But since Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover are all considered classics I don’t think the criticism is taken too seriously. To a much lesser degree the reverse has been argued, as well. So the bias seems to have far less to do with the subject or genre of a book than the gender of the author.Ī common criticism raised against women writers, regardless of genre or theme, is that a female author cannot write a convincing male character.
When male writers write about relationships, family and the domestic sphere, fiction or non, they’re considered groundbreaking and often celebrated for it.”
“Men actually write ‘women’s books’ all the time, but they’re certainly never labeled as such. May Fowles, in a 2011 article for the National Post aptly titled “Write Like a Man: the Unspoken Rule of Avoiding a Pink Cover”, notes that the reception of a book regardless of theme often seems to depend upon the author’s sex: It’s always flattering and inspiring.)īut those comments did get me wondering-is writing itself really gendered? Or is it that certain subject matter seems more male or female? For that matter, does awareness of an author’s gender affect a publisher or reader’s perception of the book’s authenticity? And why-despite the vast number of top-selling and award-winning female authors in the world-should “writing like a man” be considered commendable? If it is, then by extension does that mean that authors who “write like women” have somehow failed…even if they are women? (I’d be the last to complain about a reader taking the time to contact me. Obviously, the comments are intended as compliments and I take them as such. Over the years I’ve received a number of fan letters that, while well-intentioned and very kind, always give me pause-especially when they exclaim something along the lines of “you write like a man.”
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