Write like a man: keeping my voice and maintaining my identity as a woman without sounding like a giant vagina.

Someone recently asked me “You write like a man. If I didn’t see your name, I’d never know you were a woman.” The statement was meant and I took it as a complement, but it begged quite a few questions. Why is that a complement? If being a woman writer who works outside of ‘typical’ female dominated genres puts you at a disadvantage, why not choose a gender neutral pseudonym?  Will the fact that I’m a woman overshadow the story I’m trying to tell? Do I have a responsibility to challenge the common conception of female writers just because my voice is considered a little atypical? Does having a strong voice mean I have to eschew or embrace my womanhood? Do I really give a shit what people say?

 L. Anna Lenz is not my real name, its Lisa Fox; a name that is so ingrained into my identity that I have chosen to keep over my husbands, but an established author with the same name prompted me to create a pen name using my husband’s last name (the decision which will forever be known as ‘the great compromise’ in our household).  The rest came about because I thought it sounded pretty. The fact that it was overtly feminine was inconsequential to me at the time.  I don’t want to trick people. “Oh you thought I was a man! Well….BAM! I got a vagina. How do you like me now?”  I don’t hide my true voice behind a masculine curtain to gain legitimacy or acceptance. Although, part of me is a little less confident that this is the greatest idea if I ever intend to pay the bills with my writing, I write who I be.

Write like a man! That phrase appeals to me and stirs up emotions of masculinity, toughness, grit- angry, steel balls of power. There is a stigma about women writers; that they are, I don’t want to say emotional because some of the most iconic stories written by men are gut wrenchingly emotional, but there is a perspective difference that is commonly associated with the stereotype of the sensitive feminine that appears in the voices of women writers. Those voices can be soft, warm and inviting or cold, strong and defiant, but all can still be inherently feminine.  I still wonder if there is anything wrong with that as we strive for equal footing in society, but don’t want to lose parts of ourselves in the process. I would be lying if I said being a woman doesn’t affect the way I write. Being a woman has been such a defining factor of what has shaped me as a person, but it isn’t the sole thing that defines me.

Although as an artist and a writer, I enjoy poking at the foundations of the pillars of our society, I don’t want to go into this thinking my work has any social responsibility whatsoever. I don’t believe that any one work of art should carry the burden of needing to uphold or destroy societal constructs in order to be “effective” art. Attaching that much weight to my stories would be detrimental to the entirety of the piece and would overshadow all of the other themes I want to express.

I wonder my voice is perceived as being more masculine because I paint my words with violence. All of my characters are shaped through violence, whether it is directed at them or through the violent acts they commit themselves.  I don’t know why but I’d love to hear people’s opinions. It is a creative and destructive force that has always fascinated me. Having experienced violence both on the giving and receiving end, how it is perceived differently between the sexes intrigues me. It is acceptable (in the sense that the core concept doesn’t blow our minds) for a man to express power dynamics, sexuality and internal turmoil through violent acts and for women to absorb it.

We might shed a tear, but we won’t bat an eye when a story is told about how a young man loses his innocence through a violent act that he has committed. A girl will rarely lose her innocence through a direct action of her own, usually it is by someone or something that happens to her. For a woman to express herself through violence it is often always perceived as an act of self-defense (or a direct, mostly emotional response to violent acts committed against her) a mental illness, or as a sign of being somehow unfeminine.

Girls can be angry. Women can rage, hate and spite just as well as any man. I was always felt more comfortable putting my fist through a plate glass window than writing my feelings down in a flowery journal, but I rarely did. Maybe it’s because girls are trained at a very young age to accept our place, to be comfortable being uncomfortable and not violently change our world to suit us.  It did help me become a better writer, but I wonder if that is why I want to strut my lady bits with pride.  Every bloody fist, every pretty dress, every time I powder my nose and every time I don’t want to cuddle after sex, all parts of me are feminine because I am a woman. I am proud of the dark, gritty, guttural epic I’ve written, and I like my pretty feminine pseudonym. If you don’t well, suck my giant invisible dick.

Little Princes: What’s Right with Generation Y

By: L. Anna Lenz

I’ve been reading a lot of articles describing “what is wrong” with our generation. There is the very negative attitude towards ‘millennials’, and I believe that judging our generation by those with different standards and values is unfair and very one sided. We are different, but our strengths in the workforce, if harnessed correctly can benefit any company.

First thing you need to know about Generation Y, is that we view ourselves as a part of a community, not a competition.  Yes we grew up in a time where everyone earned a trophy, but the confidence we drew from that allowed us to feel secure enough in ourselves to not feel threatened by the success of our peers. Our parents grew up during Cold War Era mentality of competition, a deep desire to be the best.  This mentality forces an “every man for himself” attitude towards each other.  Generation Y is much more supportive of each other, we are genuinely happy to see our peers succeed and actively help each other out.  Trying to motivate us through competition won’t be as successful as challenging us as a team. Previous generations were able to exploit an insecurity to draw out productivity, trying to use that method on millennial is just not going to work.  This mentality may not fit into the old corporate line of thinking about expansion, crushing the competition and the bottom line, but maybe teamwork, connecting and working together will help businesses ride out this storm and enter the new world economy.

The generation before us built empires without thought or care about the effects on the future of the planet, the community or the economy. Growth and expansion fueled the drive for profits, success and domination. It’s a system that is unsustainable, and frankly not one we wish to be a part of and we aren’t spoiled communists for not wanting to be a part of it. Thirty years ago one could work in a company that paid a decent salary, would work for twenty plus years with the same company and then received a pension and benefits.  That isn’t a reality for us. There is no loyalty and no security. We are disposable and a commodity expected to be thrilled to be used for the greater good of the corporation. (For the record there is something so “Soviet Block” in that mentality, erasing individuality, creativity and development, and you call us communists?) Sorry if we don’t seem enthused to be a part of that mess.

Innovation, creativity and individualism are what made America great. We support local business, organic food and quality products. We want to have lives outside of work and don’t wish to be slaves to our jobs; instead we make our careers an integral part of a fuller life. Yes we believe we deserve that kind of lifestyle, but we also believe you deserve it as well.  Successful businesses will harness our generation’s enthusiasm, skill, innovation and creativity to build themselves as members of a community, not exploiting their workers and the surrounding community for numbers. We see through that and no amount of marketing will make you successful if you are still focused on dealing with us “the old way”.

We are a generation of craftsmen. I am so proud to see the level of care and craftsmanship that goes into everything we create. Just visit etsy.com or Kickstarter and see all of the beautiful things we create. Craft beers, food, tattoos, art, design and technology, the bar has been raised on the quality of things we produce. We have created art forms that either didn’t exist or developed old forgotten ones and have taken them to the next level. You can find a fine, handmade rocking chair much easier than you could have ten years ago, and there is something really cool about that.  The failure of the corporate conglomerate, big box, cookie cutter economy has forced us to be creative, focus on generating income ourselves with small business and freelancing. We want to see each other succeed and actively work towards that goal.
The crumbling of the economy kept us stagnant us for a few years, and we continue to struggle in this world that hasn’t quite adjusted to our way of doing things yet. Yes, we are taking longer to get established and get on our feet, but it just isn’t economically feasible to not be this way. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I lived with my grandparents for a year in my mid-twenties and I am so grateful that I had that time to connect with them. My grandmother is one of my best friends.  Our family bonds and appreciation are stronger than they had been in the past.

Past articles have called us self-absorbed and shallow because of social media sites. I think our generation is more connected to each other than ever.  The internet has given us the ability to become a global community. We can organize and change the world in a few key strokes, but we are also involved off line with our local communities. There is no way our generation will get a job without interning or volunteering. Studies show we log more volunteer time than previous generations and we like to be active members in our communities, globally and locally. We are earth and health conscious, like well made, quality products that benefit the communities we live in.  It doesn’t fall in line with the values our parents had, nor does it follow the values the media has tried to instill in us. We are an anomaly formed by a mix of structure and chaos. We support individuality, creativity and community. We are incredibly special and are already changing the world. I am proud of all of us in our generation and can’t wait to see the world we build.

If they were the Januaryists...we might have avioded this whole Cold War entirely

I'm considering resurrecting Tesla to be a coconspiritor on a weather control device. I need to eliminate January. It is a miserable month. Aside from personal tragedy and my apparent aversion for pants, washing my hair and getting out of bed, this month has always been the worst month of the year. Everybody is fat, sick and has no desire to do anything. It is fucking cold.
We live in a wonderful world of the Slap Chop, interactive videogames and somewhere on this planet you can feed a child for thirty three cents a day, yet we still have Januaries and terrorism. This has to be one of the top failings of humanity, in between the destruction of the environment, the Spanish Inquisition and the breakup of the Spice Girls.
We get through January and like some traumatizing event, we shove it back into our minds. Remember last January? No. Because come March we live like January never existed...a fog, or a bad dream that melted with the snow.
Wrapped in a snuggy and drinking stale holiday beer I speak out against this terrible month. I hope that this year's January brings lessons learned, to plan a getaway to Australia or just take off and sleep until Groundhog Day. January Awareness needs to spread so we no longer suffer in the cold and silence.