I know some of you have pondered this question as well: Why do so many mysteries and thrillers have an overwhelming amount of violence against women? I'm not going to give up reading some of these books, but I am always relieved when I find an excellent mystery that doesn't have graphic violence or women who are abused/controlled/sexually assaulted/tortured/dismembered as major elements of the story.
Of course, it does depend, to some degree, on how it is handled. Some authors use the violence as sexual titillation, others avoid that aspect. Is that why we also love kick-ass women protagonists who can turn the tables?
I found this article encouraging: The Staunch book prize has been founded to honour books where ‘no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered’
It is an interesting article with comments from Andrew Taylor and Val McDermid about it being easier said than done. If you read the article tell me what you think.
Maybe it has been on my mind more lately because of the abuses that have been making the news lately, but ...
Does it seem like the number of books with this focus has increased in recent years?
How does violence against women in film and novels make you feel?
Can you think of recent crime/mystery/ suspense novels that you really liked that don't have this as a major plot element?
So true! I discussed this very topic on my blog this past week as well.
ReplyDeleteMurder seems the most likely crime in mystery and suspense novels nowadays, usually with stalking beforehand, and more and more authors are pushing the envelope to include hacking off body parts, torturing over a period of time, raping and butchering women... I'm getting fed up with having these images in my mind. And yes, it's mostly women being killed in the ones I've read the past year or two.
I read the article because I saw it linked off of Lark's blog--and while I would never favor any censorship-- if it's a guideline like movies have, well maybe. I'm still not sure.
No, I cannot think of a mystery/suspense/thriller that I've read recently that didn't involve this treatment of women, sigh...
I've complained about the graphic violence (almost always against women) before, even from authors I enjoy, but I was still a little surprised as I went back through the books I've reviewed this year and found it so difficult to find one that didn't have this treatment of women. When I saw this article on The Guardian, I liked the idea of authors at least trying to write stories that avoid these abuses. The plots of so many mysteries and thrillers have become pretty similar....
DeleteI find myself being less interested in books that focus on serial murders of women lately, which I think ties into this. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a correlation between readers being drown to kick-ass female protagonist and books where they are victimized--it's nice to see the woman come out on top. I think McDermid makes some valid points in the article. Definitely something to think more about.
ReplyDeleteI agree that McDermid makes valid points, and she is one of my favorite authors in this genre. Because women are more vulnerable in size, strength, and cultural behavior, they do become victims in real life. I love the phrase she used: "the pornography of violence." And as she mentions, some authors glory in that aspect. Avoiding crimes against women entirely in fiction would be impossible, but the best authors concentrate on more than gratuitous details.
DeleteI read the article and, like Wendy, think that Val McDermid made some sense. I think women have always been victims in some crime fiction - I mean, someone has to be the crime victim, but the language and description does not have to be so lurid. And I agree that things have trended toward that in these last years. I'll be thinking about this too. It's very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteAs an audience of mostly women (at least here in the blogging community), how much to we influence the direction of what is written? I find that especially disturbing as I look at what I've been reading. I want strong female protagonists, but do they all have to have some terrible incident in their past? I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.
DeleteI think to have a thriller where no woman is beaten/murdered is going to far. I mean, there has to be a victim for a thriller, often there are many victims. Should only men be victims of murder in these books? Ignoring the fact that in real life women can be victims too.
ReplyDeleteHowever I do think there could easily be a category of books where there is no sexual aspect to the crime. And yes, would certainly love to see the back of the torture-porn storylines.
I don't think the author of the article is saying all crime books should eschew the murder of a woman. Even she admits that not all crimes against women are exploitive. She does, however, want to see if there can be a good crime/mystery that doesn't depend on of the abuses she mentions. Viveca Sten's Tonight You're Dead and Christopher Swann's The Shadow of the Lions avoid "woman as victim." I think the author's point is that women don't always have to be a victim in a mystery/thriller and that in recent years that has been an almost essential plot device. Requiring all books to forego this plot would be impossible, but I was amazed how many books I've read that feature murdered women. I agree, I'd love to see the back of those that depend on torture-porn as a main ingredient.
DeleteNot to your point, Jen, but I recently watched "The Post". Now THAT is the sort of woman young women need to see more of, ones with the backbone, intelligence, determination of Katherine Graham. She never aspired to that job but where would we, and our freedom of press, be today without her, her editor Ben Bradlee and Daniel Ellsberg. Men who should have been staunch supporters talked around or through her, believing they owed their allegiance to investors and bankers. Even Defense Secretary McNamara she believed to be a friend, betrayed her. Still, she persevered. That's the kind of woman I want my daughter to read about or watch on film...not always the victim of cruelty.
ReplyDeleteI think that is exactly the point, Gail. We want to see women with all of those traits, and we want our daughters to be confident and respected, not considered to be "less than." That cultural attitude creates victims--in professional and economic situations as well, doesn't it?
DeleteAbsolutely, Jen.
DeleteI sometimes think a lot of decisions made in Hollywood come from 15 year olds and now I despair that the same may be true of Congress (and perhaps the publishing industry).
The common refrain being, "I can only imagine how I would feel if that were my daughter." Hello? You should have the same respect for all women.
I did read that article and found it gave me some good food for thought. While I don't have a problem with the crime being against a woman I do think there are some authors who push things too far. I've often thought it's enough that it's a murder, it doesn't have to be all kinds of crazy, gory details! But even thinking about cozy mysteries, there is still always a corpse! I know my book group once had a discussion about if there's not a dead body is it a mystery? haha.. Anyway, great post!
ReplyDelete:) I expect a corpse, but really have come to wonder about why so many of the crime/mystery books I read have so many women murdered in such gory ways. I looked back at my recent reads and had a hard time finding a couple that didn't involve women as victims. As Val McDermid said, some authors depend on the "pornography of violence."
DeleteI've the same thoughts too, Jenclair. Another thing that bugs me is, why do they mostly feature women as unreliable and unlikeable characters? Like women can't be trusted and are irresponsible for our behaviours, hmph.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the topics bring awareness, I think some have gone a bit too far. Just my two cents.
It is interesting to watch the trends, isn't it? An unusual plot or structure becomes imitated over and over until there is little fresh or unusual. And the unreliable, unlikable female character--don't you sometimes want to shake some of them? Original once, then repeated too often. I think I'd rather have an immoral character than a stupid one.
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