tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post657618834248952788..comments2023-11-02T02:40:48.410-07:00Comments on Crime Fiction Collective: Females in Mysteries...the Cliches.L.J. Sellershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213491074676394406noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-59340598938344802232013-06-25T01:03:04.428-07:002013-06-25T01:03:04.428-07:00Hey, Tom! Good on you. Although it's true: s...Hey, Tom! Good on you. Although it's true: some women are obsessed with shoes.<br /><br />My favorite Brit Cop-show gripe? Ever see a detective or DCI or DI ask a PC to take care of a baby or kid? No, right? Ever see one ask a WPC to do it? WEEKLY. It drives me absolutely insane, as if merely having female genitalia means that, hey, SURE, we'll just use this police officer as a baby-sitter, or equally bad, sure, she knows how to take care of kids, because, after all, she's a GIRL. It's patent to me from British television that all of the Lynda LaPlante characters aside, women in British cop shops really don't have a chance in hell at equality. <br /><br />How do you think viewers would react if every week, the Superintendent or what-have-you automatically handed the squalling brat or snotty teenager or hysterical wife to the GAY cop, eh? It's really infuriating.<br /><br />Vis-a-vis women beating up men: physics will almost always out, but I do know some women who absolutely can beat up men larger than they are. And, when it's push comes to shove: guns are intended to be equalizers. It's one of the reasons women carry them. And only an idiot goes toe-to-toe with a psychopath any way, right? Hitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00320501122327769279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-78401173532658065882013-06-18T20:01:17.975-07:002013-06-18T20:01:17.975-07:00Tom, you always provide a fresh way of looking at ...Tom, you always provide a fresh way of looking at things. And remind us to not take the easy way.<br /><br />I think if we really know our characters—make the effort to create someone three-dimensional and interesting—we'll move away from most of the cliches, but sometimes… a cliche is perfect.<br /><br />As I read your list, a lot of them could possibly be flipped for male protag cliches as well.<br /><br />Thanks!Peg Brantleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906858123466177508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-78015252435403594782013-06-18T10:05:22.563-07:002013-06-18T10:05:22.563-07:00One reason I loved the British series "Blue M...One reason I loved the British series "Blue Murder" is that the woman cop who heads a homicide team has kids, including a baby, and has recently become a single mom. She is constantly juggling, having to leave them with dubious caregivers and sketchy meals. That feeling of never being where she should is so familiar from my early working days. It complicates the policewoman's work, and sometimes adds a bit of humor, but she does what she has to do. Susan C Sheanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-30499669297605169252013-06-18T09:50:44.750-07:002013-06-18T09:50:44.750-07:00You nailed it, Tom. The one cliche I wanted to com...You nailed it, Tom. The one cliche I wanted to comment on was #8. Authors often leave children out of the picture for the convenience of writing a fast-paced story, and so their protagonists can take risks. Because if a woman has children and abandons them to babysitters for days at a time while she chases down the bad guys—readers will judge her for that. Male characters, including my own, get away with more of that. <br /><br />The TV show, Person of Interest, has a female cop character, who we know has a child, but we've never seen him. And she works crazy late hours with no mention of her son. I have to admit, it bugs me. So my kickass female characters simply don't have kids. We write fiction to live out our fantasies, right? :)<br />L.J. Sellershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213491074676394406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4954486699810607306.post-34948082849619908872013-06-18T07:37:27.431-07:002013-06-18T07:37:27.431-07:00But we are obsessed with shoes (they either have t...But we are obsessed with shoes (they either have to be gorgeous and cruel or cute and comfortable) and we do like to get together with our tribe at restaurants. There's no real need for ferns, though. It's not like we hide behind them. Or eat them.Gayle Carlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15783449240138097315noreply@blogger.com