Misread and Misrepresented: The Gendered Lens on Female Characters in Fiction
Start Date
April 2025
Location
2nd floor - Library
Abstract
The goal of this research project is to analyze the portrayal and perception of female characters in fiction through scholarly research and Goodreads reviews. Women in fiction are typically more critically judged by readers and inaccurately portrayed by authors, perpetuating harmful stereotypes that are far from the truth and potentially influencing the way people view women in their everyday lives. The portrayal of women is studied through scholarly analyses of different fictional works detailing the way women are written through the male gaze, fail to pass the Bechdel-Wallace test often in conversation, are repeatedly described as weak and dependent on men, and sometimes exist in fiction purely to suffer or serve as sex objects. The perception of women is indicated by the analysis of various Goodreads reviews of popular fictional pieces, analyzing 50 random reviews of said pieces via keyword searches to see how many reviews indicate criticism of female main characters versus how many critique male main characters. The hope is to provide defensible evidence to support the claim that women in fiction are judged more critically than men and are also presented in a damaging and imprecise way.
Misread and Misrepresented: The Gendered Lens on Female Characters in Fiction
2nd floor - Library
The goal of this research project is to analyze the portrayal and perception of female characters in fiction through scholarly research and Goodreads reviews. Women in fiction are typically more critically judged by readers and inaccurately portrayed by authors, perpetuating harmful stereotypes that are far from the truth and potentially influencing the way people view women in their everyday lives. The portrayal of women is studied through scholarly analyses of different fictional works detailing the way women are written through the male gaze, fail to pass the Bechdel-Wallace test often in conversation, are repeatedly described as weak and dependent on men, and sometimes exist in fiction purely to suffer or serve as sex objects. The perception of women is indicated by the analysis of various Goodreads reviews of popular fictional pieces, analyzing 50 random reviews of said pieces via keyword searches to see how many reviews indicate criticism of female main characters versus how many critique male main characters. The hope is to provide defensible evidence to support the claim that women in fiction are judged more critically than men and are also presented in a damaging and imprecise way.
