【Kalakal】

2025-06-26 21:25:27 [Digital Culture] Source: Exploration Information Network

Here's a newsflash for male authors of the world: women don't just want to read about female characters,Kalakal they want strong female protagonists who have actual personalities.

A new Twitter challenge proves it.

On Friday, writer Gwen C. Katz posted a screenshot of a male author's attempt at writing a female character.

SEE ALSO: Why this bookstore is only stocking titles written by female authors

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

According to this character's inner monologue, she's "a little tall (but not too tall)" and wears "pants so impossibly tight" that if she had a credit card in her back pocket, "you could read the expiration date." Um, OK. That's definitely what women think about when they pick out their clothes.

Katz tweeted more screenshots from this author's story, in which the female character "blushed on command," and included cringey phrases like "and of course, my boobs." Ew.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Can men even write about women without sexualizing them? The ridiculous writing inspired podcaster @whitneyarner to challenge Twitter users to describe themselves like a male author would.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Twitter users covered tropes of women in literature -- for some, it's men's reluctance to listen to peers.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And for others, it was male authors' absolute inability to describe a female character without mentioning her chest.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Some women were tired of being racially tokenized in literature.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

While others took a more unconventional approach at describing the male gaze.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

As Katz pointed out in her Twitter thread, these parodies don't mean that men can't write strong female protagonists. It does, however, mean that they should consider looking for feedback from an actual woman before they send their writing for publishing.