How the view of women inside books changed. For example, in earliest writing of fiction and plays women would be portrayed as being delicate. In some of mythology they were seen as items and prizes for the heroes. In some stories they are seen as enchantresses that lure men into danger. How did they transition from that to books with characters like Anne Shirley ?
This would be a good topic, and there's certainly a lot to be explored. You could analyze only American literature, British literature, or whatever and analyze how the views have changed across history along with decisions that have happened pertaining to culture and society. – Nayr12309 years ago
This topic is incredibly interesting, but it is also extremely broad. Perhaps it might be easier to take a couple character traits and shown how authors have ran with ideas that exemplified those traits? How has society made room for redefining what the roles of a women should be? Lastly, it could be worth looking into how the roles of women has changed in just two consecutive decades? – lgonsiorek9 years ago
I don't immediately see this topic as a good one. Women have to be generally objected, categorized and potentially dehumanized to reflect on the view of women in all of books. The generalizations that would have to be made would be terrible patronizing. If you carve out "perceptions of women in Norse mythology" or "portrayal of the woman's role in classic British literature" would help to focus the topic. – Piper CJ9 years ago
The main problem your generalized draft question hints at is how women characters were written BY men for most of history. I think narrowing your focus to considering the range of female characters women authors write could also open up some interesting discussions. The problem is that it's assumed that in ancient/early modern writing women were mere sexualised items however that view is problematic by how some Greek authors (see Lysistrata by Aristophanes) were already playing with those roles and creating strong female characters. And sadly today things aren't drastically better in how tv and many books still don't have strong female characters or lead roles. Perhaps it's worth investigating the instances they are given faithful representation and the type of stories that demote them to objects (masculine, pursuits of greed etc.) – JamieMadden8 years ago
This is a huge topic to cover- could you maybe narrow it down a little bit? It would really be interesting, but there is just so much to it that it couldn't be done justice in a single article. Maybe choose a few books, or an era of books to cover. – LilyaRider8 years ago
way too vague, not a good topic. – Richard Marcil8 years ago
This topic is extremely vague and difficult to cover as you are basically asking someone to explore all genres of literature form inception to contemporary times, i.e. Beowulf, or Gawain and the Green Knight, to let's say The Girl on the Train. It's too difficult and the way in which women are portrayed is intertwined with the social mores in which the stories are written. That, in fact would be an interesting topic. To look at it more from a sociological aspects--the expectations of the female heroine, and those that were thought to contradict the prototypical idealized female. – danielle5778 years ago
The She Does Podcast features conversations with creative women making their mark in the field of media. The series has showcased creative professionals from various different industries, from Kirsten Lepore who's written and directed an episode of Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, Academy Award nominee for Winter's Bone, Debra Granik, and Mary Coleman, the Senior Development Executive at Pixar Animation Studios. Why is it important to tell share the success stories of women in creative fields? For inspiration? Does it encourage more women to do so?
Note: This podcast is available on iTunes and at shedoespodcast.com I am not affiliated with them in any way, just found the series very interesting.
I think it does good for aspiring young women in these fields. As someone looking to go into creative media, I find She Does extremely helpful. If you want to do a further indepth look into female focused organizations, Film Fatales is a nationwide group that provides mentorship among female filmmakers. I'm a member, and it's been really helpful just to know that there are people in my city that I can go to for help whenever I need it. – marsthebard9 years ago
Liz Gilbert's "Magic Lessons" podcast is similar. Just a heads up. :) – Kristian Wilson9 years ago
I definitely think, especially when I see a lot more male film directors, that having a podcast where women speak of their goals and accomplishments in creative fields does encourage other women to pursue what they want and engage in fictional narratives. – Emily Deibler9 years ago
I think its extremely important to share the stories of women in creative fields. It tends to be a very male dominant career in terms of leadership. Promoting the experiences and successes of women who have excelled is extremely important to help inspire future generations. – ericaty9 years ago
Is Game of Thrones misogynistic or empowering? While it is generally accepted that Game of Thrones was originally geared toward young men there is a large and growing fan base of young women who follow and enjoy the show. How can Game of Thrones market itself to young women, or how does it market itself to young women already? Has its approach changed over the course of its running time?
This would be a great place to discuss the various rapes scenes that occur in the series and how they are either empowering to the female characters or debilitating to the progress of women. Are these scenes used to empower women or are they just another way to motivate male characters to swoop in for a rescue? – Reese23419 years ago
