We really underestimate bias. It is prevalent everywhere: Lauded Spanish female crime writer revealed to be three men Next time when I want to enter a contest that favors females. I will use a feminine pen name This is why gender blind job applications should be the norm required @ludagad @Lissi
Sure, but that might be against gender equality tho, depending on how some people might take advantge of it of course, just like how those three men did, so that is not really a solution XD
I don't think it was right for them to fake their gender, but tbh I do agree it shouldn't have been as big of a deal; like it's a bit insulting when people are like, "OMG! You're not a woman?!" and then act like that person's work is worth less because of it. When judging a person's writing skills and work, gender shouldn't be a factor at all in the first place. I think gender blind, race blind, all of that should be a thing. I mean, gender, race, etc- they have nothing to do with your ability anyways so the way people keep fussing about it when selecting people for the job/prize/award/etc is really
I'm sorry, are you trying to say that people are biased in favor of women? Your statement isn't very clear.
I am saying bias affects how we perceive things. And these men took advantage. Basically, scammed their way into success. They didn't just use a pseudonym, they created a female profile backstory that they could market. Try reading the article. It's short Haha perfect example. The same with the author of the comic Moteki. Since its shonen, she was advised to use to male pseudonym. A woman writing male stories usually isn't given a chance and vice versa. She later wrote Yuri on Ice
Haha, things have reversed now. Female writers used to get published under male pseudonyms or no one would take them seriously.
playing the devil's advocate.... I think gender blind, species blind, all of that should be a thing. I mean, gender, species, etc- they have nothing to do with your ability anyways so the way people keep fussing about it when selecting animals for the job/prize/award/etc is really bad. It's a bit insulting when people are like, "OMG! You're not a human?!" and then act like that animal's work is worth less because of it. When judging an animal's writing skills and work, gender shouldn't be a factor at all in the first place. /JOKE
This is normal in the literary industry. Remember Danielle Steel? The one who often wrote about taboo subjects from girl's side? It's an open secret in the literary scene that Danielle Steel is a man. Yet, he was able to craft such compelling stories in female point of view. In the manga industry, many times a mangaka is actually two people. It's not uncommon, especially in detective stories where multiple point of views of unreliable narration is required. It's really hard to do this alone. Ai-chan tried to write a detective story alone, but it just felt shallow, so Ai-chan never showed it to anyone. Ai-chan doesn't understand why they considered this a big deal. Pseudonyms are normal. Genderbent pseudonyms are also normal. In many cases, the authors themselves are fictitious creatures, just like the stories they write. They should just move on. It does however, matter if they took awards specifically meant for women authors. In that case, they should refuse the reward. But other than that, Ai-chan doesn't see how it's a scam like the LGBT activist specified. If readers buy a book just because it's written by a woman, that's the readers fault. If the book is good, it doesn't matter if the author is a man or woman. After all, J. K. Rowling used gender ambiguity at first because her publisher was afraid the readers wouldn't buy her books if they knew she was a woman. If a woman is allowed to do it, why can't men?
Agreed with all of the above. I think what makes me uncomfortable with this is not that it was done, but the idea that it was the reason for their books being successful. And if the book is good, even if the author is a mouse or a hippo, the book is still good. That's my take on it. I'm biased because I usually will intentionally avoid learning more about authors of books I read, because I want to see the book for what it is only.
Not sure where this came from. Made me wonder whether George Sand was a Karen xD. But being an asshole or a massive cheater never let people take men like Hemingway or J.F. Kennedy less seriously. It's just that women are held at a higher standard I guess. So unless they're free of human flaws and have a pleasant personality, they shouldn't dare venture out in the public eye. Well, though I agree I can't take entitled people shouting at minorities seriously. I usually separate the art from the artist, cause people tend to be disappointing overall once you learn about their private life.
I mentioned the author of Moteki. She used a male pen name on the advice of her publisher. The Karen hypocrisy @Kadmos1 James Bond is cool but you get readers screaming "Thot be gone or die bitch" every chapter if a female character rejects the male character's romantic advances or disagrees with him