Recent studies suggest that females are more likely to read novels than their male counterparts. And it appears that for the first time there are more females getting novels published than men. Which makes the next statistic even more interesting. Male protagonists significantly out number female protagonists. When I read that statistic I thought of something Meryl Strrep said when asked why men had more significant roles than women. She replied that women can speak men but men can’t speak women.
As a writer, I encountered this bias in myself. My favourite books all featured male protagonists. When I first started writing, I auromatically gravitated to a male voice, especially when writing action scenes. One of the advantages of writing the Angels books is that there are no adult males so I am forced to develop female protagonists. Even then, developing complex female characters who are not carbon copies of males, is a challenge. It seems that even females have trouble speaking woman and don’t get me started on the one-dimensional well-built cliche women that frequently appear in male novels.
There is hope. Here are a few books with strong, complex female protagonists that have become popular with both males and females:
The Hunger Games
Fire and Ice
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Queens Gambit
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
In my own books, I wanted to show woman who had opposing viewpoints. Viewpoints we might or might not agree with but who were capable of making a good case for their actions. I wanted a villain like Colonel Nathan R Jessup in Sorkin’s play, A Few Good Men, who could blur the lines between the greater good and the greater evil. Is Evelyn Perkins, my benevolent dictator, consumed by power or is she trying to create a better world? In the first three books, we have the Old One’s point of view. It contrasts with the public view but I don’t want Evelyn to be so clear cut. Yes, she’s manipulative but is it for the greater good? Sofia Vargas is more egalitarian but does she wield the strength to hold her community together? Evelyn believes in her own vision and is willing to sacrifice even the ones she loves if it accomplishes her goal. Does Sofia have that kind of dedication? And what of Dr Harris? Is she only dedicated to saving her son or will she sacrifice time with him in order to save all the other boys?
My goal as a writer is to create adversaries who are worthy of each other. Am I making a statement about how society treats women? Yes, in the sense that I put women in positions of power. No, because I’d like to think you the story could easily be about race, religion, ethnic background or any number of ways in which humans define tribalism. But what do you think about books written with female protagonists? Do they only appeal to women?