Women Writers Who Had to Use Male Pseudonyms

We can see that the exclusion of women from writing goes back as far as the history of writing itself. Women who want to enter the literary scene are in this situation. male pseudonym as a solution preferred to use it.

He has words and feelings that he wants to convey to the world, and he wants to convey his existence. women hiding their identities There are writers who find solutions. So why did they want to write their works under a male pseudonym?

The real reason is the desire to be taken seriously in a scene that is thoroughly male-dominated. Because during the period, either the works of women writers were not published or the published works were subjected to intense criticism.

At the same time, since she is a female writer, she Not taken seriously by the reader and there was also concern about not being able to make sales.

After James Tiptree Jr., who made a big breakthrough in the 1970s, announced that his real name was “Alice Sheldon” in 1976, there was a decline in book sales.

On the other hand, not only the author of the book, The main character is also male is of great importance. Sheldon wanted to become better known in the male-dominated science fiction genre. He proved his success by winning various awards with his science fiction novels and short stories published under the name Tiptree.

Years later, in an interview, she explained the reason for having to use a male pseudonym: “A A boy’s name is a good camouflage for me It was like. Thanks to this camouflage, I was able to avoid being put under the spotlight and move freely just like a man. “I needed this because I’d had too many bad experiences in my life being the ‘first woman’ in a damn profession.”

If it had not entered the literary world as the Brontë Sisters, Wuthering Heights would not be with us.

Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte and Anne Bronte; The sisters, who use the pseudonyms Currer Bell, Elise Bell and Acton Bell respectively, are among the young women who wrote under male pseudonyms in the Victorian Era.

Charlotte Bronte herself commented on using these names: “We didn’t want to introduce ourselves as women because prejudice against female writers “We had the impression that the way we wrote and thought was ‘feminine’ at the time.”

The only novel written by Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights is one of the most important works of English literature today. Anne Bell, the youngest of the sisters, is known for her novel Agnes Grey. The sisters also have a poetry book jointly published in 1946 called Poems by Currer, Elise and Acton Bell.

He uses a male pseudonym and describes his male heroes with characteristics that are equated with women.

Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the pseudonym George Eliot, is one of the most famous English writers of the Victorian Era. She stated that her purpose in writing was to reflect the lives of flesh and blood people who came from the dusty streets and fields.

While she continues her writing work, which is considered to be specific to men, by taking a male name, she attributes characteristics that are considered specific to women to her male heroes, a subject that has sharp lines even today. Evans was writing about it in the 1860s.

The story of Harry Potter is written by a woman, but the publishing house prefers the pseudonym JK so that it is not understood that the author is a woman.

The author, who writes under the pseudonym JK Rowling, is the most current and popular example of female writers who use pseudonyms. Author of the Harry Potter series Joanne Rowling He also takes the pseudonym JK for this book.

Publisher, Considering that male readers may hesitate to read a female author She chose to spell her name “JK Rowling” to give the impression that the author is male.

Our author shown in the examples of so-called translated novels is Nihal Zeynep Yeğinobalı.

Yeğinobalı, who uses the pseudonym Vincent Ewing, is one of the few female writers in our geography who can be given as an example of female writers using male names. It was written by a so-called American writer named Vincent Ewing. her first novel, Young Girls published under the name. This book has gone through new editions over the years.

At that time, it was not welcome for a young woman to write a novel with sexual content or connotations, and since it would not be easy to publish, the book was published as if it were a translation. Novel, pseudo-translation A well-known example on the subject.

In the interview published in the August 1988 issue of Kadinca magazine Yeğinobalı says; “I was telling myself that I could write a novel, but they told me, ‘You are still young, you can write it when you grow up.’ Since I earn my living through translations, there was no way I could spare time and engage in such an activity. One day, the publishing house told me that a translation was needed in a hurry. So, I contacted the publishing house. I told him that I read a very good serialized American novel in the last magazine and that I could translate that novel. To avoid copyright problems I pushed the date back and they accepted it. Thus, I wrote the novel every day, with the discipline as if I was translating. I was sending the part I wrote to express every evening. The next day I would have nothing but the last sentence from the day before. I finished it in 1.5 months. That’s how it came to be.”

Edith Maude Eaton is one of the writers who used pseudonyms other than complying with patriarchal standards.

Chinese-British writer Edith Maude Eaton writes not to conform to patriarchal standards, Racial discrimination against Asians living in North America take your troubles to yourself self-censorship He used the pseudonym Sui Sin Far to describe the practice.

This pseudonym, chosen by the author from his own language, is a popular nickname among the Chinese. Narcissus is the Cantonese name for the flower.

He did not want to share his sexual orientation, he created a new identity.

Another reason why female writers prefer to write under male pseudonyms is that their sexual orientation.

British writer Violet Page, who was born in France in 1856, used the pseudonym Vernon Lee and published her novel A Phantom Lover under this name. Vernon Lee to Paget himself creating a new identity was the name he chose for .

With the Take Your Name Back project, 25 books were republished under the name of “female” authors.

One of the UK’s most prestigious literary awards. Women’s Prize for Fiction (Women’s Prize for Fiction) took issue with these women who used men’s names instead of their own.

In 2020, they organized a campaign called “Take Your Name Back” and selected 25 books from female writers who wrote under pseudonyms. with their own “female” names republished.

Male dominance may not be the only reason for using male pseudonyms; There are also cases where writers experience differently how to express themselves.

As a result, the world of literature was once completely male-dominated, It is a fact that many female writers had to give up their names in order to appear on this stage.

At the same time, it is also the struggle they have to express only their worldly troubles and feelings, and their love. However, we still cannot say that all women are oppressed under male pseudonyms. Sometimes they may have thought that this was the only way they could express themselves.

Famous writers who took part in the literary scene with their female identities also remained at the forefront with their courage and emotions.

• English novelist well-known all over the world Jane Austen, She is one of the most popular female writers with her simple and direct narration in her books and the way she looks at events from a different and ironic perspective. She is considered one of the representatives of modern novelism with her strong female narratives in her works. The novel that paved the way for his world fame Pride and Prejudice by other name love and pride It is a masterpiece that has become one of the world classics.
• british writer Agatha Christie, is one of the most important names in detective literature and the creator of the detective Hercule Poirot character. Thinking that he could write better detective stories that he read to pass the time while he was in France, he wrote his first detective novel. Mysterious Incident in Styleswrote .
• One of the important books that the women’s movement did not put down. A Room of One’s Own, Virginia WoolfIt was perhaps the easiest book to read. Because the subject was very concrete: Women and Literature. There is an ‘eternal’ and ‘overwhelming’ question that men tirelessly repeat to women: “You claim that you have the ability to think as much as we do. If so, why couldn’t you produce a genius like Shakespeare?
• Mary Shelley his most famous novel frankensteinHe published in 1818. Besides Frankenstein, Shelley wrote many other books, including Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), his autobiography Lodore (1835), and the posthumously published Mathilde.