The Secret Flaw in Male Writers’ Portrayal of Women That No One Talks About

The Secret Flaw in Male Writers’ Portrayal of Women That No One Talks About

Have you ever closed a book halfway through, feeling like the female lead was less a person and more a collection of clichés stitched together by someone who’s probably never met an actual woman outside a shampoo commercial? Yeah, me too — more times than I care to admit. It’s maddening how many characters out there seem like projections, not people: flawless geniuses with a token “flaw” tacked on as an afterthought, designed to check a box rather than enrich a story. I’ve read enough of these paper-thin portrayals to feel like I’ve aged twice over, and it begs a question: why does “female” often get treated like its own genre, separate from just being a human with layers? Join me as I unpack this persistent literary quirk — one that has haunted readers and writers alike — and explore what it really means to write women like people, not props. LEARN MORE

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