Feminists Complaint About Lack of Literary Awards for Boring Books About Women
05-31-2015, 10:20 AM
The Article: http://flavorwire.com/520536/are-literar...out-women/
Here is the whiny part:
The article is staring the obvious in the face but just can't admit it. Books by women and solely about the lives of women are often childish and boring (See Twilight).
The article also argues against itself, outlining the very arguments that I would make (sans the racial argument- there have been many good male authors of color):
I will admit to enjoying two books by female authors. The first is "the Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, an incredible literary work about the rise of a Chinese man from being a peasant to being a rich landowner. The second is "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen- not because it is a great epic work, but because she does such a good job of capturing the silliness of many women in the portrayal of the mother and the sisters of the protagonist, and additionally the failure of the father to properly lead his family (like an 18th century beta male warning).
Here is the whiny part:
Quote:Quote:
What she discovered goes even deeper than a byline count. Unfortunately, it’s not simply books by women that are ignored by prize committees, but also books about women. In all the major prizes Griffith surveyed, books by women with primarily female subjects got seriously short shrift, while books by men and about men notably dominated.
The article is staring the obvious in the face but just can't admit it. Books by women and solely about the lives of women are often childish and boring (See Twilight).
Quote:Quote:
One of the social trends feminist critics of the current literary culture have long decried is that stories about women, no matter how they’re written or packaged, are too often seen as a special interest, something that would appeal only to women readers, while male-penned books about men are treated as “universal.” There is a smart argument to be made that says that old dynamic is changing, but clearly the prizes don’t yet reflect any sort of major change.
The article also argues against itself, outlining the very arguments that I would make (sans the racial argument- there have been many good male authors of color):
Quote:Quote:
Part of the problem is that while art or books that white men put out is portrayed as universally appealing, culture produced by women or people of color is seen as specific to their gender or racial identity.
I will admit to enjoying two books by female authors. The first is "the Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, an incredible literary work about the rise of a Chinese man from being a peasant to being a rich landowner. The second is "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen- not because it is a great epic work, but because she does such a good job of capturing the silliness of many women in the portrayal of the mother and the sisters of the protagonist, and additionally the failure of the father to properly lead his family (like an 18th century beta male warning).