The Male Brain
My whole life, men have mostly annoyed me. And yet I love them.
As a feminist, if I even catch a whiff of chauvinism, I am usually irritated. (For example, I will have a high blood pressure episode if anyone talks of fathers "babysitting" while mothers run errands or go out with friends--as a mom, I don't BABYSIT my children, I mother them--and expect no less of men). I've made endlessly bad decisions in my lovelife--bad boyfriends, overpossessive ones, dumb ones, men old enough to be my dad--or close to it. And yet . . . my best friends are men. Usually gay--but not always.
And now I find myself in the very odd position of writing as a man. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have written many books from a male POV at least part of the time. In INVISIBLE GIRL, there were five POVS alternating throughout--Mai Malone and her daughter Maggie. And Danny Malone (Mai's son and Maggie's brother), Bobby Gonzalez (detective with the NYPD and Maggie's lover) and Jimmy Malone (Mai's husband, father to Maggie and Danny). More men than women told that book--but . . . there was a lot of action in that novel. It tells the story of a baby lost from Operation Babylift during Vietnam and a conspiracy dating back to the fall of Saigon that reverberates into the present. There wasn't a lot of time for the men to think about . . . well, sex, or life.
Not so in my work-in-progress, Freudian Slip. In it, I have a ghost--a male ghost--who still gets hard-ons. Yeah. Not only that, he intrudes on the thoughts of my heroine . . . and so I have this woman having male thoughts.
It's a weird thing. Because of the nature of the book, it's not that the man narrates some of it or details some of the action, instead it's more about his feelings, his sex drive, the way he craves tequila, his failed life, his mess of a world. It's a very intimate look at his mortality.
And here I am . . . nearing completion, and I have to say I don't know if I get men any better.
How do you feel about writing as the opposite sex? I can tell you when I read a man writing as a woman, I often find little things that irk me. As in, no we really don't think that way. But we're all individuals, so I often just shrug and think maybe it's me.
Anyway . . . how do you feel about writing as the other gender?
As a feminist, if I even catch a whiff of chauvinism, I am usually irritated. (For example, I will have a high blood pressure episode if anyone talks of fathers "babysitting" while mothers run errands or go out with friends--as a mom, I don't BABYSIT my children, I mother them--and expect no less of men). I've made endlessly bad decisions in my lovelife--bad boyfriends, overpossessive ones, dumb ones, men old enough to be my dad--or close to it. And yet . . . my best friends are men. Usually gay--but not always.
And now I find myself in the very odd position of writing as a man. Now, don't misunderstand me, I have written many books from a male POV at least part of the time. In INVISIBLE GIRL, there were five POVS alternating throughout--Mai Malone and her daughter Maggie. And Danny Malone (Mai's son and Maggie's brother), Bobby Gonzalez (detective with the NYPD and Maggie's lover) and Jimmy Malone (Mai's husband, father to Maggie and Danny). More men than women told that book--but . . . there was a lot of action in that novel. It tells the story of a baby lost from Operation Babylift during Vietnam and a conspiracy dating back to the fall of Saigon that reverberates into the present. There wasn't a lot of time for the men to think about . . . well, sex, or life.
Not so in my work-in-progress, Freudian Slip. In it, I have a ghost--a male ghost--who still gets hard-ons. Yeah. Not only that, he intrudes on the thoughts of my heroine . . . and so I have this woman having male thoughts.
It's a weird thing. Because of the nature of the book, it's not that the man narrates some of it or details some of the action, instead it's more about his feelings, his sex drive, the way he craves tequila, his failed life, his mess of a world. It's a very intimate look at his mortality.
And here I am . . . nearing completion, and I have to say I don't know if I get men any better.
How do you feel about writing as the opposite sex? I can tell you when I read a man writing as a woman, I often find little things that irk me. As in, no we really don't think that way. But we're all individuals, so I often just shrug and think maybe it's me.
Anyway . . . how do you feel about writing as the other gender?
posted by Erica Orloff at 7:59 PM
10 Comments:
Slightly stressed. ROFL.
One of my CPs is a male, so it does help.
I have written a short story exclusively in male (it's a very exotic language, you know and one learns a new language best by using it *g*) because I decided I wanted to get to know the male character better.
I still wasn't happy when I found myself writing in male last month. I didn't plan it. Which is fine. Except that he's a rather medieval emperor and in the meantime, I've another WIP cooking featuring a family of female characters and one of their 'family characteristics' is that they rag on the boys in the family all the time.
My head is a very odd place to be in right now, especially when you consider that my Muse is a he, and I think he's gay.
Hi May:
One of my CPs is a guy--and he will catch some things--and vice versa. I write in a gay male voice all the time (Diary of a Blues Goddess, Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven) . . . but the straight male is an elusive beast. :-)
E
Hmm, I can honestly say I've met as many--and quite possibly more-- females who annoyed/confused me as males.
I think it comes down to knowing THE male/female you're writing well enough to make their quirks and attitudes believable, more than knowing males/females in general.
You're never going to please all of the people all of the time. I'm sure there's plenty of doctors, lawyers, actors, cops--insert profession of choice here-- who've read a book they find such a contrast to themselves that its laughable. As you mentioned earlier males writing females, a recent read offered me a tough as nails female character in a male dominated profession who had constant problems due to her pantyhose and pumps. HUH?
My first question was why the hell is she WEARING panty hose and pumps. But maybe that's just me. I've solemnly vowed to never don those nylon nightmares again :)
Oh, and to answer the original question, I feel as comfortable walking/talking like a man as I do in pumps ;-)
lainey:
Oh, women annoy me equally or more. :-) I am not a "Barbie" mom, so I am immediately odd-woman out in most mom-esque situations like the PTA.
But yes, I agree. It's all about individuals. Totally. But then there are those "tells" if you're not careful--like pantyhose.
And, in this wip, it's again because Julian has no "body" so to speak of--the action is in his dialogue and mind/soul--so I have to think like him vs. simply have him in action sequences.
E
Not too long ago, I tried to read a Private Investigator-type book, where the female victim took care of personal hygiene issues, and was depicted as enjoying the experience. (I kid you not.)
Needless to say this male author is not at the top of my To Buy list.
I've been strengthening my male character so that he's more alpha...and have discovered that the descriptive word choices make an impact. Troubled instead of Concerned. POed instead of Irked. And I've woven in an edge of control and arrogance. Instead of "I'll be here for you." it's "I'll wait here." (A kind, generous author helped me to find my way ;-)
Great post, Erica!
Kathy;
Aw, if men only knew how we really felt about our personal hygiene moments. LOL!
And you bring up a really good point about even single word choices having effect.
E
Speaking as an annoying, evasive beast...;)
Men love it when you stroke their egos.
They usually hate it when you say things like, "What are you thinking about."
When they saunter off into their caves, leave them alone.
That's all you really need to know. :)
Jude:
LOL . . . that was my laugh for the evening. And I needed it. :-)
E
Freaky! I wrote some stories from the male POV--entirely--and it was just ... freaky. I both sounded and felt like I was a man. Downright unnerving.
I find it strange how chauvinistic we women are towards men, with the little things we say to put them down. We do it in jest, but when they do it in jest, it's BAD. When we do, it's pretty much considered a good thing and seems to imply a confident character trait in a woman.
Just an observation of humans in general, LOL. Not saying anything pointed at anyone. :-)
HUH! Well, I am working in a world and my MMC is the primary POV. I think I am going to have to think about all of this to edit him right. I am already doing a significant amounts of rewrites, but I think that will certainly make a difference.
Let me appear foolish here...CPs?
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