Making generalisations about why Other Wymmynz consume the media they do, without, as far as I can tell, actually consulting them (or indeed having any very deep or nuanced knowledge of the media in question), for coming up for 50 years (see her assumptions in The Female Eunuch about why gurlyz read romance - which she seems to think pretty much co ( Read more... )

Go Hadley! Sure, it’s nice to feel you have a literary alter ego. But the idea that you need to find one to enjoy a piece of art is one I only ever hear in relation to women. It is as true as it is a truism to say that books written by women about women are generally seen as niche fluff while those written by men about men are big manly literature ( Read more... )

Following a train of thought which began, I think, with musing on the desire of meedja people to find an expert and then ensure that they say whatever the meedja people want them to say -

E.g. that approach from a radio producer that went dead silent when I expressed my scepticism apropos 'sifilis = geenyus'.

And then onto the idea of 'creative ( Read more... )

I think I have mentioned this before, but it probably bears repeating given the erosions of time.

I should really be very, very grateful if people would not explicitly associate my erinacine identity with my passport name.

I thought the fact that I don't, anywhere, explicitly associate my passport name with this journal was sufficient hint.

I see ( Read more... )

Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (because identifiably female names don't get taken seriously by publishers)

George Eliot (because Marion Evans has acquired a certain reputation that might militate against her fiction being considered on its merits)

Rebecca West (*It's complicated* - but to do with Cicely Fairfield's association with the scandalous ( Read more... )

#1 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > History > Lesbian

AND (other edition, same book)
#2 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > History > Lesbian
on Amazon UK!

I'm my own runner-up...

I reslly think this must represent a certain paucity within the category? because I've just clicked on it and it includes a number of works which I'm not sure I would immediately ( Read more... )

(Breaking news: today the streets were being cleaned, hooray hooray. Is once a week sufficient at this time of year? Answer comes: no.)

***

From a review at salon.com, via a post at Ambling Along the Aqueduct:
It's precisely when we are conscious of fictional characters as the invention of a literary author that they seem inert and fixed -- ( Read more... )

Further to my thoughts yesterday on the desirability of a handkerchief code for ljs.

Another thing I thought of was something to indicate the differences between:

• Welcomes civil conversation and discussion
• Happy with spirited discussions
• Enjoys verbal brawls
• Free-for-all

I also thought, further to the lj enabling of the facility for flagging ( Read more... )

This has been mulling around for quite some time, but I couldn't get it to focus. Then yesterday I read a review in the TLS of a book on sexual fantasy, which mentioned (but alas, did not cite) research that suggests that in spite of the over-attention given to what Women's Rape Fantasies MEAN about wymmynz and their sexuality, a similar ( Read more... )

I've been brooding over some of the comments that followed the post about Arthur Ransome, bolshevism, and the presumed twee cosiness of Swallows and Amazons, and thinking further in particular about conformity, rebellion, and gender identification. Particularly exercised by the notion someone cited that liking Just William = rebellion and liking S& ( Read more... )