Men Writing Women (pos)
There will be no one breasting boobily anywhere here.
Some criteria:
- women characters should be multidimensional with their own goals, agendas, and flaws
- the main character should be a woman, and there should be at least one other female character who is significant to the plot
- women characters’ role should not be defined solely by her relationship to a man
- author is a cis man
- one book per author
Let’s hold male authors to a higher standard because it is possible.
created by celinewyp
last updated August, 2026
Comments
thank god 🙏 i need books that don't mention a woman's boobs every five pages after the flamingo badge
oh big oof. i hope these are a good palate cleanser! though i think they're all quite heavy books.
well i'm gonna have to read master of djinn before the end of the month anyway so it'll work out!
I think I played myself with this book, because I expected too much from it? For now, nothing's blowing me away. I really appreciate that the characters are well-written, and the care given to creating the female characters is very clear. Other than that and the worldbuilding Idt I'll be praising it very much. We'll see.
But yes, a non cishet slop book for Rui!
yeah i heard some very similar things in other reviews rip. at least the main couple is sapphic tho
Yeah that's true. At least there's that going for it.
Ugh are all the books in the source books quest like that?
well tbf female fantasy wasn't. story of my life might escape that fate too but it remains to be seen. otherwise yes
oh noooooo, i…have concerns. 😰
i am so sorry 🙏 if it's any comfort i managed to get through 5 of them really quickly
"There will be no one breasting boobily anywhere here." 🤣🤣🤣 I almost spit out my smoothie when I just read this! I'm still cackling 😆 And I can attest that Jeff VanderMeer writes female characters very well and in a very intriguing way.
I live to serve.
I read Annihilation and didn't like it tbh. But I do agree the characters were interesting and I can't find anything to complain about them. I know that's the most lukewarm anyone can be and I don't mean to yuck anyone's yum but that's just my impression of the book.
Annihilation is one of the rare cases where I love the book but wouldn't recommend it to just anybody 😅 This book series is very weird and it might only work for people with a very specific taste for it. I can totally see why someone might not enjoy this 😂 even though I really enjoy VanderMeer's writing. I've read a few of his books since then and I just like his style and weird stories.
Definitely agreed. That said, I loved the movie!
Oh I fully thought Chain-Gang All-Stars was written by a woman!
I think that kind of serves as extra proof that the writing of women in it is good.
I’m also a little shook 💀
Legends and Lattes? I was hesitant to read it because it was written by a cis, straight man, but it was really good! And queer! Though it’s definitely lighter than what’s on this list 😂
I was wondering if it would fit! As I hadn't read it myself and couldn't find anyone to endorse it I hesitated over adding. But thank you for vouching for it! I'm looking forward to getting to it.
I would absolutely endorse it! So good! 😊
This entire series is utterly delightful. Travis Baldree does such a phenomenal job in the writing, and these books are a delight as audiobooks (which he also narrates).
Yes! I totally agree! His narration of the audiobooks is great! I have only read the first one, but I’ll get around to the others eventually! ☺️
Oh! So cool that he narrated it too!
I've heard so many good things!
i really loved it! such a cozy book!
Yessss genius list idea
Thank you! It was down to shock that a man wrote A Master of Djinn.
I was surprised too but I’m happy that this is a good example for men writing women
YES! It's a super good thing and I'm happy that it also inspired a list hehe.
Same!!!
Maybe Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell? He's not a straight man (aro/ace) but I think it still fits your requirements!
Yes, thank you for endorsing. He was also on my list of hopefuls but I haven't read the book myself and so didn't feel good about adding without someone to vouch for it.
And no worries. My criteria for this is just that the author should be a cis man. Idt it matters what orientation he identifies with beyond that.
I'm learning about so many books that I thought were written by women and apparently I've been wrong this whole time 😅
I'd like to throw Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian into the ring! It checks all the criteria and it's also an exceptional book
Me too tbh and I think that's pretty cool. I'll put it up! Thank you for your rec and helping make this list more genre-diverse! 💖
No problem at all! 🥰 It's soooo good, and western horror is such an underrated genre!
Horror is such a huge and nuanced genre I should really put more effort into getting into it.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett would fit!
Yesss another book to add to the list. It’s on my TBR too! Thank you!
I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!
obsessed with this list concept! came here to suggest the membranes but it's already on here 🥰
Gotta thank the friend who suggested it to me then! I wanna read it (preferably in Chinese) but I can't find it tbh.
Can I recommend "The Last time I Lied" or "The House Across the Lake" by Riley Sager? These were imo his best novels. But I am super fond of all his stories (thrillers) and have personally felt that I could relate to his characters. And best of all no breasts are boobily breasting (or smiling????) in his works.
Of course! Just let me look them up. Do you have one you prefer to be represented?
I couldn't chose! Go with the one you think is more interesting!!
I looked him up and wow the books are so cool? I think I'll go with Final Girls though, because I've heard of it and it might be more "hook"-y to catch people's interest. Again, thank you!
"Final Girls" was amazing!!! It's my favorite. Especially because its almost like an ode to the film theories of slasher horror.
Yeah the whole concept is so super cool!
omg bless this list! i laughed so hard at the description 🤭
It’s my pleasure! Glad you enjoyed hehe
Great list concept! Can I recommend the Edinburgh Nights series by T. L. Huchu? First book is The Library of the Dead.
Thank you for the rec! I’ll add it ♥️
