the fifth wave definitely shouldn't be in this list. lol

So unless a man writes about a woman who fits all the current requirements for political correctness, he creates a terrible female protagonist?

Don't forget that time and culture play into how women are perceived, and culture is constantly shifting. You cannot always expect a book from the past to live up to today's standards, no matter what position you take on feminism in today's world.

I'm sure some of these may be shudder-inducing, but I am not sure about all of them,

Richard wrote: "So unless a man writes about a woman who fits all the current requirements for political correctness, he creates a terrible female protagonist?

Don't forget that time and culture play into how wo..."

I'm sorry that there are authors so weak in their craft that a certain combination of artificially constructed social mechanisms renders them incapable of writing half the human population in a believably human way, but I have to wonder how the majority of them made it to adulthood, let alone a career in writing, without feeling a self-reflexive evaluation of their aspired to skill set was in order. Maybe they were raised in pristine fields of men-only lands far far away and don't know any better. Or maybe they're just lazy fools used to giving half and getting a whole in return. The world may never know.

Well, clearly the system is working pretty well if Heinlein went straight to the top.

Tom Robbins needs to be on this list.