[image description: an open book with the pages face down on a white bedsheet.]

2020 being what it is, I’ve been on the hunt for fun books that won’t make me think too much. I’ve gravitated toward cozy mysteries because although I obviously care about the outcome of the whodunit, I’m not sitting there plotting the clues with red string on my wall because that would ruin the reveal. I know the reveal is coming and I enjoy the process of getting there.

However, I read a cozy mystery that wasn’t so cozy––it made my skin crawl and not in a good way. I should say here that if you’ve been following me for a while you’ve probably noticed I never post negative book reviews and if I have something negative to say I almost always anonymize it because no one likes being called out and as an aspiring author myself I dread the day it happens to me. That being said, my bullshit tolerance for this year ran out about six months ago, so the ranty panties are on.

I was on my library’s website where they were recommending a list of mysteries and I saw Death by Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson. The cover had a jack-o-lantern, a cat, and a cup of coffee. Ding, ding, ding! I love all of those things, so I checked it out and was excited to read it.

However, as I was reading I noticed a couple of things that kept consistently happening that bothered me:

• the female protagonist has zero confidence

• the only time the female protagonist appears to have even fleeting confidence is when she’s receiving attention from a man

• the other female characters are vapid, repeatedly described as only caring about their looks, marrying for money, being unrepentant gossips, etc.

• the female protagonist slut shames and judges the other female characters for their choice and number of partners

• male characters who are not the villain repeatedly say things about how “all women do x” or “all women think y” or “all women feel z”

• the female protagonist had no meaningful relationships with other women in the story

Generally, cozy mysteries are written by women but I couldn’t help thinking to myself, “this reads like it was written by a man.” Though I had no prior knowledge of the author and Alex is a general neutral name. Sure enough, I googled the author and it was a dude.

Sure, there are women with internalized misogyny who have said and believe all the same things Alex has in his novel, but it’s so much worse coming from a man because men hold more power and privilege. And none of the sexist aspects of the novel actually forwarded the plot, developed the characters, or added anything worthwhile to the story. Those parts could have simply been left out or changed and the actual mystery part would have been infinitely better.

Which begs the question: why weren’t the sexist parts changed? Who edited this novel? I had to return the library book before I thought to check, so I have no idea. But I can guarantee you that whoever the editor is, they’re not a feminist. Or they might be a t-shirt feminist. Either way, it’s clear author and editor alike don’t think too highly of women or their capabilities.

I’m not saying men can’t write female characters. I’ve read a ton of novels by men who write female characters incredibly well. The one that comes most readily to mind is Sylvain Neuvel in the Themis Files series. There are a number of strong, intelligent female characters and when a character says, does, or believes something problematic it’s discussed and acknowledged, not just accepted as truth.

The larger issue here is that anytime a writer is writing outside of their own experience and identity, they owe it to their readers, especially those who do have the identity and experience they’re writing about, to do so authentically and accurately. Representation is meaningless if it’s done thoughtlessly and without care.

I want male novelists to write and I don’t mind if they write female characters as long as they don’t use their female characters as engines for their own sexist beliefs. Rather than a mystery novel, I felt like I was reading a PSA for how the author believes women “should” behave according to the multitude of judgmental throwaway lines the protagonist spouted.

I want male authors to interrogate their beliefs to the point that they’re comfortable asking for a feminist editor. I want male authors to listen to that feminist editor and make their stories better. I want male authors to write women characters well or not at all. That doesn’t mean making every female character perfect, only that if she must be demeaned, do so for reasons other than her looks, sex partners, money, or confidence. Assume female characters are capable of a full spectrum of human emotion.

Mostly, I’m tired. I’m tired of seeing supposedly well-intentioned men do things that hurt women when they clearly have some work they need to do on themselves. I’m tired of men not investing, interrogating, and changing their problematic beliefs, which manifest in their behavior and creative output. I’m tired of men speaking and writing about women’s experiences when their knowledge of women’s lived experiences is so misinformed. I’m tired of men taking up space in a genre they’re clearly ill-prepared to meaningfully contribute to.

I’m tired of men not listening to women. Because if someone is an author, I assume they know how to read and there are a fuck ton of books on intersectional feminism out there. Simply read one. Call it novel research. I don’t care, just do better.