Shut Up, Ladies

[sarahtales]

Originally published at Sarah Rees Brennan. You can comment here or there.

It made me so sad to see, in an article about Jane Austen, that even though Jane Austen remains super popular there has been a decline in respect for her as a serious artist. Because it’s ‘chick lit’… as if any genre is Automatically Bad. And as if anything a woman created

Comments

[sarahtales]

'Strue. And yes, we're all conditioned to think this way, and I do myself, all the time, and cringe later.

[zeffy_amethyst]

Thank you thank you thank you x a thousand. It feels like as a female (very amateur) writer, I can't win no matter what I write. If it's romance it's "OF COURSE YOU WOULD YOU ARE A GIRL" if it's anything else it becomes "BUT WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ROMANCE YOU ARE A GIRL" and it's one of the most frustrating things in the world to try and explain gender doesn't dictate what I write. And what I write shouldn't be automatically disregarded as "chick lit" because I am a female. And then you get into this vicious circle of trying to prove you're not one of Those Girls.

EDIT: And if it's all right, I've posted a link to this from tumblr.

[sarahtales]

Trying to prove you're not one of Those Girls is a losing game, because the game is rigged once you accept there *is* such a thing as 'Those Girls.'

Demon's Lexicon got a cover it wouldn't have got if I'd been a boy, and then people were mad there wasn't enough romance, since the paranormal romancey cover and my lady name led them to expect that: and yet the move to two Girl Narrators in the series was a terrible error because there should be more about The Boys, and Unspoken gets dismissed because it *is* a book about romance. (by a lady!) I do not mean to be like, let me List My Grievances, here, I just mean to be like--behold, several examples. No way to win! Don't play the game, and note when other people are trying to make you play it.

edit: and of course.

[zeffy_amethyst]

Yeeeah, if there's anything that reviews have taught me, there is just no way for us to "win" unless you decide to take the third option and just do what you want to do instead of feeding into the stereotype.

[sheron]

[sarahtales]

Thank you a million times over. ;)

[archangelbeth]

I'm sure that about fifteen other people have already said this, but...

Sarah Rees Brennan, NEVER shut up.

Whether I like or do not like a book of yours? NEVER shut up.

Thank you. O:>

[sarahtales]

Uh... that last bit sounds ominous! But... okay!

I mean, I will be shutting up online if comes the time to pack this writing gig in, but I imagine I'll keep talking a lot in life. ;)

[archangelbeth]

Hey, I am perfectly okay with the thought that you might write something that is not my cuppa tea. Whether I like that cuppa tea or not has no bearing on whether you should shaddup, ya know? It's not about "well, that one writes okay [translation: stuff I like], so she can keep talking (while all those other ladies should shut up)," after all.

And if you ever shut up online, I will be VERY SAD. Because reviews! and rants! and things! D:O

[sarahtales]

I would be sad too, given I like the writing gig very much, but I live in hope. ;)

Ah, I thought it was the precursor to a Dark Confession, but I very much agree that people should not be dismissed on the grounds of having written a book I didn't like, too. Another lady issue--people conflate ladies with their books more. Venom for Twilight becomes venom for Stephenie Meyer.

ALL THE LADY THOUGHTS TODAY.

[aubade_saudade]

shut up?

[sarahtales]

Awesome.