Gender balance in novels

[RRK]

Since a lot of us weighed in on the male or female MC question, I thought I'd raise a similar one. How important is it to you, as a writer and a reader, that there be a fairly even balance of male to female characters in a novel? If you've got more female than male characters and the time comes to introduce another person who could be either gender, are you swayed by the numbers, or do you go by gut instinct?

ETA: This is assuming the setting is one where it could make sense either way. Obviously in some settings gender is key to the plot, but I'm talking about what if it's not.

[maestrowork]

What is your world? What is the story? If your story is set in a military barrack in Afghanistan, maybe there will be more men than women. If your story is set in a brothel in Japan during the WWII, there are more women than men. If you set your story in modern day New York City, perhaps there should be an equal mix -- just like in the real world.

Again, I do think it depends on the story and the setting. At least that's what I will go by. There really is no formula.

[Spiny Norman]

I dunno. I'd hate to wind up assembling a balanced committee that fairly represents humanity and eventually agrees upon a theme rather than just tell a story.

I'd prefer my characters exist on their own terms, along with the voice of the story.

[Stew21]

most of the characters in my current ms are men. most of the characters in my first ms are women. It just depends on the story. I've never tried to balance it out.
In my current work, almost everyone is semi-crazy, quirky and eccentric. and then there's the ghosts. The sex of the characters is less important than their personalities and their relationships with each other.
I'm just trying to write it truthfully, not balanced and fair, just honest.

[mscelina]

I have the characters I need. When they show up, I write them in. I've honestly never given a thought to why each character is the way he/she is, and I certainly never stopped and thought, "Hmm, I'm getting a little dude-heavy; I need to add in a chick." Some of my characters evolve from obstacles another character needs to face--that may be the closest I get to 'purposely' leaning towards one gender or another.

[JBI]

My current work is probing this sort of thing. I am trying to get inside the head of an ultra-orthodox Jew, and see what goes on inside her head.

[ChaosTitan]

I have the characters I need. When they show up, I write them in.

I'm the same way.

I admit, though, that the timing of this thread amuses me. Just yesterday, I was thinking about the WIP. I realized that I while my protagonist is female, every other major supporting character is male. Does it bother me? Not really. Am I striving to add more female characters just to maintain balance? Nope.

[ClaudiaGray]

Like others have said, the setting determines the makeup of the story -- there are going to be situations in which you'd properly tell your story primarily through male characters, and others in which you'd have mostly female characters.

But if I pick up a book that has five male characters, all of whom are in positions of interest and authority, and one female character, who works as a stripper and whose only contribution to the plot is being endangered, I put that book right back down again, unbought and unread.

So I think it's worth asking yourself if you're unreasonably favoring one gender over another.

(Also, I have found in the past that sometimes, if a character isn't gelling, it's a VERY interesting exercise to try switching the gender of that character. That really makes you focus on the individual, not any internalized stereotypes you may be unconsciously using as shorthand.)

[Azraelsbane]

I've never thought much of balancing. In my fantasy series I have 4 MCs, 3 men, 1 woman, and my main antagonists are male, with one exception. As for bit parts in the story, it varies. Considering the war/fighting aspects of my novels, and the fact that one of my realms houses only males (due to the creator's hatred of women) they are predominantly male. However, that tends to make the roles my female characters play that much more important.

In my mainstream fiction novel, it's 1st person and the narrator is female, though she tends to surround herself with men (::cough:: not for that). I guess no matter what I write I have a trend.

[scarletpeaches]

I write male-dominated novels. That is to say, the MC is always female, but she's surrounded by blokes! My WIP has two young women to three men, but I have something bubbling away in the back of my mind which will have one female MC, a secondary female character and at least four main male characters.

I don't plan it that way; indeed, I don't plan any of my novels, being such a rabid anti-outliner. That's just the way things work out.

[chartreuse]

Since a lot of us weighed in on the male or female MC question, I thought I'd raise a similar one. How important is it to you, as a writer and a reader, that there be a fairly even balance of male to female characters in a novel? If you've got more female than male characters and the time comes to introduce another person who could be either gender, are you swayed by the numbers, or do you go by gut instinct?



As with the MC question, the fact is that this something I never gave any thought to. It's purely on instinct, I guess, and I don't think there's a point where I know that there's a character without knowing the gender at the same time. I may not know much more than that at first, but I always know if it's a male or female, and that information is never something I have to think about.

In any case, I wouldn't allow myself to be swayed by numbers. Some stories naturally involve more males than females or the other way around. I wouldn't ever switch things around for the sake of balance or to be politically correct.

[JoNightshade]

I usually have more males than females. I think probably because I find it more difficult to write females, so I just tend to add males because they're easier and less apt to start going off in their own direction. Seriously, females are risky. They like to pop up and say "Hey! Let's go do this instead!" Guys are pretty dependable.

[Tracy]

I read somewhere that, in advertising, say on a billboard, if you have an equal number of men and women, it looks unbalanced in favour of women. (Because we're so unused to seeing women in the meeja [media] and so their presence carries more weight). So, if advertisers have a billboard (or magazine ad, whatever) they'll always have an odd number of people (odd numbers are more asthetically pleasing anyway), and the extra one will be a man.

Since reading that I've kept an eye out, and sure enough ... there is almost invariably more men (unless it's an ad for something specifically feminine).

Since then I've tried to redress the balance a little by having more women in my stories, especially for the walk-on parts. So the doctor, the solicitor, the pilot who ferries my characters, etc, will deliberately be women.

[BenPanced]

I really, really have a hard time writing female characters. They all come across as either a Nurturing Mother or a B@ll-Busting B!tch with very little variation, so all of my work has male characters. So, yeah, I'd rather be accused of being biased against women by exclusion than biased against women by portraying them all as awful stereotypes.

[reenkam]

I read somewhere that, in advertising, say on a billboard, if you have an equal number of men and women, it looks unbalanced in favour of women. (Because we're so unused to seeing women in the meeja [media] and so their presence carries more weight). So, if advertisers have a billboard (or magazine ad, whatever) they'll always have an odd number of people (odd numbers are more asthetically pleasing anyway), and the extra one will be a man.

Since reading that I've kept an eye out, and sure enough ... there is almost invariably more men (unless it's an ad for something specifically feminine).

That's pretty interesting...thinking back to ads I've seen, I think it's true, too. Which is weird. Aren't there supposed to be about twice as many women in the world as there are men? Or is that a myth they tell us in elementary school....


I never really think about how many males or females I put into a work. My current WIP is aimed at boys, so there are more boys in it. In the WIP before that I think it was exactly even, strangely enough. Unless you count one of the MC's brothers...then there were more guys.

Hm...I guess I do put more guys in my writing than girls...but not purposely.

[necia phoenix]

I write stories. In some of them there are more men than women, in others more women than men. I don't really pay attention. If the story feels like it needs an additional character, one shows up.

I do however seem to have more men than women, I seem to write men better (IMO >.<).

blame it on being a tomboy and having five boys.

[Alexandra Little]

I like more guys than girls, because all my MC's tend to be girls, so I like it when she has to overcome a gender barrier as well as whatever the main plot is.

[Rhea L]

Now that I think about it, I have two female characters in my current WiP... and the rest of them are male. Including both of my POV characters. Oops. But I don't really see a problem; it's how the story wants to be, and since I have a particular kind of dislike for the typical damsels in distress, neither of my female characters are like that.

Then again, you'll never please every single reader out there. So even if they might pick your story because they read in your genre and like what they read on the back of the book, they still might end up not entirely happy with it at some point because it has too many/few females or males.

Point being, write the story you want to write, the way it should be written to be true to itself, and with the characters it takes to tell that story.

[blackpen]

gender balance alone isn't that important to me. however, i hate it when an author keeps describing a woman as super sexy all the time while making all the men angst ridden super spies that blow up generic terrorists. i like the bourne series because it doesn't quite follow this pattern, at least the movie doesn't.
i also dislike the kind of novel where all the women are running around in high heels and angsting about relationships over martinis.

[Azraelsbane]

gender balance alone isn't that important to me. however, i hate it when an author keeps describing a woman as super sexy all the time while making all the men angst ridden super spies that blow up generic terrorists. i like the bourne series because it doesn't quite follow this pattern, at least the movie doesn't.
i also dislike the kind of novel where all the women are running around in high heels and angsting about relationships over martinis.

I hate the ones where women are running around in high heels shooting things and being badass. It is not feasible to be running after bad guys in high heels. I'm in a wheelchair, and even I know this. :D

[Jamesaritchie]

Since a lot of us weighed in on the male or female MC question, I thought I'd raise a similar one. How important is it to you, as a writer and a reader, that there be a fairly even balance of male to female characters in a novel? If you've got more female than male characters and the time comes to introduce another person who could be either gender, are you swayed by the numbers, or do you go by gut instinct?

ETA: This is assuming the setting is one where it could make sense either way. Obviously in some settings gender is key to the plot, but I'm talking about what if it's not.



I can't think of anything less important to me than gender balance in fiction.

[aadams73]

I just want a good story. I don't care what gender the characters are.

[necia phoenix]

gender balance alone isn't that important to me. however, i hate it when an author keeps describing a woman as super sexy all the time while making all the men angst ridden super spies that blow up generic terrorists. i like the bourne series because it doesn't quite follow this pattern, at least the movie doesn't.
i also dislike the kind of novel where all the women are running around in high heels and angsting about relationships over martinis.


you know, thats why I prefer fantasy; usually high heels haven't been invented.

[Zoombie]

I know for a fact that high heels are the worst shoes ever. They are even worse than those flipflops with all those little dull nubs in the part where your foot goes.

In my stories, the spread of females to male tends to be fairly...even, actually. It just seems to work out that way.

Huh, never noticed it till I started checking on it.

[reigningcatsndogs]

I've never even considered the male/female ratio in my writing. You use what works for the story!
In my case, the men outnumber the women. I like men. They're easier to write. Example: a guy staring at the roof after a romantic encounter -- ask him what he is thinking, he says 'nothing', and he really means nothing (as hard as that is to believe!)
a woman staring at the roof after a romantic encounter -- 'I hope the kids didn't hear. I have to remember to get stuff ready for their lunches tomorrow. I think I'll just make a salad for me. I should probably lose a few more pounds, so salads for the rest of the week. I wonder if I've put on too much weight that I shouldn't wear that blue skirt tomorrow? And I need to extra condition my hair when I shower, and my leg's look like Magilla Gorilla's. I wonder if he noticed? (turns to look at husband staring off at ceiling) He did. He definitely did. He's thinking about my stubble, and that's why he's not talking to me. I need to pick up more wax strips tomorrow on the way to work.....

[Mad-Hatter]

Since a lot of us weighed in on the male or female MC question, I thought I'd raise a similar one. How important is it to you, as a writer and a reader, that there be a fairly even balance of male to female characters in a novel? If you've got more female than male characters and the time comes to introduce another person who could be either gender, are you swayed by the numbers, or do you go by gut instinct?

ETA: This is assuming the setting is one where it could make sense either way. Obviously in some settings gender is key to the plot, but I'm talking about what if it's not.

I would like to say "Not at all" on the grounds that my characters, as I put it, "write themselves", but I must admit that I am a bit swayed by numbers. I try not to be, though.

[reenkam]

I know for a fact that high heels are the worst shoes ever. They are even worse than those flipflops with all those little dull nubs in the part where your foot goes.

I dunno about that...those sandals are a weird form of torture. Women seem to enjoy those, too, though...

I do remember reading once that women can take more pain than men...maybe that explains all the painful shoes, corsets, etc. And maybe that's why there are more men in fiction...they break down faster :Shrug:

[Esopha]

I know for a fact that high heels are the worst shoes ever. They are even worse than those flipflops with all those little dull nubs in the part where your foot goes.

High heels are gorgeous (although I first spelled that 'high hells') and are a wonderful gift from God for those of us who stopped growing at age ten and will be 5'1'' for the rest of their lives.:cry:

Actually...it's a little odd, but in my WIPs, the MCs gender tends to be in the minority.

[Zoombie]

You could get leg extension surgery. All it takes is breaking both your legs, then stretching them in one of the most agonizing surgical procedures in the entire world.

[Esopha]

No, thanks. I'll take my chances with walking down the street in four-inch heels, taking my life into my own hands each time.

[Zoombie]

Or stilts. There are always stilts.

[sunna]

Hmmmm. I never thought about it: but in my MS the four characters whose POV I write from are: 2 men, 2 women.

I swear, I didn't mean to do that. Weird.


Everyone knows nowadays it's the guys running around in high heels and having angst. :D

What book are you reading? I want in! :tongue

[Esopha]

Or stilts. There are always stilts.

Those are so hard to coordinate with my handbags, though.

(I'm just kidding. People should not coordinate their shoes with their handbags. This is on my list of laws of fashion, which includes 'People should wear underwear.')

Alright, enough of the thread theft.

[Sage]

Most of mine are unbalanced in one direction or another. However, for the novel I wrote last NaNoWriMo, I was playing around making those little "dolls" that I saw in everyone's signature (this was before November hit & I didn't want to start something new late in October only to have NaNo take over) & at first all I could find were female. I realized that except for the MC, all the significant characters for that novel I had planned to be male. So I took the one I could see most likely as being female & changed him to her. Fast forward two weeks, & I come up with three significant plot points, including the biggest plot twist I have ever pulled off (& successfully too, I am told), none of which would have occurred if that character had been male.

[Shadow_Ferret]

How important is it to you, as a writer and a reader, that there be a fairly even balance of male to female characters in a novel?

Absolutely, positively totally UNimportant.

In fact, until you posed the question, I never thought about it.

And now that I've answered, I'll go back to never thinking about it again.

[Oddsocks]

As a reader, it doesn't bother me either way so long as the characters are good.

As a writer, I tend to write more guys than girls. If I'm not paying attention to gender when I develop a new character, it's likely to be male by default (not always, but mostly). So sometimes I do have to pay attention and think "there's a position to be filled here - I'll make it a girl to even things out more".

I really don't know why I have this tendency. I'd say that males might be easier for me to write or something, but since I'm not a guy I don't know if I'm actually writing them successfully or not.

[Wolvel]

If your worried about it, then maybe the story needs some help.

The story will dictate what characters you need, and a few others who just show up. If your doing it to balance it out, you have other issues.

Not trying to step on any toes, just my observation.

[Xx|e|ph|e|me|r|al|xX]

Really, that is simply preposterous. Everyone knows nowadays it's the guys running around in high heels and having angst. :D

Xx|Have you been reading my WIP? Where'd I post it? O.o XD

I don't often think about gender balance, but I do from time to time. Mainly because it tends to drift WAY in the direction of males. And if it were just that, then that'd be okay. But a big majority of those males are quite feminine and rarely gay. Often enough they're bi, but still. And when the guys are pretty to varying extents, emotional, sensitive, lovey, and generally effeminate, so on and so forth, I begin to wonder why I don't just write females. But then when I think about it, there are some differences. For instance, I like the idea that guys acting and being like that isn't common. And some other things about it...

So ultimately, I decide that it doesn't matter. Those kinds flock to me to write them because they know I love them. XD I'm not gonna deny them their chance. So come to me, pretty-faced, long-haired, lace- and frills- and sometimes dress-wearing boys! :Hug2::ROFL:

Meh, whatcha gonna do? My current WIP has four main guys, and the only females come in the form of fiance from 700 years prior who most certainly is no longer around, daughter, nanny, former-lover and antagonist, mom, grandma, and great aunt--all of whom are side-characters. Who cares? :tongue|xX

[RRK]

If your worried about it, then maybe the story needs some help.

The story will dictate what characters you need, and a few others who just show up. If your doing it to balance it out, you have other issues.

This I simply don't believe. I know we writers are big on the idea that the stories write themselves, that the characters spring fully-formed into our heads at just the moment we need them most...but the fact is that there's an element of thought involved, or there should be. I started this thread because last night I had an epiphany--"Eureka!" I said. "I have thought up my plot twist."

Now, this plot twist involves the introduction of a new character. And the gender of this character is important: if the character is female, then her introduction has X deep significance; if the character is male, then his introduction has Y deep significance. Neither is necessarily better. I'll probably make the ultimate decision based on which deep significance I would rather have, but I was wondering whether genders matter to readers just on a basic level. Hence my question; I don't think that it's a sign of problems with my WIP that I am putting some thought into whether there needs to be balance in the genders of my characters.

[Azraelsbane]

This I simply don't believe. I know we writers are big on the idea that the stories write themselves, that the characters spring fully-formed into our heads at just the moment we need them most...but the fact is that there's an element of thought involved, or there should be. I started this thread because last night I had an epiphany--"Eureka!" I said. "I have thought up my plot twist."

Now, this plot twist involves the introduction of a new character. And the gender of this character is important: if the character is female, then her introduction has X deep significance; if the character is male, then his introduction has Y deep significance. Neither is necessarily better. I'll probably make the ultimate decision based on which deep significance I would rather have, but I was wondering whether genders matter to readers just on a basic level. Hence my question; I don't think that it's a sign of problems with my WIP that I am putting some thought into whether there needs to be balance in the genders of my characters.

I really think you have your answer in this post. It shouldn't be a "Do I need another girl or another guy?" but "Which deep significance do I want in my novel?"

[job]

It's not that gender isn't important. None of my characters would be what they are if they were translated to the opposite sex. Their gender is part of what they are.

But Jesus Peasus, if I was going to divide my characters in half it'd be like French/English or spy/nonspy or heros/villains or intellectual/practical or sneaky/upfront or passionate/calm or something like that.
That's the stuff that sets the story moving.
Not their gender.

[ZannaPerry]

What I would like to have is an even balance between the male and female, but then again you have to figure out a way not to confuse the reader. Thinking on it, I have more male characters in my story and my MC is female.

[Shady Lane]

I like when they're more guys.
A lot more guys.

Because I don't like girls.

My WIP has a colony of all boys, no girls.
I have to think of a plausible reason why.

[Azraelsbane]

I like when they're more guys.
A lot more guys.

Because I don't like girls.

My WIP has a colony of all boys, no girls.
I have to think of a plausible reason why.

We should talk. I have a realm that is all male. ;)

[Esopha]

I like when they're more guys.
A lot more guys.

Because I don't like girls.

My WIP has a colony of all boys, no girls.
I have to think of a plausible reason why.

That's easy. It's like the Stepford Wives, but instead of robotic wives, you get test-tube babies with pre-selected genders.

[Shady Lane]

That's easy. It's like the Stepford Wives, but instead of robotic wives, you get test-tube babies with pre-selected genders.

That's actually really hilarious, considering the plot of my WIP. Engineered robo-babies/husbands much?

[Wolvel]

This I simply don't believe. I know we writers are big on the idea that the stories write themselves, that the characters spring fully-formed into our heads at just the moment we need them most...but the fact is that there's an element of thought involved, or there should be. I started this thread because last night I had an epiphany--"Eureka!" I said. "I have thought up my plot twist."

Now, this plot twist involves the introduction of a new character. And the gender of this character is important: if the character is female, then her introduction has X deep significance; if the character is male, then his introduction has Y deep significance. Neither is necessarily better. I'll probably make the ultimate decision based on which deep significance I would rather have, but I was wondering whether genders matter to readers just on a basic level. Hence my question; I don't think that it's a sign of problems with my WIP that I am putting some thought into whether there needs to be balance in the genders of my characters.


What I was getting at if your more worried about the amount of each gender than the characters themself could suffer.

I know not all characters show up on their own. Sometimes you have to go in after them.

[Red Robin]

All my characters, major and minor, are male, except for my MC's mother. She makes some bold moves in the first chapter of my novel, is struck mute, and almost disappears from the story. That's just how things have turned out. I would write in female character when and if they come. I have a feeling they must wait for book #2.

[Esopha]

That's actually really hilarious, considering the plot of my WIP. Engineered robo-babies/husbands much?

...seriously? Shady...sometimes you scare me.

Okay, okay, I promised to stop hijacking the thread with talk about stilts and high-heels, but I just realized the title of the thread, Gender Balance, could just as easily be about people of different genders trying to wear stilts/high-heels.

Gender balance. Get it?

(You may neg rep me for a bad, bad pun.)

[KTC]

Wow...somebody would actually consider gender balance in their WIP. I never did and I never would give it a second's thought. Wow.

[BardSkye]

Mine tend to be unbalanced due to the settings. One's set in professional major-junior hockey, predominantly male. One's set at a time where women were property worth somewhat less than a good horse, so is predominantly male. One's set in women's competitive barbershop singing, so is predominantly female.

[farfromfearless]

I try to balance out the genders and gender-roles in my WIP; it's not easy and I have to watch that I do not lean towards one stereotype or another. Makes it even more difficult when most societies in my WIP are matriarchal.