“I like the story.”
I beamed. “Thanks.”
“Except your hero sounds like a woman wrote him.”
“Oh. Um…” What does one say to something like this? Duh? I glanced down at myself. Unmistakeably female. I had vague recollections and clutter-fueled memories of typing masculine descriptions and short structured dialogue. My hero, therefore, was most definitely written by a woman. I looked at the thin stack of papers on the table as though the words would rearrange into a detailed explanation of what it was about my hero that gave away my gender.
“You mean he’s too feminine?” I asked, when the printed words stayed put. My hero was, after all, mostly beta. I know the dangers walking that line. Heaven forbid I somehow emasculated him, despite my strong efforts to keep him distinctly male even with his passive-aggressive tendencies.
“No, he’s definitely a guy.”
Whew.
“He just…”
“Sounds like a woman wrote him.”
“Yeah.”
I stared at my would-be critiquer. Herein lies the conundrum. The closest I can figure the problem, it’s not that my hero sounded feminine or acted feminine, but the explanations and descriptions associated with his point of view were feminine. What I, an author and woman, noticed and described about him was feminine.
Of course, I could very well be wrong. This is one of those melon-scratchers that I’ve never been 100% clear on. I know I’ve read female characters written by men who were undoubtably written by men. In fact, I read a book by a male author who is applauded for writing believable women, only to wonder where the hell someone had gotten that idea. Could I pinpoint where the problem lay? Nope. Then again, I hadn’t been analyzing works as much as I do now. Anyone have any ideas on this subject? Or any suggestions of authors to read who have realistic characters of the opposite gender?
[*From the Julie Andrews movie Victor Victoria.]
April 23, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I dunno, my only comment on this subject is — as you pointed out, you ARE a woman writer who has written a male character, so of course your observations about him are feminine, I guess, in nature. So maybe your writing will appeal more to women than men, or it will appeal to men who are interested in and sympathetic to a more feminine perspective. Like, sometimes I’m in the mood for a story that’s quite feminine in tone and perspective. Other times, I wanna read a book like “No Country for Old Men,” which is pretty masculine in tone and perspective.
Is there anything wrong with these variations in writers’ voices? Absolutely not. I can’t tell from the post whether your would-be CP was presenting it as a problem or not. But it’s kind of like pointing out that the sky is blue. Well, yes. It is. And…?
April 23, 2008 at 1:54 pm
The would-be CP was presenting it as a problem, and I had the reaction you described with the sky being blue. I still don’t quite understand what he expected me to do about it so long as the hero came across as masculine.