Freedom of expression: 5 female authors who have used male pen names to get their work!
A woman never really has had it easy. More so, when it comes to the freedom of expression. You want to make your name in the creative field but you’re immediately aware of the consequences where women are not taken seriously when it comes to writing. There has been a plight of women writers who have faced the wrath of such patriarchy over the years. Yet, there are a few women writers who have trusted their work and had been using male or ambiguous pseudonyms. It is very surprising to know that some of the most famous women authors have used masculine names for the sake of being taken perilously. As sad as it sounds, it is amazing to know that these women wrote words that are read even till now. Here are few names that used masculine pen names to gain popularity:
Charlotte Bronte –
Jane Eyre was a book we all read in our school days, however, a lot of us do not know that the author has used male pet name Currer bell to publish her book. The reason behind this was stated by herself, ‘ we did not like to declare ourselves women, because at that time our mode of writings and thinking was not called “feminine” we had a vague impression that authors are liable to be looked on with prejudice.
Louisa May Alcott
We have all been familiar with the book,” Little women” because of its beautiful storyline. Although this book was published by her name for the other gothic thrillers she used male pen names, the subject who was deemed ‘unladylike ‘for the late 19th century female writers. Even to experiment with genres women were forced to adopt a pen name that would decrease the reader’s prejudice against female authors
Mary Ann Evans
Not many of us are aware of this but the author of the book, The Mill on the floss was a woman! The reason for her to do so was also very simple because she thought that it would help her to escape female stereotyping.
Harper Lee
Her most famous work, to kill a mockingbird, had won everyone’s heart but she had dropped her first name that is Nelle Harper Lee and adopted a name that seemed more ambiguous in terms of gender. Her work was taken more seriously because of her pen name.
JK Rowling
We have grown up with Harry Potter. No matter which corner of the world you live in, but you have at least heard of the wizard boy’s story. You cannot deny but we are all shocked when you came to know that J. K Rowling was a woman. Joanne Rowling chose the male-sounding name consciously. Her publisher supported her in this decision as it was a fact that young readers of Harry Potter would be unable to connect to the plot if the author’s name was feminine.
Hopefully, we do not have to do this anymore and we won’t lose out good female writers because of sexism. Through the years we have seen a woman doing well in life in every field yet the fight for freedom when it comes to gain popularity shows that women are still struggling to make a mark in the field. Whenever I watch a new movie or even read a new book, I find myself wondering if the female characters are going to be actual and not really surreal. Even today we find that writers fail to portray the female characters properly and they end up falling into a particular sexist trope or another. I know that it can be a coincidence as most of the time female characters are displayed in a way that it sends a wrong message whether we are watching it as a critical audience or writer who wants some inspiration for your own female characters.
Written by Poonam Chatterjee
Week 47 November 2021
