My current and main project features reincarnation (to put it simply) - I have decided to split the story to four sections (and the number four is set in stone, and for a reason) throughout various time periods. The first iteration of my character is a prehistoric girl. The second is completely blank. The third a present day woman (chosen because her story and mine are similar, so I am biased). The fourth and final is a woman once again. my question is : does it really matter if all four iterations of the character are women? Is this off-putting for men? Does it seem as if I am trying to make a statement? I am just overthinking this whole thing ? Should their genders be a 50/50 split?
Well, let's think about it this way. Are men off-put by a normal novel with a female protagonist? I, personally, am not, and if someone is, they're probably not the type to read books anyways. The same would go for this story. The only reason I could see you needing to change the gender is if it was significant to the story that, in this one life, she was a he. If not, just write it how it feels best for you to write it.
Thank you. That is generally the attitude I'm trying to have re: my characters. My second section (the one with no currently gendered character) is to be set somewhere between prehistory and present day soo... it's pretty wide open. I think I'm just putting too much pressure on myself.
Agreed. The beautiful, and terrifying, thing about writing is that no one can tell you what to write or how to write it. You write what you want to write. If that turns into something, great! If not, at least you gave it a try. Too many people in this world never pursue a creative outlet, and it's starting to become detrimental to society if you ask me, so I'm glad you're so passionate about your work that you're stressing over it. It shows that you care.
Well put. And this is, of course, my first draft - first whisper of a draft really. I'm sure I'll come across bigger problems than this in the writing of it all. I'm not new to writing as a hobby, but I am new to having multiple POV characters. It's something I've always been cautious about trying - but I'm giving it a go. Thanks for your sage words and advice!
I loved the confirmation that The Doctor – who had been a man for about a dozen iterations – was going to become a woman next and I loved how angry it made misogynists and/or transphobes on the internet If you want to make your character a woman three times and a man once, and if you anger readers who get offended by the departure from traditional gender expectations, then you are in some very good company with the likes of Ursula K Le Guin Ultimately, subversive fictions like The Handmaid's Tale stand the test of time far better than fictions like The Birth of a Nation that try to defend the status quo.
I suppose that's one way of looking at it. I had forgotten about Doctor Who - I'm not really a fan, but I sure am a fan of subverting expectations and it was great to hear that the Doctor is now a woman. It was about time. I think I'll just take a step back and let the story write itself. Women are what I'm used to, but I'll just have to see how it goes.
I would say write the character's plot line the way you want it and see if any hints come up about whether or not they should be male or female. This, of course, depends on the time period you're going to write them in because of equality issues. Gender has never really been an issue of mine just the quality of a character.
If there is a reason for all reincarnated versions to be women, then this is perfectly fine. If you can come up with reasons why one or two should be male, that's fine too. I don't think men will be upset if all of them are women. Going into the book, they know the character is female, so why would they 100% expect her to be reincarnated as a male?
I don't think it's off putting for men, it certainly isn't for me. Most of the main characters in my stories are women, and I can think of a few instances of books that are popular among men where the main character is a woman. Mistborn, for example. I would say you're overthinking it, but that's only because I am an expert in overthinking everything ever, and I can see the signs.
If there is no reason to do it then don't do it, remember that a change in sex is more than just genitals and depending on the location time period the average individual will be treated in a different manner depending on the sex.
You're overthinking it. What would be more "offensive" would be if male characters are portrayed in a way that would be ridiculous to anyone with a male brain or experience with actual males. Like if every male is possessive and violent (or a discount Christian Grey) then that would be either a joke or boring for most males, who are neither possessive nor violent. As someone said above: a gender-switch does have consequences, although mental ones should also be considered. Studying male psychology (especially compared to female psychology) could do you a world of good in trying to figure out those strange, bipedal beasts (0).(0)
Ticks more boxes if they switch genders. Easier to sell, grabs attention etc. On the other hand, it will depend on what you intend to tell us with your story. Once you switch genders it will need to include some commentary on genders, so in the end that may also be a limitation, actually.
I think the type of men that this would be off-putting to wouldn't have started reading a book that starts off with a female protagonist. Only if you are trying to send a message and put overt feminist/anti-feminist catechisms in it. There are a-freaking-lot of differences between genders that are either physical or socially enforced that most of us don't even notice just because we've been raised either one way or the other. So, no, putting a crap load of thought into how to accurately and fairly represent both genders while maybe making some political commentary against some of the bullshit that either has had to endure over the past few centuries is not a bad thing. I want to say yes, but that's probably just my affinity for symmetry and I can't really make any kind of argument as to why.
I recently switched one of my MCs from an old man who has a friendship with a young woman to an old woman in order to make sure the reader doesn't find it creepy or read into something as sexual. So, my advice would be, would one gender be more suitable for a setting than another? If your character is dying then reincarnating into another time period it may be good to be flexible.
