Gender concessions when writing online

GabrielNovo · Dec 16, 2009

In case you haven't heard, James Chartrand of Men with Pens, revealed on CopyBlogger that he is in fact a woman.

The reason for the pseudonym was one that I honestly didn't think was still prevalent. James found out, through extensive real world testing, that when pursuing writing work (and putting forth equal levels of effort) and using a male pseudonym, the pay was higher, work more frequently praised and less revisions requested.

I know there have always been discrepancies, but to hear that it's still this bad was shocking. Where is all the progress we've supposedly been making? Is it a generational thing that will hopefully fade as the youngin's come up the ranks?

Has anyone here found themselves in a similar position? Do you think James did the right thing or should have continued "fighting the good fight"?

Liosse de Velishaf · Dec 16, 2009

Many people do treat you differently online depending on what they think your gender is. I don't have any experience with this in the form of work discrimination, but I've generally found it to be true.

I don't see any problem with what James did. The internet is the internet.

Devin Singer · Dec 17, 2009

It is true in several different contexts. I use a male handle (it's effectively my name, these days - I use it in my daily life as well) but I'm female. One of the startling things is that on various forums I've moderated, argumentative people have backed way, way down upon learning that I'm female. It's very strange.

Alpha Echo · Dec 17, 2009

Jeremy Preacher said:
It is true in several different contexts. I use a male handle (it's effectively my name, these days - I use it in my daily life as well) but I'm female. One of the startling things is that on various forums I've moderated, argumentative people have backed way, way down upon learning that I'm female. It's very strange.

I don't have a problem with you using a male handle, but do you think people have backed away after learning you're female because they feel like you lied to them? They feel cheated in some way? Or do you think it's because you're female?

tjwriter · Dec 17, 2009

I've followed the whole thing and I find it sad that James felt she had to do this, but it honestly doesn't surprise me that much.

And I don't feel violated by the revelation simply because whenever James was talking about writing and freelancing, I always felt she was on the level, being honest and real. It's somebody I know on the internet, her personal life is not really my business.

veinglory · Dec 17, 2009

So long as the job didn't specifically require a male (e.g. first person true life stories about prostate cancer etc) I don't see that it matters.

skippingstone · Dec 17, 2009

I find this to be true also with humor writing. I read a while back that the Shouts & Murmurs column in the New Yorker was written by male contributors by some incredibly lopsided margin -- like 90 % to 10%. Much as I might be tempted to use a male pseudonym to submit in order to increase my chances, I feel like the only way to overcome bias is to be yourself, which is to say, be a chick without apologies.

One thing I've always wondered is why we continue to refer to writers like George Eliot by her pseudonym. Isn't it time Mary Ann Evans had her due?

Devin Singer · Dec 21, 2009

I think they back away because they're not prepared to be aggressively rude to a woman in the same way that they would a man. I've never been accused of lying - usually, when it comes up my community corrects the new kid's error without my input anyway. I'm pretty open about it, although I don't care enough to be super-militant.

Gender concessions when writing online

GabrielNovo

Cuban Nomad

Liosse de Velishaf

Devin Singer

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.

tjwriter

Emerging Anew

veinglory

volitare nequeo

skippingstone

Bouncing Atop the Water

Devin Singer