Genderswapping and female main characters

I'm working on two stories right now. One has an ensemble cast, but the other one really only has one main character, a man, who's surrounded by aliens and has exciting doctor adventures in deep space.

The cast list of the ensemble story is pretty well balanced, with both male and female characters taking center stage at times. But with the other, there's only one spotlight and it's unavoidably on a male character all the time.

Now, there's nothing wrong with him being a guy. I want to get that out of the way right now. He's perfectly fine as a male character. I like him as he is, and I enjoy writing him. 

But there's a part of me - the part that looks around and laments that there aren't more awesome ladies in main character roles, especially in more adventure-style stories - that's been asking recently if I need to leave him as a man, or if I could change him to a woman without changing too much of the story or making her less fun to write.

And honestly, I think the answer I've come up with is no. Changing this character to a woman wouldn't actually affect the story all that much. He doesn't use physical strength very much so the one possible physical difference doesn't really come into play. There would be some different personal concerns, but they're easy enough to work in. And since none of the aliens has much of a concept of human gender, they would be unlikely to treat him any different if he became a she. 

And yet, I'm hesitant to change it. I'm sure part of it is just long familiarity with the character as a man - he was a roleplaying character long before I first tried to put him into prose in 2011 - but as I continue debating the merits of making him a her, I have to wonder if part of it's just an unconscious feeling that a man is "right" for the sort of loose sci-fi adventure story he's in. :-/

Progress: Blessed (24,400); Sci-fi story (56,716).

FBFFs

I’ve been reading Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate books lately, in between other stuff. I described them to a friend as the “cream puffs of the book world” and I stand by that description.  They’re quick, fun and easy reads, but they don’t have a whole lot of weight to them (at least the first and most of the second) and consequently don’t really stick with you for very long.

However, there is one thing these books do well that is rare enough to warrant a mention and a bit of praise. They have something that so, so many steampunk stories and urban fantasy of many stripes don’t.

They have Ivy.

True they also have Madame Lefoux, but there are some issues surrounding the treatment of her character so far that make me uncomfortable with heaping praise on her, so it is on Ivy that I wish to focus – on the woman whose part in this series is simply that of a friend, a companion, a supporter and cheerleader and hat-sharer and gossip partner.

Why don’t we have more Ivy?

I have heard it said before that the reason there is so much romance and so little friendship outside the plot-functional in so much creative media has to do with friendships simply not being as interesting to read about. (The actual argument is that stories like that are for women, but we all know what “for women” is usually code for, I suspect).

But when we do get friendships, somehow it always feels like we get the guy friendships – the always-got-your-backs, the epic bromances, the we-can’t-admit-our-friendship-is-importants, a whole range. Whereas, it often feels like female friendships are limited to gossiping together, or using one another and, if your character is sufficiently modern, perhaps business associates as well. There aren’t that many Kirk and Spock-style friendships, a lack of Frodo and Sam devotion. In short, it feels like there is a lack of depth. It might just be that the spread of fiction I read happens not to include them and the fault is entirely mine, but some part of me feels like that’s not likely the case.

Which is why I love Ivy and Alexia’s relationship. They gossip. They both complain about things the other does they find tiresome. But they make time for one another. They share their thoughts and observations, both trivial and personal. And they show, through little gestures, that they truly care about one another. And you know what? That was NICE to read.

Bonus points also go to Jim Hines’ princess series and Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye books for also making time for the female leads to have actual, real and meaningful friendships!

Anyone out there have any recs on this front?