It's important to remember that characters are what their background has made them, and yes, gender is part of that. If your culture (be it fantasy or alien) does not see the genders as equal, or even close to -- or, as some Earth cultures, "equal but given different roles," then it is important that your character not be a raving feminist. (Or into Men's Liberation, either.) In those cases, you have to find a balance between "Men are only good for..." or "Women are only good for..." and giving your 5th C. Barbarian swordsman a worldview that comes straight out of, say, 21st C. Ottawa.
Yes, it's very possible to write women wrong. And very possible to write men wrong.
And you do need to think, not just about general culture, but specific culture, whether real or created. The hero of my current WIP (yes, male, and I am not) has a different worldview from any of the other characters, because while they come from three distinct cultures, he comes from a forth... And I did have to face the fact that gender perception in the different cultures would impact the way characters would behave.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 02:47 am (UTC)It's important to remember that characters are what their background has made them, and yes, gender is part of that. If your culture (be it fantasy or alien) does not see the genders as equal, or even close to -- or, as some Earth cultures, "equal but given different roles," then it is important that your character not be a raving feminist. (Or into Men's Liberation, either.) In those cases, you have to find a balance between "Men are only good for..." or "Women are only good for..." and giving your 5th C. Barbarian swordsman a worldview that comes straight out of, say, 21st C. Ottawa.
Yes, it's very possible to write women wrong. And very possible to write men wrong.
And you do need to think, not just about general culture, but specific culture, whether real or created. The hero of my current WIP (yes, male, and I am not) has a different worldview from any of the other characters, because while they come from three distinct cultures, he comes from a forth... And I did have to face the fact that gender perception in the different cultures would impact the way characters would behave.