I was editing something (when am I not?) and I looked back at it and noticed that I’d typed in the word “hero” to describe a woman. I don’t really like the word heroine, it makes me think of drugs. But then I realized that I don’t use gendered words as a rule. I don’t like to denote that someone is a man or a woman based on an -ess, an -er, or lack thereof, attached to a word.
But then I realized that because I don’t use the female gendered word, that means I use the masculine (with the exception of “widow”… which is the only word I can think of that has a female root and a male-denoting suffix).
Which do you think is better? Using words like “actor” and “hero” to describe both men and women, even though they were originally the male word? Or using “actress” and “heroine” and other female words, and not using the male word to describe women?
OR, am I thinking waaaaaaaaayyyy too hard about this?
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I do think Westerners get too politically correct about this kind of stuff. Most language have genders clearly defined and there's no question about it. It does drive me nuts in those languages to have to remember what 'gender' various objects are!
I don't think it is possible to think about your writing too much.As to usage, I think it probably depends on the audience and the context. If I was writing fiction set in past I would use traditional gendered endings, for something present day maybe not.
Personally I would prefer the masculine. Hero seems to denote more bravery than heroine for some reason. The question is: Does the masculine reference to a female character throw the reader off, and in doing so interrupt the pace? Then again, this could be a signature of your voice that stands out.(Hugs)Indigo
I like hero better than heroine
BUT I like actress better than actor. So I think it would be a word by word decision for me!
I'm with you on this one, masculine versions. I think hero is a lot better than heroine, and I'm with you on the drug part, it has a stigma attached to it, so I say go with your gut! I'm with Sara, word by word for this.
I don't always think of gender when it comes to those words for women. I'd call a woman a hero when I'm writing my WIP. Of course that doesn't mean I don't use those terms at times. It just depends when I'm writing and what my fingers type first. Then I go back and edit if I don't like the first word used.
Yes, you are thinking waaaaay too hard about it, but I do not blame you for thinking about it at all. Gender terminology is a complete 'red herring'. Don't worry about it. Just use any words which people understand, and – if they misinterpret – then that is no fault of yours.
Like Sara I think it comes down to a word-by-word choice for me. In many cases I prefer the masculine, but not all
I agree with you about heroine sounding negative because there's a horrible drug of the same name! Who decided that, I wonder? I'll have to check the Oxford English Dictionary and see which came first!I like using actor and actress for their appropriate genders, but I usually use hero for men and women. So I guess you just have to decide how it fits in your MS and make sure it's not confusing to the reader.
I'd go for the female versions for a female and the male versions for a male. In most cases. But it could be my feminist side and my social work background lmao People are VERY anal about gendering stuff there. To the point that to me it's overkill.
You're not thinking too hard about these issues. It's important to deconstruct gender and language, imo.I dislike that we don't have a gender-neutral option for these words, but in the absence of one I favor the masculine version. Of course, that makes me question why the masculine connotation is of higher value than the feminine, even on a subconscious level.
I don't have a preference unless the scene or situation dictates it, for instance if a character is referring to another character in a crowded room of men and women, the actor or actress would just help keep things from getting confusing.
Not thinking too hard and I agree with you one hundred percent. Actor, Hero.
Hmmm… I think I like hero for ladies (unless the point was the femininity of the character). I'd do actor and actress though because that just sounds right.Would you call a female character a prince rather than a princess?