I got a link recently to this post.
http://the-toast.net/2014/05/26/fairy-tales-are-womens-tales/
Read it before you continue or half my post wouldn't make sense-or more.
...
Did you do that? Good. I read it myself, of course.
Of course, me being me, I set myself to analyse it as thoroughly as I could in order to get the most information on what the First Edition was like. And then I was reminded of this post. (Sorry, link -time today, read it).
http://adept-press.com/ideas-and-discourse/other-essays/naked-went-the-gamer/
Why? Because the tales, as written in the First Edition of Brother Grimm's Tales, were pop-fantasy in its purest form. Popular fantasy by popular demand... including women at the time and what they dreamed (and dreaded) for.
So it had sex, almost all consensual, and it had violence, but not mindless violence for violence's sake (although the standard for what is worth killing for was slightly different back then-more relaxed, one might say). But still, these were pretty normal characters for those people - probably mostly women, yeah - that were telling the stories.
Oh, and there was magic and superpowers. And it was probably a "tale of the day" format.
By now you might have guessed my answer to the question in this post's title. The modern-day scions of the fairy tales are the urban fantasy stories. Especially if they're series.
Dresden Files, Lost Girl, Vampire Diaries, all the Ann Rice books... and yes, Anita Blake and Fifty Shades of Whatever (there are probably enough imitations with similar titles that you can pick whatever). They feature pretty normal people that deal with the same everyday issues. And they have magic at their disposal, or against them, because many readers find magic fun.
Please note, I'm not debating which of these series actually have good or at least decent story, characters, or whatever... it's besides the point. What I'm saying is that they're filling the same niche.
The problem, and it is a problem, is when people react like the Grimms:
"Eww, sex in my fantasy...how gross!"
Really? Is that the best we can do? One would think sexuality should be accepted as one of the primary motivators of humanity's behaviour by now! So why should it be kept out of the stories? (And yes, it can be used poorly. Everything can. If we avoided stuff because it can be misused, we should stop telling stories right now!)
Showing posts with label Gender equality and the accompanying mess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gender equality and the accompanying mess. Show all posts
Friday, 6 June 2014
Friday, 8 March 2013
Here's something I'm re-posting from G+ again. Hope the original poster wouldn't mind.
Happy International Women's Day!
Please Observe the Following:
If today, you get the urge to make a post about how amazing you are towards women by creating special rules that dictate how you draw, write, interact with, or game with women, you're missing the point.
Drawing a woman in "reasonable" armor does not further equality, it furthers a particular artistic aesthetic that some women (but certainly not all) are interested in. It does nothing to further equality other than give you happy feels in your tummy, and appeal to those people.
Making specific rules at your table to cater to what you've determined are sensitive issues for women does not further equality - it strengthens negative stereotypes. If you want to make rules that deal with your player's feelings, don't say it's 'for women'. Again, not all women are sensitive, not all women are sensitive in the same ways, and not all women need or want special rules at the table.
Lastly, please avoid getting smug about your recognition of "privilege". No one wants to hear how you've recognized you're an asshole because life is so much better for you than for women. That does nothing to further equality.
So today, if you truly want to celebrate women, don't demean them, don't force them into stereotypes, don't assume that any one person or any one group of people can assume what all (or even a majority) of women need. Realize that women, just like men, are all different people with different needs, different wants, different aesthetic desires, different bodies, different emotions, different sensitivities, and different reactions.
Today, if you truly want to support International Women's Day, show us some of the amazing things that women have done that you love, not what you've done to make the world a safer place for poor, wittle old me.
#WomensDay
Since I very much agree with this, today's special awards for our session go to:
Please Observe the Following:
If today, you get the urge to make a post about how amazing you are towards women by creating special rules that dictate how you draw, write, interact with, or game with women, you're missing the point.
Drawing a woman in "reasonable" armor does not further equality, it furthers a particular artistic aesthetic that some women (but certainly not all) are interested in. It does nothing to further equality other than give you happy feels in your tummy, and appeal to those people.
Making specific rules at your table to cater to what you've determined are sensitive issues for women does not further equality - it strengthens negative stereotypes. If you want to make rules that deal with your player's feelings, don't say it's 'for women'. Again, not all women are sensitive, not all women are sensitive in the same ways, and not all women need or want special rules at the table.
Lastly, please avoid getting smug about your recognition of "privilege". No one wants to hear how you've recognized you're an asshole because life is so much better for you than for women. That does nothing to further equality.
So today, if you truly want to celebrate women, don't demean them, don't force them into stereotypes, don't assume that any one person or any one group of people can assume what all (or even a majority) of women need. Realize that women, just like men, are all different people with different needs, different wants, different aesthetic desires, different bodies, different emotions, different sensitivities, and different reactions.
Today, if you truly want to support International Women's Day, show us some of the amazing things that women have done that you love, not what you've done to make the world a safer place for poor, wittle old me.
#WomensDay
Since I very much agree with this, today's special awards for our session go to:
Mihi (no, she's not Japanese, or anything other than Bulgarian, that's how we shorten her name), who played a gay male ZeFRS PC (named Sevrin) quite convincingly. Alas, he had fallen for the party's womaniser, another PC who loved him back almost obsessively... but purely as a friend.
Sevrin got over it, and helped said PC hook up with a woman, because the womanizer was actually quite shy, not being used to talking to people (ZeFRS disadvantages lead to some interesting PCs when they combine, and in this case the player was combining having a soft spot for a pretty face, and being shy. Both are disadvantages under the system).
Sevrin got over it, and helped said PC hook up with a woman, because the womanizer was actually quite shy, not being used to talking to people (ZeFRS disadvantages lead to some interesting PCs when they combine, and in this case the player was combining having a soft spot for a pretty face, and being shy. Both are disadvantages under the system).
Maria, who brought flowers for International Women's Day to everybody in the group, and a player who was missing from the session.
She played a cultist of a doomsday cult. She had been sent to assassinate another PC, who got the Hunted disadvantage (and she opted for a pre-generated PC, the cultist being one of my offers).
She managed to do it, too, with lethal efficiency. This was the only PC casualty. Actually, he was the only casualty in the session, period, which is slightly unusual for an S&S session...
Then she pulled away the womaniser PC, who had been drugged by lotus powder, and lead the way to the bath. She didn't mind the rest of the party, her orders were just to kill a specific person. Which she had achieved. And walking around in the drug dens had managed to get them to feel closer, I guess. And she had promised to Sevrin she'd help his friend get over his shyness.
Well, they weren't being so courteous, but there's a lot to be said for direct words.
Well, they weren't being so courteous, but there's a lot to be said for direct words.
And of course, the most merit should be awarded to my wife, who was baby-sitting our daughter (together with my mother for company). This way, I was able to go and run said session. Well, I sure came home as early as possible!
I'm sure if she could attend it, this session would have been more lively. But she decided to stay and devote herself to her other hobby, crafting.
As an additional note, I really need to write an Actual Play of this session.
I'm sure if she could attend it, this session would have been more lively. But she decided to stay and devote herself to her other hobby, crafting.
As an additional note, I really need to write an Actual Play of this session.
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