Recently, a female writer said to me: It would take guts to hand over the power one can have as a woman. You can be any sex you like when you write. Or none at all. You can be a tree.
On the topic of feminism, she responded: I’m not sure what it is. Maybe because I’m bisexual, I don’t feel particularly affiliated to either sex. Or, I feel affiliated to both. Or I loathe the lot of you.
A barrage of questions ensued:
i. How does your first sentence relate to the second one?
ii. When you talk about guts, are you talking about women in general or women when they write?
iii. If the former, what, according to you, does this power look like and when do you (or have to) hand it over?
iv. If you have power when you write, what is it you want to use this power for?
and I wanted to know:
v. Would you say that you succeed in leaving your gender behind you when you write and if so, wouldn’t that be giving away the power you have as a woman???
Answers pending.
I confessed:
I personally don’t feel that I have a lot of power as a woman (in general), but I know that when I write, I’m a warrior.