Finding the Woman’s Voice By Helen Jacey In your choice of world… Whether you set your story in the offices of a glossy fashion magazine, or simply the domestic home front, the world inhabited by your characters will reveal what you think about women’s lives and the expectations upon them in terms of roles, behavior, and values. Ugly Betty and Drop Dead Diva, for instance, both thematically obsess over beauty versus brains, women’s relationship to their body image, and power dynamics. They reflect back to the audience, on a very deep level, the huge emphasis in our society on women’s size, youth and beauty and the eternal pressure to look good. Ask yourself what values and attitudes about women’s lives your world sets up. Then ask yourself to what extent is your character’s world influenced by your own values and attitudes about women.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 19:30:00 +0000