Note: it's quick read for those interested in Catton, literature and women writers, but you can probably skip it. I'm going to quote the relevant part. Catton says:
"I have observed that male writers tend to get asked what they think and women what they feel. In my experience, and that of a lot of other women writers, all of the questions coming at them from interviewers tend to be about how lucky they are to be where they are – about luck and identity and how the idea struck them. The interviews much more seldom engage with the woman as a serious thinker, a philosopher, as a person with preoccupations that are going to sustain them for their lifetime."Reading this reminded me of a recent(ish) quote from Mindy Kaling about how interviewers are always eager to present her as a token marginalized person who has anomalously experienced success:
"But while I’m talking about why I’m so different, white male show runners get to talk about their art."I agree with Catton and Kaling that female artists' success and bodies of work are frequently showcased in such limited and surface manners, often highlighting luck, coincidence, or the inexplicable 'magic' of talent or natural ability. It so often seems like a fairy tale, where fate happened to them and somehow it all worked out happily ever after, but probably not primarily through their own agency. A story highlighting that these women work really hard, manage/lead incredible projects, and are serious thinkers, as Catton puts it, putting the work, thought, intelligence and skill into their art (just like men) never seems to make it into the forefront of these stories and articles.
