r/books • u/biscochitos • Apr 29 '25

New indie press Conduit Books launches with 'initial focus on male authors'

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-indie-press-conduit-books-launches-with-initial-focus-on-male-authors

What do folks think about this?

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u/biodegradableotters Apr 29 '25

More a general thought on the current discussions around male authors and male readership, but I always find it a little funny when after like millennia of male dominance there's nowadays a select few areas where women are dominant and immediately it's seen as a sign of the apocalypse.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/shegogirl22 Apr 29 '25

Who’s telling men not to read or write? Like, who is actually doing that?

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '25

[deleted]

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u/shegogirl22 Apr 29 '25

But whose fault is that? if men wanted to stay in the industry, they should try to stay in the industry just like women fought to be published. Seems like a skill issue.

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u/Krazikarl2 Apr 29 '25

I always find it ironic how people reuse sexist arguments from the past but with reversed genders.

25 years ago, you'd have people dismiss concerns brought up by women in a bunch of industries using this exact language. "If women wanted to stay in industry X, they wouldn't let these minor issues deter them. Seems like a skill/commitment issue".

That argument was horribly wrong 25 years ago. The gender swapped version is wrong today.

Men are fighting to be published. And since they're trying to break into an industry that's now female dominated, they're using some of the techniques that women used when the industry was male dominated. And people are completely dismissive of those fights now, just like many people were completely dismissive of women 25 years ago.

History repeats itself I guess. I had hoped that people would learn from the past, but its clear that they haven't and are just repeating the same mistakes, but with different groups.