--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to…" description: "\"“As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write like a man in order to be taken seriously.”\" — Heidi Ruby Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg" --- # As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write… ![“As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write like a man in order to be taken seriously.” quote by Heidi Ruby Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg) > ““As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write like a man in order to be taken seriously.”” [Heidi Ruby Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-ruby-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Female SF writers feel pressured to adopt male writing styles for credibility, highlighting gender bias in the genre. **In simple terms:** Women feel they must write like men to be taken seriously. Key Takeaway Advocate for diverse voices in SF. Themes gender bias writing science fiction authenticity credibility Mood critical empowering Type writing:1 taken seriously:1 woman writing:1 writing sf:0 sf felt:0 felt think:0 When to use this quote - publishing industry - writing workshops - conference panels - author mentorship Key Concepts literature gender studies media criticism Questions to Reflect On - How can you assert your unique voice? - What support helps women in SF? A Different Perspective The pressure may also stem from internalized expectations, not just external bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Felt Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-think-1937857/) [Sf Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sf-felt-1937856/) [Taken Seriously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-seriously/) [Woman Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-writing-418738/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Sf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-sf-1937855/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a physicist and computer scientist by training. I worked in high tech for thirty years as everything from engineer to senior vice president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/i-m-a-physicist-and-computer-scientist-by-training-i-worked-in-high/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [“My life was too much miserable that I never felt to think beyond filling my empty stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/my-life-was-too-much-miserable-that-i-never-felt-to-think-beyond/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Why wouldn't you want to be as close as you could to another person's glow, when you felt it? I still think that, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-southgate/why-wouldn-t-you-want-to-be-as-close-as-you-could-to-another-person-s/) [Martha Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-southgate/) > [I've always felt, and I think I've been pigeonholed by the media, as being a very separate voice to the rest of comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/i-ve-always-felt-and-i-think-i-ve-been-pigeonholed-by-the-media-as/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [Honestly, I've always heard artists like Michael Jackson and the Beatles say that music comes through them, as if they were tapping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sky-blu/honestly-i-ve-always-heard-artists-like-michael-jackson-and-the/) [Sky Blu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sky-blu/) > [“The young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-has-forgotten-the-problems-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was a woman writing at the early moment when small drops of worried resentment and noble rage were secretly, slowly building into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-was-a-woman-writing-at-the-early-moment-when-small-drops-of-worried/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers tell me that they identify with my characters. They know them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-delinsky/i-write-about-the-emotional-crises-that-we-face-in-our-lives-readers/) [Barbara Delinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-delinsky/) > [“The one thing a writer has to have is a pencil and some paper. That's enough, so long as she knows that she and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-one-thing-a-writer-has-to-have-is-a-pencil-and-some-paper-that-s/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [A book is not an example of 'women's writing' simply because it is written by a woman. Writing may become 'women's writing' when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-book-is-not-an-example-of-women-s-writing-simply-because-it-is/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Being taken seriously was always the biggest challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-wilson/being-taken-seriously-was-always-the-biggest-challenge/) [Nancy Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-wilson/) > [In a general way, anything that affects men is taken more seriously than anything that affects only women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/in-a-general-way-anything-that-affects-men-is-taken-more-seriously/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If there's anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it's being taken too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/if-there-s-anything-i-hate-more-than-not-being-taken-seriously-it-s/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) ## More Writing quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-of-us-can-read-the-writing-on-the-wall-we-just-assume-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If I don't know who I'm writing for, I make it up and pick somebody I'm writing for. That's really the only way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/if-i-don-t-know-who-i-m-writing-for-i-make-it-up-and-pick-somebody-i/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) [Browse all 64,355 Writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write like a man in order to be taken seriously.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Heidi Ruby Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ruby-miller/as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-think-and-write-like-a-man-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ruby-miller/as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-think-and-write-like-a-man-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/heidi-ruby-miller-242021_writing_as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-th_2600187.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a woman writing SF, I felt I had to think and write like a man in order to be taken seriously.” — Heidi Ruby Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Heidi Ruby Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-ruby-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As a woman writing SF, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ruby-miller/as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-think-and-write-like-a-man-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ruby-miller/as-a-woman-writing-sf-i-felt-i-had-to-think-and-write-like-a-man-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```