Re:Anxiety Looks Different in Men
by krapp on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @07:35AM
(#20684719)
J.K. Rowling's publisher suggested she use those initials rather than her real name because it was believed that a fantasy authored by a woman would not be read by boys, and thus would have less earning potential[0].
Her success is evidence that the prejudice is unwarranted, and culturally waning, not that it doesn't exist, and certainly not that it never existed.
And there's a long history of women authors publishing under male names for similar reasons, the Bronte sisters being famous examples[1,2]. Although obviously in their cases, the stigma against women authors was much worse than in modern times.
Also, data shows that authorship still favors men considerably[3, 4], although women do sometimes dominate certain genres.
Her success is evidence that the prejudice is unwarranted, and culturally waning, not that it doesn't exist, and certainly not that it never existed.
And there's a long history of women authors publishing under male names for similar reasons, the Bronte sisters being famous examples[1,2]. Although obviously in their cases, the stigma against women authors was much worse than in modern times.
Also, data shows that authorship still favors men considerably[3, 4], although women do sometimes dominate certain genres.
[0]https://www.capitalfm.com/news/jk-rowling-full-name/
[1]https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/12-fem...
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB
[3]https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/04/research-male-...
[4]https://pudding.cool/2017/06/best-sellers/