Zócalo Public Square

Not all fiction by contemporary female authors concerns itself with stiletto heels, Martini glasses, or wedding gowns. But in the last decade, material written by women--particularly white, middle-class American women--is increasingly assumed to be a lesser literary endeavor than similar projects by men. From the shocking dearth of female bylines in magazines like Harper's and The Atlantic to novels that are automatically deemed "beach reads" because they feature female characters, we seem to be in the midst of a troublingly sexist cultural moment. Are women the victims of a male-centered world of letters, or do they purposefully choose stories that lack philosophical or sociological heft? Authors Elisabeth Robinson and Laura Zigman visit Zócalo to talk with Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum about whether women could do more to close the literary gender gap.