I really want to start a discussion over this topic. I think it is quite important for men like myself.
I want to start this discussion with a fact about me. I have been writing from a woman's perspective for a long time now. It has come down to being the only way I write most of the time. I have been thinking on why I do. To confess, I flip the perspectives because I find it easier to talk about myself as if I were another person. I have created a character, a woman, in which I relate to. Poetry is a new found love of mine and I have been through a lot of character development the past three years that I think plays a big part in this. Also going to state that almost all who have inspired me, took care of me, and taught me things about life have been women- growing up with 3 sisters and a single mother.
Is there any advice on men writing women or from their Perspective? There is a lot of advice on the internet about cliches in novels, but what about poetry? There is not one video over this. I want to speak on women issues in which I have seen and been apart of through out my life. I stand with women whole heartedly and I can't help but write about what i see and the struggles. I want to create this character that goes through all the levels that I understand. Of course without speaking of ones I do not. Not only would I love some advice, but for Women Covers to express how they feel of this topic. What do most authors miss about a woman's life? What are some do's and don't-s? I really want to dig deep on this!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Sophie. I don't think there is much to argue with what you're saying! I always get a little nervous prior to reading articles like this, in all honesty, out of fear of the presence of gate-keeping, which I don't think is helpful when trying to build a respectful bridge between genders. But it was refreshing to read a condemnation of gate-keeping coupled with a necessary discourse on the sense of responsibility every writer has when writing from the perspective of another gender.
I think your personal opinions/dot points will serve as a great guide for anyone who wishes to write from the perspective of a woman, who is not a woman. Each dot point is brilliant, and illuminates how the media, Hollywood and some modern literature exclusively take interest in the stories of women if they are intertwined with sex, child-like/girlish innocence (aka. like manic pixie girls which, let's be real, is a f*cking creepy trope that needs to die), or if they damaged, villainous, or a walking feminist or 'devious woman' cliche. I mean, who the hell looks like this when they're having a meltdown:
Hollywood, fire the delusional, horny teenage boys working for you already. It's 2021, this is just embarrassing.
Naturally, as a woman, I have more to say about this. Firstly, thank you Chris, for asking this considerate question. It is important and necessary to keep an open and self-aware mind with everything in life. Much like a moral, human agent, a writer too, must always grow and evolve for the better. I think you will find Sophie's article a definitive guide to writing women. But being a bit of a fan of your work already, I see that you, as Sophie has noted, can write from an 'authentic and introspective place' and your poetry does have 'depth, meaning' and is thought-provoking. So you are probably already at that point where you can really add something valuable and thought-provoking to the literary community, despite not being a woman. Keep going and keep learning, I say! I assume connecting with the women in your life has also helped, and I encourage others do the same.
I have a background in ethical philosophy, so my perspective on female representation in film or literature (in particular) is a little different, and Sophie's final dot point summarises my stance: she can be relatable to people who aren’t women, and also the below:
"I would advise Chris to pay less attention to the fact his character is a woman, and more attention to explaining his own thoughts and feelings that he is channeling through her..."
Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll try and keep this concise, but to eliminate or suppress any sexist or idealistic interpretation of a woman involves a bit of good ol' fashion philosophy, more particularly, the principle of negation. This is more psychological than literature-orientated, but psychology does play the biggest part in exploring and understanding the human or feminine condition. You will need to negate (or remove) any pre-conceived ideals of women you may have collected from negative influences such as the media and Hollywood. These avenues tend to skew the many realities women experience and embody every day and only depict a limited amount of narratives that don't align with realism. It's a big ask, i know, but it is essential if you want to capture and understand versatile and diverse feminine stories, thoughts and feelings. I could keep going, but i should leave it at that and let Sophie's fantastic article do the talking :)
After you read the article, my only other bit of advice is, just do it, folks! If you're not a woman, or a man, or non-binary, provided you're being respectful, practice writing from the perspective of someone who is really, just ultimately not you. And that's art, baby.
Just FYI, @Sophie blog inspired by this is now live! https://www.thepoetrycove.com/post/should-men-write-women
Very interesting. I've never really thought about writing from woman's POV, but it could be a great thing to try. I don't know if I understand enough about women really, but it would be fun to try out.
I look forward to seeing what some of the girls here think about this and also to reading some of your work.
What an interesting topic! If only the newsletter came out today, I would have loved to have featured this! Hopefully in Jan's newsletter! I wouldn't know how to comment on this, not having personal experience myself. I think it is wonderful that you are expressing yourself in a way that is 100% true to you - as you should!
I have followed this post so I can get notified with updates because I don't think it was aimed at me but I am really curious to see what the female Covers have to say.
Thank you for opening this dialogue @Chris Scott
Hey Chris! I found this post really interesting and had a whole response typed out and it became so long that I thought it would be really cool to dedicate an entire blog post to this subject. I am scheduled to have a blog go up this Sunday, and I was wondering if I could use this post and my response to it as content for it. You will be credited of course, along with any social media pages you'd like to promote. There may even be an accompanying video on my YouTube channel. Let me know what you think!