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Q&A The opposite sex in first person?

It's good that you're thinking about it, because men and women generally do have different voices, different concerns, and different ways of approaching the world and its problems. The key is whe...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:01Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4328
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:01:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4328
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T02:01:52Z (almost 5 years ago)
It's good that you're thinking about it, because men and women generally do have different voices, different concerns, and different ways of approaching the world and its problems.

The key is whether you're paying attention to the characters you've created. Is one sister the peacemaker and the other one aggressive and ambitious? Then the ambitious one is not going to speak in the stereotypically soft, non-confrontational, consensus-building language which most women use. Unless, of course, you've set her up so that she's fighting that teaching, and that she wants to be blunt and forcible but is finding herself handicapped by her socialization.

Don't worry quite so much about the gender of your characters as their personality and capabilities. A nurturing man may tend towards chopping wood to make sure there's fuel for the fire, and a nurturing woman may bake bread. Conversely, a male psychologist who loves his family but who's not physically active may bake bread, and a farmer's wife who loves her family but doesn't know how to express her feelings may be the one out chopping wood.

Get beta readers, make sure they're of both genders, and ask them to pay attention to that aspect of the characters as they're reading.

ETA two books which may be useful to you to help you understand the difference between male and female thinking and communication: Deborah Tannen's [You Just Don't Understand](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0060959622) and John Gray's [Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0060574216). Gray's book is relationship advice, but it's structured to explain one gender to the other.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-10-30T17:25:19Z (about 13 years ago)
Original score: 8