I was crawling the internet last month when I came across this post.

Before knee-jerking and having a fit, I decided to do a little thinking about what was so absurd and horrifying about this to me. Because you’re my lucky newsletter recipients, I decided to get into it here. For the purpose of this exercise, we’ll use “mantasy” as fantasy for men, “guy-fi” as “sci-fi” for men, “romantasy” as romance forward fantasy, and “women’s fiction” as upmarket general fiction written by women for women. I will not use “brorror” aka horror for men, not only because it’s silly but also because I made it up.

The demarcation of genres into gendered categories isn’t anything new. In fact, that’s the problem. It’s old. We had “girl’s books” like Sweet Valley High and The Saddle Club, “boy’s books” like The Hardy Boys. The divisions were always a little loose, as girls and women tend to happily read books with male main characters (whereas the reverse is somewhat fraught), but the divisions did exist.

But it hasn’t stopped there. As women have eked their way into literary spaces, there has always been a press to label their fiction as “other,” whether it’s “women’s fiction,” “pink horror,” or even calling anything sniffing of romantic fantasy (or not) “romantasy.” Some women have embraced these labels. Others, like myself, have chosen ambiguous pennames in an attempt to avoid them. (What, you thought C.J. was my government name?)

I don’t mind being a woman. It’s not the first thing I think of as being important about me, but it is an important part. It affects the way I move in the world, the way I’ve learned and developed, the way others treat me. The problem is point #3. Women (and other marginalized genders, but for the sake of brevity we’ll discuss women here) have historically been othered into separate sub-genres, corralled into distinct divisions so that men know they’re reading something by a “girl.”

Why? Because women have always been seen as lesser. Weaker. More emotional. Less trustworthy. We’re always doing it in our judgments of women in daily life. Now we’re doing it even more explicitly in our genres. Placing women into boxes like “women’s fiction” and even “romantasy” is a way of saying that their fiction isn’t for everyone. It’s for women. Because who else would women right for? Surely our struggles and sensibilities aren’t universal.

Then come the incels. Yes, I’m trying this into the epidemic of online men who believe that women owe them sex and that they, lesser men, are being denied it. Even men who don’t overtly subscribe to this doctrine might still fall into the category of “nice guys,” aka men whose misogyny is cloaked in chivalry. (Before you #NotAllMen me: obviously.) Mantasy and Guy-fi? They’re not a concerted effort to address male issues and increase male readership, as advertised.

Rather, they’re a simple knee-jerk reaction to the preponderence of women in literary, especially genre, spaces. Men (see: cis men) are feeling threatened, no one taught them how to relate to female characters, they might catch the Gay if they like a woman’s book. So now they turn to cloistered spaces for “tough guys” where they can be sure of avoiding the female trappings that are so odious to them.

Strong language? Yes. Feel offended? Too bad. We live in a society where women are killed as a result of such misogynistic thinking, so forgive me if I don’t attempt to spare your feelings. And if you’re cheering with me, good. You understand the problem. The solution? A very brief suggestion: read widely. If you are a man: read non-men.

If we don’t attempt to at least understand to and relate to each other, the divisions between us will only grow more potent and more malignant. (Don’t get me started on misandry; I’m not advocating for that either.) What I’m looking for is for women’s fiction to be called what it is: fiction. Romantasy? Could be written by anyone. And Guy-fi is just a weird nickname for that celebrity guy from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Let me dream.

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I'm working on reading one thing at a time. I know, how weird.

Baseball and the World Cup! Not gonna lie, I was pulling for Haaland and Norway and was very sad when they lost. But they got so far! It was so impressive! Guess I’m a Man City fan now?

I finally listened to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love and I’m obsessed! “honeybee” and “less” aren’t so much my jam, too slow and draggy, but I’m digging “expectations” and “drop dead” and “my way” and OMG SHE DID A SONG WITH ROBERT SMITH. She’s like Bikini Kill come again, I love her.

My video game brain is so dead. Stand by.

ArtFight! If you’re not familiar, it’s this July event where artists “attack” each other for points by drawing each other’s characters (or making crafts, etc.). Not only have I been practicing my art and getting completely obsessed, but I’ve gotten some amazing art of my character, Lena Winnower, my very first novel OC! Check out some of my ArtFight art here on Bluesky. If you’re on ArtFight, you can see my profile here.