tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post9022920087625915912..comments2024-02-16T19:59:56.604-08:00Comments on A Reader's Respite: How women's fiction won the fight against misogynyMichelehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04873109350235219509noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-41850455834665516662014-11-24T08:24:57.475-08:002014-11-24T08:24:57.475-08:00Great post and gives food for thought. The real pr...Great post and gives food for thought. The real problem in publishing is that even though only 20% of books are read by men, the vast majority of them seem to be written by men.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-29182959817064204932014-11-14T06:20:32.596-08:002014-11-14T06:20:32.596-08:00You bring up some really interesting points that I...You bring up some really interesting points that I hadn't thought of! But even though women "win" in terms of sales numbers, there are a few things that bug me about women's fiction.<br /><br />1. The term "chick lit." "Chick" is so NOT a respectful thing to call a woman. It's infantilizing and demeaning. Maybe if we called it something like "lady lit" it would sit better with me?<br /><br />2. I don't like the assumption that "this narrow genre is what women want to read." But I do wonder this: Are women's fiction and chick lit synonymous? Or is women's fiction a broad genre that encompasses all fiction about women, and chick lit is a sub-genre that could also be called romantic comedy? I wonder what difference that distinction would make to people discussing this topic.<br /><br />3. If women buy 80% of all fiction books sold, it seems we're pretty good at finding books we want to read. Would that really change if there wasn't a genre specifically targeting us? Would we really buy fewer books? It feels patronizing that there's a women's fiction genre but not a men's fiction genre. I also think labeling a book "women's fiction" might turn off men who might have been interested in reading it if it didn't have that label.<br /><br />This was a really thought-provoking post! Thanks!<br /><br />Leah @ Books Speak Volumeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15843680530053274951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-81751086830504918522014-11-13T16:37:28.647-08:002014-11-13T16:37:28.647-08:00What makes me giggle is that if a publisher wants ...What makes me giggle is that if a publisher wants a book to sell, they almost have to label it women's fiction. The Goldfinch was labeled women's fiction, lol. Meaning, in my world, that it didn't have men with explosive devices a la Tom Clancy. Ha.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16344564674518342228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-55345965418997026572014-11-13T15:57:50.309-08:002014-11-13T15:57:50.309-08:00I actually hardly ever read anything labeled "...I actually hardly ever read anything labeled "women's fiction". One, I find it patronizing. Like I can only handle something designed specifically with my delicate little gender in mind. Two, because I apparently don't like stories that cater to my gender. A lot of it is married women with families or single women looking for love and I just don't care most of the time. What I do care about are women rebelling against the status quo or women looking to make a difference in the world or in their culture or in their community or in their family. Something. But not just day to day stuff, that bores me. <br /><br />Now, publishing is a man's world, and books are a woman's world, the marketing of the books by the publishing world is where the disconnect lies. I don't know if saying women's fiction as a category is misogynistic or simply repetitive since we read most of the books anyways, but I know it is an imperfect term. Not sure if I care much about it either way, other than I tend to read a lot less of the books labeled women's fiction. Beccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02706544792110129160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-77145040832503193962014-11-11T14:03:18.469-08:002014-11-11T14:03:18.469-08:00I suspect I make you roll your eyes more than I ma...I suspect I make you roll your eyes more than I make you think. But I'm good with that, too. :PAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16344564674518342228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-64313291752610863652014-11-11T14:02:40.959-08:002014-11-11T14:02:40.959-08:00Genre fiction makes my head spin a bit, too. Becau...Genre fiction makes my head spin a bit, too. Because I think "the critics" have taken it too far. When genre fiction was about pocket mysteries and Harlequin romances, I got that. But when they started using the label to insult writers they didn't want in their little cliques, well....fuck 'em says I. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16344564674518342228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-48715717066400914132014-11-11T10:38:06.193-08:002014-11-11T10:38:06.193-08:00You know what I dig about you? You make me think a...You know what I dig about you? You make me think and think. I'm going to be pondering this. The Relentless Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059240496186812005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5078315941472495277.post-12790246399509591652014-11-11T00:00:06.475-08:002014-11-11T00:00:06.475-08:00The whole marketing and labeling game makes my hea...The whole marketing and labeling game makes my head spin! You bring up so many interesting points in this post. Thanks for writing it and giving me something to think more about.Monika @ Lovely Bookshelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13138730317208033566noreply@blogger.com