I often tell people that I’m the biggest self-aware…
““I often tell people that I’m the biggest self-aware misogynist I know. I was writing a scene last night between a woman general and the man she helped put on the throne. I started writing in some romantic tension, and realized how lazy that was. There are other kinds of tension. I made a passing reference to sexual slavery, which I had to cut. I nearly had him use a gendered slur against her. I growled at the screen. He wanted to help save her child… no. Her brother? Ok. She was going to betray him. OK. He had some wives who died… ug. No. Close advisors? Friends? Maybe somebody just… left him? Even writing about societies where there is very little sexual violence, or no sexual violence against women, I find myself writing in the same tired tropes and motivations. “Well, this is a bad guy, and I need something traumatic to happen to this heroine, so I’ll have him rape her.” That was an actual thing I did in the first draft of my first book, which features a violent society where women outnumber men 25-1. Because, of course, it’s What You Do.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The author recognizes habitual reliance on harmful gender stereotypes in storytelling and strives to break them, highlighting the need for conscious narrative choices.
In simple terms: Writers often repeat sexist tropes unknowingly.
Key Takeaway
Question and revise gendered assumptions.
Themes
writing
gender
self-awareness
stereotypes
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
creative
self‑critical
When to use this quote
- Novel drafting
- script editing
- workshop feedback
- author self‑review
Key Concepts
Feminist critique
creative process
storytelling ethics
Questions to Reflect On
- What unconscious biases influence your characters?
- How can you subvert harmful tropes creatively?
A Different Perspective
Changing deep‑seated habits is difficult and may face resistance.