is an Inexplicit protagonist gender too confusing for readers?

[TotallyHuman]

"You wipe the sweat off of your neck with your t-shirt"
As self-insert as it gets.

 

[sereminar]

I say go for it! Like others have pointed out it may be easiest to use first person. I think it can be pretty fun to read a story like that. Thinking things through like: how detailed do I want the description of the mc to be, how do I want others to react/interact to them, does their reputation supersede any other defining feature, how do others talk about them I front of their face, is there anyone else too talk about them. It all seems pretty dang fun!

 

[Discount_Blade]

Feel free to un-include yourself, then. You'd be the serial killer in this situation. A male would obviously be less concerned with it since there are millions of Male Protagonist stories...

Honestly, it can be difficult to tell a character's gender when reading first person. For you this may be a boon, but it can also backfire strongly when a male writes for a female character or vice versa. You may be better trying to make a specific character that people can like than trying to make a self-insert character. That kind of thing works best in a video game, rather than a book, since it can make them seem flat and lifeless.

Lol okay snowflake. Can't see how I'm the serial killer in that scenario but sure......

And there are plenty of female protagonist stories also so that was a bit of a retarded statement. Half of my favorites list on RR is female-protags and they are pretty much action-oriented stories for the most part. So uh....your point is?

Oh no, don't tell me, you're going to start screeching about "the patriarchy!!" too huh?

 

[SailusGebel]

Isn't second-person POV solves your issue?

 

[Discount_Blade]

Isn't second-person POV solves your issue?

Writing in second-person for an entire story sounds like a harsh mental workout. I suppose you could practice like anything else, but why bother? I've never even seen anything written in second-person unless I actively looked up examples for myself.

But yeah, it definitely would solve this entire issue.

 

[SailusGebel]

Writing in second-person for an entire story sounds like a harsh mental workout. I suppose you could practice like anything else, but why bother? I've never even seen anything written in second-person unless I actively looked up examples for myself.

I guess you are right. However, OP wants an easier self-insert for readers. Why use a crutch which is inexplicit protagonist gender; when you can simply change the pov?

 

[War_and_Poetry]

Feel free to un-include yourself, then. You'd be the serial killer in this situation.

@Discount_Blade
It seems that we've found another one lol

 

[AKnightWithaKnife]

To be honest he in writing allows for the most inversion. We’ve been wired to use the male pronouns when and person gender is unknow that it kinda had become unisex in its own right

 

[Discount_Blade]

@Discount_Blade
It seems that we've found another one lol

ikr?

 

[rehanjohn1]

I would like to explore the latest lil peep pants for my children. Tell me where can i find this.

 

[Jemini]

@Discount_Blade
It seems that we've found another one lol

This is exactly why I make a point about being careful not to mention my gender or ethnicity online. I am certain by this point everyone has assumed my gender and maybe even my ethnicity, but the only time I ever call someone on it is if they start acting up like this.

(Otherwise, I will just accept whatever gender pronouns or ethnic assumptions someone wants to paint me with. So long as you are not acting like an idiot, you can call absolutely anything you like. I revoke that privilege as soon as you start acting like an SJW, at which point I get quite a bit of enjoyment over calling them out, or just acting like an idiot in witch case I say "hey, please stop.")

Honestly, I can't stand these sorts. These types who just want to virtue signal in order to feel good about themselves or bully others harm the cause of the people who advocate for real civil rights.

 

[Ddraig]

I guess you are right. However, OP wants an easier self-insert for readers. Why use a crutch which is inexplicit protagonist gender; when you can simply change the pov?

I dunno, something tells me it will be easier to self-insert into a bland, yet explicitly gendered protagonist then to deal with something as uncommon as 2nd person pov while reading.

 

[SilvoidVorstellung]

Bruh, are you trying to make a game or something?
I think it's better to create each different significant character that people can related to than creating a single bland MC if that what you mean reaching a wider audience.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Can't see how I'm the serial killer in that scenario but sure......

It was your metaphor. If it doesn't make sense, that's on you.

And there are plenty of female protagonist stories also so that was a bit of a retarded statement. Half of my favorites list on RR is female-protags and they are pretty much action-oriented stories for the most part. So uh....your point is?

What do you have to gain from mocking someone for wanting to read something designed for them? What insanity drove you to compare them to one of the worst types of criminals in existence? Do you really think being a girl or an enby is comparable to serial killers? What point are you trying to make?

Oh no, don't tell me, you're going to start screeching about "the patriarchy!!" too huh?

Oh no, you resorted to copy pasting an unrelated statement to try and villainize me. How could I ever contend with such a venomous wit.

We’ve been wired to use the male pronouns when and person gender is unknow that it kinda had become unisex in its own right

It's true that some people default to a male perspective, but that's not necessarily a good thing. There's nothing wrong with trying to appeal to a wider audience, if it's possible.

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

Ahh... no. It's definitely Japanese, without a doubt. Of the major world languages, Japanese is the only one with gender neutral pronouns that you can refer to a person with.

A rather famous example would be reincarnated as a slime. Rimuru's pronouns get translated as masculine, but in the original Japanese he was referred to strictly with gender-neutral pronouns. This leads to some strange chapters in the translation where suddenly the translator will switch to using the gender neutral. You always know what that's going to mean, because every single time the translator does this it turns out someone who just met Rimuru winds up referring to him as a beautiful woman or something of the sort.

(Actually, it was reincarnated as a slime that had originally inspired me to take my misguided attempt at having a gender neutral character in my story. It wasn't for any of that a-gender twitter group stuff. It was simply because I saw the whole weirdness of the translation on reincarnated as a slime, found out about the original Japanese having Rimuru referred to as truly gender neutral, and wanted to have a character like that in my story. I have thought better since. It simply DOES NOT WORK in English at all.)

Well... I specifically wrote 'objects/animals', not people. I don't see how gendered pronouns apply to a kettle.

Also, Japanese fails at the task because of the nuances added to the words. Those non-gendered japanese words are dissmisive in origin and purpose. You are not going to convince me that one of the most xenophobic, racist, and discriminatory countries in the world has an inclusive language. Terrible example for the subject. While it works from an outside perspective, it has the added 'not a person in my eyes' meaning behind it. You can't use a language with such connotations and then excuse the author with 'ah, but he didn't mean it like that'. That'd be the equivalent of me describing black people in a fantasy setting with negro by a white isekai'd man and say 'oh, there's no racism in this world, so it's fine'. It's disingenuous.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Well... I specifically wrote 'objects/animals', not people. I don't see how gendered pronouns apply to a kettle.

French(and other Romance languages?) describe things with gendered language a lot of the time, lol. Usually you have to learn the gender of the word alongside it's meaning.

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

French(and other Romance languages?) describe things with gendered language a lot of the time, lol. Usually you have to learn the gender of the word alongside it's meaning.

?
I was talking exclusively about English. My native language is Castillian Spanish, so I think I know a bit about gendered nouns and adjectives.

 

[Discount_Blade]

It was your metaphor. If it doesn't makes sense, thats on you.

Makes perfect sense to me. You just didn't use it correctly. Thats on you.

What do you have to gain from mocking someone for wanting to read something designed for them? What insanity drove you to compare them to one of the worst types of criminals in existence? Do you really think being a girl or an enby is comparable to serial killers? What point are you trying to make?

And how is something without a gender "designed" for someone? Everyone has a gender.

 

[Cipiteca396]

?
I was talking exclusively about English. My native language is Castillian Spanish, so I think I know a bit about gendered nouns and adjectives.

I don't know about Spanish, but a kettle is given feminine indicators in French. I wasn't trying to insult you or whatever you're thinking, it just stood out to me.

 

[Jemini]

Well... I specifically wrote 'objects/animals', not people. I don't see how gendered pronouns apply to a kettle.

Also, Japanese fails at the task because of the nuances added to the words. Those non-gendered japanese words are dissmisive in origin and purpose. You are not going to convince me that one of the most xenophobic, racist, and discriminatory countries in the world has an inclusive language. Terrible example for the subject. While it works from an outside perspective, it has the added 'not a person in my eyes' meaning behind it. You can't use a language with such connotations and then excuse the author with 'ah, but he didn't mean it like that'. That'd be the equivalent of me describing black people in a fantasy setting with negro by a white isekai'd man and say 'oh, there's no racism in this world, so it's fine'. It's disingenuous.

Ahh what, you would have a problem with someone calling you "Ano kata?" (That person.)

Lol, Ok, joking aside, I never said that Japanese was inclusive. Only that it was easy to write in the gender neutral. English is actually worse on every single one of the points you brought up. It's either similarly as dismissive, or it just becomes awkward as you keep repeating a person's name way too often.

Also, in Japanese, it is somewhat common to use a person's name more often than you would in English, so there is a perfectly polite form of gender neutral in Japanese.

If you want a truly "inclusive" form of gender-neutral speech though, you are going to have to look outside of the major world languages and start scouring through languages spoken by some indigenous tribal societies.