Wow. Just wow. NO ONE here is a proponent of caricatures. That was really insulting.
Just a little forum humor for the afternoon
Wow. Just wow. NO ONE here is a proponent of caricatures. That was really insulting.
No, I really don't think I'm mistaking what is being said, but I do think several people here are arguing against a straw man. No one here was talking about statistics or stereotypes or anything like that.
This again is based on statistical probabilities and forcing them onto your characters. For any set of "more likely" characteristics for males or females based on biology, you can find plenty of exceptions to the rule. So the whole thing is next to worthless when it comes to figuring out how a specific character should react. If you're relying on external factors such as your idea of what biology would dictate, rather than characterization, I think you're making a mistake.
I think George R.R. Martin made a good point in talking about this. He said when you're dealing with characters different from yourself (it could be a female (if you're male), or a prince, or a dwarf, or whatever), you start with the basic knowledge that they're more like you than unlike you, and you use that as a foundation for building empathy. He said that character who has different genitalia than he has still has the same basic humanity.
One big problem beginning writers make, in my opinion, is that when they write characters of the opposite sex they forget that there are vastly more commonalities than differences, and they end up with some caricature or stereotype of gender that is quite unconvincing. As between the two, you're much better off relying solely on the commonalities than you are relying on stereotyped notions of what the extremes look like.
Is having a female character who is more emotional than her male brethren mean i'm not writing a rounded character, or that every month she has to deal with her period, fighting a war, being tired of all the dying and having to deal with a hundred other things and all she wants to do is find her friend and cry.
This I agree with. But the OP is about something different, it's not about how to write female characters but rather whether it is fundamentally bad to have no female characters of note in a book.
This I agree with. But the OP is about something different, it's not about how to write female characters but rather whether it is fundamentally bad to have no female characters of note in a book.
Well, here is the thing from my particular female POV: Those assumptions that I somehow care about my gender and what means to be a woman pisses me off. Seriously, having a young apparent age and small build (for whatever gender you pick) have a greater impact on my life than my gender!
The only evident change in my life that happens due my gender is how other people perceive me. There is this trend to praise/demonize the exact same traits when you compare women and men, like acting angry being considered bitchy when it's a woman or "male" when it's a man. He wants to protect the child? How brave! She wants? Motherly instinct (taking away her merit).
Seriously, we women aren't a walking set of rules, stereotypes and concepts. Our gender doesn't rule our lives as strongly as you'd think. Even "feminine" things as using makeup or liking to use nice clothes aren't rooted in the "female" side—they happen exactly for the same reason you bought that awesome mug/keychain/whatever personal use object there. We liked it. Using it, the pretty or cool thing we personally chose make us happy.
No, I don't think that there's a problem with that character at all. The problem comes in when you start assuming a female character has to be more emotional than her male brethren. She doesn't. She might be, but she doesn't have to be.
They exist but they just haven't been brought up yet, guys are not good communicators for one, perfect example me and my failed attempt at explaining to steerpike. goodnightIsn't it puzzling the use of biological differences, statistics and the like to force dubious preconceived notions on female characters but have none of it for males?
In any case, regarding the original question: I'd rather have a book without female characters than have artificial female characters "because reasons". Not that I fully enjoy a book with all-male casts, they feel insipid, but there are far worse dangers in writing.
My question is, out of all the artificial choices a writer and/or publisher makes out of considerations of marketability, why does this one inspire resentment so much more than the others.
Holy Crap! You mean you guys are human? Who knew?Well, here is the thing from my particular female POV: Those assumptions that I somehow care about my gender and what means to be a woman pisses me off. Seriously, having a young apparent age and small build (for whatever gender you pick) have a greater impact on my life than my gender!
The only evident change in my life that happens due my gender is how other people perceive me. There is this trend to praise/demonize the exact same traits when you compare women and men, like acting angry being considered bitchy when it's a woman or "male" when it's a man. He wants to protect the child? How brave! She wants? Motherly instinct (taking away her merit).
Seriously, we women aren't a walking set of rules, stereotypes and concepts. Our gender doesn't rule our lives as strongly as you'd think. Even "feminine" things as using makeup or liking to use nice clothes aren't rooted in the "female" side–they happen exactly for the same reason you bought that awesome mug/keychain/whatever personal use object there. We liked it. Using it, the pretty or cool thing we personally chose make us happy.
After reading your other thread, I am bothered by the fact that the female characters who are there only exist to be brutally murdered/tortured so the male lead can react to this situation.
Then I would dare say it's a change for the better. That's awesome that the thought you put into this led to a solution that helps you tell your story more effectively (and possibly in a more interesting way as well). Congrats!It felt so natural to make this change