"Guardian of the Dead" just arrived on my doorstep today! ♥ I'll be sure to check out the other recs too!
As though a woman needs the extra strength just to match up.
Oh, totally. That is one of the more troubling themes of this genre. I wouldn't mind seeing books with ordinary heroes having to live in a supernatural world, as long as it didn't feed into gender(ed) stereotypes. There must way for a non-super-powered person or PWD (who doesn't have Professor Xavier's psychic abilities) to contribute to the saving of the world or themselves without always having to rely on someone else. Which isn't to say having friends or a team is a bad idea -- I like a good ensemble too, but I think that's a rather different dynamic than the 'damsel in distress' or 'too stupid to live' character type.
I was having a conversation with someone else about power fantasies and how they feel like lies, sometimes. I think this maybe happens if, as you said, it seems like the only way to create a level playing field is for women to be super-powered -- which are the stories that get told a lot, especially in the PR/UF genre.
Ironically, one of the initial draws to Twilight, for me, was the ordinary narrator in Bella and Meyer's sparklepires choosing to do good without the aid of a curse. It didn't quite go the way I hoped it would, but I found it to be an intriguing and somewhat different premise. I think Meyer's execution was faulty, in no small part because she kept setting up circumstances in which Bella makes choices that lead her to be saved by Edward. I'd like to think it's possible to have a regular person (woman, especially, because I like my female main characters) in a supernatural world without requiring them to be saved -- or at least without it being so sexist and other types of problematic. Two female leads, maybe? Or have the supernatural guy NOT be a controlling stalker?
Have you seen bookshop on Bad Romance (or, YA & Rape Culture) (http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1032547.html)? I think it applies to the romance genres too.
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As though a woman needs the extra strength just to match up.
Oh, totally. That is one of the more troubling themes of this genre. I wouldn't mind seeing books with ordinary heroes having to live in a supernatural world, as long as it didn't feed into gender(ed) stereotypes. There must way for a non-super-powered person or PWD (who doesn't have Professor Xavier's psychic abilities) to contribute to the saving of the world or themselves without always having to rely on someone else. Which isn't to say having friends or a team is a bad idea -- I like a good ensemble too, but I think that's a rather different dynamic than the 'damsel in distress' or 'too stupid to live' character type.
I was having a conversation with someone else about power fantasies and how they feel like lies, sometimes. I think this maybe happens if, as you said, it seems like the only way to create a level playing field is for women to be super-powered -- which are the stories that get told a lot, especially in the PR/UF genre.
Ironically, one of the initial draws to Twilight, for me, was the ordinary narrator in Bella and Meyer's sparklepires choosing to do good without the aid of a curse. It didn't quite go the way I hoped it would, but I found it to be an intriguing and somewhat different premise. I think Meyer's execution was faulty, in no small part because she kept setting up circumstances in which Bella makes choices that lead her to be saved by Edward. I'd like to think it's possible to have a regular person (woman, especially, because I like my female main characters) in a supernatural world without requiring them to be saved -- or at least without it being so sexist and other types of problematic. Two female leads, maybe? Or have the supernatural guy NOT be a controlling stalker?
Have you seen