So women writers are all over the place in fantasy, poetry, horror, children’s and even sci-fi. We’re not the majority by any means and I’m totally fine with that.
Fantasy and children’s are fun genres that a lot of women enjoy because we are imaginative. Poetry is what it is, not my thing anymore-everyone is a poet at one point in their life. I was even surprised to meet so many ladies who rock horror but I’ve been doing it myself so I don’t know why. Sci-fi is harder but publications are always asking for the female perspective in this niche.
Then you get into literary fiction. This is a heavy, real, serious world. When I write fiction I am intimidated and work harder than ever to make my story shine. When it comes to reading others’ stories and submitting, I am like, surrounded by men. Tough, old, worn down men. They are no joke and I respect the hell out of them. But where the F*&# are the ladies?
From what I read and frequent, there is usually like one female writer per issue and I don’t think it’s due to discrimination. I understand that like me, a lot of other women would rather enjoy the fun accepting world of fantasy or poetry. This disparity has pushed me to finally put my serious stuff out there. Don’t worry I will continue to work on horror and all the other stuff, but I’ve been sitting on 3 really real stories.
Why? Because I’m less ballsy when it comes to the scrutiny of literary fiction. How do I alleviate that? I don’t. I suck it up, drink a glass of wine, and say “what the hell, why not?”
Come on ladies. Why not?
Jessica Marie Baumgartner 
Like most other areas, women are behind the curve in literary fiction just because it was dominated by men for so long. Historically, their brains were seen as superior and therefore their deep insights into life were better. I think it’s probably a combination of women being socialized away from it and some slight remaining belief that it’s a man’s realm. I actually know a lot of women who are pursuing literary fiction, but for whatever reason it seems as though they need to be even more diverse to succeed. Good luck with your projects!
I hear ya, thanks!
I love the horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres and wish there were more women writing for them. As a woman, it’s no surprise that I find their work more relatable. I just finished Veronica Roth’s Divergent today. It seems that Young Adult is one of the few places I can go for a female perspective in the genres I enjoy (I’m 36). Can you post some of your favorite authors Jess, since we enjoy some of the same types of stories?