Opposite gender POV: why?

[Ray Dario]

Not necessarily. The third person does not have to have a gender. The third person also does not have to have the shoulder perched perspecitve of just one character, main or otherwise. The third person can, and many times does, have a more universal perspective with no gender per se. Kind of like if God were writing.

Okay, we disagree on this. Unless you write. He said, she said, she did, he did, non-interesting lists of actions you are going to be coming from someone or something's point of view. And even God has a gender. Our society is way too gender oriented for any POV to be genderless. (I'm Texan by the way, other societies may not have my same bias.)

In third person it is not always intuitively obvious what that POV is but should quickly become clear. At no point in writing, and I am speaking of literature here not technical writing, do we become so disconnected from the characters that we do not have a point of view. If I found a story like that I most likely would immediatly stop reading it. After all every story is about characters. There may be some really cool backdrop of Sci-Fi or Mystery or History but the story is about characters. About their struggles, emotions, growth, and changes. Write a story without characters or without delving into and developing those characters or without seeing from their point of view and your story suffers greatly.

Okay this all is just my humble opinion and I am certainly NOT the end authority on writing, but I can honestly say my opinion is worth what you paid for it. Unless you figure in dialup access charges or line fees.

Ray

 

[LustyLovers]

Reb can actually write from both points of view; hers, and what she tells me is mine!! Actually, we do work a lot together when she changes genders in her stories. It's hard though; have you ever tried to have sex when your partner is holding a notebook and pen and asking all those DAMNED questions???
Bob

 

[SpectreT]

Thank god, no, I've never had to explain every little "guy thing" to a girl. Well, my own little "guy thing" once, but the fact I'd already "helped her with her little problem" went a long way toward that not being a problem.

<shrug> and as for the rest, I've got a good memory; who needs notebooks?

I'd like to add more to the homework thread, but I keep coming in when someone's just written Mirella. Either add more girls, or quit hoggin' the one we got. Hey, wait, there's an idea, and the last post gave me a new character to add! Cool Beans!

<dashing off to the homework thread>

 

[Guest]

3rd person "genderizing"

3rd person narratives can be written as "omniscient", in which case the narrator has access to any relevant information--all thoughts, all facts, all actions. Or 3rd person narration can be "limited omniscience," in which the narration is intimately familiar with the thoughts of one character (or one character at a time.)

Omniscient narration can be "genderized" consciously, but is more often done so subconsciously. We all filter information through what is in our heads, and that almost always shows, in some degree, on the paper. ***WARNING! Oversimplifications and generalizations to follow***For example, in an attempt to narrate a story I may go on at length about the sound of a powerful car engine. This is essentially because as a male, I like things that go "VROOOM." A female writer may describe at some length the color scheme of a room in which a scene takes place. (Here is where I would like to digress into opinions on males only being able to see 8 colors, but I won't.)

A writer carefully editing his/her work can pretty much eliminate the gender biases in the 3rd person omnisicent POV, but most don't. The background information that surrounds the characters and action is often what gives a story your personal touch (in 3rd person omnisicent.)

"3rd person limited omniscience" requires a writer to step into the mind of one character and filter all facts, actions, and interpretations of events through that character's POV. In writing this style, one has to rid their writing of all telltale signs of the author's gender and upbringing and replace them with those of the character. At this point, I still write my opposite gender POV work in this narrative.

I am, since all this came up, writing a story in a female 1st person POV. I'd guess about two weeks before it is up, though. It is about the wives of World War II soldiers and what one of them does to keep from going crazy while her husband is off in the Pacific Theatre.

 

[Weird Harold]

(Here is where I would like to digress into opinions on males only being able to see 8 colors, but I won't.

Well said and explained clearly.

OK, so maybe boys aren't satisfied with the eight crayon box from Crayola and prefer the sixteen color box.

But girls aren't satisfied with even the 64 color box and that's why Crayola came out with the 132 color box.

Like all stereotypes, the bit about men only seeing 8 colors is a generalization but it IS a starting point for getting into the mind set of MANY male characters.

Titian was male, and saw more colors than Crayola makes (or has ever made), so he invented a color they named after him. (it is a dark red. )