Some people seem to bother wether an author is male or female. Do you? The goddess of the southern sea was once an Indian prince. She once wore clothes revealing a powerful chest and may have had hair on her upper lip. Now she wears long white robes, bangles and necklaces and there is a wise smile upon her face. She reincarnated many times, as men and women, and guards over all in need. One can only guess as to why her divine appearance changed from a man into a woman. Perhaps it was because of her nature, for this gentleness and care for all living things is something people often associate with women. Perhaps it's also because of how people wish to see her: as a motherly figure who is there to protect us all, a forgiving goddess who opens her arms to everyone, no matter what their sins are. A goddess can change from man into woman, take innumerable shapes and survive innumerable deaths. But is that a privilege for deities alone? Perhaps we all can, perhaps... Writers take many shapes in their musings and dreams. I have been a bird, a fairy, a soldier and a priest. I have been a warrior and a sailor, a husband and a wife, a whore and a king. And if I did well, I convinced you, and you believed me for as long as you were reading. A French painter once said he drew women because he was a man. I agree with him, but unlike him I draw comics, and thus the lines on the paper are not just a depiction of a woman, they are a woman, and I have to give her a voice and something to tell. I can only give her my own hopes and fears, my own happiness and anger, my own sadness and my own taste. Every character comes forth from the one who writes her. They are all in a way mirror images of the artist that put them onto paper, reflections of the one who wrote them. So why would people bother about an author's gender? Does it matter if it's a he or a she? The writing is about the characters and they are all part of him or her, all different aspects and details, ideals and fears. They are what comes from this unique artist, not from a man or a woman, but from a person... |
Written by fellpony (1699 comments posted) 18th January 2008 | I think you can usually guess whether an author is male or female by the way s/he writes, even if the gender is obscured by initials rather than a first name. I believed that Somerville and Ross were men but that changed when I read a couple of the stories.
An interesting question, Maus. One of the pleasures of being a writer is that you can explore such different points of view. | Hi Fledermaus
Written by jean.day (2359 comments posted) 18th January 2008 | Good story and an interesting point to contemplate.
I do think it matters to an extent - in that I tend to read and enjoy more books written by a woman. It is because it is often easier to identify with someone who has common interests.
My husband hardly ever reads book written by women, with the except for Agatha Christie.
I belong to a 2 reading groups (all women) where we choose out of thousands of books those we wish to read -and the majority of women choose women authors every time.
I occasionally am surprised. We used to have a very good writer on GW, when I first joined, and I had no idea if the writer was male or female. In the end, it was made obvious by what he wrote that he was male, but that was the first time that I really felt like I had made a mistake.
And then I found out that he was deliberately trying to sound like a woman when he wrote to see if he could do it - and with me he succeeded. |
Written by Fledermaus (3470 comments posted) 18th January 2008 | Thanks Sue and Jean.
I think that in many cases people just think they can make it out from someone's writing. When I was on getwriting, I deliberately avoided mentioning that I was male and once I signed up to one of the groups, the moderator asked me if he had to refer to me as 'he' or 'she'. No doubt I was proud, for like the writer Jean mentioned I did it on purpose.
And I also remember that on this site people mistook a certain member for a woman, while he always wrote about typically manly subjects and never made it a secret he was a guy.
Of course sometimes it is obvious, and in many cases one can guess, but I do wonder, if people do not know in advance, would they read things differently? |
Written by Phil (6951 comments posted) 18th January 2008 | Interesting piece Fledermaus. Hard question to answer. Do you have to have lived in Roman times to write as a Roman soldier - probably not if you do enough research - so does it matter if you write as a man or woman? Probably yes. A Roman soldier isn't going to come back and bite you on the backside, any number of women are likely to want to give you a swift kick in the kellies. It works both ways. I read men and women. I love Jeanette Winterson - but she mainly writes about women. I thought Iain Banks has written women well - but that's from my male perspective.
Phil |
Written by Fledermaus (3470 comments posted) 18th January 2008 | Hi Phil,
I personally think one 'd be in more trouble writing from the POV of someone from a different culture than from the POV of someone from a different gender.
I wonder what people would have made of it if some of the latest things I have written would have been presented under a female pseudonym. It's not something I'd like to do, as it borders on lying, but it'd be an interesting experiment.
"What's in a name? Wouldn't a rose by any other name smell just as sweet?" Apparently not to some people...
It'd be an interesting challenge. |
Written by Josie (2844 comments posted) 19th January 2008 | On the subject of gender and who you relate to:
Today they say that not enough men are becoming primary school teachers. Phil's one - but how many women are there compared to men in this field Phil? I taught in Colleges of Further Education where women were heavily outnumbered, but my students were mainly women. I get on with both sexes equally. On the subject of writing as one of your subjects, I have this week been a monster, a whale (more than once) and today a little spook. ha ha. What does that make me? Putting yourself into the shoes of someone else is a bit hard, but when writing for youngsters with wild imaginations, it's what they want. Fledermaus - you chose a really good subject and I thought you tackled it very well. When you say you draw comics, do you actually draw caractures of people? We must be careful. I might be a pirate woman. |
Written by Josie (2844 comments posted) 19th January 2008 | | Sorry - caricatures - I do know the spelling. |
Written by Fledermaus (3470 comments posted) 19th January 2008 | Thanks Josie,
I blame that on people's attitudes. Men (and many women) have this strange idea that 'feminine' occupations are of lower status. If people want to get this whole equality thing off the ground, it's time for people to reconsider this. I think it's not women who are under-valued, but rather the 'feminine'. That's also my main objection to feminism as it exists now: Instead of making people appreciate women more, they make them appreciate 'the feminine' less. But then, that's a whole different subject and probably a minefield...
I don't really draw caricatures. Somehow comic and portraits are such a different style that they're almost incompatible for me. I may have drawn a few occasionally, but they're certainly not what I do often, sorry  |
Written by Karenhoffen (37 comments posted) 20th January 2008 | Fledermaus
I was intrigued as to whether you were male or female. I had wondered before when I read something you wrote. Previously I had thought your were male but this is quite a feminine piece. In a way I'm disappointed that I now know you're male as not knowing does leave you intrigued.
That's the great thing about the Internet - you can re-invent yourself - be any age, any gender, any nationality, if you can get away with it. It's a great leveller - better than death!
I liked the piece - it had a dreamy, ethereal quality that took me into a world of ideas and away from reality.
Karenhoffen |
Written by Fledermaus (3470 comments posted) 20th January 2008 | Thanks Karen.
Somehow I prefer to write about female characters, unless I write about history, war or politics (which is rather often), or romantic love (as it's a bit hard for a straight guy to imagine what women actually see in men  ).
Don't know why that is. I used to think it might be because I want to keep some distance between myself and my characters, but meanwhile it seems my female characters are often better developed and more diverse than the male ones (which are usually warriors)... |
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