Male or Female?

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Rachel Christina
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Male or Female?

Post by Rachel Christina »

Does anyone else who is reading a book, look at the author's name and not know whether that name is for a female or male?

I sure hope I am not the only one who has this problem...

Since a lot of authors create pen names so that their real name is hidden or they do not like their real name to be published, it is surprisingly difficult to figure out whether the writer is female or male. A few time I had assumed that a writer was a male, but when I would look at the back of the book where the author bibliography is, I would find out that the author is actually a female! I have always assumed this is because some authors are homosexual or maybe they admire that certain name and they want others to see such a great name on the cover of a book.

What do you guys think?

:D :techie-studyinggray: :D
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Post by KStephens »

Haha, yes. I quite like Nicholas Sparks's ability to write from the female POV. He pulls it off pretty well!
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Jaw
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Post by Jaw »

Happens with me all the time.
I honestly don't even both thinking about the author's gender anymore.
(Not that I ever did very much in the first place.)
Some others *do* seem to intentionally create ambiguous pen names.

I wonder sometimes if the pen names actually have an impact on a book's sales and popularity.
Would Harry Potter be what it is if it were published by "Joanne Rowling"?
"J.K." just makes her name sound more magical and mysterious.
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Post by stoppoppingtheP »

A lot of the time I don't even notice the authors name. Unless I really enjoyed the book, then I'll take notice and be sure to look out for other books of theirs.

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Post by gali »

It happens to me now and then. When I am not sure, I check the back cover or look for details on the net.
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Post by Jolyon Trevelyan »

I don`t really think about what gender it is when its unknown what gender wrote the book.
A mistake is simply another way of doing things
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booksandstuff
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Post by booksandstuff »

I love not knowing, if the author writes in an amazing POV, i don't care if they are female or male.
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Post by DiverseSpirit »

When I read The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton in 7th grade, my class was informed by a teacher about female authors not having as much positive feedback as male authors. I forget what the gist of the message my teacher was getting across, but I remember it went something like this:

"Do you know why this author's name is the way it is?" The teacher caught our attention. I did not think much of it at first. I just thought...ok, this is a book written by S. E. Hinton, which I knew was female to begin with when we were given quizzes on the book. The teacher then said, "most readers during the time period that this book was published did not admire female writers as they did with male writers. So, she put her first two initials and her last name in order to attract ALL readers."

I am not sure if my teacher was disregarding complex information that would have provided a more in-depth truth or facts pertaining to this author, but I pretty much deciphered her message as: S. E. Hinton did not want her books or writings judged if she displayed her full name, which is a female name. I even came across some people in college who thought The Outsiders was written by a male author. I was surprised that other people knew why the author displayed her name as she did. Therefore, I do not care if the author is male or female. It is all interesting to know HOW they display their name in the literature world.
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LBrown
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Post by LBrown »

Yes this happens to me as well. I normally check half way through the book.
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brianference
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Post by brianference »

This happens to me all the time, usually the author is female when it does
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Post by Jennifer Allsbrook »

I usually check if the author's name is gender neutral. It doesn't really matter whether or not the author is male or female, if the story seems intriguing I will check it out.
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Post by jessejaiden94 »

I don't really ever care whether it's a male or female if I can't tell.
In fact, it almost makes the book easier for me to enjoy because I'm not coloring all the writing with the knowledge of their gender and how I think that gender would typically write.
Gender is illusion and I even think it would be better if every author had a pseudonym.
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Post by Gravy »

Rachel Christina wrote:Does anyone else who is reading a book, look at the author's name and not know whether that name is for a female or male?

I sure hope I am not the only one who has this problem...

Since a lot of authors create pen names so that their real name is hidden or they do not like their real name to be published, it is surprisingly difficult to figure out whether the writer is female or male. A few time I had assumed that a writer was a male, but when I would look at the back of the book where the author bibliography is, I would find out that the author is actually a female! I have always assumed this is because some authors are homosexual or maybe they admire that certain name and they want others to see such a great name on the cover of a book.

What do you guys think?

:D :techie-studyinggray: :D
Oftentimes publishers will decide that an author's work will be published under a penname. J.K. Rowling for instance. Female fantasy writers weren't selling at the time, so "Joanne" Rowling became "J.K. Rowling" so she'd be mistaken, purposely, for male. This has happened to other authors I read.
The twist is that females are now outselling males.
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JessieMarie84
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Post by JessieMarie84 »

With what I read, mostly romance and teen fiction, I generally think it's female. But yeah, if it has a female name, I have no idea if it actually is a male or female who wrote it. I think, if they're that good then you won't be able to tell one way or another.
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Post by karolinka »

Yes, I sometimes wonder that, and then I do a quick search on the internet to see if the author is male or female. But usually, I do not pay that much attention to it- if the book is good, is written well, then I don't really have a preference. I read a lot of horror, and that tends to be written by males, but really, it just depends.
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