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Hello sassy people!
Today is Women’s Day (March 8th) and to celebrate this important day I separated 7 lead female characters, from 7 different books, who work in male-dominated fields, breaking barriers and taking charge, showing the world that we ladies can do anything.
So I separated my list into 5 categories, starting with my latest read:
Lawyers: even though there are a lot of females practicing law (1 out of 3 layers are females, according to the United States Census of 2018) female lawyers still have to deal with a number of challenges that male lawyers don’t. Any position that suggests power, such as a lawyer, a prosecutor, and especially a judge is still viewed as a man’s job. “According to a 2011 United Nations report, women only account for 27% of judges worldwide.” That is why I believe that this profession and female law practitioners deserve a spot in this list, for how strong and brave they need to be, to fight for their spot and earn it.
This is a reality that these books present:
Overruled and Appealed by Emma Chase
Both books are in the “Legal Briefs” series, which presents the life of 5 different lawyers, in different positions and different life stories, in 3 books (and a novella).
The lead of Overruled, Sofia Santos is a defense attorney in a big firm in DC. During the book, she doesn’t only show how fierce and strong-minded she is but also talks about how different a woman’s experience is inside a law firm. At a scene, she even talks about having learned golf, as a way of making connections…
“Professional women have come a long way – our feet are now firmly in the door of the previously dominated boy’s club of political, legal, and business fields. But we still have a long way to go. The fact remains that more often than not when it comes to promotions and professional opportunities, we’re the afterthought, not the first consideration. In order to get to the forefront of our bosses’ regard, it’s not enough to be as good as our male counterparts – we have to be better. We have to stand out. It’s an unfair truth, but a truth all the same.”
These parts make it clear the efforts ladies need to make, to have a shot in this line of work.
Different from Sofia, the lead character in Appealed, Kennedy, doesn’t talk much about her way to the top, but her attitude in itself shows the kind of strength and perseverance that is necessary to be in her profession:
“Is that what you were doing in Las Vegas – dancing? Kind of short for a showgirl, aren’t you?” (…) She nods slowly, smiling way too smugly.
“Yes, too short for a showgirl… but just the right height for a federal prosecutor”
(…)
She chuckles in a distinctly not-nice way.
“Brent, Brent, Brent – I don’t make plea deals. Ever. It’s kind of what I’m known for. Oh, and I’ve never lost a case. I’m known for that too.”
She is ruthless, does not take no for an answer, and has no fear of fighting for what she wants. Just in her actions, we see that she fought a lot to be where she is.
On that note the next category is military.
Even though the U.S. Military has been accepting females in their ranks since 1973, they are still a minority, according to a paper from “PEW SOCIAL & DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS” in 2010, females were 14% of the ranks.
Name: Master Baker
Author: Pippa Grant
Series: Bro Code #4
It is not a surprise that any occupation that involves physical strength and combat, is viewed as a man’s job, and females in those occupations suffer, a lot of times, with the preconception that they are not capable.
That is why when I saw a book that presented a female in the military I was extremely excited.
Annika is an extremely strong, organized, and determined woman. Her book does not talk much about her experience in the military, and that is a shame, but at the same time, this was the only book in my Goodreads’ shelf, out of 228 books I’ve read, (at the present time), that had a female in that career. Maybe it is just me, maybe there are toons of military women in books and I just don’t know them, but it must not be a coincidence that there are hundreds of secretaries in romance books, and any job that needs strength (physical or mental) is not so popular.
The next category is one that upsets me really much.
If you’ve read my blog before, you know that I love Sports Romance (even though I’m not a super fan of sports). Out of the 29 Sports Romance books I read until today, 3 had a female character that liked the sport, worked in sports or even understood the sport.
People seem to think is cute when a girl doesn’t understand what a touchdown is. To be fair I know nothing about football or baseball, have never even watched a game, but that is not every girl, and sports is a girl thing too, it is not just for guys, just the same way I believe there are a lot of guys out there who are not sports fans.
That is why I absolutely love two books, that not only bring women who love sports but are specialists in it.
The first book must be the most mentioned book in this blog:
The Dugout by Meghan Quinn
Milly brings a hell of a debate, female coaches are something we do not see much. Talking as a Brazilian, who only understands soccer, I’ve never seen a female coach, and even in the female soccer teams, a lot of the coaches are male. Isn’t that a double standard?
It was a reality that I hadn’t thought much about, but now every time I see a female referee, a female sports journalist, or anything like that, I get super happy and proud of them.
Name: The Risk
Author: Elle Kennedy
Series: Briar U
In “The Risk”, Brenna, a major hockey fan, wants to be a sports journalist. She wants to get an internship in a hockey-only sports channel, but from the first interview, the guy/jerk who is behind the desk undermines everything she says and all her knowledge.
Thorugh the book we see, more and more, how badly she is treated by this guy, who believes that only men understand hockey and that Brenna is cute for knowing “some statistics”.
That makes me livid and showed me a reality I did not know, of how females must go through tough times working in such a boy’s club.
The next book brings a job that females are conquering slowly in society, but are still viewed as a man’s work: CEO.
Any work that involves leadership, power, strength, is normally considered a man’s job. We, as a society, look at men for guidance, it is not a surprise that females are a huge minority in politics and in places of power.
The Lineup by Meghan Quinn
That is why I love to see Dottie as the head of a huge company. And even as the leader, she still receives a treatment that no man would. She is asked about family, about her love life, and another bunch of things that no one would demand from a man.
“Yeah, businessman, because that’s what this world is full of, alpha businessman (…). Either way, no one is judging these “ruthless” men and their tactics. Instead, they’re praised. Rewarded. Women are rewarded with the moniker of bitch. Even today. Ridiculous. So to wrap up this rant, picture me with a dick”
This book was the first book that made me realize the gap between a lot of couples in romance books. The guy is always richer than be girl, most times he is older too and has a better job. Dottie is the only female boss I’ve read and she also made me realize that I’ve never read of a female with more money them the guy. Every aspect that would mean power, is always attributed to the man.
And less, but definitely not least, we have a job that can be done exactly the same way by both genders, but still, we see it as a manly work:
Name: Luna and The Lie
Author: Mariana Zapata
Luna is the only woman working in the auto shop she paints at. She does bodywork and she loves her job, and even though most guys in the shop (and I say most, cause some don’t) are respectful and loving towards her, we see the surprise and also sometimes the judgment about a woman working such a manly job…. (insert sarcasm). At some points in the book, we even see the frustration from a coworker, who is not happy to work under a lady.
And what surprises me is that both genders can do the exact same work in this line of job. There are no anatomy characteristics that make man know more or work better, in cars. Unless penises can hold a screwdriver and I didn’t know that.
Ending on that super sweet note, I have to say that when I started analyzing the romances I read I didn’t think there would be a lot of good books to talk about, but the books, much like society, are getting better and better. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but I think we should always talk about, congratulate, and celebrate the good steps, the tiny accomplishments and always keep a questioning mind.
Congratulations to all the ladies! You are strong, intelligent, beautiful, and complete, and together, we can make the world a better place, tiny step by tiny step.
If you know more books with these careers or any powerful lady in it, please tell me, leave a comment here or on Instagram, I will love to know more books like these!
Well, that is all for today, I hope you like this post, hope you enjoy these books if you decide to read them. Feel free to leave your opinion about it in the comments and I will see you next time!
Bye sassy people!
- I know that some comments I make about decent guys on my posts are the bare minimum a guy should do, so no, they don’t deserve to be treated like gods for doing the minimum, but at the same time, I’ve read a lot of sexist books and I appreciate authors who make characters that can serve as role models and examples of how a decent guy acts and what a loving and respectful relationship looks like. I believe we should always encourage these authors and bring attention to the ones that still write sexist characters and stories.
- I make a lot of comments about sexism and healthy role models in books, but a lot of times these characteristics don’t make the book a bad book and definitely don’t make the author a bad author. Please never shame these authors and these books for these comments, I simply feel that we need to have awareness of the less than ideal situations some books bring us, and not use the romanticized problem as examples of what a relationship should be. Most of these authors are still amazing and the content they write doesn’t reflect directly with their personal views and opinions. Always make sure to respect and be kind to everyone, even while criticizing their content.
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Meet Me
Brazilian architecture student and book lover
One of my goals in analysing my readings was to talk about important topics, like feminist and consent, because literature, art and culture influence us, and I believe we should always encorage authors who talk about this topics.
Come check out my Goodreads Reading Challenge!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2020
I read 148 books in 2020, come see them!
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