Here’s what the ‘written by a man’ trend all over TikTok right now is actually all about

It reeks of the male gaze

3 years ago

A new TikTok trend has emerged and it involves women highlighting and playing into the cliche and lazy way men portray female characters – by pretending they’ve been written by a man.

The hashtag #writtenbymen, which has 69.3 million views, shows women imitating the over-sexualised and downright horny way men write about women through the male gaze.

The videos, soundtracked to Glory Box by Portishead, show women dancing around in lingerie, eating ice cream and sexily tying up their hair to imitate the unrealistic way men believe women behave.

One TikTok from user @tabeabussmannphotogrphy shows: “A girl after a perfect date written by a man” as she giddily smells his jacket, eats ice cream, and drafts messages to send him.

@tabeabussmannphotographyReply to @justsimon__ It took me only 5 hours to make 🪁 #womenwrittenbymen #comingofagemovie #writtenbymen #cinematictiktok #firstdate ♬ original sound – Evé

Another one from @zhannared shows: “A woman written by a man having breakfast” as she dances around the kitchen in her pjyamas, mixing the batter, using the whisk as a microphone, and playing with her hair.

@zhannaredThis is def me at 7 in the morning ☀️#womanwrittenbymen #modeltok #comingofagemovie #3moods #sociallife #catwalkmodel #filmtok ♬ original sound – Evé

Because of course, all women eat ice cream in lingerie when feeling sad or angry, or sexily suck on a lollipop in knee-high socks when doing homework.

Another TikTok, by creator @ihavebugtidie shows a woman sexily smearing blood over her lips after being hit in the nose with the caption “POV: I’m a woman written by a man and I just got hit in the nose.”

@ihavebugtidieword♬ original sound – Evé

This hyper-sexualisation of women isn’t just limited to TikTok however. It is prevalent in books and film through the concept of the male gaze – the way in which men depict women from their heterosexual and masculine perspective, objectifying and presenting them as sexual objects for male pleasure.

Users have since taken to turning this trend on its head, with the hashtag #menwrittenbywomen gaining 45.4 million views. These videos instead list men who they believe to be “written by women.”

For example, this TikTok from user @merhiddlesbatch claims that she hated men but adored “men written by women” and proceeds to show pictures of Mr Darcy, Laurie from Little Women, and the Hot Priest from Fleabag, all fictional men written by female writers.

@merhiddlesbatchdo you like men or do you like men written by women? #hotpriest #mrdarcy #littlewomen #prideandprejudice #senseandsensibility #fictionalmen #fleabag ♬ original sound – crankgameplays enthusiast

But what this trend highlights is the way sexism is engrained into media and indeed society as a whole. And the fact that men are completely out of touch with the way that real women behave, depicting them as hyper-sexual objects existing purely for male pleasure.

For all the latest TikTok audio explainers, trends and memes – like The Holy Church of TikTok on Facebook.