Devaluing Women’s Writing
June 24, 2011
How do you respond to Abby Farson Pratt‘s questions in her article “You Write Like a Girl“:
“Is there something about men on an inherent and fundamental level that keeps men from valuing” women’s writing?
“Have men been subtly cultured to devalue women’s writing?”
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Most goodwilled contemporary guys would not want to stonewall a woman’s career by keeping her out of the conversation at the afterhours bar where the guys shoot the breeze and coincidentally make business deals. Or keep her out of friendships where guys find support through life and coincidentally make business deals. But the unmarried woman, militant feminist on down through the spectrum, will resist friendships by reinterpreting them as sexual overtures. No mater how egalitarian a situation the situation might be.
Women writers have this situation again, only through a screen of media-mediation. We all occupy our respective venues. If a woman is comfortable in a mainly-female venue or agora, a place to display one’s excellence, the assumptions that both creators and consumers bring to the table are conditioned by xx or xy chromosomes, or the cultural equivalents thereof. We don’t necesssarily discriminate; we just live our lives in our comfortable venues.
No and no.
I cannot speak for all men, as I a quite sure that the author is question does not speak for all women.
But speaking as a man, I value great writing, great storytelling and great exposition regardless of the sex of the author. There are awesome male and female writers. I think that the disparity in numbers, opportunity and works has multiple historical and present-day causes, but not inherent or fundamental. I certainly have not been cultured – subtly or overtly to devalue women’s writing.
One of the fascinating things about the anonymous and pseudonymous nature of the internet is that I often find delightful writing where the sex of the writer is totally unknown and/or irrelevant. A woman may pretend to be a man, or the reverse, but, for me, I generally don’t care. Good writing, fact or fiction, stands on its own merit, regardless of the sex, race, age or whatever of the writer.