?! No, I would say that it is NOT misogyny. First of all, I never said that I CAN'T write about female protagonists - I said that I don't want to write stories about women. (That is, I want to write stories which necessitate male characters.) I certainly do write female characters, and even female protagonists. I just do so less often, out of personal preference. Second of all, I don't see how it is hateful to women (this would be how I define misogyny) to not feature them as protagonists in my stories. I am not harming any real women by doing so. I am not even harming any fictional women by doing so - I am sparing them from being a character in one of my stories, because my stories rarely turn out to have happy endings. I would understand that it would be misogynist if I made all female characters flat or unrealistic, or relegated them to less important roles in society, or claimed they couldn't do the things men do, but I am not doing any of those things. Third of all, I write what I want to write. I like to write stories about soldiers in 19th century wars, and about Nixon-era politicians. Main characters in these stories are not female by necessity. I like to write about the themes of fatherhood, of male friendship, of discrimination against male homosexuals. These are different from their female counterparts. The reasons WHY I prefer to write about these things are as moot as the reasons why I write at all. I do not have a moral obligation to write about things I do not want to. About my comment: I do start with a male main character by default. I recognize that this is not necessarily the right thing to do, only what I prefer to do, and this is why I make an effort to change it. The reason I do not flip a coin, however, is because I prefer to come up with a plot first, and then decide on a character who would fit this plot. I choose the character design I find most inspiring; usually, I find female character designs uninspiring. This is not my choice, whether or not to be inspired.
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First of all, I never said that I CAN'T write about female protagonists - I said that I don't want to write stories about women. (That is, I want to write stories which necessitate male characters.) I certainly do write female characters, and even female protagonists. I just do so less often, out of personal preference.
Second of all, I don't see how it is hateful to women (this would be how I define misogyny) to not feature them as protagonists in my stories. I am not harming any real women by doing so. I am not even harming any fictional women by doing so - I am sparing them from being a character in one of my stories, because my stories rarely turn out to have happy endings. I would understand that it would be misogynist if I made all female characters flat or unrealistic, or relegated them to less important roles in society, or claimed they couldn't do the things men do, but I am not doing any of those things.
Third of all, I write what I want to write. I like to write stories about soldiers in 19th century wars, and about Nixon-era politicians. Main characters in these stories are not female by necessity. I like to write about the themes of fatherhood, of male friendship, of discrimination against male homosexuals. These are different from their female counterparts. The reasons WHY I prefer to write about these things are as moot as the reasons why I write at all. I do not have a moral obligation to write about things I do not want to.
About my comment: I do start with a male main character by default. I recognize that this is not necessarily the right thing to do, only what I prefer to do, and this is why I make an effort to change it. The reason I do not flip a coin, however, is because I prefer to come up with a plot first, and then decide on a character who would fit this plot. I choose the character design I find most inspiring; usually, I find female character designs uninspiring. This is not my choice, whether or not to be inspired.