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respectorcistHelp.
I'm working on two projects, both genre novels, both with female protagonists. But I'm having a problem. I don't know how well I can write a female protagonist. More truthfully, I don't know if I can write a suitably charming female protagonist, one that the reader will like, from a first person point of view.
By rights, my own personality type is an NT Rational. Rationals make up only 12-15% of the total population, and 2/3 of all Rationals or more are male. Basically, society is comprised of non-Rationals who interact with other non-Rationals. People aren't accustomed to a female Rational. And that's what I feel most confident in trying to write.
To a reader, though, I know such a woman will come off as cold, possibly even unlikeable, and not intentionally. Even if she is written heroically, the readers might find her objectionable. In fiction, Rationals tend to be pigeonholed. A Rational, if heroic, is likely to be The Spock, rarely the lead. Possibly the Ecentric Mentor, if they happen to be an ENTP, or a Big Good if an ENTJ. If non-heroic, they are almost always an Evil Mastermind or Evil Scientist. And they are also almost always male. As people, Rationals don't do feelings, we chiefly admire competence, and are pretty much only good for providing support for others if you need an aloof and slightly distracted shoulder to cry on. Even ENTPs and ENTJs are only charming until you get a glimpse below the smooth 'people-person' exterior and at the calculating mind beneath. If these people are being nice to you, it's because they respect you, or because they want something from you.
Kind of a hard sell, as a first person protagonist.
I'm not saying it can't or hasn't been done. I really like Burying The Shadow by Storm Constantine, which contains two central protagonists, one of whom is probably an INTJ by my typing. But her opposite protagonist is not a Rational, and allows a small break from that character, allowing the reader to 'rest' on a more nurturing, more feeling female for periods of time in the narration.
I know that I can write a male protagonist of almost (almost) any type fairly well; I know that I have that kind of range. But being a female myself, I find that there is less of a division between 'my experience' and 'my character's experience.' It is harder to completely remove myself from an idea of 'how would a woman react to this?' Which is silly. There's no such thing as 'a woman.' Even saying 'this woman' in my head doesn't quite remove the issue from, at base, the concept of her gender. Women are all types -- including Rationals like myself. And yet, there is still a voice in my head that worries that readers may be judging the femaleness of my cisfemale protagonist. That readers, being from an ultimately sexist social structure, might find a less warm woman to be more off-putting than a less warm man.
Which is ridiculous! Of course it is! I should write as I see fit, without worrying about the prejudices of my readers. As long as I know that I am being a responsible and earnest writer, why should it matter?
And yet it matters to me enough to make me reconsider the use of a female protagonist when I know that genre fiction is so sorely, sorely lacking ... and that there is no reason that I, a woman myself, ought not to be able to write one well.
I am a woman. There's no way that I 'can't' write a woman.
And yet ... there's still the worry that she might come off as intolerable.
I'm working on two projects, both genre novels, both with female protagonists. But I'm having a problem. I don't know how well I can write a female protagonist. More truthfully, I don't know if I can write a suitably charming female protagonist, one that the reader will like, from a first person point of view.
By rights, my own personality type is an NT Rational. Rationals make up only 12-15% of the total population, and 2/3 of all Rationals or more are male. Basically, society is comprised of non-Rationals who interact with other non-Rationals. People aren't accustomed to a female Rational. And that's what I feel most confident in trying to write.
To a reader, though, I know such a woman will come off as cold, possibly even unlikeable, and not intentionally. Even if she is written heroically, the readers might find her objectionable. In fiction, Rationals tend to be pigeonholed. A Rational, if heroic, is likely to be The Spock, rarely the lead. Possibly the Ecentric Mentor, if they happen to be an ENTP, or a Big Good if an ENTJ. If non-heroic, they are almost always an Evil Mastermind or Evil Scientist. And they are also almost always male. As people, Rationals don't do feelings, we chiefly admire competence, and are pretty much only good for providing support for others if you need an aloof and slightly distracted shoulder to cry on. Even ENTPs and ENTJs are only charming until you get a glimpse below the smooth 'people-person' exterior and at the calculating mind beneath. If these people are being nice to you, it's because they respect you, or because they want something from you.
Kind of a hard sell, as a first person protagonist.
I'm not saying it can't or hasn't been done. I really like Burying The Shadow by Storm Constantine, which contains two central protagonists, one of whom is probably an INTJ by my typing. But her opposite protagonist is not a Rational, and allows a small break from that character, allowing the reader to 'rest' on a more nurturing, more feeling female for periods of time in the narration.
I know that I can write a male protagonist of almost (almost) any type fairly well; I know that I have that kind of range. But being a female myself, I find that there is less of a division between 'my experience' and 'my character's experience.' It is harder to completely remove myself from an idea of 'how would a woman react to this?' Which is silly. There's no such thing as 'a woman.' Even saying 'this woman' in my head doesn't quite remove the issue from, at base, the concept of her gender. Women are all types -- including Rationals like myself. And yet, there is still a voice in my head that worries that readers may be judging the femaleness of my cisfemale protagonist. That readers, being from an ultimately sexist social structure, might find a less warm woman to be more off-putting than a less warm man.
Which is ridiculous! Of course it is! I should write as I see fit, without worrying about the prejudices of my readers. As long as I know that I am being a responsible and earnest writer, why should it matter?
And yet it matters to me enough to make me reconsider the use of a female protagonist when I know that genre fiction is so sorely, sorely lacking ... and that there is no reason that I, a woman myself, ought not to be able to write one well.
I am a woman. There's no way that I 'can't' write a woman.
And yet ... there's still the worry that she might come off as intolerable.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-28 06:06 pm (UTC)If selling is the concern, I'm sure there will be plenty of publishers/editors/what have you who would ask whether or not a story should or can be retooled with a male rational at the helm. Stop worrying about appeal if this character is one that you want to write. It's so much easier to adjust a story to be more appealing later, rather than compromise your vision and creativity from the get go.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-30 02:24 am (UTC)Maybe I should just deal with writing mildly unsympathetic leads and hope that publishers will bite anyway. Cal Leandros is obnoxious as hell, after all. So is Sookie Stackhouse.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-30 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-29 08:38 pm (UTC)Anyway. Anne Brontë and I call shenanigans. I think fiction is in need of more women who are "masculine" but not in the sense of "oh look, she knows kung-fu." One of the things I always liked about Storm Constantine books is how it's pretty much a theme for her characters' reaction (usually the women, the men tend not to think about it) to children to be "lol nope."
Though I think the best way to think about this is to remember that even the most rational people aren't rational all the time. Rayo definitely has Feels. She has lots of them, she just pretends she doesn't, and/or she expresses them differently. Hell, look at her and her mother. There's no doubt in my mind that Rayo thinks the world of Ushas, but the way she expresses that is very much Rational. There are moments where she wishes she wasn't so tall and skinny, moments she acknowledges that she's a bit of a cold fish and some people find it weird, and even once when she's high as a kite she tells Aniti how she sacrificed having close personal relationships in order to do her job. But she continues to do it because she loves her work and to her the trade is more than worth it.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-29 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-30 02:17 am (UTC)I do think I lean toward more naturally writing a female protag who is more 'masculine' in the psychological sense of being more tough-minded, rather than just the interp I know some people have taken. Although it can be interesting to have a Buffy-style girl who is physically capable, it's also interesting to have a woman who is just more tough-minded (than the relatively soft Buffy.) One of the reasons I've always liked the female-authored Trinity Blood manga is because its females run the gamut of 'strong lady.' No matter where they fall, as far as gender norms and physical strengths go, they are all well-developed personalities, and even the ones who don't necessarily command a reader's empathy (cough Caterina cough) still command a reader's respect.
My hugest problem I think is coming from my preconceptions holding me back in a way that dulls my writing, subconsciously. I want to write just to write, but I also want to write because I need to try to sell. I recently suffered an illness that makes my former specialty (healthcare) something I can't pursue anymore, for a couple reasons, and all I have on hand beyond that training is three years of a four year degree (which is my fault.)
I really need to practice constructing a female lead that people immediately gel to. I know that I can make her believable -- likeable? That's another matter entirely. But maybe it's just the practice I need. Maybe the more I just keep at writing it because I want to, the more likely something will be to click, and I'll be able to write a lady who is likeable despite being, well, not likeable. The charm might be in the narrative.
It's also a possibility I need to shuck off my media-informed beliefs about what a protagonist is. I love the character of Angela Petrelli on Heroes. She isn't a central protag, but she COULD be, and why not?
no subject
Date: 2014-04-30 04:32 am (UTC)I think you should just go for it and see if the character needs to be adjusted later. If you try to make a character that people immediately gel to, you're just going to end up with the same protagonist we always get because everyone knows it always works.