Equality in the Lit Space

So I write Chick Lit. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told about my latest novel. This is probably not true, as I never aim for anything as lofty as something that might be even vaguely considered “lit.” Still, when you aim at women aged twenty to thirty-something, there you go. And so what if I do? I don’t mind. Women buy books. Why not write books for women?

Except I don’t. Not really. I write books that I think people will like, books that make people happy. It just so happens that I usually write about women. I do it a lot more than I realized before the Chick Lit thing was pointed out.

In the six novels I’ve written, five of them have a strong female lead. Out of the six, five of them take place in the modern world. The one with the strong male lead takes place in the 1930s. While I do include strong women in the historic book, doing what I wanted to do with the story wouldn’t have made sense with a woman as the lead character. There simply were no female homicide detectives in 1936, and writing that there was one would disallow suspension of disbelief. If this is discrimination, sue me. Well, don’t really sue me. I can’t afford a lawyer.

I was raised to believe women could do anything they wanted, and I’m still confused as to why they don’t get paid the same as men for doing the same job. This is actual discrimination, as opposed to the usual self-entitlement that poses as discrimination or racism or whatever. How this remains the status quo is beyond me.

Given my personal attitude, I have women fighting monsters, taking a bullet, tracking the clues, and everything a man might do in a fictional setting. There is an understanding that women react differently than men in these thriller worlds I construct—but they still get the job done just as well, albeit a little differently than a testosterone propelled male character might.

Therein lies the entertainment, though, the way a woman handles situations. You don’t see Harry Bosch mourn the ruination of his new suit, or Jack Reacher fight back tears after he trips and barks his shin. They don’t have the power to diffuse tension like a female character does, nor will they ever seem in as much danger as a female character would. It makes for a satisfying balance.

This is all based on sexism, of course. Cultural expectations being what they are, women are the physical underdog and the emotional champion. The reality is that women, by and large, can withstand pain better than men, multitask better than men, and ultimately make a more ideal character in a thriller or horror setting. Which is why it makes sense (and maybe the only thing that makes sense) when the girl is the sole survivor in the slasher serial films.

So I will continue to create female characters who battle inhuman horrors, solve the crimes, and save the world even as they fight an aversion to getting messy, worry about their hair and react more forcefully to a broken nail than getting nicked by a bullet. Call it Chick Lit if you want, I’m going to keep doing it.