Please, please, someone show me a man who can write a good female protagonist. A character who has depth and comes at least close to being realistic. I’ve read a few books by men in my literary past who wrote women well (Atonement, Never Let Me Go). But those were unicorns.
Women seem to be able to write male characters. (Dear male readers, please tell me if I’m wrong.) But every time I read a book from a woman’s POV, I can tell immediately, without even knowing the name and gender of the author, whether the writer is male or female.
Current example: The Eyre Affair by Japser Fforde
I picked up this book because a little piece of paper told me to. It was one of those handwritten recommendation cards taped cattywampus to a shelf at the bookstore. The card writer promised a humorous, satirical, scifi, literary mystery.
After reading approximately three-quarters of the book, it has made good on that promise. What the card didn’t say was, Beware: To like this book, you’ll need to overlook the unrealistic female protagonist.
Luckily, the book is so funny and quirky I can gloss over that, in trying to make the female protagonist “strong,” the writer basically made her a male character with boobs. (Sorry to be so crass, but it’s kind of true.)
She has zero complexity and when she’s not calmly taking down bad guys with her giant guns (not a euphemism) like the second coming of John McClane, she’s bemoaning how she’s in her late thirties and may never find a life partner. Seriously?
It seems to male authors, female leads fit into one of the following categories
- Emotionless/snarky badasses with mostly male characteristics
- Sexy ingenues
- Emotional wrecks/broken women in need of male assistance
- The feisty one-note heroine
(Please feel free to add your own stereotypes to the list. I’m sure I haven’t captured them all.)
The better male authors, who attempt a female perspective, will at least combine some of these to develop depth. Unfortunately for them, simply combining tropes doesn’t actually result in authentic characters.
My goal isn’t to bash male writers. To be fair, they’re working on top of a pretty crappy historical foundation. This Disney meme sums it up well.
Or this ACTUAL BOOK…First of all, that this was ever an acceptable book (and children’s book nonetheless!!) is terrifying. Second, if I can cook a hot dog (and I’m generally banned from the kitchen in my house) so can this dumb kid on the left here. Sorry, I digress, feeling a little ranty after finding this on the internet.
If men are going to continue to write from a female perspective, it would behoove them to do a little research. Talk to some women. And, at the very least, find out the pet peeves we have about when men write a female character.
Ways Male Writers Fail When Writing Female Characters
While I’m sure many people have opinions on this topic. These are the three pet peeves of mine when it comes to men writing women.
Self-description: When male writers try to write a woman giving a physical description of her own body, they generally write it from a male perspective. They focus on attributes men (or at least straight men) would focus on when looking at a woman and it comes across as highly sexualized. Which in case it’s not clear, is weird! I’m guessing most male writers don’t look at themselves in the mirror shirtless and say with a wink, “That’s right. I’m a hot sex symbol. Look at my six-pack abs.” So why do they treat female characters this way?
Trust me when I tell you, except for the rare super-confident woman completely immune societies obsession with the female frame, women not stand in front of the mirror and think, “I have great boobs.” It might be what she thinks after she’s decided her hips are too wide and her arms are flabby to make herself feel better. But it is not her first thought.
Love: Although many women writers focus on love and relationships too, when male writers try to write about women falling in love they usually fail. With male writers, love feels like a transaction. A matter-of-fact thing that happens. This isn’t to say all female writers do this well either. It’s a tricky subject fraught with issues. But men trying to write a female protagonist falling in love need to really understand women to even attempt this, particularly if it’s a main part of the story. (And don’t get me started on portrayals of sex…)
Tone: This is difficult to explain. But sometimes my irritation with a female character written by a man comes down simply to tone. In reading a recent middle-grade novel written by a man with a female main character, I got about thirty pages into the book before I realized the character was a girl. Honestly, I couldn’t really tell what gender she was, which would have been fine in certain books. Based on the plot, she was clearly supposed to be a girl. The book itself was well written, but it was missing those subtleties in tone and dialogue that provide a rich, authentic female character.
Why is TV Better at Writing Authentic Female Characters?
Female TV characters created by men seem to have more success than in literature. Buffy the Vampire Slayer managed to be a kick-ass superhero while oozing with vulnerability and humanity. (See also Veronica Mars created by Rob Thomas.)
The difference may lie in collaboration. For example, Joss Whedon did not develop the iconic Buffy character alone. Sure, he takes credit for the idea of the snarky teen vampire-killing chosen one. But as Buffy grew and changed over the years, the character benefited from female producers and writers (like the great Marti Noxon) influencing the character development arc and making her more authentic.
Perhaps this is what male writers could do to improve their female character development: engage with more women reviewers or collaborate with female writers. Just a thought.
OK, ladies, gentlemen, who has thoughts on this? Am I totally wrong here? I’m ready for the backlash! 🙂
August 9, 2018 at 1:38 pm
I agree! Women seem to write better male characters than men can write female characters. Brandon Sanderson does a pretty good job with his female characters, but his books are soooo long! Jim Butcher is pretty good at writint female characters in his Dresden Files series, but it has been a while since I read any of them, so I could be misremembering things.
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August 9, 2018 at 1:47 pm
There certainly are some men who can do it well. They just seem so rare. Or maybe I’m just becoming more aware. I just read Red Sparrow and was completely turned off of it because the main character seemed so unrealistic…I’ve heard of the Dresden Files, but haven’t read them. Might need to check it out!
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August 9, 2018 at 3:19 pm
Great post! I actually didn’t have a problem with it at all in fforde’s books, but I see your point.
I think Brandon Sanderson and Michael J Sullivan do pretty decent jobs at female protagonists, at least for epic fantasy. Age of Swords has a big cast of women and they are all unique and well developed.
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August 9, 2018 at 3:27 pm
You’re the second person to mention Sanderson…I haven’t read his work and now I am intrigued…I’ll take it as an excuse to go to the bookstore! I’m definitely open to male authors who write women well, just struggling to find them. 🙂 So thank you for the info!!
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August 9, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Despite the massive simplification present in the TV version, George R.R. Martin’s female characters in the books (Song of Ice and Fire, or Fire and Ice) are quite good.
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August 9, 2018 at 5:02 pm
That’s interesting. I’m going to admit, sheepishly, although I love the show, I haven’t read the GOT books. My husband read/loved them…until he didn’t…He felt they went on too long. And so I never picked up the series. I have a thing about series that go on too long. 🙂 BUT I could totally see that being the case. I don’t even thing the female characters are too simplified in the show. I think they have some descent development, particularly in the later seasons. Martin seems like the kind of writer who would take pains to make his characters well rounded, detailed and authentic.
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August 9, 2018 at 11:17 pm
They’re . . . different in the books. Some are more fully developed, some are less sympathetic. But, the books are worth it.
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August 10, 2018 at 9:30 am
OK. Next vacation I’ll give it a try. I feel like I need uninterrupted time! ;0
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August 9, 2018 at 6:34 pm
I was brainstorming a sci-fi thing where it would be the journal of a girl who kills monsters with her family. But now I’m terrified at bumbling the female voice…plus I’m already afraid to write fiction. You’re probably right about the men not catching the female mind in written form. I think writing any personality of interest is a monumental task.
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August 9, 2018 at 7:13 pm
Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you terrified!!! I think you should try. If you want to run anything by me (as a woman and a fellow writer), I’m happy to take a look and give you feedback from a female perspective! But I totally understand. I feel the same terror when I write POC characters or LGBTQ characters. I constantly worry I’m botching it or doing something totally wrong.
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August 10, 2018 at 9:06 pm
Don’t be sorry. I think writing requires insight and even if I think a story would be better from a teenage girl’s perspective – it might not be the story for me to write.
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August 12, 2018 at 3:35 pm
Well, you never know until you try. Sometimes just the exercise of trying a new perspective can teach you things!
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August 13, 2018 at 3:56 pm
Truth!
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August 10, 2018 at 11:53 am
As a companion argument to the two comments that said Sanderson writes women well, I would add that it DEPENDS ON THE BOOK. I read his Steelheart, and from what I remember there were two female characters: The Sex Symbol, and The Token Smart Girl. His portrayal of women in that book put me off his writing entirely until a few of my blog readers convinced me that his fantasy is better than his superhero books. (I still haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to try one of his fantasy novels, though.)
I was going to say that David Eddings did a pretty good job with realistic women in his books, but then I went to look for titles and remembered that a lot of his books have his wife Leigh as a credited co-author. So that’s an example of good collaboration.
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August 10, 2018 at 4:10 pm
I wonder of the order of Sanderson’s books. Maybe he got better the more he wrote and that’s why his fantasy is better? The token smart girl…I forgot that one in my list! Collaborating with your wife seems like a very smart way to get a well rounded female character. 🙂
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August 10, 2018 at 5:01 pm
It’s entirely possible that Sanderson got better at writing women as he got more experienced. It’s also possible that he sees fantasy women and contemporary women in a different light.
I find it interesting that the token smart girl is usually either ugly (can’t be smart *and* attractive) or is also the token pretty-but-doesn’t-know-it girl.
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August 12, 2018 at 3:34 pm
So true re token smart girl…a stereotype that tips into all types of media!!!
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August 10, 2018 at 2:12 pm
I agree with you! The Disney examples are very accurate. There is only one Disney Princess, Merida from Brave who is not like that! All the others are good but a little weak .
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August 10, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Merida is great! My daughter loves Mulan. (I’ll admit I’ve never seen it, thought!! 😦 ) But my daughter is a little feminist and said she loved it because Mulan tells the boy to take a hike and she didn’t need him. So funny. Now I feel like I need to see it. But I did love Brave. Merida is a great character. Agree she is one of the best female leads for Disney.
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August 11, 2018 at 1:31 am
Mulan is also great! I remember watching it and I still love it! Merida shows us that woman can stand up for themselves and they don’t need a Prince Charming to do so!
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August 12, 2018 at 3:35 pm
That’s the best lesson, I think. I love that!!
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August 13, 2018 at 10:57 am
Same here!
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August 10, 2018 at 2:45 pm
You are SO good at articulating why this is an issue. More and more, I’ve found myself reaching for books in which both the protagonist AND the author are female because I don’t feel they fall into these traps. There are exceptions, of course, and they should be celebrated – especially Veronica Mars, my heroine always 🙂 (Speaking of which, have you tried iZombie, Rob Thomas’s new show?) It’s hard not to get disheartened, too, when you read such books written by male authors about females to not think they think of all women that way.
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August 10, 2018 at 4:15 pm
It is disheartening and just reinforces how many men still view women, despite all the strides we’ve made recently, and how ingrained these stereotypes are in our society. I have seen iZombie. I love it! Although it makes me pine for another V Mars reunion. I read they are thinking of mini series…trying not to get my hopes up!!
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August 14, 2018 at 2:12 pm
They really are ingrained and in silly ways too! From “all girls drive badly” to let’s only market pink to little girls, not all of the ingrained stereotypes are insidious, but they do lead in a dangerous direction. Hahaha, it would be FABULOUS to have another V Mars reunion!
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August 14, 2018 at 2:40 pm
Totally! Or girls can’t throw! or You run like a girl! 😦 hate those.
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August 14, 2018 at 4:31 pm
I have a “Run like a girl” workout shirt that I wore this Presidents’ Day to a Zumba class. A kind lady saw it and said “I hope you do. Run for president too.” How cool is that?!
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August 13, 2018 at 4:59 pm
Thoughtful and timely piece. I just finished a very popular sci-fi novel (by a male author) that infuriated me because all the female characters were predictable pawns from some of the categories you described: the badass, the feisty-but-flat love interest, etc. But of course the narrator observed repeatedly how attractive they all were… *slams forehead against desk in despair*
On a more positive note, I recently wrote a three-part blog series on problematic portrayals of women in fiction and would love to compare notes, if you have a moment to check them out (https://jkullrich.com/2018/06/03/the-beautiful-scientist-problem-pt-i-three-tips-for-describing-female-characters/). Keep up the great posts!
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August 13, 2018 at 5:23 pm
I’ll check it out. Thanks for posting it. I have a feeling our notes comparison would have very similar ideas. 😉
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August 15, 2018 at 2:00 pm
It puts me off when a female character’s physical assets are described, when they are not at all relevant to the plot. We don’t all go round talking about our boobs all of the time. We only really ever mention them if our bra hurts or our boobs are sore or how much they grew during pregnancy. Some men are obsessed!
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August 17, 2018 at 9:58 am
It’s so true. Why would men think we think like them and do these things? Well, if they gave it any real thought at all, they’d realize it’s weird. 🙂
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August 26, 2018 at 8:09 pm
Good post. I had theories about this and your proofs are strong.
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August 26, 2018 at 8:21 pm
Thanks!
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October 1, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Hi, K.L.,
I’ve written a Fantasy adventure of a female protagonist – – a young swordswoman from a mighty barbarian nation – – who has her own gifts, as well as insecurities.
I heard there might be opportunity on goodreads for a beta reader/beta reader swap. I’ve seen some of goodreads’ postings, but I don’t know how to find someone who might be available for such a thing, or have an interest in Fantasy stories featuring a strong female lead.
Can you give me any advice on this?
Thanks.
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October 1, 2018 at 8:32 pm
Goodreads is a great place to look for beta readers. If you search the boards you may be able to find someone to swap with. Or start your own thread and people will respond. In addition, you could contact a local high school librarian. Librarians tend to know kids at their school who love reading and make great beta readers. The might be able to coordinate something for you. Do you have any friends with teens who like to read? (or friends w/ teens, you can ask if they like to read). That is always helpful too. My friends kids are some of my best beta readers (and great supporters of my work in general.) I hope that’s helpful!!
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October 5, 2018 at 3:27 pm
Thank you.
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April 25, 2019 at 9:35 am
What an enlightened response to the post. I’m so pleased you made it all about you!
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