''How to Suppress Women's Writing'' is a book by

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as '' How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as ...

, published in 1983. Written in the style of a sarcastic and irreverent guidebook, it explains how women are prevented from producing written works, not given credit when such works are produced, or dismissed or belittled for those contributions which they are acknowledged to have made. Although primarily focusing on texts written in English, the author also includes examples from non-English works and other media, like paintings. Citing authors and critics like

Suzy McKee Charnas Suzy McKee Charnas (October 22, 1939 – January 2, 2023) was an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the Ne ...

Margaret Cavendish Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (; 1623 er exact birth date is unknown– 16 December 1673) was an English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer, and playwright. She was a prolific writer, publishing over 12 original ...

, and

Vonda McIntyre Vonda Neel McIntyre () was an American science fiction writer and biologist. Early life and education Vonda N. McIntyre was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of H. Neel and Vonda B. Keith McIntyre, who were born in Poland, Ohio. She ...

, Russ aims to describe the systematic social forces that impede widespread recognition of the work of female authors. Although Russ was an active feminist and one of the central contributors to the

feminist science fiction Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on such feminist themes as: gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF is political because of its tendency to ...

scene during the late 1960s and 70s, ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'' marked a transition towards her focus on

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

. In the same decade, she went on to write an essay entitled "Recent Feminist Utopias," which was later published in 1995 as part of her book, '' To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction''.

Russ' suppression methods

The book outlines eleven common methods that are used to ignore, condemn or belittle the work of female authors: ;1. Prohibitions :Prevent women from access to the basic tools for writing. ;2. Bad Faith :Unconsciously create social systems that ignore or devalue women's writing. ;3. Denial of Agency :Deny that a woman wrote it. ;4. Pollution of Agency :Show that their art is immodest, not actually art, or shouldn't have been written about. ;5. The Double Standard of Content :Claim that one set of experiences is considered more valuable than another. ;6. False Categorizing :Incorrectly categorize women artists as the wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, or lovers of male artists. ;7. Isolation :Create a myth of isolated achievement that claims that only one work or short series of poems is considered great. ;8. Anomalousness :Assert that the woman in question is eccentric or atypical. ;9. Lack of Models :Reinforce a male author dominance in literary canons in order to cut off women writers' inspiration and role models. ;10. Responses :Force women to deny their female identity in order to be taken seriously. ;11. Aesthetics :Popularize aesthetic works that contain demeaning roles and characterizations of women.
How to Suppress Women's Writing
'' : excerpts from the book

Reception

Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

scholars generally received the book positively. It is highly regarded for its cutting humor and wit, as well as its disarming and novel presentation of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

in the arenas of art and writing.

References

{{Joanna Russ 1983 non-fiction books American non-fiction books English-language non-fiction books Radical feminist books University of Texas Press books Works by Joanna Russ Books about writers Books about writing