Sylvia Plath Effect

From Kaufman (2001; Kaufman & Baer, 2002), a psychologist -- the Sylvia Plath Effect is the finding that female poets are more likely to commit suicide than any other kind of writer (male or female).

Perhaps one cause of the Sylvia Plath effect is that creative writing gatekeepers such as editors or teachers may unconsciously expect a quality poem written by a woman to be heartfelt and moving without holding similar expectations for a poem written by a man.

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