4 ms·

I think the problem is that many people didn't, or even still don't, know that George Eliot was a woman. Which was kind of why she had to choose it in the first

by kitd 6y ago

I think the problem is that many people didn't, or even still don't, know that George Eliot was a woman. Which was kind of why she had to choose it in the first place (cf the Bronte sisters who had to do the same thing initially). Using her real name goes some way to restoring the respect to woman writers that wasn't there at the time. Ie there's a justice element to it too.

TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
I suspect people who don't know that George Eliot was a woman don't care about books anyway. Gender impersonation still happens, but not always in ways the Guardian would approve of. There's a core of male writers using female pseudonyms to publish romantic fiction, because no one is going to buy it if it's published under a male name. J K Rowling was - apparently - persuaded not to be Joanne by her publisher. But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers.
- watwut 6y ago
  The claim toward J K Rowling was that the female name would be disadvantage. She was not told it is impossible to succeed with female name nor that no one ever succeeded, just that the chance is lower. The romantic literature is outlier in this way - having female name is advantage.
  - rsynnott 6y ago
    The publisher may have effectively vetoed it, though; if you're an unpublished author, then what your publisher recommends can be very close to what your publisher dictates.
- chongli 6y ago
  J K Rowling was - apparently - persuaded not to be Joanne by her publisher. But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers. The argument at the time was that Harry Potter is a children’s book with a male protagonist and that boys would not want to read it if it was obviously written by a woman. It makes some sense, as boys are under tremendous pressure to demonstrate masculinity at school.
- kitd 6y ago
  But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers. Because they lived some 150 years after Eliot and the Brontes. The point is restoring respect to women who, at the time they were alive, were expected to use male pseudonyms.
cafard 6y ago
In the 19th Century it seems to have been quite well known.

by kitd 6y ago

TheOtherHobbes 6y ago

I suspect people who don't know that George Eliot was a woman don't care about books anyway. Gender impersonation still happens, but not always in ways the Guardian would approve of. There's a core of male writers using female pseudonyms to publish romantic fiction, because no one is going to buy it if it's published under a male name. J K Rowling was - apparently - persuaded not to be Joanne by her publisher. But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers.

watwut 6y ago
The claim toward J K Rowling was that the female name would be disadvantage. She was not told it is impossible to succeed with female name nor that no one ever succeeded, just that the chance is lower. The romantic literature is outlier in this way - having female name is advantage.
- rsynnott 6y ago
  The publisher may have effectively vetoed it, though; if you're an unpublished author, then what your publisher recommends can be very close to what your publisher dictates.
chongli 6y ago
J K Rowling was - apparently - persuaded not to be Joanne by her publisher. But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers. The argument at the time was that Harry Potter is a children’s book with a male protagonist and that boys would not want to read it if it was obviously written by a woman. It makes some sense, as boys are under tremendous pressure to demonstrate masculinity at school.
kitd 6y ago
But having a female name didn't keep Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, and many other women from having very successful careers. Because they lived some 150 years after Eliot and the Brontes. The point is restoring respect to women who, at the time they were alive, were expected to use male pseudonyms.

cafard 6y ago

In the 19th Century it seems to have been quite well known.