Hi! This is probably a bit of a complicated question, so apologies for that. I've been following the great work that Muddy Colors has been doing for the fantasy art community for a while now, but it was only today that going through their contributors list I noticed that out of 25 contributors only 3 are women. I was wondering if you could shed some light on the dynamics that lead to this, given that there's such a huge number of insanely talented women in the fantasy art industry. Thanks! :)
Honestly Muddy Colors has asked, and it’s just that women say no more frequently than men. Actually there’s 4 now. Still not an accurate representation of the women in the community, but they really are trying.
I am a woman who is an art director and I will tell you women turn me down for jobs 500% more than men do. It is a direct effect of the difference in how genders are raised and treated in our society. Women are more likely told to be 100% sure they are qualified and 110% able to do the job before they put themselves in the running for something, and if they have any doubts they are more likely to decline. Men, on the other hand, are taught to say yes even if they know they’re not completely qualified, confident that they’ll figure it out as they go along. This manifests constantly in my inbox. Women artists who are more than qualified to work for me do not send in their art because they doubt themselves, while my inbox is full of not-even-close-to-qualified male artists who figure, hey, might as well throw their hat in the ring, what’s the worst that could happen?
These are gross generalizations, but that’s the short answer and it holds a lot of truth. I’m trying desperately to do my part to encourage and mentor women in our community, but it takes time to even out. Things are certainly better than they were 10 years ago.
I know for a fact many women have been asked to write for Muddy Colors and I know many have said no. I’m not going to name names here, obviously, but trust me, the big names you’re thinking of have been asked. They have reasons, and they include: they’re not confident in their writing ability, they don’t want to deal with potential trolls, they’re concerned that it’ll cut into their work time, and they’re scared to become public figures and put their opinions out there to be criticized. Sometimes they have to decline because of child care — parenting usually still falls more heavily on the women in a relationship, especially if that woman is a freelance artist because her schedule is more flexible.
Things ARE getting better, but it takes time to change such deeply ingrained differences. If you are a woman and have been scared to put yourself out there, either into an Art Director’s inbox or to write or to speak about your work, then please hear me and believe the opportunities are there. Throw off that imposter syndrome & take those opportunities! The creative world needs your voices in equal amounts to the guys.
—Agent KillFee
PS: Instead of a cute gif today I am leaving you with a picture of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who won ALL THE EMMYS this year for Fleabag, which she wrote and performed in. Women, put yourself out there! We need your POVs
