Quote:
Originally Posted by zerospinboson
fwiw, my definition: books intended for women are secondarily about events, primarily about the psychological consequences of those events, describing the effort that goes into making relationships work, etc.; books intended for men are primarily about describing sequences of events, with a protagonist whose feelings about those events are mostly ignored, or actively dismissed because 'no time for that now'. (Would also propose that 'depth', esp wrt men, is mostly a feature of motivations / feelings being opaque by virtue of their being left undiscussed, rather than about (certain) people being particularly deep.)
Would propose that 'literature' is a separate 'category'.
|
Far too narrow and stereotypical definition. I don't write to "Books intended for women" or "Books intended for men." Some writers may, but in general, we write for readers. Harry Potter books have all of the things you describe as for women or for men. Thousands of mystery books contain all those elements (Elizabeth Peters, Linda Fairstein, Carol O'Connell). Many fantasy novels have all of these elements as well.
Yes, men and women are different, but many books are not written with men or women in mind. Marketing machines may break them down into such and put covers on that are believed to attract certain readers. But those covers are often redone during reprints to appeal to a "different" audience than the primary cover.
Of the genres, it is possible that romance is written with women primarily in mind and probably chick-lit (But that would exclude romantic comedy which has fans across the spectrum), but I don't even think sci/fi or fantasy are written with "primarily" anything in mind other than readers.
Such a narrow definition may make it easier to sort books, but leaves out so much of what is great about being a woman--or a man. Marketing tools at any given time are used to attract a particular subset (men or women) but don't buy into every marketing technique out there.
I read books written by men and women. I read thrillers, romance, mystery, non-fiction, fantasy and science fiction (not all at the same time, mind).
In m opinion literature is usually defined by academia. WIth some sort of propaganda in mind.