Should Books Have Content Ratings? // Let’s Talk Bookish

Should Books Have Content Ratings? // Let’s Talk Bookish
Let's Talk Bookish banner

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion where we discuss certain topics based on prompts allocated for each Friday of the week. You basically share your opinions and get into the conversation by visiting each other’s posts. You can find the July schedule here or here.

Today’s Let’s Talk Bookish topic is Should Books Have Content Ratings?

I think it is safe to say that we all know what a content rating, or maturity rating as some call it, is since we see it so regularly on movie trailers and now on Netflix or wherever. If you check the definition on Wikipedia, it says…

A content rating usually places a media source into one of a number of different categories, to show which age group is suitable to view media and entertainment.

But funnily enough, they only include TV broadcasts, movies, comic books, and video games under “media and entertainment”.

WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT BOOKS HAVE NO RATING SYSTEM TO DETERMINE WHAT IS AND ISN’T APPROPRIATE?

I think it is just simply impossible because of the sheer number of books being published annually versus movies coming out. According to Statistica, there is an average of 700-800 movies releasing annually in the USA and Canada alone (except in 2020 because of COVID!). But when it comes to books, the most recent data is from the year 2013, which estimates the US annual production at 600,000 to 1,000,000 books per year and the worldwide number at 2.2 million! So, who is going to read all of these books and rate them all based on a standardised system?

Then there is also the money that movies make. Movies make tonnes of money while the publishing industry makes maybe a tiny fraction of that revenue, so who can pay for all those ratings? And there is the question of who would carry out the rating as well! Is it the publisher? An external agency? Book reviewers?

Are you starting to see how complicated this hypothetical standardised rating system is already?

SHOULD THERE BE BOOKS THAT ARE KEPT OUT OF THE HANDS OF CHILDREN?

Well, yes. But that is why we classify books as children’s fiction, middle-grade, young adult, new adult and adult fiction. That in itself is a rough guide on how old the characters in the books are, and what kind of issues might crop up along the way for them.

Obviously, we do not want really young kids reading explicit sexual content or gory violence; it is the same as in the movies. But I think there comes an age when it is time for the reader to choose what content they would like to read for themselves, and I always always always recommend the library for this! Those genre-labelled sections are the perfect place to explore when this stage hits.

IS IT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS OR SHOULD THERE BE A STANDARD BOOK RATING SYSTEM TO DEEM WHAT’S APPROPRIATE?

Personally, I am against the concept of a standard book rating system because I feel like it would just end up marginalizing quite a few great books that address controversial and deep topics. It is bound to happen since the whole idea behind a rating system is “to categorize”.

In its place, I recommend content warnings. I admit that this can be subjective as well, but, like reading reviews, if you go through a few others rather than depend on just a single review, you still get a good picture of what that particular book would contain.

Now, when it comes to the question of who’s responsible, that’s a lot harder to answer. Obviously, parents play a big role: mine handed me my first book and that’s a pretty big milestone! I think parents play the most integral role in keeping an eye on their kids’ reading content until a certain age till they themselves can judge and make the decision for themselves. And trust me, that’s subjective for everyone, so it’s a different age for every single one of us.

But I think we’re forgetting the other big players here, like teachers and librarians. When I started school, my English Lit teacher and my librarian played a bigger role in influencing what I read than my parents did.

When I took my first intimidating step into my school library, it was my librarian who recommended my first library book to me and I sort of always got his opinion on the books I picked up from then on. Also, he arranged the books on the shelves by age group, so that’s one big contribution on his part right there. Likewise, my English Lit teacher influenced my classics reading list a lot but I was in my young adult years by then.

And that’s the tea, dear readers! A standardised book rating system is a huge no-no for me!

I also found this helpful Goodreads discussion thread where people were sharing book rating websites. Check it out here if you are interested!

Here are a few interesting posts that I came across that addressed this question:

I had loads of fun writing this post! I’m so curious about what everyone else contributed to this week’s Let’s Talk Bookish! Feel free to start a conversation below and let’s have some fun!

My previous Let’s Talk Bookish posts:

10 thoughts on “Should Books Have Content Ratings? // Let’s Talk Bookish”

  1. Such an interesting topic! I have to say that I agree with you 100%. Putting a standard of ratings on books could also limit authors and their creativity. I can’t imagine having to write in a situation like that. I am all for content warnings, though. I just wish we could figure out a way to do it without giving spoilers. Great post! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Dedra! That’s very true. And yeah, the biggest argument against content warnings are possible spoilers, and I see posts where they argue that’s not true. Personally, I’m still trying to figure a way around it. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. A great post – I really enjoyed reading your ideas. There does need to be something more than just the MG / YA / NA guidance, as some YA books contain controversial material. Content warnings are a great idea.

    As a parent of grown children – my youngest is 18 – I had thought how difficult it would have been to monitor what my daughter was reading at 15 and 16. I hadn’t thought about how I trusted her to choose for herself, so your comment “until a certain age till they themselves can judge and make the decision for themselves” made me feel better that I had given her more freedom at that age.

    1. Hi Louise! I am so incredibly touched that a parent such as yourself felt that way about something I wrote! But yes, that was based on my own experience with my parents too and personally it worked well. Thanks for stopping by!

  3. Great post! You bring up some really great ideas. I agree with what you said about content warnings – I suggested that as an alternative in my post too – content ratings themselves is just too subjective to standardise!

    1. Thank you, Ruqs! And yes, content warnings are the most helpful indicator at this point.

  4. I agree with you, I think that content ratings would make things more difficult- or rather, easier to “ban” books, which irks me. Especially because, like you said, who exactly would police this? I certainly don’t want to let some random Karen decide what SHE personally deems appropriate for my kids to read. To that end, I absolutely despise when people say that certain content makes a book “inappropriate” (for example, LGBTQ+ issues, racism, etc) to try to get said book off library or school shelves. Like a gay character doesn’t make a book inappropriate, people! (Sorry I get really fired up about this hah.)

    I think with my own kids, I try very hard to NOT police what they read in general? Obviously I am not letting them read erotica or Stephen King before bed, but you know what I mean! And sometimes if they want to read stuff a little “older”, I just read it with them, you know? Lovely post!

    1. Your reading policy with your kids reminds me of how my mom handled mine, and let me tell you it worked out fine for me! Haha! However, it’s obviously subjective always but I think you’re doing a wonderful job, Shannon.

      And I found it fascinating about not wanting a random person rate books, because I think that’s why book bloggers hold such an appeal with recommendations. We build an audience based on our work and personality and establish a trust with our audience. So, then it sort of becomes a responsibility for us to make sure we’re doing our best on our end by researching the books the best we can and issuing content warnings the best we can. Of course this is subjective and everyone can go about this their own. I myself only recently start using CWs in my reviews.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  5. Pingback: What Are The Best Ways To Get Over Reading Slumps? // Let's Talk Bookish
  6. Pingback: Book Bloggers Appreciation | July 2021 💻 – A Book. A Thought.

Comments are closed.

Back to top