Fangirlblog: Slut-Shaming, Asexuality-Erasing, Gender Essentialism

A few days ago I linked to Fangirlblog’s post about the shitty Vestara/Ben thing in Christie Golden’s Ascension, which I pretty much agreed with. A few things kind of pinged me the wrong way, though, but hey. I dug further, thinking that I’d found a pretty neat blog on geek feminism.

And then I found this. Again, it says sound things about feminism and Star Wars and the representation of women: fair enough. But… there’s this strange, strange fixation with “traditional families”:

There are no two-parent traditional families among the younger generation of characters. There are not even any marriages yet, even though the lead characters of that generation are now in their thirties. [...] It’s a far cry from the Original Trilogy’s tone of unflagging friendships, or the Han-Leia and Luke-Mara strong partnership marriages of the early EU and the extended cast of childhood friends highlighted in the Young Jedi Knights series.

I’m not remotely sure how this is relevant to anything. First, why is the lack of “two-parents traditional families” (and what a creepy, creepy concept that is) something objectionable? What about the lack of marriages? Who gives a shit? Is she against premarital fucking or something?

 

THE AUTHORITY VOL. 1: Warren Ellis, Mark Millar

I’ve come to quite enjoy Warren Ellis. He’s not without his problems–he seems awfully fond of yellow menace figures and generally he’s a bit shite about Asians–but on the whole he’s more thoughtful and intelligent than some, even if admittedly many of his comics are quite similar. Planetary, Global Frequency and The Authority all share the same basic premise: that of a covert/open-secret organization that runs around saving the world. Often while being led by a woman. Oh Miranda Zero.

But, right, The Authority. 

TRIGGER WARNING: rape, child molestation, rape, rape, rape. 

 

Sarah Monette’s aesthetics of rape and ~subversion~

Note: Sarah Monette’s quartet did so shittily that her publisher, Ace, ditched her and this means she will have to publish under a pseudonym. JUSTICE IS SERVED. GO ACE GO.

Because just reviewing that shitstain of a book isn’t enough. Following a trail from this discussion I googled up “sarah monette rape” (yeah) and found this interview.

I also chose a gay male protagonist because my abiding interest is in the power dynamics of human relationships, especially sexual relationships, and it is VERY VERY HARD to write about that with a heterosexual female protagonist without pigeon-holing her and yourself into either a re-inscription of patriarchal gender roles (male dominant, female submissive) or a simple gender reversal (female dominant, male submissive) (which I did work with some in my novella, “A Gift of Wings,” in The Queen in Winter). A lesbian relationship is also a possibility, but it’s far more interesting and attention-grabbing to take power away from a man than it is to give power to a woman.

Girls have cooties. Men’s stories are always more interesting than women’s! In fact, even degrading men is so much more exciting and interesting to explore than empowering women, because as we all know stories of female empowerment are common as dirt. Don’t know why anyone’d bother with them, really, they’re such old hat.

 

Karen Traviss’ 1GIRL3COCKS

Let’s set things straight real fast–I’m going to review a book featuring a protagonist who’s got two husbands and no, the polyandry isn’t the shocking part. What is: one husband is an alien with not one, but TWO cocks! The other has a PENIS THAT GLOWS IN THE DARK.

 

Sheri S. Tepper’s BEAUTY is incredibly ugly

Sheri Tepper’s Beauty could have been an interesting fairytale retelling. Instead, the author seems determined to make it a shrill, sanctimonious soapbox-straddling public masturbation session.