...to the pack of I'm Not Feminists (Or Not Your Kind of Feminists - whatever) who have appointed themselves the Guardians of True Feminine morality, Selflessness and Worth
I must have missed the memo that said that if I didn't like PtQ I had to turn in my feminist card. For the record, I've been calling myself a feminist proudly since I first read The Feminine Mystique at age 10. If I refused to let the MacDworkinites kick me out of the feminist tent for doing SM, I'm sure as hell not going to let you do so because I happen to believe that power exercised without restraint by any gender is dangerous.
And in case you were wondering, one of the primary reasons that those of us who don't think PtQ is the greatest fanfic ever are so vehement in our dislike is because we are tired of being told that we're not bright enough to get it, shallow, or anti-feminists who are insensitive to abuse survivors.
PtQ is a relatively well-written fic with some serious problems around narrative structure and characterization. I should be able to say that without being treated like I've committed heresy.
given, naturellement, a camouflaging lick of trendiness by the oh-so-cocky treatment of sexual themes
As opposed to the lick of pretension given by using buzzwords like "intertextualization" and slipping in a little cutsey French ("naturellement") while you're at it.
- Mood:snarly
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
darkrosetiger- Darkrose
Comments
join my cat in a PUKEFEST!
"naturellement"??!!??
WHAT THE FUCK?
who REALLY uses that word anyway??!!??
(except the french maybe)
ack.
that totally ruined my caramel mocha breve.
;(
elisavet
~who unsubbed from WIKTT several weeks ago~
McAmy, who believes Dickens-the-serial-fiction writer would adore JKR.
Her short story in Alternate Presidents, about an alternate ending to the US involvement in VietNam, is heartrending. She's probably best known for her Star Trek books with Josepha Sherman, Vulcan's Forge and Vulcan's Heart, where they committed the unforgivable sin of marrying off Spock. ;) My personal favorite is still Grail of Hearts, her take on Parsifal.
A shame she dropped out of fandom years ago (she started out in Darkover fandom); I'd love to see her skewer that reviewer.
You would think that I'd remember to sign posts.
J.
To my complete surprise, I'm researching feminism and Arthurian literature at the Library of Congress two years later, and who do I find explaining the medieval faux pas of bisexuality that Marion Zimmer Bradley moralized in "Mists of Avalon?" You guessed it. That woman blows me away.
*grins*
That's me in SAP mode, I suppose; debating and duelling have so much in common to us.
J.
She shoots, she scores! Well done :)
immediate practical concerns. But when you look
back at the feminism of 150-75 years ago, it was
very tangled up in religious and spiritual arguments.
Traditional religious leaders who opposed feminism
argued that women were too weak for real morality - like
Eve, they could not resist temptation, only men could be
moral, so only men could use power responsibly. *gack*
(Doesn't Blaise look like a perfect example for them?)
The feminist counter-argument of the time was that women
were capable of moral judgement and behavior, some even
better than many men.
The earliest women's movements were not just to benefit
women...they were trying to use the moral judgement and
social responsibility attributed to women for other
purposes. In addition to the obvious women's rights
causes, they were instrumental in slavery oppostion,
labor organization, child abuse prevention, and early
pacifism.
If you're interested in a British perspective from the
1920s or thenabouts, look for anything by Vera Brittain.
She's only really remembered for "Testament of Youth,"
or as a pacifist, but she was involved with more liberal
causes than some people have heard of, and she could
write.
Adrian
Oh dear. I thought Sphinx was a good writer, but after reading just how much she feels compelled to bash those who disagree with her about the head with repeated references to her Exhaustive Learning and Postmodern Literary Awareness, am I glad I never contributed to swelling that monstrous ego by reviewing her fanfic!
*I* found all the chapters engrossing, and I believe that I'm regarded as one of the most 'literate' writers of HP fanfiction. I can even write multisyllabic rhyming couplets that scan. You don't buy that? Fine, here's a (pre- and post-modern) challenge for you: go and rewrite my story "To Sever the Lining From a Cloud" and make it *better.* Make the metaphorical web tighter. Improve the syntax and the rhythm of the sentences. Render the story and its 'moral' (if you can find one, search me if I can) more ambiguous and complex. Give the Narrative voice greater precision, variety of tone and perspective. When you've done that, go and improve "Letter from Exile One Merciful Morning" in like manner. *Then* tell me I can't possibly be fucking literate for not sharing your viewpoint. (And if YOUR versions have greater literary merit than mine, you will of course become the Authorised Owner of those works.)
I don't need to comment further, do I? One of my friends put it best with the comment "If you can't feel modest, at least have the grace to pretend." And I fail to see what praising her own brilliance has to do with an actual defence of "Pawn to Queen". Isn't this just "I'm wonderful, *therefore* my opinion has more merit than yours?" I would have expected better of, in her own words, "one of the most 'literate' writers of HP fanfiction".
PtQ is a story which has, as you and Damiana have pointed out, some disturbing beliefs hidden amongst the ornate prose. Riley expressed her acceptance of fictional critique - not that the "Author" matters anyway, if I read Sphinx's critique above correctly! - and you are both taking the arguments expressed in PtQ to their logical and horrifying conclusions.
Perhaps later chapters of PtQ will blast your theories out of the water by showing strega (though if we're talking Italian plural, "witches", it really should be strege) as capable of selflessness, sacrifice, love and all that good stuff! Doubt it, but we'll have to see. Keep on writing ;-)
Either way, it's *just* a fic. Good god. Does she have to get so defensive about something that's not real? Has she heard of the word 'flame' and what it derives from? *sigh* Has she heard of fandom wars?
*shakes head* That's why I exited the GW fandom. 'Cause of overly-defensive fans.