: Great concept. Although without really knowing any detail of the narrative my answer is going to be pretty broad. Consider existing media and how it reflects our society. A James Bond film/novel

@Cofer669

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Great concept. Although without really knowing any detail of the narrative my answer is going to be pretty broad.

Consider existing media and how it reflects our society. A James Bond film/novel doesn't explicitly assert that men are superior to women, but there's some pretty horrendous gender bias, verging on self-satire. From the suggestively named female characters to moments like dismissing a female companion with a slap on the rear because it's time for "man talk" - it portrays a very male-centric society. But it never asserts a point-of-view on gender roles, it's just inherently sexist.

So if you're looking to portray a diametrically opposed society, don't expend any energy assigning any value to the women-over-men gender bias - it simply is. Any value judgment of the gender bias needs to come from the point-of-view of your characters, and if you don't want to come across as preachy or glorifying - then make sure you have diverse character set with a range of views. Also, consider that your female leads may not even acknowledge the existence of gender bias, because their truth is that women run the world and men are defined by the women they're associated with. Anything to the contrary is just easily dismissed "man talk", and doesn't even warrant a mention.

Coming back to James Bond, you also need to consider the out-of-universe sexism, and this, for me, is the critical part. The vast majority of female characters exist only for the gratification of the male characters - they're essentially props. Any allegiances, strong opinions or sexual preferences they may hold are easily swayed by the irresistable masculinity of the titular Mr Bond. They're largely expendable and really not that important in the scheme of things - effectively the redshirts of the Bond universe.

Even once you cast aside the obvious bias of the James Bond example, there's an awful lot of media out there that is seemingly innocent in it's content, but is ultimately the product of a society with vastly different expectations for men and women. The Ugly Truth of Children's Books is a succinct statement on how we portray females in our media and great food for thought.

Also, consider the Bechdel Test:

The movie has to have at least two women in it,
who talk to each other,
about something besides a man.

...then reverse it, and do your best to fail it. It's not perfect, but again, it highlights the unconscious gender bias that creeps into our portrayals of female characters.

So from that, try to imagine that you, the author, are a woman in a world that devalues, stereotypes and subjugates men. Not because you dislike men. After all, they do have their place - but simply because it's a woman's world. Unconscious bias relegates men to "pandering support character" status, because we'd all rather celebrate the highs and lows of heroic women. That's possibly a bit overly meta, but you get the idea.

Ultimately though, I think a lot of it comes down to the story you're telling, so your mileage may vary. Good luck!

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