Quote:
Originally Posted by Amiieey
Gender roles are silly and in reality, that line of thinking should be avoided. It leads to silly things like toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes. Women and men don't have to act a certain way in stories. They can act any way they like so long as the story is believable and good.
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But denying that men and women do behave differently is equally silly, and if those behavioural differences are not accurately portrayed in books set in contemporary society, the book will not come across as believable.
One very simple example: groups of men and women have conversations in completely different ways. I have often observed, while having coffee in the canteen at work, that when a group of women is sitting together chatting, they will generally all talk (and - I assume - all listen) simultaneously. When a group of men is sitting together it's completely different; one at a time talks, and the others listen.
I have not the slightest doubt that such patterns of behaviour are learned in childhood, and are not the product of biological differences between men and women, but they are nonetheless very real, and an author offering a realistic portrayal of (for example) social situations needs to get them right.