Why I Use the Word “Authoress”

Every now and then, someone notices a word I use… and pauses.

Authoress.

It’s not a word you hear often anymore.
In fact, most people have moved away from it entirely.

But I haven’t.

And that’s not by accident.

I use the word authoress very intentionally.

Not to follow a trend.
Not to make a statement for the sake of it.

But because it reflects something simple—and important to me:

I am a woman who writes.

For me, the word isn’t about separation for the sake of division.

It’s about recognition.

There are things that make me who I am—my perspective, my voice, the way I see relationships, the way I write stories.

And being a woman is part of that.

Not something to minimize.
Not something to erase.

But something to acknowledge… and even celebrate.

I’ve always believed that femininity isn’t something to move away from.

It’s something to embrace.

Men and women are different.

Not in value.
But in nature.

And to me, that’s not a problem to fix—it’s something to appreciate.

Because those differences are what make connection meaningful.

They’re what make partnership work.

You’ll hear a lot today about sameness.

About leveling differences.

About removing anything that separates.

I see it a little differently.

To me, equality doesn’t mean becoming the same.

It means recognizing that two people can be different… and still equally valuable.

This perspective doesn’t just stay in my head.

It shows up in my writing.

My heroines are:

feminine.
confident.
capable.

But they’re not written to compete with men.

They don’t need to diminish someone else to prove their strength.

They stand fully in who they are.

The relationships in my stories aren’t built on tension between “who’s stronger” or “who’s right.”

They’re built on something much simpler—and, I think, much more meaningful:

Mutual respect.
Complementary strength.
Partnership.

Because to me…

That’s where real romance lives.

So yes…

I use the word authoress.

Not because I have to.

Not because I’m trying to make a statement for everyone else.

But because it reflects something true for me.

I don’t use it to distance myself from others.

I use it to stand comfortably in who I am.

And sometimes…

A single word can say more than we realize.