(no subject)

[ironymaiden]

why is it that female fantasy authors seem to have a penchant for physical abuse of their characters?

Comments

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

Catharsis?

[ironymaiden]

that's my fear. it's not that men don't do it (hello, GRRM and Zelazny) it's that not only do i feel like i see it more often from women, but that the experience affects the character for life. which, of course, is true of real-life abuse.

[writeswithyarn.livejournal.com]

I was about to say that I notice it more from male authors, and then realised... I have read painfully few books that fall within the generic bounds of 'fantasy' by women authors (exceptions, that I can see on the shelf across the room: Susan Cooper, Cornelia Funke, Susannah Clarke, Jo Walton, J. K. Rowling).

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

I suspect it depends on the author and the book. Bad things have to happen to protagonists. What bad things you choose to have happen to them depends a lot on who you are, what and why you're writing that particular book, and where your character is going to go.

Protagonists are made to be treated badly. What pisses me off in a major way are female characters who are raped/sexually abused and or seem to by default resort to a life of prostitution. That just makes me angry.

[ivy]

I think part of it is that they want to prove how tough the character is, and they just jump straight to the creepy default of "look what she overcame" because society often emphasizes that as the fear women should have most.

[jhanastarblade.livejournal.com]

I am writing one of these characters (I have a pot boiler book I work on whenever I get a chance). I think it stems from wanting to write about my own experiences with oppression and abuse in my past, and wanting to expose some of what that's like. I'd like to think if the book ever saw the light of day that a young female reader in a similar situation might find inspiration through the actions of the main character. Perhaps a lot of female fantasy authors feel somewhat oppressed either personally or that women in general are and maybe they want to accomplish a similar goal with their work. I find the act of writing the character feels very liberating. Its my blank page and its fantasy and fiction so there are no real rules about what you can and can't say.

[coffeedaiv.livejournal.com]

Everyone knows that only 14 year old boys read fantasy (quoting Sir Terry Pratchett). And 14 old boys like that sort of thing, and will not read a woman author otherwise. Basically, it is a market driven (or, rather, marketing department driven) phenomenon.
Which is not the only reason, but I suspect it is a factor.