, at one point or another has come across someone, either in literature or real life who is upset or affected by the gender stereotype/double standard that a boy who has many sexual partners is a stud, but a girl is a slut.

I've heard a lot of people get really up in arms over the above stereotype, both in real life and in literature, but I've never heard anyone talk that way about the reverse (love triangles).

So, what do you think? Why is it that one double standard is so offensive to people, but the other totally acceptable?

Whether you like reading love triangles or not, what are your thoughts on this?

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YA: Love Triangles and the Double Standard + random