What Story, What Identity, Wattpad? - Teaching Youth to Restory YA Literature - ALAN
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Layered Literacies
James Joshua Coleman
with
Leigh A. Hall
What Story, What Identity, Wattpad?
Teaching Youth to Restory YA Literature
This article is also available in an online format that stemmed from an actuarial-like fear of death, my own
allows direct access to all links included. We encourage retreat stemmed from a desire to find a queer1 boy
you to access it on the ALAN website at http://www. like me reflected in the YA books I read. I never found
alan-ya.org/publications/the-alan-review/the-alan- one.
review-columns/. Contrary to my own childhood, young adults
today have unprecedented access to representations
Wattpad opens the doors and enlarges the view in of queer youth in YA literature and film, and when
places where the doors are closed and the view is mainstream publishing fails, they are taking matters
restricted. And somewhere out there in Wattpadland, a into their own hands. Harnessing digital platforms,
new generation is testing its wings. these youth are writing themselves into existence as
—Margaret Atwood (2012) they restory both YA literature and the world. Accord-
ing to Thomas and Stornaiuolo (2016), restorying is
I
distinctly remember the first time I watched the process of “reshaping narratives to better reflect
The Pagemaster (https://www.youtube.com/ a diversity of perspectives and experiences” (p. 314).
watch?v=qgl2gnri940). The film catapulted me It involves filling gaps and expanding representations
through time and space as it followed the misadven- by publishing diverse, self-authored stories on digital
tures of a young Macaulay Culkin battling “his way platforms. Publicly accessible, these stories alter some
through the world’s greatest adventure” (TheTrai- aspect of an original text—identity, place, mode,
lerGal, 2016). Shifting through an array of canoni- perspective, metanarrative, or time—and in doing so,
cal literature from Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) to create mirrors and windows (Bishop, 1990) through
Melville’s Moby Dick (1851), the film led me to view which youth, particularly youth from marginalized
each of the many books I read as its own imaginative backgrounds, “write themselves into stories that have
world—emotional spaces of fantasy in which I might heretofore marginalized, silenced, and excluded them”
love, laugh, cry, fear, and imagine. Fair warning: If (Thomas & Stornaiuolo, 2016, p. 317).
you haven’t seen the film, Ahab and the White Whale Queer and trans youth, in particular, are mo-
will haunt you long into adulthood. bilizing 21st-century digital technologies to restory
Finding myself reflected in the translucently dominant trends in LGBTQ YA literature and, by pub-
white, bookish Culkin, it was not until some years lishing their stories on digital platforms like Wattpad,
later that I recognized where that coming-of-age story, are writing themselves into intersectional existence.
one filled with all the action, adventure, and fantasy Overthrowing those pagemasters of yore, these young
seemingly requisite for young boys, failed me. While people daily demonstrate their collaborative mas-
Culkin’s retreat into the imaginative world of books tery of the digital page as they spotlight the range of
65
The ALAN Review Winter 2019
k65-70-ALAN-Winter18/19.indd 65 2/15/19 12:35 PMgenders, sexualities, abilities, and racial identities that of-age romance with a twist, this novel/film combo
exist within the greater queer and trans communities. follows white, middle-class Simon Spier, a closeted
Pushing the boundaries of the imagination, such re- high schooler, as he falls in love with a digital pen pal,
storying practices challenge the manifold instances of Blue, and is subsequently blackmailed and outed to
cultural erasure, stereotyp- his school community. Simon’s story conjures age-
ing, and caricaturing that old questions about love and loss, yet contextualizes
Inviting students to have persisted throughout them within the contemporary realities of queer young
the history of LGBTQ lit- adulthood. A national phenomenon, Love, Simon’s
reshape novels and erature and film for young success represents a marked expansion in LGBTQ rep-
people (Thomas & Stornai- resentation and gestures toward a fundamental need
identities to reflect their uolo, 2016). Furthermore, for queer and trans youth alike: these youth deserve
own lived experiences, this process of refashioning to see their experiences reflected in books and on
stories holds great promise screens and to find love waiting for them at the end of
teachers can support for advancing reading and the story.
instruction in ELA class- Nonetheless, no single YA novel or film can
students as they harness rooms. capture the rich diversity of the queer and trans
In this column, I communities, and where representations fail, youth
digital platforms to
consider how teachers can are writing themselves into existence. For instance,
restory YA literature and, use Wattpad to cultivate while Love, Simon demonstrates inclusion along lines
a restorying practice with of sexuality, race, ethnicity, and religion, it neglects
ultimately, the world. students that develops intersectional perspectives2 and thus reinforces histori-
skills in reading and writ- cal trends in LGBTQ YA literature that foreground the
ing, all while infusing the experiences of white, affluent gays and lesbians to the
world with new, more diverse stories. Using the YA exclusion of people of color and transgender individu-
text Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Albertalli, als.
2016), I provide strategies for restorying novels in ELA For example, in 2016, 81% of protagonists in LG-
classrooms and for supporting students as they engage BTQ YA literature self-defined as cisgender3, thus rel-
with fellow Wattpadians from across the globe. I con- egating trans representation to a mere 15 YA novels.
clude by explaining how teachers might introduce re- Racial diversity similarly merits increased representa-
storying practices into their classrooms, by beginning tion within LGBTQ YA. For as we know from the “Di-
with bending characters’ identities. Inviting students versity in Children’s Books 2015” infographic (https://
to reshape novels and identities to reflect their own readingspark.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/picture-this-
lived experiences, teachers can support students as reflecting-diversity-in-childrens-book-publishing/),
they harness digital platforms to restory YA literature white protagonists dominate 73.3% of children’s book
and, ultimately, the world. publishing (Dahlen, 2016). While mainstream publish-
ing is slowly increasing diverse representation, many
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda: youth remain unappeased by such gradual shifts and
A Quick Introduction are instead catalyzing change by reading, writing, and
publishing stories on the digital platform Wattpad.
Between 2015 and 2017, the publication of LGBTQ
YA print novels by mainstream publishers increased
Wattpad: Open Access Technology for
by 46% (Lo, 2017), and several of those novels have
even been adapted for the big screen. Love, Simon
Readers and Writers
(Berlanti, 2018), a blockbuster sensation, is one such An open source platform, Wattpad advertises itself
film. Adapted from Becky Albertalli’s award-winning as a space for reading and writing across genres that
novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Love, range from romance and fanfiction to science fiction
Simon became the 14th highest grossing “Teen Ro- and mystery. (For the adventurous, Wattpad’s also of-
mance” of all time (Box Office Mojo, n.d.). A coming- fers a werewolf-themed genre). A repository of stories
66
The ALAN Review Winter 2019
k65-70-ALAN-Winter18/19.indd 66 2/15/19 12:35 PMwritten by authors from across the globe, Wattpad
allows anyone to craft and publish their writing for Wattpad Resources
a public audience and to cultivate online communi- Wattpad. (2018). Clubs. Retrieved from https://
ties through engagement in Club Discussions (https:// www.wattpad.com/clubs.
www.wattpad.com/clubs), The Watty Awards (http://
wattys.wattpad.com/), and Writing Contests (https:// Wattpad. (2018). Jobs. Retrieved from https://
www.wattpad.com/go/writing-contests/). Since its www.wattpad.com/life.
launch in 2006, Wattpad has enrolled over 65 million Wattpad. (2018). Wattpad homepage. Retrieved
users and published more than 400 million user-gener- from https://www.wattpad.com.
ated stories. Wattpad. (2018). The Wattys. Retrieved from
Through general or in-line comments, students http://wattys.wattpad.com.
can cultivate dialogue and build community with
Wattpad. (2018). Writer resources. Retrieved from
readers and writers from across the globe. Boasting
https://www.wattpad.com/writers/resources.
a pool of stories as diverse as their writers, Wattpad
provides readers with literary mirrors reflecting their Wattpad. (2018). Writers’ portal. Retrieved from
own experiences and windows to new experiential ho- http://creators.wattpad.com.
rizons (Bishop, 1990). As described by CEO Allen Lua, Wattpad. (2018). Writing contests. Retrieved from
Wattpad “empower[s] diverse storytellers all over the https://www.wattpad.com/go/writing-contests.
world, helping them build a community of passionate
readers” (Spangler, 2018). A platform of imagination,
collaboration, and ultimately publication, Wattpad
supports young writers by providing digital and in- any story. In a world of increasing diversity, misrep-
person support to wordsmiths in training. resentation and harm will occur; that does not mean,
however, that we stop writing. Instead, we must learn
Teaching Readers and Writers to Restory to read, write, and restory in ethical ways.
Ethically with Wattpad For readers, Wattpad proves particularly useful
Integrated into classrooms, Wattpad becomes a pow- when layered into ongoing classroom literacy practices
erful pedagogical tool for developing students’ reading to supplement a novel study. For the study of Simon
and writing skills through acts of restorying. To do vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, teachers might invite
so, however, educators must first consider one major students to search Wattpad for publications that re-
ethical question: Who has the right to tell what story? story some aspect of the primary text. Once they find
Historically, youth from marginalized backgrounds these publications, students might dialogue critically
have been the primary users of restorying, harnessing with authors and other readers regarding the purpose
digital platforms to expand representation in main- of the changes to the novel. Such dialogue provides
stream publishing (Thomas, 2016). Moreover, these fertile ground for students to become critical fans who
individuals have traditionally written their own stories “encourage discussion through individual contribution
into existence. To tell a story is to exercise power, and empathetic conversation” (Booth, 2015). Using
and to misrepresent a community is to cause harm. the in-line or general comment functions, students can
Accordingly, students must be cautious when writing inquire into fan restorying practices, asking questions
stories, particularly when those stories do not mirror such as:
their lived experiences; this is particularly true for • Why did you change _________?
students from dominant backgrounds whose potential • Why was it important for you to write the story in
to cause harm is amplified. this way?
To mitigate such harm, teachers should direct • Your story differed from my own experiences in
students to learn about the history of the communi- __________ way. Could you explain why you wrote
ties they represent by engaging in critical reading your story in this way?
practices and by collaborating with individuals from • How do you think your story would be different if
that community. This should occur prior to publishing you changed ________ instead?
67
The ALAN Review Winter 2019
k65-70-ALAN-Winter18/19.indd 67 2/15/19 12:35 PMBecoming a critical fan on Wattpad promotes ethical perspective, metanarrative, time (Thomas & Stornai-
reading stances that highlight the relationships be- uolo, 2016). Figure 1 provides examples of restorying
tween identity, power, and activities teachers might use to develop writing skills.
stories as they shift across Although Figure 1 is tailored to Simon vs. The
Referred to as bending, cultures. Furthermore, criti- Homo Sapiens Agenda, teachers can alter these activi-
cal fan interactions promote ties to other YA texts and films. Additionally, they
restorying identity skills in navigating online should be prepared for students to develop novel
cultures, participating in restorying practices based upon their personal expe-
allows students to draw transnational dialogue, riences and the stories they need to tell. Stories are
from their personal and furthering critical powerful, intimate expressions of personal life, and
orientations among youth. students will find exciting and often unexpected ways
experiences, which A welcome environment to share their experiences with the world.
for readers of all comfort
positions them as both levels, Wattpad allows Begin with Bending
knowers and authors of students to build skills as For teachers seeking to introduce restorying practices
readers, all while preparing into their ELA classroom, restorying identity is a
their own stories. them to write and restory great place to start. Referred to as bending, restorying
based upon their own lived identity allows students to draw from their personal
experiences and identities. experiences, which positions them as both knowers
Wattpad also provides a space for teachers to and authors of their own stories. Bending is adaptable
create authentic writing tasks tailored for diverse, in that it conforms to nearly any identity; furthermore,
international audiences. Returning to our example of it has been the primary means by which marginal-
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, teachers might ized youth are expanding representation on Wattpad.
ask students to alter the novel by restorying one of six Some common forms of bending include racebending,
aspects of Simon’s narrative: identity, place, mode, genderbending, queerbending, and classbending, all of
Restory What? Restory How? Activity Possible Responses
Identity Bending Restory a scene from Simon in which you Depict how different cultural expectations
bend some aspect of Simon’s identity. Be around gender might impact the coming out
sure to convey how the story would change. experience of a Latinx Simon.
Place Alteverse Restory the first chapter of Simon as if it Depict how setting the novel in a world
were taking place in an alternative universe, with superheroes, such as Wakanda, would
such as the world of Marvel’s The Avengers change Simon’s use of technology and con-
or Black Panther. nection to Blue.
Mode Transmedia Restory a section from Simon in the form of Storyboard or draw several panels of a comic
Storytelling a graphic novel or digital story. depicting a scene from the novel.
Perspective Counter- Restory a section from Simon from the per- Try and convey Martin’s goofiness and inse-
storytelling spective of Martin Addison or Blue. curities to make him and the blackmailing he
experiences sympathetic to the reader.
Metanarrative Collective Restory dominant trends in LGBTQ YA Create a series of stories that depict Simon
Storytelling literature that privilege white, affluent, cis- as a person of color, of lower and/or higher
gender protagonists. With peers, compose socioeconomic status, and as a woman or
several stories that bend or alter Simon’s gender-variant individual.
race, class, or gender.
Time Alternate Restory Simon as if it took place in an al- Depict how Simon’s story might be different
History ternative time period in which queer justice were same-sex love still considered a mental
looked different. illness.
Figure 1. Restorying in Classrooms
68
The ALAN Review Winter 2019
k65-70-ALAN-Winter18/19.indd 68 2/15/19 12:35 PMwhich transition easily to classroom spaces. vey how the story would change. Teachers might first
As a classroom activity, teachers might ask stu- provide students with exemplar Wattpad stories in
dents to bend some aspect of a protagonist’s identity which youth have bent some aspect of Simon’s iden-
and consider how that would alter the story overall. tity to reflect their own. This will help mitigate the
For instance, how would Simon need to be rewritten if creation of new, harmful representations that perpetu-
the protagonist were a woman, transgender, a person ate cultural erasure, ste-
of color, and/or Muslim? If Simon’s identity were reotyping, and caricaturing
changed, would Blue’s gender and sexuality need in YA literature and film. These stories reshape
to change to maintain the novel’s queer storyline? Following the publication
Might Simon’s dialect need to change if he were from of student stories, teachers worn-out narratives,
a region or country other than the US Deep South? should then guide critical
How might descriptions of attire change based upon discussions about those revitalizing them with
religious practices? These are just a few aspects that stories, spotlighting the im-
yet-untold experiences
students might consider when they bend Simon’s portance of restorying for
identity. both the authors and their that push against the
Bending also provides great opportunities for readers (refer to critical fan
students to publish their own experiences on Watt- questions above for guid- very boundaries of the
pad, sharing aspects of their identities with a willing ance). Last, when assess-
imagination.
and waiting audience. Teachers should encourage ing stories about identity,
students to consider their intended audience as they remember that though the
craft their stories and to be aware of how that audi- stories are fictional, they
ence shapes the way they represent their identities. As are infused with personal experience. Students’ lives
Wattpad is an open-source global platform, stories will serve as the templates for their stories; to share those
likely draw readers from across the globe. As a result, stories with teachers, classmates, and all of Wattpad-
understandings of race, sexuality, gender, and ability land takes a great deal of bravery and vulnerability.
might differ, and readers may or may not be familiar Assessing, in this case, should focus more on the
with their identities. restorying process rather than on students’ products.
To consider their audience, students might reflect
upon the following: For whom are you writing this Conclusion
story? What about your identity are you hoping to
Youth are restorying YA literature and the world. They
convey to your reader? Are you writing a mirror for
are writing themselves into intersectional existence
others like you or a window for individuals different
and finding on Wattpad a means to fashion more
from you? Considering audience helps students tailor
diverse futures through the stories they tell. These
their restorying efforts and represent their identities in
stories reshape worn-out narratives, revitalizing them
a manner most aligned to their writing goals. Further-
with yet-untold experiences that push against the very
more, imagining an audience has the potential to help
boundaries of the imagination. It is high time such
students find the community of readers they are hop-
practices, forged by youth in digital fan spaces, were
ing to reach as well as choose the right Wattpad tags:
introduced into ELA classrooms and utilized to de-
#LoveSimon #Queer, #Trans, #Muslim, #POC.
velop students’ skills as readers, writers, and restory-
Finally, when teaching students to restory iden-
ers. Through Wattpad, teachers can amplify student’s
tity, teachers should enact several key factors: 1)
stories, teaching them to harness that digital platform
present examples of ethical bending first, 2) create
as a space for restorying dominant narratives of the
space for critical discussion, and 3) remember when
past, for envisioning new literary worlds in the pres-
assessing that bending identity is personal. Take, for
ent, and for crafting diverse stories that bend towards
example, Figure 1’s proposed activity for restorying
a more just future.
identity: Restory a scene from Simon in which you
bend some aspect of Simon’s identity. Be sure to con-
69
The ALAN Review Winter 2019
k65-70-ALAN-Winter18/19.indd 69 2/15/19 12:35 PMEndnotes References
1. “Queer” in this paper aligns with but does not exclusively Albertalli, B. (2016). Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda. New
imply LGBTQ identification; instead, queer refers to a way- York, NY: Balzer + Bray.
of-being often marked as socially deviant and nonnormative. Atwood, M. (2012, July 6). Margaret Atwood: Why Wattpad
Queerness further intersects but is not necessarily synony- works. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.the
mous with trans, racial, classed, and disabled ways of being. guardian.com/books/2012/jul/06/margaret-atwood-wattpad-
When talking about specific communities, I will honor that online-writing.
community’s self-designation, and when quoting or referring Berlanti, G. (Director). (2018). Love, Simon [Motion Picture].
to a text, my use of terminology will mirror the terminology USA: Fox 2000 Pictures.
deployed by that text. Bishop, R. S. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.
2. Intersectionality is a theory of oppression proposed by Kim- Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books in the Classroom,
berlé Crenshaw (1991) that considers how multiple identity 6(3), ix–xi.
categories intersect to generate a particular matrix of oppres- Booth, P. J. (2015). Fandom: The classroom of the future.
sion for certain individuals. For more on intersectionality and Transformative Works and Cultures, 19. Available from
its application to YA literature, see Gill’s (2016) article in The http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/
ALAN Review. view/650/516.
3. While often considered the opposite of transgender, cisgen- Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Teen romance. Retrieved from http://
der (http://www.transstudent.org/definitions/) might be www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=teenromance.htm.
thought of more simply as individuals who identify as neither Crenshaw, K. (1991, July). Mapping the margins: Intersectional-
transgender nor gender variant. However, per transgender ity, identity politics, and violence against women of color.
studies scholar Susan Stryker (2017), cisgender might more Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–1299.
productively be used as a way to think about privilege and Dahlen, S. P. (2016, September 14). Picture this: Reflecting di-
how aspects of gender identity and expression afford social versity in children’s book publishing. Reading Spark. Retrieved
privileges. from https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/
picture-this-reflecting-diversity-in-childrens-book-publishing/.
Acknowledgements Gill, V. (2016). “Everybody else gets to be normal”: Using in-
tersectionality and Ms. Marvel to challenge “normal” identity.
A special thanks to Rob Bittner, a vital thought partner
The ALAN Review, 44(1), 68–78.
in an early draft of this column and to the editors who Lo, M. (2017, October 12). LGBTQ YA by the numbers:
have been instrumental in shaping this piece. 2015-16. Retrieved from https://www.malindalo.com/
blog/2017/10/12/lgbtq-ya-by-the-numbers-2015-16.
James Joshua Coleman (Josh) is a doctoral candidate at Melville, H. (1851). Moby Dick. New York, NY: Harper &
the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Edu- Brothers.
cation, where he studies historical issues of representation Shelley, M. W. (1818). Frankenstein, or the Modern Pro-
in queer and LGBTQ-themed young adult literature. His metheus. London, England: Lackington, Hughes, Harding,
Mavor & Jones.
other academic interests include critical literacy, teacher
Spangler, T. (2018, January 17). Wattpad banks $51 million from
education, queer theory, and affect studies.
Tencent, other investors to fund entertainment projects. The
Variety. Retrieved from http://variety.com/2018/digital/news/
Leigh A. Hall is a professor at the University of Wyoming wattpad-funding-tencent-tv-film-entertainment-1202666935/.
where she holds the Wyoming Excellence in Higher Educa- Stryker, S. (2017). Transgender history: The roots of today’s
tion Endowed Chair in Literacy Education. Her research revolution. New York, NY: Seal Press.
currently examines how to engage middle and high TheTrailerGal. (2016, March 14). The pagemaster (1994)
school teachers in online professional development that is original trailer. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/
interactive and collaborative in nature. Her research has watch?v=qgl2gnri940.
received several awards, including the Outstanding Disser- Thomas, E. E. (2016, November). Stories still matter: Rethinking
tation Award from the International Literacy Association, the role of diverse children’s literature today. Language Arts,
94, 112–119.
the Early Career Achievement Award, and the Edward
Thomas, E. E., & Stornaiuolo, A. (2016). Restorying the self:
B. Fry Book Award for Empowering Struggling Readers:
Bending toward textual justice. Harvard Educational Review,
Practices for the Middle Grades (both from the Literacy 86, 313–338.
Research Association). She has published in such jour- Trans student educational research. (2018). LGBTQ+ definitions.
nals as Research in the Teaching of English, Journal of Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/definitions/.
Literacy Research, Teachers College Record, and Harvard
Educational Review.
70
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