tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post4507634957345415319..comments2023-03-21T05:49:21.694-04:00Comments on Seeking Avalon: ETA: Philosophical CatfightAvalon's Willowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-70711431739919489242008-12-07T16:42:00.000-05:002008-12-07T16:42:00.000-05:00Quietprofanity:Anita Blake & Merry Gentry are ...Quietprofanity:<BR/><BR/>Anita Blake & Merry Gentry are definite spokesmodels of that kind of 'Other women are weaker/aren't me'. But being templates as such, it means the market is currently glutted with tough, has a gun, AS GOOD AS A MAN female characters that I personally find to be far less empowered than their writers want me to believe.<BR/><BR/>I refer back to Furikku's excellent point that the authors seem to be trying to DO FEMINISM without thinking deeper.Avalon's Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-88893114727367220952008-12-07T11:20:00.000-05:002008-12-07T11:20:00.000-05:00And yet, all the while the one main thrust of all ...<I>And yet, all the while the one main thrust of all these types of heroines is that they have to disdain other women. Disdain the good girls who never reach out and grab what they want; disdain the bad girls who never let things come to them for being selfless and noble or disdain both for not being (just as good as) a man with breasts and more open emotions.</I><BR/><BR/>That's my biggest problem with Hamilton's books. The worst was in the first Merry Gentry book, where she allows herself pity for a woman who is enslaved, but then immediately goes on about how the woman is implicit in her own oppression and blech. Said woman is apparently never seen again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-46025056385264168612008-12-07T01:24:00.000-05:002008-12-07T01:24:00.000-05:00Furikku:DOING FEMINISM, that seems like the right ...Furikku:<BR/><BR/>DOING FEMINISM, that seems like the right verb. It galls me because it often seems like "All these OTHER women need is one EXAMPLE" as if society changes all because one individual (only Susan B Anthony no one else!) did something - as if it's not about groups and coalitions and repeated efforts and several people punching holes in the same exact spot.<BR/><BR/>But yeah, you're right. It's a lack of critical thinking.Avalon's Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07539301720154191607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-26653108987627159422008-12-07T01:10:00.000-05:002008-12-07T01:10:00.000-05:00My general impression of the "girl proving herself...My general impression of the "girl proving herself different from those other, wrong girls" conceit is one where the writer has the urge to Do Feminism, but hasn't figured out that this involves critical thinking on the whole paradigm thing. So, they're trying their darnedest to make a feminist hero, but fail abysmally because they're making what the status quo thinks is a feminist hero, rather than an ACTUAL feminist hero.<BR/><BR/>I think I did stuff like that when I was first trying my (twelve-year-old) hand at Serious Writing. Along with lifting entire plot elements and ideas from stories I liked at the time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4506995090336963455.post-28703581400068747212008-12-06T23:47:00.000-05:002008-12-06T23:47:00.000-05:00The essay quoted above was a quasi-sequel of sorts...The essay quoted above was a quasi-sequel of sorts to a piece I wrote awhile back that more explicitly compared male escapism vs. female escapism. It was revolving around the reaction of male critics to Sex & The City The Movie and how their attitudes toward it and its audience was far more venomous than that of equally mediocre male escapism such as Transformers. It might be worth a gander as it goes into more detail on the two genres. Either way, thanks for reading and offering your insight.<BR/><BR/>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-mendelson/sex-and-the-city-the-movi_b_142308.html<BR/><BR/>Scott Mendelson<BR/>http://scottalanmendelson.blogpost.comScott Mendelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08131426080984100749noreply@blogger.com