What do male writers get most wrong?

Question

Calling ladies...what is the most frequent and annoying misconception from which male authors suffer when they are writing female characters? (Also applies to screenwriters.)

Answer 1

I haven't had many problems with female characters in most of the books I've read. One, however, does come to mind...
A young man has an affair with a married woman (this takes place during medieval times). One day, they are out, together, by a lake or river. Some brigands come and beat the young man up pretty badly and kidnap the woman. When the young man comes to, he goes after them, catches up, and rescues the lady. Well, of course, she's been severely beaten and raped numerous times. Both of them are hurting pretty badly, so they have to stop to rest and clean up a little. The woman removes her clothing and wraps herself in a blanket or cloak. The cover falls down and her nakedness is exposed to the young man, who becomes aroused. He actually makes advances on her and she politely reminds him of everything she's just been through, so he stops. But, he can't help himself and tries again. This time, she wants it too and doesn't try to stop him.
Explain to me how any woman, I don't care how strong she is, would want sex after what had happened to her. Even if she did truly want it, she's going to be incredibly sore and sex would probably be very painful.
That made absolutely no sense to me.

Answer 2

Oh, definitely that the way they think all women easy, alluring, big-breasted, full-lipped and generally sexy, are willing to rip off their clothes or do some sort of sexual act at any moment for any reason or no reason at all. Women are much of the time portrayed as being simple-minded. The writers (and other media) always seem to use women this way - but they really need to take a look at how women really are! The way they write about women is as if they're writing about their own fantasy woman; in the real world, they'd have a problem with finding someone like that. And the rotten thing is, some women look at how their gender is portrayed by media and immediately think "Oh, so that's how I'm supposed to act!" So that sort of thing, especially how women are just portrayed as sexual objects, really bothers me to no end. Male writers need to realize that if they want to appeal to a broader female audience, that most people connect to a character that they can understand, someone who is real and reflects how a woman is today.

Answer 3

Different authors have different problems. Most of the writers I like portray characters of the opposite gender believably. There are a few annoying things that stick out in my mind. Peter Straub wrote this book where a female character in a book came to life, then he said she had problems going to the bathroom because there were probably no scenes in all of literature in which a woman had used the bathroom; that was stupid. It annoys when women, or any characters for that matter, are portrayed stereotypically. Sometimes it seems like they're just a fantasy of the author, objects of desire who fall in love hard and easily and want to have a family. I think it's more common in movies, especially a lot of male "coming of age" type stories. Also, Woody Allen's women are particularly offensive.

Answer 4

I never noticed a frequent misconception, but one thing that really annoys me is generalisation.
This is very noticeable with male authors when describing some female characters, like the blond is always dumb, the housewife is always boring.
As a woman, I can safely say we are not all the same. :)
I'm sure female writers do it with male characters as well but I don't seem to notice it as much.

Answer 5

A misconception I find is that men usually portray us stereotypically (like several other answers have said.) What they don't understand is we have both feminine and masculine characteristics, as do men. I personally don't wear make up, don't date and don't care about how others look or dress. Most people think this is what woman do, analyze others, but I know a lot of people who just don't care. We can be similar to men in many ways, and have the same likes, dislikes, etc. When men write about women, don't use the generally stereotype. Think of them all as individuals, give them different sets of characteristics and looks. No one is the same, though some act very similar. Just don't have every woman in your story like that. Some may be, but it can get to be too much sometimes.

Answer 6

Most people portray women soooo simplistically or stereotypically..if that makes sense. They're either all the way a push over, or all the way a career driven crazy, totally a damsel in distress and no one can save her but the love she always wanted but never thought she'd get etc etc. And the characters that are in between like the "loving mother and wife" type are sooooo cookie cutter and unoriginal.

There is more than one part of a woman's personality, but most movies and shows I've seen and books I've read only seem to focus on one aspect throughout the entire course of it.

Answer 7

what l find annoying is the way male writers underestimate their female characters . lf the plot requires a silly mistake to be made or someone to slow up or mess up the action - then it is always a female. The sex scenes are written from a male perspective without the subtle details a female writer would give them. All in all, it is pretty much a reflection of how they perceive women in real life.

Answer 8

(Not a lady but married to a writer - so here's my two cents worth!)
The answer seems to be that male (non-gay) writers do not know how to describe what a female character is wearing. They will give you a graphic description of physical attributes but are vague about the clothes, shoes, accessories, hair etc..

Women want to know all this stuff!

Pick up any novel and find the first description of a woman character - and you will see what I mean.

Answer 9

I'm not exactly female, but I can probably answer that.

Just from the way that males and females evolved, females tend to be more detail-oriented while males see 'the big picture'. Not that either is right or wrong, though it probably IS the largest cause of all male/female misunderstanding. Male authors need to realize that many of the seemingly innocuous subtleties of a female's character and appearance simply didn't just get that way by accident.

Answer 10

I tend to find that the way the female character sees herself is different from the way most women see themselves. They may act stupid, they may act any number of things, but they still view themselves as having depth, intelligence, emotional worth, etc. This need not be the case for the character in actuality, but people percieve themselves differently than others percieve them.