The Guardian: From Before I Go to Sleep to The Girl on the Train, the trope of the woman in danger from a man has powered novel after novel to the top of the book charts. But claiming that violence against women in fiction has reached “a ridiculous high”, a new prize is being launched for the best thriller “in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered”.
3 comments:
I actually really like this idea - the use of women as the victims of violent crime in a book is present in almost every single thriller genre novel I've read. While I agree that it's easier to start with books than film, I think films are more societally ubiquitous and therefore would have a greater societal impact if they showed less violence against women. Even non-thrillers tend to use this as a trope, and action TV shows too, and I want to see more people calling it out and making initiatives for those areas, too.
But I do agree, however, with the other authors in the article - it's not always the most prudent to stop writing about a big issue. Yes, people need to stop using it because 'that's what you do' or 'that's just what happens'. If you re going to use violence against women in the novel, it should be used in the same way that author Val McDermid says she uses it - "As long as men commit appalling acts of misogyny and violence against women, I will write about it so that it does not go unnoticed.”
I find it so ironic that people complain about sexism in movies, yet most movies origin stories are from novels. As an avid reader from a young age, YA novels taught me that females always need a boyfriend or a male figure as guidance or as a rock to help them through their struggles. I love that Bridget Lawless is trying to push for people to stray from the popular culture and stereotypes that are, at this point, inherent in our society. While female heroes do exist in our day and age, there has been an ever present discussion in the entertainment world about females victims of sexual abuse. I think that Lawless is attempting to help break down the inherent norms in our society with this prize for thriller novels with females being sexually assaulted or killed unnecessarily. It’s time that Nancy Drew was the norm and Agatha Christie solved her own mysteries.
I am excited to read literature that does not contain the “thrill” of a woman being raped, killed, or mistreated because she is a woman. This Staunch book prize is the right kind of progression in society and I am so hopeful that small changes like what Bridget Lawless is pushing for will lead to larger changes. I know that the progress for women’s rights has been slowly moving with large advancements over a large period of time; however, I can’t help but feel that progress in listening to women, protecting women, and respecting women has escalated over the past few years in a much faster way then it has been moving. Maybe that is because I am suddenly very aware of my place as a woman in this world and country or maybe it’s because real change is happening at a greater pace. Whatever it is I am so inspired and feel so hopeful from the new programs that promise to insure the safety of women working in the entertainment industry and now I feel so excited for this new onslaught of literature that lack the need to strengthen a plot with the physical and mental destruction of a male.
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