Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2010-06-26 03:00 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2010-06-26 03:00 pm
[ SECRET POST #1271 ]
⌈ Secret Post #1271 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
No mudkips, don't worry.Secrets Left to Post: 25 pages, 608 secrets from Secret Submission Post #182.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
no subject
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.
no subject
See, saying 'I write about Nixon-era politicians therefore I only write about men' is the sort of erasure that misogynists practice a lot. They don't write about women, therefore the women aren't there, even if the women were right there all along. Talking about 'sparing women' from supposed hardships is also a feature of misogyny, usually deployed in the form of chivalry - I think you're using it mostly as a rhetorical device, but really, it's not a very good one. And yes, queer women are used to the fact that the incessant focus on homophobic discrimination against queer men alone is a common form of misogyny.
I like fatherhood as a theme too, as it happens. I live in a world where fathers have daughters as well as sons, therefore I write about both men and women.
No, you're not obliged to write about things you don't want to write about, but it is fairly clear to me that the reason you don't want to write about these things is that you're (unconsciously, I am sure) sexist.
no subject
You seem to be avoiding the salient points I bring up. I agree that my practice of preferring men shares some characteristics with misogyny, in that misogynists also prefer men. But the similarities end there. I do not see where I am actually committing an act of misogyny by not writing about women. It is not more or less moral to write at all; it is therefore not moral or less moral to write about women. I don't see how this is anyone's problem but mine.
Tell me, why do you think I'm unconsciously sexist just because I insist on treating men and women differently? I don't think men are better overall. I prefer the company of women, myself. If anything, I like men as characters because they tend to be more obviously flawed.
On a note unrelated to me, have you considered that people might prefer to spare female characters from harm because it makes them uncomfortable to be part of a broader system that favors mistreatment of women? Why is it always damsels that are tied up and in distress?