My dear friend Rich was telling me about his favorite female writers when that sparked the idea for a post on International Women’s day – today! I decided to gather up some of my favorite female readers and writers and their take on celebrating women and writing on this wonderful day. We will be discussing three main questions:
- What does it mean to support fellow women?
- Who are some of our favorite female characters from books?
- Who are some of our favorite women authors?
In the comments, feel free to add your own answers to these questions. 🙂
A little bit about each of us first:
I’m Kriti. I grew up in India and moved to Canada in 2014. I love reading and Armed with A Book (this blog) is my space to continue to write and learn from others. If you have been following the blog for a while, you know Ariel – she lives in sunny California and is my co-conspirator in Armed with A Bingo and buddy reads. You might have also met S. Kaeth from our post about indie publishing in The Creator’s Roulette. She is from the Midwest United States and writes sci-fi/fantasy. Layton is a southern girl from Arkansas, US, writing flash fiction and short stories. She is also an editor. Erynn hails from the snowy lands of Canada (like me!), where she is building up a Squishmallow army while writing sci-fi/fantasy!
Joining us, we have Kota in AZ. She runs Inked in Gray Press and is currently writing a paranormal fantasy while editing tons of short stories and novels. Jerusha is also in sunny california, writing fantasy and sci-fi novels. Marina aka M K Marteens is from Croatia. She writes sci-fi short stories and novels while also maintaining a blog “World of Science and Fiction” across multiple platforms.
We also have fellow book blogger El from England. She recently started running a book review blog and twitter account, and in ancient times past, she used to write novels. Last but not the least, we have Maria from the Philippines! She is writing a fantasy novel right now (though her experience is rooted in poetry).
As you can see, we come from all over the world and I hope that our experiences would spark some thoughts about experiences of women. Apart from being writers and readers, a number of us are also involved in the Write Hive online convention that is fast approaching next month! I really need to gear up for my book blogging presentation.
On Supporting Women
Layton: One might ask, “Why have an International Women’s Day? Why must women segregate themselves when they demand equality? Anyone see an International Men’s Day?” I’m here to tell you that, even as a woman, I’ve been one of those people to ask such questions. I’ve mulled it over again and again until it hit me.
The intention behind the celebration is just as important as the celebration itself.
If the goal is to put down other groups in order to uplift ourselves, the end doesn’t justify the means, and it simply won’t work. It likely would have the opposite effect. But if the objective is to raise awareness that gender equality still has something lacking, then perhaps, demonstrating this with love and inclusion will provide a higher chance of success. So, yes, while I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity, and I support all writers, regardless of gender, supporting other women means lifting them up and showing them they’re worth the time and the effort, and they have just as much talent as the next person.
M K Marteens: As a child and young adult I was inspired by strong female characters from books and other media: Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (my sister called me Hermione for years since I was a know-it-all with bushy brown hair, brown eyes and large front buck teeth), Dr. Ellie Sattler from the Jurassic Park and Dana Scully from the X-files to name some. In fact, it’s quite possible that my occupation is a product of a well described “Scully effect” — I can’t say she’s the only reason I chose STEM field, but she certainly contributed to it.
So to me as a writer and book blogger, supporting other women means sharing that energy and inspiration with others through both creating strong female leads in my own manuscripts, and spreading the word about other books with strong female characters (mostly also written by female writers). I find this especially important in Sci-Fi which was traditionally considered “men’s genre” even though plenty of women read it and contributed to it. I’m not sure if my books or blogs will ever inspire women of any age or history to take over the wheel and chase their dreams, but I’d be thrilled if it did.
El: To me, supporting other women is about uplifting others and helping each other where we can. As a book blogger I try and make sure that I’m constantly shouting about the books I loved by female authors and making sure that I’m reading a diverse range of books – not just the same stories being told with the same cultural biases. It also means I try and share books with female characters that ‘break the mold’, messy women living messy lives, because those are the kind of real women’s stories that need to be allowed to be told. I also think supporting women means not dragging other women down either. It’s very easy to nit-pick other women, but we’re all doing our best, right? I am learning to recognize my own privilege, how I can speak out against those patterns of behaviors, and also how I can use it to support and uplift women who don’t have the safety net my privilege gives me.
Ariel: For me, supporting other women is integral to my identity as an intersectional feminist. I always seek to learn from other’s experiences and to acknowledge when I have stood in a place of privilege at the disadvantage of others, learn from that, and speak out when I see repetitions of that behavior in others. I am a feminist for every woman and marginalized gender and the nuances that also impact race, sexuality, and ability, and am always looking for ways that I can improve and be a force that lifts others into the platform they need to speak out against injustice.
SK: I wouldn’t be where I am without a whole host of amazing people supporting me, among them several fantastic women. So for me, supporting other women is paying it forward, and just seems natural. I support all authors who are working hard to improve, but I think there are so many amazing stories still waiting to be told with a diverse set of woman characters and I want to read them all. We need to embrace the various facets of women protagonists, so that all little girls have a strong role model to look up to, to say “Hey, she’s like me, and she’s /strong/ in her own way!” I don’t think we’re there yet, though I do think things are improving.
Kriti: Growing up in India, society’s plan for any girl was the plan for me. Education. Good job. Get married. Have kids. The reason my mom and I chose computing science as my career path was because it allows work from home. That when I have kids, I could still have a career and a home life. I watched my single mom take care of me, thinking about a future family.
I moved to Canada and saw hardly any girls in computing science. It didn’t bother me but then I saw the whole STEM movement and how I could be a role model to girls to go into computing. I didn’t want to do that. Why push them into that career when they have so much to explore? In the west where we aren’t bound by patriarchy the same way, I would rather have girls try arts, drama, history, everything they want to do! What I do for work does not define me and though I love what I do, I didn’t choose it because I wanted to do it.
So for me, supporting women is listening to them. To not block paths for them because of some future. To understand our shared experiences and give strength. To encourage them in whatever path they want to take and make a career. And to learn from them.
Kota: For me, it means meeting women where they are, understanding where they game from and helping them share their knowledge and presence with the world. I think at risk youth and marginalized women have the biggest bill to climb here in making an influence on our society. I think uplifting women comes with the creation of an environment where we listen and accept the voice and influence of women. I grew up being the only girl in a boys hockey league. I was picked on and bullied by other players simply because of my gender. But my team was supportive and eventually the uphill battle to be heard was eventually realized. Everyone is unique and I think supporting women means removing their barriers to participating in the things they are passionate about, calling out the hate and discrimination we face, and building a support system to combat that would be a great way to support women.
Jerusha: As an individual, to me it’s accepting each woman as they are. The world is already a difficult place without making it harder on each other. It’s okay for women to be strong or feminine or princesses or warrior or writers or doctors or whatever they wish to be. It also means being understanding of the trials we each may go through as women and being there to share or listen when it’s needed. As a writer, I think it’s important to write female characters that are human, diverse, and have depth. I strive to show gender equality within my writing and how working together benefits all.
Maria: For me, supporting other women goes far and beyond simple encouragement. I feel that “support” calls upon us, as women, to fight for and alongside other women, especially in moments when the world seems too cruel to let us keep fighting. It means not placing unfair expectations on either women as individuals or as part of a movement – because we have been dealing with other unfair expectations from the rest of the world, and it would do no help for them to come from women as well. It means understanding that the fight is hard and the climb is steep, for some of us more than for others – and that to rest, or to take a step back, can not only be acceptable but sometimes necessary, both for individuals and the movement.
There are so many barriers to be crossed, for all of us, and they can only be crossed together. It means strength, and so much more. It means forgiveness, and it means trust, and it means faith and courage in other women as well as in ourselves. The dream is to change the world and win so wholly that one day in the future no woman will ever have to fight again. The dream is justice.
Erynn: Supporting other women means banding together when times get tough, raising each other up whenever possible, and treating each other as allies, not competition. It’s so unfortunately common for women to break each other down instead of building each other up and avoiding opportunities to work together because it’s easier to compete than cooperate. I think it’s time to move away from these negative attitudes and instead of judging each other, work together to forge the futures we deserve. In the book world, especially for science fiction and fantasy, it’s about making sure to support other female authors and writers by reading and sharing their work!
On Inspiring Female Characters
M K: From above, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter (my sister called me Hermione for years since I was a know-it-all with bushy brown hair, brown eyes and large front buck teeth), Dr. Ellie Sattler from the Jurassic Park and Dana Scully from the X-files to name some.
El: Annette from Belle Révolte for the way she uses her newfound privilege to help lift people up, and for the ace-spectrum rep that I always wanted. Mila from Undead Girl Gang because she’s body-positive and that’s something I was trying to learn in my life when I read this book. Persephone from Greek mythology, particularly the reinvented retellings where Persephone (which means ‘to bring destruction’, c’mon, how cool?) chose her life as Queen of the Underworld, and Artemis with her huntresses. Nikita Gill’s Great Goddesses in particular brings out why I’ve always loved some of these characters!
Ariel: Characters who have inspired me: Vasya from the Winternight Trilogy, Raven from Teen Titans, Ashoka from Star Wars, & Artemis, Circe, and Medusa from Greek Mythology.
SK: This is a hard one. Throughout my childhood, it was always the guy characters who tended to be cooler. McGyver, King Arthur, etc. I never really found main characters that were like me. They were always side characters, even when they were cool. (Which is partly why my main character has the personality she has). But I have been inspired by characters like Delenn and Susan Ivonova from Babylon 5, by Meg from A Wrinkle In Time, and more recently by the stronger female characters coming out in superhero movies: Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Daisy and May from SHIELD, etc. I’m realizing most of these are from tv and movies…
Kota: I think my fav female characters are Vin from Mistborn because she became such a leader in a group of men who started off seeing her like a child but was able to lead them and also overcome the discrimination that just exists in street culture, not just in fantasy but in real life. I liked how strong she was as well as caring for the mission. I love Arya and Sansa Stark because they took what they knew and rebelled against the their circumstances in the ways they felt would give them their own power back. Though distinctly different, they found a way to use their resources and find their strengths.
I also honestly like Rapunzel bc throughout the entire movie, she rarely is beaten down and somehow retains her resolve and positivity throughout her entire live. I also enjoyed Lisbeth from girl with the dragon tattoo just because she plays by her own rules. She’s flawed but she sticks to what she believes in and didn’t give in to what others wanted her to be. Also, Nancy Drew. I think she doesn’t get enough attention in that she solved her own mysteries and was always going about doing risky things. I admired her as a young reader because she had her own series (just like the Hardy Boys) and she really inspired me because she was such a persistent and clever character – and the star of her own series.
Jerusha: Those that shaped me the most during my formative years were: Anne of Green Gables for her spirit and imagination, Eowyn for her bravery, Nancy Drew for her intelligence, and Moql from the Moorchild, who didn’t fit in with the world. They all showed me it’s okay to be different and to dream.
Kriti: Though I have read many books with amazing female characters, I will mention the one closest to my heart. It’s a book called The Braid. Originally in French, I read this book last year as an advanced reader copy and it wasn’t enough for me to have the ebook – I went and bought the physical book once it was out.
The Braid is a beautiful story of three women separated in place, and yet united in the pursuit of their dreams and the strength they possess. There are three very strong characters in this story – Smita is an untouchable who wants her daughter, Lalita, to have a better life. She does not like the destiny that has been imposed on her, so for her daughter’s sake, she decides to be the mother she never had – she decides to educate her little girl, inspite of all the odds. I love Smita! She represents the original Indian women, from the time before technology took over and urbanization happened. Don’t get me wrong, she exists in this very world. She is the mother who will do anything for her child, anything to get out, and she sure as hell does not need Google to guide her.
If you are a woman, in any profession, you should read this book. If you are a man, you should also read this book. No matter who you are, this will remind you of the strength that women hide and the extent to which they will go to do the best for their family and children.
Maria: There is a surfeit of female characters that have both inspired and shaped me to be who I am today. Among them are Sabriel, Lyra Belacqua, Sophie Hatter, Lisbeth Slander, Hermione Granger, Coraline, Eowyn, General Amaya, Elphaba, Circe, Princess Leia, Lucy Pevensie, Violet Baudelaire, Scheherazade, and Charlotte (from Charlotte’s Web).
Erynn: My all-time favourite female character is Mia Corvere from the Nevernight Chronicle by Jay Kristoff. She’s passionate, deadly, unapologetic, and takes shit from no one. Though I can’t say I aspire to become an assassin hellbent on revenge anytime soon, her passion and devotion to her mission has inspired me for sure.
I’ve also been inspired by Yelena from the Study series by Maria V. Snyder; Yelena is creative, cunning, dedicated, and someone who’s overcome the trauma of her past to become a powerful woman capable of overcoming just about every sticky situation imaginable. There are so many wonderful female characters out there who’ve inspired me, but I think lately, these two have been pushing me forward.
I adore Susan Dennard, so I think everyone should read just about everything she writes. Her Witchland series has badass characters, magic, you know, all that sort of stuff. I also wish more people would read Our Animal Hearts by Dania Tomlinson! She’s a wonderful author (who I’ve met in person, heh) and the book is quite beautiful. I also recommend Karen Miller, Tamora Pierce, and Rebecca Roanhorse, among others.
On Amazing Women Authors
Between the 10 of us, we had a very long list so I created one for you to view and download (click), along with some books to check out!
Conclusion
M K: While reading through all the great answers, I realized there’s one more thing that we collectively forgot to mention, and it’s something I’m (as a new mother) intensively thinking about. Supporting not just women but all the diverse and especially underprivileged groups also means raising a new generation that will respect others regardless of the gender, race, background or any trait that makes us different.
In the context of literature, it also means introducing our children to a range of diverse books and characters, and in doing so, teaching them to appreciate good storytelling in all the facets of diversity, and not just one narrow and limited worldview.
Hope you enjoyed this International Women’s Day Special! feel free to answer the three questions posed in this post in the comments below!
Check back tomorrow with some Armed with A Bingo updates – it’s almost time for quarterly check ins! 🙂
Cover Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash
This is a great post and very encouraging. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I was starting out in my first career, just as Dana Scully hit our screens. Her character made a powerful impression on me when I was in my twenties.
One of the greatest compliments I ever received was from a younger woman who was a member of my team. We worked in a very male-orientated occupation, although things we beginning to change. She told me that it was I who had given her the courage and inspiration to pursue a career in the same department. I’d never though of myself in that light prior to then. Often it’s what we do and what we stand up for which make the difference.
All power to you, Sisters!
I am thrilled the post resonated with you, Chris. And thank you for sharing your story. I love what you said: “Often it’s what we do and what we stand up for which make the difference.” That is the heart of everything we do. All the power to you too! 🙂
I love The Moorchild! It has one of my favorite dedications: “To every child who has ever felt *different*”
That is beautiful! 🙂
Thank you for the opportunity, Kriti, and everyone who took the time to read this amazing collaboration. 💗
[…] trace back to early 20th-century movements for women’s rights. It’s been some years since I posted about it on the blog and since, I have read and come across many remarkable works on womanhood, gender […]