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I hate being pigeonholed as a woman, and I’m sure men hate it too. It’s amazing to me how utterly sexist this viewpoint is. Humans are humans. Passivity is not inherently female. That may have been a social construct enforced on women at various times, but it’s certainly not a given. I myself don’t fit into that construct but I don’t view myself as masculine just because I’m not a pushover, or I’m driven. I mean look at all the women throughout history! Look at the women around you! I’m all for trying something new. Writing a passive character and making the story interesting seems like a fun challenge. But making this some man/woman patriarch battle? I hate that take.

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Hi Shaina - I couldn't agree more. This trend of pidgeonholing the sexes seems to be picking up speed lately just when it felt like it was finally disappearing. It's pretty frustrating. I don't know anyone who frames their world this way :-(

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Sexist is right. I wrote in one of my articles recently (in a book review: https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/106780019/interim-review-the-lives-of-marva-delonghi-by-jody-j-sperling) that I happened to like kick-ass women, and it's true: who wants to keep company with a wimpish victim? But I think depicting un-pushover behaviour as masculine is, frankly, sheer laziness. As you say, we're all human

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Thanks, Terry! I could not agree more. And I did thoroughly enjoy the review :-)

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