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Happy Easter
Mar. 27th, 2016 12:14 pmTo all my friends who celebrate have a blessed and wonderful Easter.
Mar. 27th, 2016
To all my friends who celebrate have a blessed and wonderful Easter.
Writerly Ways
Mar. 27th, 2016 07:43 pmI saw this on Tor last week (and ES sent me the link as well)
Women in epic fantasy and it's an article well worth the reading. It did touch on something that's been bothering me for a long time.
I'm okay with a more subservient role for women in the proper historical context. Not every woman could break out of her gender roles at various points in history (and culture dependent of course). Often if we see it, it's a woman from the wealthier class whose disposable wealth allowed more freedom. That said it wasn't that long ago a woman couldn't even inherit wealth in America or England, for example. Want to see why a poor woman couldn't break out of the role easily? Let me take a picture of my grandmother's iron and once you realize she had about three of these cast iron monstrosities that all had to be heated on a stove one at a time and used, you'll see how time consuming the mere act of ironing laundry was.
Set all that aside and let's look at fantasy (and even SF). Why in the world are we constantly creating worlds where women are subservient and if we DO get a heroine as a pov character she's breaking gender roles. I suppose you could argue there is something the author is trying to say with such a thing but is it anything new? Most of the time if there is something being said it's a whispered mumble and all I see are subservient women (and this is from both male and female authors).
Why aren't we creating worlds with gender equality? Worlds where women rule? I did that once when I was 19(and of course in the 1980s that didn't go over well). Are we that afraid no one will want to read this?
I'm half afraid we might be. In the last decade it has felt like we've hurtled back 50 years or more gender wise. Just yesterday I saw more than one GR giveaway with a blurb reading 'a story a boy would want to read.' And girls wouldn't? Is there a need to say that? Why couldn't a boy want to read a story about strong women? The most obvious reason is we're training them young to devalue women.
I say write worlds where there are gender equality. Write something that can easily include everyone. You won't please everyone but nothing ever will. Write something that makes the Sad Puppies of the 2015 Hugo's gnash their teeth because omg women are ruining fantasy/Science fiction.
I'm not including my counts this time (since I forgot to add them) I have finished two more scenes of Weird West and I've edited up to Chapter 32 of Blood Red so progress.
Women in epic fantasy and it's an article well worth the reading. It did touch on something that's been bothering me for a long time.
I'm okay with a more subservient role for women in the proper historical context. Not every woman could break out of her gender roles at various points in history (and culture dependent of course). Often if we see it, it's a woman from the wealthier class whose disposable wealth allowed more freedom. That said it wasn't that long ago a woman couldn't even inherit wealth in America or England, for example. Want to see why a poor woman couldn't break out of the role easily? Let me take a picture of my grandmother's iron and once you realize she had about three of these cast iron monstrosities that all had to be heated on a stove one at a time and used, you'll see how time consuming the mere act of ironing laundry was.
Set all that aside and let's look at fantasy (and even SF). Why in the world are we constantly creating worlds where women are subservient and if we DO get a heroine as a pov character she's breaking gender roles. I suppose you could argue there is something the author is trying to say with such a thing but is it anything new? Most of the time if there is something being said it's a whispered mumble and all I see are subservient women (and this is from both male and female authors).
Why aren't we creating worlds with gender equality? Worlds where women rule? I did that once when I was 19(and of course in the 1980s that didn't go over well). Are we that afraid no one will want to read this?
I'm half afraid we might be. In the last decade it has felt like we've hurtled back 50 years or more gender wise. Just yesterday I saw more than one GR giveaway with a blurb reading 'a story a boy would want to read.' And girls wouldn't? Is there a need to say that? Why couldn't a boy want to read a story about strong women? The most obvious reason is we're training them young to devalue women.
I say write worlds where there are gender equality. Write something that can easily include everyone. You won't please everyone but nothing ever will. Write something that makes the Sad Puppies of the 2015 Hugo's gnash their teeth because omg women are ruining fantasy/Science fiction.
I'm not including my counts this time (since I forgot to add them) I have finished two more scenes of Weird West and I've edited up to Chapter 32 of Blood Red so progress.
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