The woman's perspective: any good books?

Emerald_Forest

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Members of the fairer sex:


I'm a part-time writer and editor, and close to a year ago, I got the storyline to another book I'd like to write. It unfolds the life experiences of a woman and a man when they grow up and encounter the hard rocks on their outer and inner landscapes.

The man bit I can handle with confidence. I'm a bit reserved about the female perspective though. As a consequence, I'm on a quest to uncover material that elucidates how woman experience the world, what issues they find relevant and unaddressed, sentiments and misunderstandings etc.

If you have any books, movies, articles that would be helpful, I would be most grateful.


EF
 

AlteredEgo

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Sorry I can't tell you authors, you'll have to Google for them. I like the voices in these books. They resonated with me in one way or another.

Fiction:
On the Verge (author's first name is Ariella, last name starts with P. Her other books suck.)
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf- Ntozake Shange
Like Water For Chocolate (a little fantastic, but the author's passion is palpable. Bonus: Authentic Mexican Recipes)

Non-fiction:

Ladies Who Lunge (dry and draggy in some of the essays, but a mix of female voices)
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office
 

Patchos

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how can you live your entire life on a planet with over 50% of the population being the opposite gender to you and not have any idea, understanding or perspective about them

what does that say about you
 

Emerald_Forest

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AlteredEgo, IntoxicatingToxin:

Thank you both. Sometimes the shifts and differences are subtle, and have more to do with rhytm, pulse and shades which one predominantly operates out from. Most often, this is done out of reflex, without the agent being explicitly conscious of these; that is why all these materials are of help, since it helps bring the mechanics out to awareness.


how can you ... not have any idea, understanding or perspective about them

what does that say about you

Patchos:

You are trying to put words in my mouth; I never said or implied what you said. Stick to the topic and refrain from using this thread for personal attacks.

EF
 

AlteredEgo

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I don't like books where the male author has clearly either made no attempt to really hear the female voice before writing from a woman's perspective, or completely failed in that quest. For proof that his happens, I offer the Fifty Shades of Grey books. Just...awful.

I'm glad, Patchos, that the OP recognizes a difference between knowing some women, and thinking like one. I'm glad that when his female characters speak, he will have made a real effort to give them the right voice.
 

Emerald_Forest

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If every man on the planet understood how it is to be a woman, a gay man, black lesbian etc. - understood, and not just going into a suit of his own projections and prejudices - then the world would have been a radically different place ages ago.

Mercurygirl:
Thanks, you expand my reading list quite a bit, but I'm on holidays, so it doesn't matter!

AlteredEgo:
Please expand! I haven't read the 50 shades books myself but is it apparent for you that they are written by a man (since the author is anonymous)?
How can you note that they fail in properly accounting for the female perspective and voice?
Incidentally, there's an erotica shop in my town. It is really nice with a welcoming atmosphere, run by women only who really want to up peoples love-life. I discussed the Fifty shades books with them, and they also very much disliked them!


Yours,
Emerald
 

AlteredEgo

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Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe is an amazing book, AND a really good movie.

Emerald, that's an excellent question. I will have to think about it a while I guess. I don't know why, but a third of the way into the first book (I read all three, convinced it had to get better) I just knew the author was a man. It feels like a man trying to think and feel like a woman. I don't know what specifically gives it that feeling.
 

Enid

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I would like to add some personal faves:

Flannery O'Connor -- A Good Man is Hard to Find

Marguerite Duras -- The Lover

Susan Sontag -- Against Interpretation

Jessica Valenti -- The Purity Myth

Caitlin Moran -- How To Be A Woman
 

AlteredEgo

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so many jealous haters in this thread

women are humans just like men it's really not that difficult
And yet authors fail at presenting views from lives they haven't lived all the time. Without doing research, Patch, if you tried to write a good, gripping story from the perspective of women who grew up where I did, your story would be awful.
 

AlteredEgo

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Speaking of women from my neck of the woods, and their perspective:

The Coldest Winter Ever -Sister Souljah I really didn't want to like it because Sister Souljah is a giant cunt who can kiss my ass. But it was a well-told tale, and didn't feel the least bit trite.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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I also suggest reading White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The perspective is from that of a young girl, growing into a woman, but it's written by an adult female, and the girl portrayed is very mature for her age. Still a good read to get a perspective on life from a female viewpoint.
 

botticellisvenus

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Emerald, As others have said, it depends on what sort of woman you'll be writing on behalf. Just as men differ, so do women, especially for variables such as SES, age, and geographical region. Current topics important to target groups can also be seen in magazines. For example, Glamour and More differ in content and issues. It might help to envision the qualities of your character to help indicate the extent of her world.

About the Fifty Shades trilogy, the author is E. L. James, a female. The books seemed as though they were written by a female in the manner in which interpersonal issues are dealt. While the books are interesting for different reasons, I didn't particularly enjoy the main female character, Anatasia, as I didn't see her as being realistic. I read a lot of that genre, and while they're not horribly written, they are certainly not the most interesting or well-developed either, for what that's worth.
 

Enid

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Emerald, As others have said, it depends on what sort of woman you'll be writing on behalf. Just as men differ, so do women, especially for variables such as SES, age, and geographical region. Current topics important to target groups can also be seen in magazines. For example, Glamour and More differ in content and issues. It might help to envision the qualities of your character to help indicate the extent of her world.

About the Fifty Shades trilogy, the author is E. L. James, a female. The books seemed as though they were written by a female in the manner in which interpersonal issues are dealt. While the books are interesting for different reasons, I didn't particularly enjoy the main female character, Anatasia, as I didn't see her as being realistic. I read a lot of that genre, and while they're not horribly written, they are certainly not the most interesting or well-developed either, for what that's worth.

Didnt 50 shades start out as Twilight fanfic? Ah yes just checked it was Master of the Universe.
 
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