The classification of books as “Women’s Fiction” seems outdated, and leads readers to a limited perspective. Why should a book be marketed towards only women, especially when fiction is the one form that is universal?
For decades, the understanding of women’s fiction has been that it exists outside the normative genre. The textbook definition of Women’s Fiction goes this way: stories written by women, speaking about the experiences of women and revolving around the deep interpersonal relationships between women and others. Calling the genre “Women’s Fiction” perhaps does a disservice to its own definition. Rather than highlighting the nuance, it boxes it; limiting these stories to particular bookshelves and readers.
An understanding of ‘Chick-lit’ as a subcategory, sometimes reductionist and worse, derogatory, demeans the years of effort women have taken to garner representation in fiction. Works by women are deemed as a subclass, a division of the common literary canon. This is a harmful narrative that unnecessarily creates a division, often leading to exclusion.
This was prominent in the past centuries, with writers such as Emily and Charlotte Brontë having pseudonyms while publishing Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, stories that are integral to the literary canon. These texts have served as the inspiration to many future authors, and are considered essential; standing the test of time, with writing that is consistently unique and noteworthy.
Fiction in the end, is the great equaliser. Sidelining these stories would suggest that they are inherently different, requiring differing tastes to understand, and are perhaps not a complete exploration of the human condition.
Those who read women’s fiction know that this is far from the truth.
One needs to recognise that fiction revolving around female characters is read only by a minority of men; a tiny part in the global readership. Growing up, it was far more common to see a fictional story with a male protagonist, be it a book or a movie. Due to the systemic sidelining of women’s narratives, it has ingrained the idea that books written by women are made for women only.
This idea is detrimental, as it casts an association with women’s writing, one that deems it unworthy to be read or be something one can learn from.
The easy solution for this problem is the discarding of women’s fiction as a genre itself; and merging it with general fiction or more. While this can be done, this would only help move the needle so much, as the changing of genre would not necessarily provide the incentive for a man to pick up a book with a female protagonist.
Perhaps there needs to be an inherent restructuring of ideals starting from childhood. The exposure to stories, narratives about heroes, hard choices and more form the basis for a child’s development. Stories create empathy, and reading at an early age is critical to develop the same. Kids, especially young boys, should not be exposed only to one side; they need to read more fiction that equally includes female protagonists.
For more inclusive recommendations that follow characters and stories in a deeply diverse manner, follow The Bombay Circle Press.