I think this is 100% true. Nobody is blessed with perfect knowledge on how to negotiate all the stereotypes and expectations and assumptions about women, and it's so easy to be intimidated by that and just write men because it's "easier"--even if that plays into the counterproductive assumption that a male POV is "universal" in a way that a female POV is not. Writers shouldn't feel like they need a graduate degree in Feminist Studies in order to write a drabble "correctly."
I agree with a lot of what you've said here. The objections I see in fandom to female characters are the very same criticisms women voice about real women, and I don't think it's a stretch to say those reactions are related.
As women, we spend our entire lives surrounded by ideas of What Not To Do and How To Be A Good Girl and being subjected to constant judgment about every decision - because, as you said, there's always going to be somebody ready to tell is we're doing it wrong - of course that's going to bleed into the stories and communities we create.
I think, for a lot of women, a lifetime of training and expectations have made it so criticizing other women is natural and easy, and quashing that reaction is something that requires some work. It's awful, yes, and I hate it. But the fact is there are reasons women perpetuate misogynistic behavior, and those reasons go a lot deeper than "lol ur a bad fan who only likes cocks."
I'd not thought of it before but I know, for me, your reasoning would hold true. Tho, for me, there's also the fact I have to like a character to spend time thinking about them in fannish terms. And, while it's a whole different discussion then what you've posted, over the years I've found lots of female characters I just don't like, for lots of reasons.
And, I think it's true that lots (tho not all) of women put down other women, no matter what they do. I even remember a history class professor (female) talking about feminist movements in, I think it was the 1700s, such as there was back then, and how this problem of women existed even back then.
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As women, we spend our entire lives surrounded by ideas of What Not To Do and How To Be A Good Girl and being subjected to constant judgment about every decision - because, as you said, there's always going to be somebody ready to tell is we're doing it wrong - of course that's going to bleed into the stories and communities we create.
I think, for a lot of women, a lifetime of training and expectations have made it so criticizing other women is natural and easy, and quashing that reaction is something that requires some work. It's awful, yes, and I hate it. But the fact is there are reasons women perpetuate misogynistic behavior, and those reasons go a lot deeper than "lol ur a bad fan who only likes cocks."
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And, I think it's true that lots (tho not all) of women put down other women, no matter what they do. I even remember a history class professor (female) talking about feminist movements in, I think it was the 1700s, such as there was back then, and how this problem of women existed even back then.
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