Writing another gender

Recently, I overheard a woman express surprise that a male writer had written a novel from the point of view of a female character. She wasn't disapproving, merely commenting on what she saw as an interesting choice. There is often an assumption that men can't write convincing female characters (there may also be assertions I haven't read, about women not writing convincing men) but it made me think about the assumptions that underpin that.

I've written from both male and female perspectives depending on what the story demanded at the time, and where I've written a short piece where the first-person narrator's gender isn't specified, I've had some people read it as male and some female, and both sets of readers seemed satisfied. If I stuck to writing my own gender, there'd be a whole host of common female experiences I might want to give my main characters that I have never had, affecting everything from everyday detail to major plot points and motivation:

• I don't wear a bra, underskirt, pop socks, tummy-control pants, and no doubt a whole list of things I don't even know exist. I do feel like I'm in that episode of Father Ted whenever I venture into a lingerie department

• I don't wear high heels; the odd pair of cuban-heeled boots in the past but mainly it's Doc Martens, Converse, and imitations thereof.

• I've never worn, nor had any desire for, an engagement ring or a wedding dress

• I've never planned a wedding, gone gooey over someone else's wedding photos or engagement ring, or been on a hen night

• I haven't been a bridesmaid since I was seven

• I've never found out I was pregnant, had a miscarriage or abortion, or used the morning-after pill

• I've never been on maternity leave, or felt like I was being torn in two by the conflicting demands of children and career

• I've never changed a nappy

• I've never run for a bus and felt like my chest had a life of its own

• I don't wear make-up, and beyond lipstick and mascara (which I did wear at my gothiest) it's all a bit of a mystery

• Since I only have one ear pierced, I've never worn a discreet pair of matching earrings

• I've never been to Weightwatchers, memorised the calorie content of common foods, or jumped on a new diet bandwagon

• I've never worn false nails or false eyelashes, had highlights or a fancy hairdo

• I've never thought about breast enhancements or agonised over cellulite

• I've never been to be waxed, plucked, massaged or caked in mud in the name of beauty

• I've never had a girls' night in

• I don't see a baby and make strange noises and ask to hold it

• I've never declared myself a feminist or had any interest in how many women are in senior positions at work

• I don't read women's lifestyle magazines, keep up with fashion or enjoy clothes shopping

• Despite having two sisters and a couple of close female friends I've never had the kind of conversations about sex and shopping that feature so heavily in the flicks

For any of these I (like the men who were being derided on social media for even attempting the exercise) would have to observe other people's behaviour, ask a friend, or read up on it. People have such individual experiences of life that surely we all of us (writers, I mean) have to use empathy and imagination all the time in order to offer a range of believable characters. Gender is probably the broadest category out there, so to expect women to automatically have a better handle on female characters than men seems ludicrous. I suspect the men who fail to write female characters are also not much good at male characters unless they're heavily based on themselves, and that's got nothing to do with gender, it's just a gap in their writing ability.