If you ever went “oh, a man wrote this” (and I couldn’t count the number of times I have!) while reading a piece of prose, this subreddit community is just for you. “Men Writing Women” is a hugely popular subreddit founded by Meg Vondriska, an advertising social strategist on the East Coast of America, who’s had enough of male authors depicting female characters in an unrealistic, often very sexualized and gendered manner.
“The more I started to notice it in the books I was reading, the more I was frustrated and wanted to talk about it,” she told the press. Today, the subreddit is fully dedicated to sharing samples of “how men who create films, books, TV, and graphic novels characterize women,” and no longer buying into it.
Let’s see what examples the community has busted so far, and after you’re done, be sure to check out part 1 of the article right here.
More info: Twitter | Instagram | MegVondriska.com
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Who Knew Ladies Were Like Capri Suns!
There's also a wee label, much like the sign here sticker on a document. The man gets to keep this and wear it.
Oh How The Turn Tables
“110 Pounds Soaking Wet, With A Heavy Chest And An Ass That Would Get Any Man's Attention”
“Can you ask the waiter for our bill?” “Don’t worry, my ass will do it”
Previously, we spoke to the creator of the “Men Write Women” Twitter page, Meghan Vondriska, about her project that finally busts the sexist depictions of women by male authors. "Women just want to be written as human. That's it. There isn't some wild scientific equation to writing women, and it isn't difficult. Write them as human, with complex feelings, not as body parts that happen to be put together into a feminine form," she commented.
Meghan created this Twitter account in order “to craft a consistent narrative and to build a community that wasn’t hidden behind anonymity,” she said referring to the origins of her project.
Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge By Larry Correia And John Ringo. "Narrow Hips That Showed She Was A Virgin" Uh... Excuse Me? I Don't Think You D**k Is Special Enough To Widen Hips
Should Have Put This Up Sooner
A throbbing jazz cafe sounds like a busy place where you probably have to wait ages for your coffee whilst listening to someone doing terrible amateur scat.
I Am Losing My Mind At This Passage
Having said that, Meghan believes that there are excellent male writers who can indeed write women. "Terry Pratchett is wonderful, and I've yet to see a submission from Michael Crichton." Meghan added that she’s a Pratchett fan.
"Pay attention to what you're reading, and who you're reading. You have to make sure your bookshelf isn't made up of just men. Add in some spice—some female authors, some nonbinary authors, authors of color. And lastly, just because you were assigned a book in high school, doesn't mean its good!"
Vintage Wonder Woman Is Something Else
Not A Description Per Se But I Feel Like It Definitely Has The Spirit Of This Sub
Is-... Is She A Gecko?
These Examples Of Bad Writing From The Latest New Yorker Issue Killed Me
“Occasional Vaginal Discharge” You Mean That Thing That Everyone With A Vagina Gets And Is Completely Natural All Of The Time?
"Oh noooo, not the thing keeping my vagina clean of infections and making sex enjoyable. How awful." *sarcasm ends*
Just Saw This And It Reminded Me Of This Sub
I love the mental image of a man lordly standing in front of the porcelain throne, conjuring thunderous splashings of pee while mine has to find its way through the maze of my innards. He gets to majestically drown the rubber ducks - I have to pray my liquids don't take an internal wrong turn and end up in the nose.
And they can't always "conjure it immediately". Especially if they have prostate issues..it seems this author doesn't know anything about women OR men. Maybe they're a space alien in disguise?
Load More Replies...Refer all to a map of the man's vas deferens. And all human intestines. And... y'know, forget it.
One where he was taught that a woman's urinary tract was a maze. Probably one the uterus wanders around
Load More Replies...And David Bowie. . . and a bunch of baby thieving goblins. . .
Load More Replies...Here how the author should’ve written it just to make it a bit more stupid: The only way I can show you the art of gender-dominance peeing to to put a mental image in your head. Imagine a man, standing over a toilet , bellowing laughter as his pee splashes around like waves of the stormy seas. He grins mischievously as it goes down. “My powers are getting stronger.” He whispers. Now imagine a woman, crouched over a toilet, reading this very article on bored ones while she waits for her pee to find its way out. Once it finally spills out she grins and happy cries. Her phone is long dead and the night has begun, but she thanks the gods for helping her pee find its way like a lost toddler in a corn maze.
Yep. Pulitzer Prize winner. National Book Award winner. Nobel laureate. Doesn't understand pee.
Load More Replies...My god, good thing we have to wear face masks again. At least nobody at work can see me laughing
Actually womens' urethras are shorter than mens', cuz they take a more direct route. And plenty of men in theirs and older have to wait for their pee-stream to start.
Ever hear about prostate issues? Do it every ten minutes or not at all, necessitating trips to the ER.
From my experience, this is the exact opposite...unless the guy has prostate issues.
And lo! I lordly stand above the privy, letting my royal UR-INE cometh forth, say I! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤦🏽♀️
I can conjure up my pee immediately like clockwork at 6am daily. Unfortunately i only wake up at 7
Clearly written by a young guy. Try to get the thing flowing when you are oldish, and the prostate starts to acting up.
I delight with letting some lordly flautulences fly from my maze-like insides, not unlike a woman's.
Quite the opposite actually.... that is why females get more urinary tract infections!
imagine taking a piss and its like "SPLASH SPLASH!" "ROARRR!!" *giant waves* i would be worried..
I've not read a more horrifying description of a normal everyday function!
Wild guess here but I reckon every EVERY male "author " writing this shite is a VIRGIN & lives in an underground cave approximately 500 fathoms under the sea .. might be wrong tho ... just saying
Uh, the urethra is a pretty straight shot from the bladder on both men and women. Nice try, though? Idk this guy is f****n weird
Vaginas Are Just Quick-Access Pockets. Santa Fe Edge By Stuart Woods
This Is How Women Cope With Loss According To Haruki Marukami (1q84, An International Best Seller)
Forget Alarm Clocks
As A Woman Who Totally Is Not Donald Trump Himself
Pants So Tight You Could Read The Expiration Date Of A Credit Card
A Man Describing His Dream Woman [“The Dark Forest”, Cixin Liu]
Book Is ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ By Ian Fleming
Keeping Your Emotions In Your Nipples Since 1980 (Number Of The Beast, Robert A. Heinlein)
Ew. Summer Knight By Jim Butcher
"Not How Sex Works" From "Ritual" By David Pinner, Plus Generic Nipples
[the Things They Carried By Tim O'brien] Reading A Book For English Class And Found These...
I’m Speechless??
Yes, Because I Really Need To Know That The Lost 9yr Old Doesn't Have Breasts. Thanks, Stephen King
Every Adjective I Could Come Up With To Describe How Reading Things Makes Me Feel Pales In Comparison To This Monstrosity Of A Paragraph
“Women” By Charles Bukowski. I Could Highlight The Whole Book
I've never understood why anyone would read the second sentence of anything Bukowski wrote.
Is She Really A Woman If Her Boobs Are Not Described?
Ah yes, another tragic loss in the age-old Battle of the Breasts, this time to those perfidious adversaries Age and Gravity. Will this world ever emerge victorious, with all women gloriously endowed with perfect figures? Or will men have to continue the nightmare existence of crying at the sight of a woman who is clearly having a Pretty Bad Day?
Oh My.. (Shane Dawson, I Hate Myselfie)
Not only is the description ridiculous, I would think for a musical casting director, voice should matter first and looks second.
I’m Just On Page 3 Of This Book, And This Is The Detective’s First Thoughts On The Mother Of A Kidnapped Child
How ridiculous. I can cook up similar nonsense in a swift. ”Chad had massive hangover. Not just from excessive drinking but he had made a total fool of himself in front everybody. His di*c was looking pale and wrinkly and his balls were pulsing from shame.’ Or ’she took a closer look at Andrew. He was late twenties but already his hair was thinning. He was tall and and had exactly 2.2 pounds extra weight but was oddly soft and pale like bag full of dough. His stance hinted he had only ejaculated in his hand for last 14 years and his eyes indicated that he had severe mommy issues.’
Fuuuu... They’re Onto Us
Ah Yes, What A Classic Mother-Daughter Interaction
Do men think women do that to each other when there are no men in the room? Cos, you know, we don't, just FYI.
Women Enjoy Being Groped If It's On A Body Part They're Proud Of, Implies Saul Bellow In 'The Adventures Of Augie March' (1953), A Book Considered To Be In Contention For The Title Of Great American Novel
You’ve Got To Love Ian Fleming The Sexist Misogynist Dinosaur And Relic Of The Cold War
He also misspelled "ransom" but again the whole Bond Franchise is essentially soft core, male fantasy fulfillment porn. The women aren't real people and are given the most ridiculous names and outfits ( looking at Pussy Galore here, but there is a whole parade of them)
I Am So Tired Of Seeing This Phrase. Just Let Women Cry! Why Are You Trying To Be Attracted To Them When They’re Sad?
Ah Yes This Is How A Dad Sees His Fifteen Year Old Daughter [dragon Heart: Stone Will, Kirill Klevanski]
I Don’t Know About You But I Always Introduce My Friends To Strange Men This Way.
Apple Fires Ex-Facebook Hire After Becoming Aware Of Misogynistic Viewpoints From Best-Selling Book. This Is What Is Written In The Book
Is this one of those things- Tell us no one will have wet with you, without saying no one will have sex with you - ?
Starts Early. LEGO Star Wars Phonics
Everything about Anakin and Padme's relationship was deeply disturbing, so this fits the source material and the way the character still had no personality, despite Natalie Portman being a great actor
Shame On All Of You Fashion Hussies!
Looks like 300 years of the bible didn't save society. Maybe we need a new book that wasn't written by a bunch of men?
How Do You Know That A Man Wrote A Female Character - She Thinks Too Much About Her Nipples, Complains About The Waitress Not Smiling Enough, And Worries About Calories Despite Having A Perfect Body. For Some Context, This Is A Horror Novel Where She's Just Encountered A Terrifying Monster
Ah Yes, How Comforting For A Woman To Have Men Stare At Her Back! (Death’s End, By Cixin Liu)
Ah Yes, Only Women’s Personalities Are Unpredictable. [2001: A Space Odyssey By Arthur C. Clarke]
Anti-Gravity Bewbs "Rendezvous With Rama" Arthur C. Clarke
Ken Follet Is One Of My Favorite Authors, But Lately He Has Been Really Putting Me Off. This Is Just Gross
Dear Stephen King, Gravity Is Still Very Much At Present When We're Laying Down [from His Book The Stand]
Magical Hymen Restoration (The Daylight War By Peter V. Brett)
Once again the idea that this is some freshness seal is so harmful. Women are killed because men think they aren't virgins because it doesn't pop or bleed or whatnot and they demand virgin brides
“Waited As Patiently As Her Sex Would Permit”
Oh the Monkey's Paw. In fairness this was written in the late Victorian or early Edwardian period, but yep we discuss the causal sexism every time we read it in class
"Her Ovaries Rotating In The Estrogen Broth" -- From The Short Story "Joy Of Life" By Alessandro Manzetti
From Bapsi Sidhwa's Cracking India
The Rest Of The Book Included Similarly Horrendous Descriptions Of Teenagers (Hope I Got The Time/Flair Right, It’s Wednesday In Australia!)
Starvation Only Makes A Woman Sexier, Didn’t You Know? I Found This On Facebook And I Don’t Even Know Where To Start
In An Article About The First Pregnant Mummy To Ever Be Discovered. Even In Death
I don't see how this is describing something unrealistic or sexual. They're simplying saying the mummy's hair was intact, it was long & curly, & it went down to the breasts, which had been preserved in the mummification. Honestly, I didn't know hair or breasts were preserved in mummification because in books & lessons they don't talk about female mummies. It's kinda cool to know that these things stay preserved.
Artemis By Andy Weir
These men don't even see women as persons, they see them as jumble of lips, boobs, butt and big eyes or whatever. According to them we have no personalities, no character, no values other than our bodies, or even just by body parts, and possibly virginity. It's so gross how they perceive one whole gender as just "walking desirable parts" and even think that we perceive ourselves in the same way. Gross!
100 percent agreed. Maybe authors should understand that women are people, before they try to write them. Also, that vaginas are not easily accessible pockets that we use for things.
Load More Replies...When I took a Women's Literature in college the teacher began by reading a paragraph by Norman Mailer (who I am surprised is not represented here). It literally said that only someone with testicles could be a good writer. I muttered to the woman next to me, "Maybe we should cut off Norman Mailer's balls and see if he can still write." Her loud laugh prompted the teacher to ask me what I'd said and when I repeated it she said, "You're going to do okay in this class."
Some of these should not have been allowed to be published. I‘m against censorship, and I don’t care about some idiot‘s opinion on women, but matters like paedophilia should not be portrayed as normal/acceptable.
It shouldn't be acceptable but, sadly, it's normal ("normal" here meaning things that exist and occurs with alarming regularity). And yes, it should be allowed to be published. Even in fiction we need to face the darker sides of humanity.
Load More Replies...Mostly perverts writing for other perverts. Who else would buy this rubbish?
They truly are a different species. It's a wonder we can procreate.
Load More Replies...Two years ago I had both my breasts removed because of cancer. Now I'm wondering how I did it all this time. I mean, I lost my moral barometer, my personal alarm clock and my pitbulls.
This really helps me feel like I can finish my book. Not a single sentence about sad or pouting breast
The saddest aspect is not the bizarre, worrying perception of women (both anatomically and psychologically), but that all of these writers think that they are being oh-so-clever and creative. Not just 'think' it, but almost certainly believe deeply in their writing prowess. If that wasn't the case, they would have thrown it out as unmitigated sh1te just ten seconds after first typing it!
Okay now I know there are in fact male authors out there who are actually awesome and write women in a great way and actually see us as people. But because of way too many examples of this, there's a reason almost any book I read, I tend to prefer female authors just so I can stay clear of crap like this.
Can you give me some examples for male authors who write women well? Because I honestly can only think of authors that very obviously don't and authors that are just about okay.
Load More Replies...There is literally no word to describe how disgusted, angry, and disappointed I am in all these writers.
Dear lawd, they were awful and I see a lot of these were written during (how can put this politely) a less 'enlightened' time... But to balance things up a little - "Fifty Shades Of Grey"
Fair point. Fifty Shades of Are You Effing Kidding me?! was my response to just the book description.
Load More Replies...What's this insane obsession of anthropomorphized breasts?! Were those authors weaned too soon???
I'm starting to think men think like that about their dangly bits and this is just projection.
Load More Replies...Y'nkow, they have this crazy thing called "a writer's guide to anatomy". These writers might want to find it to get their heads out of their fundamental posterior orifices.
Basic sex ed in school would fix a lot of their misunderstandings
Load More Replies...I was wondering when this subreddit would show up in here. It's one of my favorites. Seriously, go join. You will not be disappointed
... and when her vagina started clapping, he knew he had performed extraordinarily well (partially autobiographically).
how is this not upvoted more? I almost fell of my chair laughing 🤣🤣🤣
Load More Replies...She was tall and athletic, all muscle a sinew. Her breasts were a little too small for her frame, but it suited her. She started toward me, hips swinging seductively, and...wait, are you forty? Jesus, I was almost attracted to you. And with that the ancient hag throat punched the author and went on her merry way.
It's not only sad that there are authors that think like that and write their thoughts down for the public to read! it's also extremely sad and infuriating that there are always editors that say "Yeah that's perfect let's publish it".
Yes, and presumably at least a few people who buy it :-(
Load More Replies...I'm in my 50s, but I still have yet to master how to purse, flex, or recess my breasts at will. Live and learn, I guess... /s
You have no idea how much worse web novels can do. I've read a book where a woman had put a gun into her ... "pocket" and casually brought it out to use it and put it back on. A f*****g GUN, a pistol, in her vagina! God, why? xD
Load More Replies...Or even Vines & Rees, Human Biology. Just chapters 22 and 23.
Load More Replies...All the examples were sh*t writing... there was nothing worth reading at all (this besides all the other problematic issues of pedophilia, rape, objectification etc. which should have led to none of these ever being published)
One of the things I find most disturbing about this gallery is that it almost certainly can't have been just the authors. I would imagine for most authors, there are editors, agents, proofreaders, spouses, friends, secretaries... any number of people who see a novel before publication. Did not one of them notice this crap? Did the editor(s) read this and say "hmmmm... nipples can be pursed? Never noticed that before..." Were they too afraid of the author to speak up? Maybe they were women, too busy worrying about their pursing, pointing, signaling nipples to be taken seriously.
Sometimes I worry that my character descriptions aren't so great, but at least I'm not gratuitously describing what everyone's tits look like.
I had an idea for a book, but the protagonist would have to be female. Although I'm not as clueless as these authors (I understand that a vagina is not a money purse), I know I'd get it completely wrong.
You can always ask people how to write, don't let missing knowledge stop you, you can still learn
Load More Replies...I'm surprised Robert Heinlein didn't make it into this list. His rampant sexism is really remarkable.
the buwoski one really surprised me. I mean I used to admire him but not anymore.
Meghan hasn't gotten a submissIon from Michael Crichton. Perhaps because he DIED in 2008.
But his books still exist. I don't think the authors submit their own writing to the "Isn't this writing terrible" sub-reddit.
Load More Replies...Yes, that's exactly it. You're very clever as you seem to have grasped perfectly what this articke is about.
Load More Replies...It's not about that - it's about these authors' lack of basic anatomical knowledge (we can't "purse" or "flex" our breasts, for example - they don't have muscles in them), and their tendency to objectify women as a collection of body parts. It would be equally valid to have a thread about women writers who were similarly ignorant - maybe you could create one?
Load More Replies...By all means post it then, bored panda lets its users post entries
Load More Replies...These men don't even see women as persons, they see them as jumble of lips, boobs, butt and big eyes or whatever. According to them we have no personalities, no character, no values other than our bodies, or even just by body parts, and possibly virginity. It's so gross how they perceive one whole gender as just "walking desirable parts" and even think that we perceive ourselves in the same way. Gross!
100 percent agreed. Maybe authors should understand that women are people, before they try to write them. Also, that vaginas are not easily accessible pockets that we use for things.
Load More Replies...When I took a Women's Literature in college the teacher began by reading a paragraph by Norman Mailer (who I am surprised is not represented here). It literally said that only someone with testicles could be a good writer. I muttered to the woman next to me, "Maybe we should cut off Norman Mailer's balls and see if he can still write." Her loud laugh prompted the teacher to ask me what I'd said and when I repeated it she said, "You're going to do okay in this class."
Some of these should not have been allowed to be published. I‘m against censorship, and I don’t care about some idiot‘s opinion on women, but matters like paedophilia should not be portrayed as normal/acceptable.
It shouldn't be acceptable but, sadly, it's normal ("normal" here meaning things that exist and occurs with alarming regularity). And yes, it should be allowed to be published. Even in fiction we need to face the darker sides of humanity.
Load More Replies...Mostly perverts writing for other perverts. Who else would buy this rubbish?
They truly are a different species. It's a wonder we can procreate.
Load More Replies...Two years ago I had both my breasts removed because of cancer. Now I'm wondering how I did it all this time. I mean, I lost my moral barometer, my personal alarm clock and my pitbulls.
This really helps me feel like I can finish my book. Not a single sentence about sad or pouting breast
The saddest aspect is not the bizarre, worrying perception of women (both anatomically and psychologically), but that all of these writers think that they are being oh-so-clever and creative. Not just 'think' it, but almost certainly believe deeply in their writing prowess. If that wasn't the case, they would have thrown it out as unmitigated sh1te just ten seconds after first typing it!
Okay now I know there are in fact male authors out there who are actually awesome and write women in a great way and actually see us as people. But because of way too many examples of this, there's a reason almost any book I read, I tend to prefer female authors just so I can stay clear of crap like this.
Can you give me some examples for male authors who write women well? Because I honestly can only think of authors that very obviously don't and authors that are just about okay.
Load More Replies...There is literally no word to describe how disgusted, angry, and disappointed I am in all these writers.
Dear lawd, they were awful and I see a lot of these were written during (how can put this politely) a less 'enlightened' time... But to balance things up a little - "Fifty Shades Of Grey"
Fair point. Fifty Shades of Are You Effing Kidding me?! was my response to just the book description.
Load More Replies...What's this insane obsession of anthropomorphized breasts?! Were those authors weaned too soon???
I'm starting to think men think like that about their dangly bits and this is just projection.
Load More Replies...Y'nkow, they have this crazy thing called "a writer's guide to anatomy". These writers might want to find it to get their heads out of their fundamental posterior orifices.
Basic sex ed in school would fix a lot of their misunderstandings
Load More Replies...I was wondering when this subreddit would show up in here. It's one of my favorites. Seriously, go join. You will not be disappointed
... and when her vagina started clapping, he knew he had performed extraordinarily well (partially autobiographically).
how is this not upvoted more? I almost fell of my chair laughing 🤣🤣🤣
Load More Replies...She was tall and athletic, all muscle a sinew. Her breasts were a little too small for her frame, but it suited her. She started toward me, hips swinging seductively, and...wait, are you forty? Jesus, I was almost attracted to you. And with that the ancient hag throat punched the author and went on her merry way.
It's not only sad that there are authors that think like that and write their thoughts down for the public to read! it's also extremely sad and infuriating that there are always editors that say "Yeah that's perfect let's publish it".
Yes, and presumably at least a few people who buy it :-(
Load More Replies...I'm in my 50s, but I still have yet to master how to purse, flex, or recess my breasts at will. Live and learn, I guess... /s
You have no idea how much worse web novels can do. I've read a book where a woman had put a gun into her ... "pocket" and casually brought it out to use it and put it back on. A f*****g GUN, a pistol, in her vagina! God, why? xD
Load More Replies...Or even Vines & Rees, Human Biology. Just chapters 22 and 23.
Load More Replies...All the examples were sh*t writing... there was nothing worth reading at all (this besides all the other problematic issues of pedophilia, rape, objectification etc. which should have led to none of these ever being published)
One of the things I find most disturbing about this gallery is that it almost certainly can't have been just the authors. I would imagine for most authors, there are editors, agents, proofreaders, spouses, friends, secretaries... any number of people who see a novel before publication. Did not one of them notice this crap? Did the editor(s) read this and say "hmmmm... nipples can be pursed? Never noticed that before..." Were they too afraid of the author to speak up? Maybe they were women, too busy worrying about their pursing, pointing, signaling nipples to be taken seriously.
Sometimes I worry that my character descriptions aren't so great, but at least I'm not gratuitously describing what everyone's tits look like.
I had an idea for a book, but the protagonist would have to be female. Although I'm not as clueless as these authors (I understand that a vagina is not a money purse), I know I'd get it completely wrong.
You can always ask people how to write, don't let missing knowledge stop you, you can still learn
Load More Replies...I'm surprised Robert Heinlein didn't make it into this list. His rampant sexism is really remarkable.
the buwoski one really surprised me. I mean I used to admire him but not anymore.
Meghan hasn't gotten a submissIon from Michael Crichton. Perhaps because he DIED in 2008.
But his books still exist. I don't think the authors submit their own writing to the "Isn't this writing terrible" sub-reddit.
Load More Replies...Yes, that's exactly it. You're very clever as you seem to have grasped perfectly what this articke is about.
Load More Replies...It's not about that - it's about these authors' lack of basic anatomical knowledge (we can't "purse" or "flex" our breasts, for example - they don't have muscles in them), and their tendency to objectify women as a collection of body parts. It would be equally valid to have a thread about women writers who were similarly ignorant - maybe you could create one?
Load More Replies...By all means post it then, bored panda lets its users post entries
Load More Replies...