Poll: Women Cross Dressing as men in literature - Sexist or not?

Actually, lots of real women have disguised themselves as men to succeed...not only fictional women.

Perhaps it reflects the way things actually work.

Are you bothered by the fictional portrayal of that...or by the fact that it seems that is the way things actually work?

I think the word "ancestress" is sexist.

The word "ancestor" is a perfectly good gender neutral word as it is. It doesn't connote gender, it a fine example of equality.

Why do you have to go and **** it up?

Life imitates Art, Art imitates Life.
Of course.
Yes it bothers me as both reality and as fiction.

But, if I were the only one to read my book, then I would know if my reader would be offended or not. I am hoping my book, a YA fiction, will serve to show an arc of a relatively silly boy crazed girl to a strong heroic young woman who is not focused on what boys think of her. But in the story the character hides behind the clothes of a boy. I think it is necessary and serves the purpose of the story. But I am afraid if my theme of empowering young women will be lost or maybe confused by the implication that she cannot survive as a girl, but would as a boy.

So, as any author fraught with self doubt and concerns about direction, I thought I could hit this forum for some thoughts to see if I should revisit my theme or perhaps change the story.

I am sorry. I was trying to be pun-ny.
Please forgive the error.

See? This is why I needed to ask my question.

Is it possible to address the conflict you feel within the book?

Use internal dialogue to show the character's annoyance that she can only achieve her goal if she appears to be a male. Or have her overcome that challenge within the book - her initial belief is that she must crossdress to achieve her goal but somehow she proves to herself that it's not required.

Okay.

I do not think any intelligent person is going to be offended by a female posing as a male in order to scam the system.

But...obviously there are SOME who will.

You've got to decide whether those "some" matter enough to change (or forego) whatever it is you have planned for the novel. (YOU may be a part of that "some."

I doubt anyone here can help you with that decision.

Just as long as the story line is genuine; it shouldn't come off as contrived or unnecessary.

The setting is important.

There are lots of fictional references to J. Edgar Hoover cross dressing.

People need to stop throwing around terms just because they are tied to emotional implications.

I know everyone wants to release their emotions because they live their life lying to themselves, bottling everything up and wondering why they lose control at the sight of "rape", "sexism", "hate" and so on - WELL I WONDER WHY. MAYBE PEOPLE NEED TO STOP BOXING IN THEIR EMOTIONS AND LET IT OUT.

Joan of Arc comes to mind, but that story doesn't end well for her.

When I read your post, the Barbra Streisand movie, 'Yentl', immediately came to mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yentl_(film)

I don't know if you have seen the film, which is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy". In both Singer's story, and Streisand's film, Yentl is an Ashkenazi Jewish girl living in an Orthodox Jewish shtetl in Poland in the early part of the 20th century. She fervently wishes to study the Torah, and pursue that type of scholarly life--something that females, in that time and place, were not permitted to do, by deeply entrenched religious tradition that defined gender roles. So, in order to fulfill her goals, and her own self fulfillment, Yentl undertakes the subterfuge of assuming the name of her deceased brother, and taking on a male identity.

The Streisand film takes a more feminist and positive view of Yentl--her attempts to fight against religiously imposed restrictive gender roles, and the lengths she goes through to conceal her female identity, in order to achieve her personal goals, are seen as virtues and strengths we can admire. At the end of the film, she decides to go to America, a place she feels will offer her more personal freedom.

In the original Singer short story, which I have not yet read, the outcome for Yentl is apparently less optimistic and rosy--she becomes doomed to wander around, fitting in nowhere, living a life of pain and alienation.

I did not feel angry at the female's situation, and her need for the male subterfuge in the film, although I could feel sadness that a woman, in that time and place, would have to resort to concealing her female identity in order to do what any male in her community was able to do as part of his birthright

So, at least in terms of that film, as a female, I didn't have the double edged reaction to this sort of scenario that you do. I admired the character's ingenuity and determination--I could empathize with her wanting to pursue her own goals, and I could accept her need to appear to be male in order to be able to do that. And, in the long run, her ultimate solution would have to involve removing herself from the restrictive and confining world she was living in, if she could, and moving to a country where she would find greater personal freedom, which would also be a gutsy and brave move.

So I definitely feel you could write a story that would be considerably more empowering than offensive, even set in the present, depending on whether you create a female character who can be admired for her strength, courage, and ingenuity, and who has a compelling and realistic need to cross-dress as a male. If you focus on her positive attributes, and her ability to meet challenges, without undue resentment or anger about her need for cross-dressing, I think you can achieve that.