While reading “Why Americans are Afraid of Dragons”, by Ursula K. Le Guin, I was haunted by a quote I read by fantasy author Terry Pratchett. Imagination is something adults struggle with everyday. To have a wild and vivid imagination is childish; and anything childish is considered to be derogatory. Le Guin writes: “I believe that all the best faculties of a mature human being exist in the child, and that is these faculties are encouraged in youth they will act well and wisely in the adult, but if they are repressed and denied in the child they will stunt and crupple the adult personality” (Page 44). This intrigues me because she then goes on to claim that there is a gender segregation in imagination. Young boys are taught that imagination is not apart of “maleness”; while girls are allowed to run wild with their imagination. This truly saddens me because growing up around young children I have witnessed this first hand. Young boys are encouraged to abandon their imaginations at young ages, while girls are encouraged to live in a sort of fantasy world for pretty much their entire life. Society cripples imagination by putting a huge emphasis on children to grow up; and part of growing up is forsaking their creativity and imagination.

              Now, to change gears of thinking, I do agree with this aspect of Le Guin’s argument regarding gender restrictions, but to say that there is little imagination in the American people today is false. In fact, Americans are not afraid of dragons (Game of Thrones, anyone?) Imagination in the sense of fantasy and alternate universes may not be as popular in American culture but in no way is it not encouraged or loathed. I am curious as to what Le Guin would think of “Fifty Shades Of Grey”? Would sexual fantasy be considered a mindless indulgence to her? Does fantasy HAVE TO be a hobbit, a unicorn, or a dragon. Americans do not discourage imagination, they just would rather read about something that triggers their imagination and desires in other ways. Le Guin labels fantasy in a very narrow sense. To me, fantasy is anything that is not every day life. Fantasy could be getting an A on that paper, to  Christian Grey, to even vampires (Americans love vampires). Perhaps Le Guin hasn’t seen the American sales for “Harry Potter”, “The Hunger Games”, and “Twilight”. Log onto Tumblr, or any other blog site and see that imagination is in fact still very much alive. What needs to be fixed is American gender segregation; not American taste in what Americans prefer to read about.