Saturday, May 23, 2020

Women Authors and the Bias in Fiction


I was going through the list of books in my library – when I noticed something. Something that had previously noticed and not put too much thought about.
It looks me that most women authors writing fiction - seem to write stories – no matter the genre of fiction be it Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller, Comedy, Mystery – the central pivot is romance or the protagonist has to have a romantic interest.
This is not to say that male authors don’t write stories with the central pivot being romance, or that that there is no romance angle in the stories (or by-plots) but that the preponderance of stories written by women authors – the romance angle is front and center.
Is this because that most women authors don’t write stories without romance angle – because of the type-casting of expectation/peer mentality/ group-thinking or that there is an inherent bias in the book publishing industry – where in the expectation is that a story sent in by women authors that don’t have the central pivot of romance or the protagonist does not have a romantic interest is not published?
If you ask me – it’s a mix of both the factors – or to put in a better way – a self-perpetuating cycle where women authors because of the inherent bias they feel write stories with romance angle and the editors/publishing – because they see women authors writing/turning in more stories with romance angle – expect to see all books from women authors to have romance angle and biased against stories that do not have the romance angle.
With the availability of self-publishing in recent years and especially with Amazon – ebook publishing – I think we should see varied stories from women authors that doesn’t have the central pivot is romance or the protagonist has to have a romantic interest.

2 comments:

Amaranathan Suriyanathan said...

But Machi, what about the books written by Agatha Christy, Enid Blyton or the celebrated J. K. Rowling? The crux was never on the romance. In the other line, I am sure you would have read books by male authors focusing on romantic interludes unnecessarily be it J. R. R. Tolkien or Dan Brown. I always felt it is that individual's nature that flies through their pen.

Pidog said...

True, I am not saying there are no women authors who don't write non-romance or male authors who write romance.
I am talking about the vast majority of the women authors and male authors.