Introducing a love interest.

[HareBrain]

I cannot comment on how realistically male they feel to men, Ged and Will Stanton both *felt* like complex and interesting male characters.

I can (to one man, at least) and I agree. So here's a question: if Cooper or le Guin were to change those characters to female, what would they have to change about their actions or characterisation to make that convincing?

I think the obsessive his-skin-smells-amazing phase is hard to write well

It probably only works when it triggers a strong memory of the reader's own experience.

 

[RX-79G]

I can (to one man, at least) and I agree. So here's a question: if Cooper or le Guin were to change those characters to female, what would they have to change about their actions or characterisation to make that convincing?

"I think of a man, I take away reason and accountability." -As Good As It Gets

Okay, now that we have that out of the way... I think that the majority of characters, short of a few word choices, are largely gender neutral. The main place you're going to run into differences is when the character's internal motivations are something less than rational. In that case male irrationality may be different than female irrationality, but not by much.

I think the most "gendered" characters in books tend to be the chattiest ones, which really doesn't make for great reading anyway. Heinlein's women are easy to think of as sounding ridiculous, until you consider how absurd the men sound, too.

 

[Toby Frost]

Okay, now that we have that out of the way... I think that the majority of characters, short of a few word choices, are largely gender neutral

There more I think about this, the more true it seems to me. Most characters in SFF are "gendered" (is that even a word? It doesn't sound like a real one) by either their surroundings ("You can't do that because you are a girl") or the author's own views (she will run away because she is a girl). If you take those out, you are left with romantic inclination*, physique (both of which vary hugely from person to person anyhow) and vague concepts of male and female approaches to things, which are either accurate or condescending depending, it seems, upon the skill of the writer and how the person reading it feels that day. Apparently, Alien was originally written for any part to be played by a man or a woman, which makes sense when you consider how their world works.

*And in a story set in a different sort of world, the characters may not even be aware of what their own inclinations are, because the words or the concepts don't exist or aren't much discussed.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

But then most people are gender neutral, really. With my family I get to ponder that subject more than most (my husband is trans and my brother intersexed). I am a woman but I'm not overtly feminine. My husband/wife is a woman even though they've lived convincingly as a man for over 30 years Gender is incredibly fluid, particularly in societies where people are allowed to be less rigid and just be themselves, and if we just write people, well rounded characters then they will be believable as whatever gender or none we label them as.

 

[ErikB]

I don't believe that there is a huge disparity between genders. But by the same token ignoring differences in gender when the subject is romantic involvement of characters in a story is a bit short sighted.

As for getting an earful for saying that men and women have differences in how they perceive and think of things or that male and female authors should be mindful of those nuances or getting banned on those sites for sharing that opinion is a bit strong.

But if a site were inclined to ban a writer for saying that there are differences in the way either gender thinks and acts and that authors of the opposite gender should be mindful of these little differences when delving into story romances, I would say that I am glad to have no involvement in that sort of site. And I will also count myself fortunate to be able to share an observation and opinion with a more mature crowd.

Cheers!

 

[RX-79G]

It isn't the observation of differences as much as the concern that a man can't write for a female character, or vice versa. The whole feminine mystique thing as alien being that men can't truly understand.

 

[ErikB]

It isn't the observation of differences as much as the concern that a man can't write for a female character, or vice versa. The whole feminine mystique thing as alien being that men can't truly understand.

Oh I never said a man cannot. That's a blanket statement and totally erroneous. What I said was, in my opinion it is slightly easier for a woman to write convincing male characters than it is for guys to write a convincing female character.

Obviously anyone can create either gender or neutral genders. I just believe many women are a bit better at observing gender related nuances than most men. Not that either gender cannot produce outstanding or convincing characters of either gender.