Read Women discussion

Hi everyone,

Just came across the Guardian article about the "Reclaim Her Name Project" about female authors who were printed under their male pseudonyms.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

This is such an empowering project, in my opinion. What are your thoughts?

Cheers

Hi! I've just shared this as well, on a different platform. I've downloaded all 25, so I am a huge fan already. I also really like that, apart from Middlemarch, I haven't heard of any of the authors/works so I'm really excited to learn a bit too!

I think it's awesome. I have downloaded all of them as well. It is past time that books like these are published under the authors real names. The covers are beautiful which is a lovely bonus.

I agree. Thank you for sharing this with us Samaira. I have to admit that after my initial response of pleasure, I worried that some authors might have preferred their male pseudonyms for various personal reasons. Although it doesn't detract from my pleasure at giving these works back to their authors, and I look forward to reading them all. I'm sure the publishers were careful with their selection process. I'd make space on my actual shelf for a series like this.

Emily wrote: "Hi! I've just shared this as well, on a different platform. I've downloaded all 25, so I am a huge fan already. I also really like that, apart from Middlemarch, I haven't heard of any of the author..."

That is wonderful. I look forward to you sharing the reviews.

Laurie wrote: "I think it's awesome. I have downloaded all of them as well. It is past time that books like these are published under the authors real names. The covers are beautiful which is a lovely bonus."

Exactly. During my travels across the world, I have met more women with depth, intellect, personality, character and strength than most men, and when I read about women before us having to or choosing to print under male pseudonyms, it makes me wonder about their stories, rich lives and experiences which could not find an authentic expression. To me, women's lives and experiences are so rich and fascinating. Every story is important to me.

Anita wrote: "I agree. Thank you for sharing this with us Samaira. I have to admit that after my initial response of pleasure, I worried that some authors might have preferred their male pseudonyms for various p..."

Thank you, Anita. I agree. I can understand the reasons for choosing to print under male pseudonyms but "having to" print under such is a different story. One reason I can think of is social conditioning and abiding to societal consensus. It is mostly a trait of either collective societies or a homogenous society where these social norms are rigidly enforced. The Danish author H.C. Andersen is one such paradox and the Nordic "Janteloven" that keeps everyone in check.

I was watching Netflix's Rookie Historian (Korean series) about the first female scholar in the Joseon court and how her intellect was judged based on her gender. I want to understand how, why and when gender and race were set as parameters to judge someone's intellect. Such stigmatization of self expression and personal agency.

Thanks for sharing!

I posted about this topic in another group. Lisa Yaszek is an academic who focussed specifically in woman writing Speculative fiction. At the start, 1920s or so, many women used their own names. The misogyny didn't get into full swing until later when the genre became mature, for decades they were purposely erased from history by anthologists.

https://www.wired.com/2019/02/geeks-g...

A really interesting thread, thank you Samaira

Beige wrote: "Thanks for sharing!

I posted about this topic in another group. Lisa Yaszek is an academic who focussed specifically in woman writing Speculative fiction. At the start, 1920s or so, many women us..."

Thank you for sharing this, Beige. Insightful. I have added Lisa Yaszek's books to my reading list.

Crazytourists_books wrote: "A really interesting thread, thank you Samaira"

Cheers, Crazytourists_books.

Samaira wrote: "Hi everyone,

Just came across the Guardian article about the "Reclaim Her Name Project" about female authors who were printed under their male pseudonyms.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/..."

Thanks for the sharing, I will go check this out! I will probably be downloading quite some of them soon ;-)

Thanks for raising this too, I read Guardian article but I've seen a few comments recently that've made me more sceptical about the project, thought this was an interesting alternative perspective

The Story of a New Name Catherine Taylor,

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/th...

But did end up downloading three of the books!

Irphen wrote:

Thanks for the sharing, I will go check this out! I will probably be downloading quite some of them soon ;-)
"

Cheers, Irphen. :)

Alwynne wrote: "Thanks for raising this too, I read Guardian article but I've seen a few comments recently that've made me more sceptical about the project, thought this was an interesting alternative perspective
..."

Thanks for sharing, Alwynne. I read the criticism but I feel that the premise of writer's underlying criticism of the project is misdirected despite being informed by her work experience as she writes. Her major concern is regarding the right to privacy of the individuals. In the Guardian article, the author mentions that the committee put in charge of the process did thorough due diligence before selecting the titles.

As Anita have mentioned in the discussion and I concur that there are many reasons women chose to or "had to" publish under male pseudonyms. This could be out of choice for need of privacy, protection, or a "career strategy" to play by the rules of the game during that time etc, but when the writer criticises that a certain author could not be "forced" to publish under pseudonyms, misses the point that the entire argument is about the "choice". There were women who did not have "choice" to publish as female. I think this argument comes from a place of previlege since gender was not the only entry barrier for women but within the gender construct other social barriers including class, race, caste etc were present. Access to opportunities and exercising choice within the gender construct are not mutually exclusive.

Her major concern is regarding the right to privacy of the individuals. In the Guardian article, the author mentions that the committee put in charge of the process did thorough due diligence before selecting the titles.

Obviously see your point, although not clear how it’s possible to do ‘due diligence’ re privacy when individuals are not available for consultation. The additional issues that have arisen re: representing authors accurately, as well as questions of attribution, further undermines my sense that due care was taken with the execution of this project:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

And again interesting points re: choice although didn’t entirely follow the conclusion to your argument, but just as there’s more than one way to consider issues of choice, there’s more than one way of assessing the legitimacy of a project, and Catherine Taylor’s not the only dissenting voice here, as this article demonstrates:

https://lithub.com/the-reclaimhername...

Opting to foreground a western name for a writer who routinely elected to promote her Chinese heritage seemed particularly dubious (in itself a form of retrospective erasure of key aspects of that writer’s identity). So, I think I’ll retain a degree of scepticism in relation to this particular promotional strategy.