Oh my word, I love this piece so much. I’ve seen a couple of responses along the lines of “but men also…!” and “what about when…!”, and I just want to carve out a little corner here to say: doesn’t matter. What you’ve written here is important and insightful and wonderful. Let others tackle the rest of it, this piece is what needs to be said right here. Thank you.
If I can add my own little bugbear as a footnote to your fantastic piece: I am so desperate for female heroes that do not have meals made of their maternity or lack thereof. I’m so tired of women whose alcoholism is triggered by their infertility, or whose depression is attributed to succumbing to societal pressure to procreate. Beyond that, I’m tired of women who have “soft, maternal” instincts. The woman who’s all tough-bravado on the outside, but by Act III we see her break down and “show a softer side”. Fuck that. Can we start writing women the way we do men? Can we write a woman without mention of her womb, or its products? Can we write a woman who is unashamedly aggressive and unlikeable and mean without reassuring the reader that she is “really a woman” underneath it all?
Well, I’m committed to doing so, anyway. We can call it #NotAllWomen or something.
Thank you again for this piece, it lit a fire in my belly. Always your friend ❤
