Questions tagged [gender]
For questions that deal with the representation of the social construct of gender in your writing.
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How do I make a headstrong female character likable and not annoying?
I have a story where one of my lead characters is a headstrong young woman. In terms of personality she is hyperactive, energetic, and charismatic, but at the same time these traits make her arrogant, ...
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vote
1answer
72 views
How do I tastefully handle a female-to-male transforming character?
My character is a girl who is later revealed in my story to be under a curse that allows her to transform into an older man. She is sharing a body with a powerful male spirit who can take control and ...
2
votes
2answers
321 views
How do I keep my character's gender a complete mystery?
At first my protagonist was going to be a female role, until I started having an inclination for male characters and the fact that I am a total BL (“boy’s love”, stories about male homosexual romance) ...
0
votes
5answers
162 views
Should I write his/her or their? [duplicate]
I am new in this site and I hope to convey my question in a correct manner.
Any employee is also entitled to receive a reference letter. This document must contain an assessment on the performance of ...
2
votes
3answers
175 views
How to do a non-binary character?
I'm currently writing a novel in my spare time, though I like how it's going. The main character is a non-binary young adult, I try hard to make sure it doesn't sound off when people are using they/...
3
votes
1answer
161 views
How do I write a character with gender dysphoria?
So I'm partaking in a DnD 5e home brew game, and in the near-ish future my male character is going to be turned into a female character without knowing and without willingness. My question is, how do ...
2
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2answers
251 views
How to write a female character that is not just a genderflipped male character?
Recently I submitted a comic book story to a publisher, and they criticized that the main character is basically just a shonen protagonist (for example, Son Goku from Dragon Ball, Ash from Pokemon, ...
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vote
1answer
205 views
How do I know if my cast is diverse enough or too diverse? [duplicate]
Basically, I am writing a story and I want to know if the characters are diverse enough or too diverse. If I just state the characters' races, sexualities, etc, it might seem forced but I didn't ...
16
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7answers
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Subverting the emotional woman and stoic man trope
In my post-apocalyptic story, the split of male and female main/supporting characters is 50/50.
The girls and women in the story, Eris, Marina, and Ezrith, display very little emotion--Eris ...
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14answers
6k views
Pronouns when writing from the point of view of a robot
For the writing challenge, I'm currently writing from the point of view of a robot. Also another robot is frequently addressed. However I've hit a problem: Referring to the robots as “it” often gives ...
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14answers
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How do I present a future free of gender stereotypes without being jarring or overpowering the narrative?
My story takes place in a relatively near future setting where gender stereotypes have become a thing of the past. Unlike a recent question on another site, physiological sex-specific traits are still ...
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13answers
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Averting Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses
Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses is when writers portray female characters possessing traditional feminine qualities as being less desirable, competent and reliable instead of their tomboy foils. They ...
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7answers
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How do I create uniquely male characters?
In How to write strong female characters, Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type of character that can not possibly be male and ...
42
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13answers
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Avoiding the “not like other girls” trope?
The "not like other girls" trope is pretty common in young adult fiction, arguably misogynistic, and usually applied to a female protagonist or love interest. Attempts to make a female character ...
3
votes
2answers
592 views
How to describe my character using they/them so the reader doesn't know their gender until their pronouns show up later?
I'm experimenting with writing nonbinary or generally gender-ambiguous characters in my writing. The most recent example of this is in an urban fantasy story I'm currently working on in my spare time, ...
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How to portray a character with gender dysphoria?
Context
In my fantasy novel-in-progress, one of the two main characters has a close friend he's known since childhood. Both of them are greatly developed by their interactions with each other ...
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3answers
5k views
How would we write a misogynistic character without offending people?
In a short story I am writing, I have this misogynistic character who keeps saying misogynistic stuff, and I thought it would be a bad idea to give him dialogue lines. I was thinking that, because I ...
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7answers
188 views
Will my book have a better chance at being successful if I include more gender diversity in it?
My novel so far only contains female main characters. There are some male characters, but they are few and far between, and only play minor roles.
Obviously it's hard to predict if any book is going ...
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Is it bad to have no gender variety?
The majority of stories, movies, shows, comics, and other media I've read or seen have a pretty even split between men and women, and that's fine, I don't have a problem with it.
But if I want to ...
18
votes
7answers
4k views
Realistically incorporating trans/nonbinary characters
In most books I read and movies I watch, there are rarely any LGBT characters, and the LGBT representation I do see is almost exclusively gay men, with a smaller amount of lesbians and a handful of ...
72
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12answers
20k views
A critic made a comment that my female character sounds like she was written by a man
I'm a man. Working on my sci-fi novel. It's meant to be a light-hearted heist caper. My main character is a woman. She's a strong and sassy character based on the women in my life, and the story ...
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6answers
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How do I justify a mansplainer/misogynist?
I have a male character who is coming across as patronizing and mansplain-y.
He has several scenes where he tells a (different) female protagonist how she should behave, or assumes she doesn't ...
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4answers
367 views
How to balance male protagonist sensitivity to women
My MC is an assassin by trade and has a military background - sniper, Special Ops, etc. He was raised partly by his sister after their parents died in a car accident. He normally listens to her as she ...
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4answers
683 views
How to add depth to primary female character that contrasts well with primary male characters
I am attempting to write a relatively complex SciFi military novel following 3 primary characters. A male and female protagonist, and a male antagonist. So far none of those characters are aware of ...
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2answers
4k views
What is meant by “purposeful, habitual, and gratuitous” actions?
In his "Characters" essay, Samuel R. Delany purports there are three types of actions to characters: "purposeful, habitual, and gratuitous." He also defends that, in a novel, if "a character [is] ...
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12answers
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Need advice about changing character's gender
I had this idea for a story/novel that I was very excited about, but also very worried about. The idea had a plot where the character development plot and themes all grow and go together, something I ...
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8answers
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How to write female characters as a male writer?
Yesterday I asked a question about writing a female character who has agency. Much to my surprise, it was well-received and generated a lot of great discussion. In reading that discussion, however, ...
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10answers
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How to write female characters with agency?
I'm attempting to write a novel, an historical fiction with a small fantasy component (time travel through a portal). The travelers (main characters) are a young couple from the late 23rd Century who ...
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votes
3answers
295 views
How to indicate that the source language is gender-neutral?
The source language in question is Standard Chinese. It is a gender-neutral language. One big thing that English speakers complain about English is the gendered pronoun, namely the third person ...
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24answers
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How do I know if a concept is sexist or not?
In my story's world, witchcraft is a respected institution, with the most powerful practitioners being at the top echelons of society. Due to this, society traces its lineage through matrilineal lines....
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votes
5answers
8k views
How do male and female writing styles differ?
Many of my stories have two protagonists, one male, one female, and are told alternately from both viewpoints. I don't find it difficult to show the differing personalities through the different ways ...
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votes
2answers
309 views
Moving away from a gender-based analysis
I'm writing a short essay on gender undercurrents of conversations, i.e. how do different people approach communication and problem-solving in their relationships. One way to phrase this is in terms ...
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15answers
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What pronoun should a hermaphrodite species use?
In my fantasy novel, I have a species that is fully hermaphroditic: all individuals have both male and female reproductive organs. Like garden snails. Consequently, they have only one gender.
They ...
asked Mar 21 '18 at 0:15
Galastel supports GoFundMonica
56.8k10 gold badges165 silver badges297 bronze badges
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5answers
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How to describe a female character's figure without comedy?
Do you know a good way to describe a female character's figure?
I'm writing a fairly serious story, but the only way I know how to describe this is from comedy stories, where they work out some joke ...
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votes
12answers
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What's the least distracting method to inform editors I'm a woman?
I have a gender-neutral name, so people often assume I'm a man.
However, a portion of the writing I do is for tech companies. Because of the lack of diversity in the tech industry, many of these ...
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vote
3answers
215 views
How can I write God with a more feminine aspect and introduce it into my culture's mythology?
I want to write a religion similar to Christianity but with God represented as feminine. It is meant to highlight the differences between the sexes and emphasise traits associated with women over men. ...
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9answers
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Can I name a male character Artemis?
So I'm writing a story and there is a character that is a male that I want to name Artemis. The reason, simply put, is that he has a sister with a name I really like that is TECHNICALLY a boy's name (...
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12answers
3k views
How to write from the male point of view?
Friends. I am female, and have recently decided that my first book's titular character is going to be a boy of an age between nineteen and twenty.
I would like some help as to how to go about ...
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15answers
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How do I keep the gender of my main character purposely ambiguous?
I'm a newcomer to this community, and have recently started giving serious thought to my first novel. I'm basically working on an idea I had a few years back. It's fiction, has a lot to do with ...
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3answers
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What kind of an effect does breaking gender roles/stereotypes have in fiction?
Background
It might sound like a silly question, I know, but something someone said to me today has made me concerned that my book sounds childish and nonsensical. Apparently: "having a woman who ...
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7answers
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Just how Different are Male and Female Readers?
It is my belief that male and female readers are more or less the same. There are differences in how we view things, but those differences do not stop us from liking the same book or movie. I can see ...
asked Nov 8 '16 at 16:16
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
13.8k5 gold badges46 silver badges103 bronze badges
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1answer
111 views
Guy in the body of a girl or girl in the body of a guy? [closed]
I'm talking about teenagers/young adults.
If you had to choose one, which plot can be more fun (without being vulgar - maybe just a little bit) to write and to read?
Can you explain why and make some ...
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5answers
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How to write about transgender issues while avoiding cognitive dissonance?
As a writer, it is difficult to help your readers hold two dissonant ideas in their heads. This can occur when the situation you are describing does not match well with the lived experience of your ...
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2answers
2k views
What effect does the gender of the narrator have on a story?
I am reading this book, and a little girl is narrating the story. It was a new experience for me, since I am seeing the world through the eyes of a 12 year old girl. Other than the point of view of ...
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6answers
755 views
Is it considered faulty language to use Spivak pronouns in an essay?
High school level essay to be exact, but I'd like to also know if Spivak pronouns could be used in papers or publications. Should I just rephrase everything using the one pronoun or singular they?
...
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1answer
146 views
YA bestsellers by reader's gender
There are lists with YA bestsellers. What they don't tell me is which books are bought by girls, and which by boys.
Are there any resources showing (YA) bestsellers by reader's gender?
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Making a female character sound more boyish/masculine
There are two characters in the following dialogue. One of them (Yuki) is a tomboy. She has short hair, dresses like a man, and likes girls. I want to make her sound more masculine (but not exactly ...
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vote
3answers
736 views
When developing a stage play, whose gender matters more? The characters' or the actors'?
When striving for gender balance in a play: What is more important, balance among the characters or among the actors? (Given that all characters are written as individuals, and not as stereotypes.)
...
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1answer
435 views
Does there have to be a difference when writing different genders? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The opposite sex in first person?
How to write realistic female dialogue
Is there an inherent difference in how man and women speak that would translate to writing dialogue? I ...
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votes
8answers
3k views
Is it frustrating not to know the narrator's gender?
I have written a 1st person piece and reading it I realize it's very difficult to tell if the narrator is male or female. There are one or two clues, and they come pretty late in the piece.
Would ...
