Do you read books by women and from the perspective of women? I’ve always thought that himpathy (a disproportionate level of empathy for men) was due to men simply not being able to imagine themselves as women, while women have been trained their entire lives to put themselves in men’s shoes. Highly recommend this article if you want to learn more. https://sorayachemaly.substack.com/p/26-its-not-only-the-violence-women
@irene https://m.ai6yr.org/@camless/116404061494732871 applies.
Hm, tricky. I do read books with women as protagonists, like the Avalon series, or Gone with the Wind… haven’t really thought about this, I’m sufficiently immersed to not think about that.
What I cannot stand is things like fanfics with a female Harry Potter or whom-have-you. Doesn’t match the mental image, and then I cannot do the perspective switch.
@irene This was a difficult (for me) read. Thanks for sharing this.
I read womem writers. Always have. And as a woman writer, I don't feel I write with a gender-specific bias. But I digress.
I remember back even when I was in grade school reading books like, Silver Chief of the North and imagining myself as the protagonist. I can't imagine my brothers reading Little Women and having thoughts of being like them.
May 12, 2026, 6:38 PM@irene I try to. It does take a lot of conscious effort. Not just with books, I also try to find music and series that aren't made solely by men, or - more generally - people who have a similar background to mine.
I hope I'm doing my part by recommending Tuca&Bertie and Broad City to anyone who'll listen. :neofox_laugh_sweat:
But for real, there is a tokenism trap when someone first realizes they are only listening to men, so they might find a woman who censors herself enough to fit in and be "one of the bros". I know I've done this, it took some effort to begin to unlearn it and engage with female authors who initially made me uncomfortable.
It was about a decade ago that I looked at my bookshelves in despair. I was a fully grown woman and yet I only owned a handful of books written by women the vast majority of books on my shelves were written by men. I quickly sought to change this. And in doing so, my world transformed.
Currently reading the brilliant Wifedom by Anna Funder. It’s about the erasure of Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell’s wife from his work - despite her being his lynchpin and editor.
@irene Predicting the response "NAMALT" if I share this article.
@irene This feeds so much into my recent musing on how so many women have endured toxic relationships with manipulative or abusive men!