[unfiltered] The Power of Representation: SFF Saved My Life
A perennial question amongst the writing community these days (particularly in post-Racefail SFF) is that of representation. It's heartening to see it as an active topic of discussion, but I think that something that gets lost sometimes is how important it is. I'm many things: pagan, polyamorous, (mostly) lesbian, mentally ill, on the Autism
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Tarma and Kethry really were incredibly important for me too, and probably my favorite of Lackey's. I always head-canoned Tarma and Kethry as an asexual romantic couple, with Kethry being polyamorous and loving Jadrek as well, also because she wants children (also, Jadrek is the character with rheumatoid arthritis). Honestly, I think there's a good argument for it being a poly triad, except that Tarma is asexual/vowed to celibacy. (I say asexual because even though it is a vow to her goddess, she seems to have no interest in sex whatsoever.) Edit - Actually, I went back and and read the end of Oathbreakers to find Jadrek's name and there is a scene where he confesses to Tarma that he loves her, and she tells him that she loves him back. He also recognizes her own oath and does not expect her to change her sexuality for him. So, maybe that's actually canon, not head-canon.
I did not talk about as much on race issues because more of my experiences with race came from YA books, which actually were some of the ones that did not depress me. Well, okay, Tamora Pierce's Tortall series does have characters who are not white, but I remember particularly going out of my way to find books about non-white characters... just, I didn't find as much of that in SFF, sadly. Oh! Octavia Butler. I LOVED her Parables set, but I read those as an older teen, and it's not as relevant to my personal experience. I have always tended to go out of my way to read about people "not like me" -- I do not understand the folks who don't, especially when said people read tons of books about aliens and fantasy non-humans.
Although I'll always have a soft spot for Lackey's Native American-esque characters, even though I know they're problematic -- as a kid with Native heritage, who had our history and my great-grandfather's spiritual teachings passed down, finding any sort of even fantasy Native Americans was pretty major, too. I just didn't talk about that as much in the main post since it was already long enough, LOL.
Yes, so many of my attitudes were formed by SFF, and I particularly tended to go out of my way to read books by women authors (or with women or girl main characters; you know those idiots who keep saying things like "We need to focus on books for boys, because girls will read about boys but boys won't read about girls"? Yeah, I'm the girl who doesn't exist, apparently; it's VERY unusual for me to read a book about a male MC and generally even then I will ONLY read it if there is a strong supporting female cast. This also has the side effect of weeding out a lot of the grimdark fantasy full of rape...).
I read a lot of Marion Zimmer Bradley and her contemporaries and other authors in her particular group, considering she was a mentor to many. While she certainly wasn't perfect, she introduced me to a lot of feminist thought, and honestly was my first introduction, and she definitely had issues of reproductive rights in her stories. I mean, that is at least one thing my family was staunch about -- they are solidly pro-choice. I have never seen my parents so angry as when we were harassed on the street by an anti-choice group that shoved signs in our faces, yelled at us, tried to prevent us from getting in our car. Seriously, it was not something that was talked about overmuch, but the ranting was ... enlightening.
But yes, as far as abuse -- the way you put it, "They got out. And, eventually, so did I" is dead on. That is the same for me. Watching characters I grew to care about get out of abusive situations really made a huge difference for me. It gave me hope that one day, I too, would get out. (Except I wouldn't get a white horse... You know how kids who grew up with Harry Potter wanted their invitation to Hogwarts? I wanted my Companion. Or I would have settled for Waarl. :D)
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