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The Rejectionist brings up some interesting points about women and how they're perceived and, sadly, used in books and movies. Maybe I read too many cozies and have conveniently missed just how many hard-boiled, noir, thriller, procedural and "mainstream" mysteries portray women as victims--usually dead ones. And mysteries aren't the only culprits.
It's a fine line to toe. How do you write a murder where the victim is female without victimizing all women? I by no means consider myself a militant feminist, but neither do I want to contribute to the mire.
Yes, some people become victims. The nightly news tells us so every evening. That doesn't mean we should turn our characters into helpless stereotypes.
The Rejectionist's blog especially hit home because I'm working out a scene in my head where my female protagonist is supposed to be locked into a small shed during a heat wave to warn her off. I never thought much about it, but my first instinct was to have the future love interest come to the rescue. Oh, my heroine would try until the heat overcame her, but ultimately she'd be rescued by a man. I think I need to change that. I might go so far as to have the LI be the one trapped and the woman in shining armor charging to his rescue!
How do you avoid victimizing your female characters? Do you agree or disagree with The Rejectionist? Have you read TGWTDT? (I admit I haven't.)
- Mood:
thoughtful
Of one Who Possessed Beauty
Without Vanity,Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man
Without his Vices.
~ Lord Byron
- Mood:
sad
I couldn't bring myself to post until I had all the information. First, thank you to everyone who commented about Griffon. I was too depressed to reply back, but your kind words were appreciated.
Gah! I just reread the above, so let me say, Griffon's still alive and kicking ... for 3-12 months. Yes, the ultrasound revealed a huge mass (vet thought at the time it was the size of a grapefruit, turned out to be more like a cantaloupe) attached to his spleen. The problem with a growth on the spleen is that the spleen recycles blood. It has a gazillion blood vessels coming in and out of it. This type of tumor isn't normally discovered until the tumor ruptures the spleen and the dog dies of internal bleeding.
Guess you could call us lucky in that regard.
- Mood: sad
Because it stopped and Griffon seemed none the worse for wear, I opted to bring him to his own vet (who'd been out of town Sunday night but who phoned me long distance to get him through his situation).
We both thought it likely that he had a urinary infection. However, when I spoke to the doctor today and he heard that Griffon wasn't straining when he urinated, I could tell he was concerned. He checked him over and (as suspected) found no cuts or abrasions on the penis itself. He checked Griffon's sheath and his urethra to make sure there was no obstruction there. Nothing.
Then he suggested some X-rays to rule out kidney or bladder stones and also a urine sample (have you ever gone for a walk with your dog and the vet, the vet carrying a long ladel to catch doggy pee in? I wish I had a camera phone!). The sample showed, though the urine was yellow, it was full of blood. Tests also showed a very high pH which does indicate some sort of bacterial infection.
The X-rays ... well, these were taken before the urine sample, but Griffon's bladder was pretty empty. The vet assured me any bladder stones still would have shown up sense they're very dense. What concerned him--and me--was the hugh white mass sitting just above his spleen. I'm talking, it went from nearly his abdominal wall to his spine. The doctor palpitated his sides and tried to do a prostate exam, no results. The mass must be dead center and, since Griffon is a German shepherd, the doctor couldn't reach all the way inside him to check his prostate.
Tomorrow we go back for an ultrasound and possibly a biopsy. We aren't rich, and we don't have pet insurance. I know if it's cancer that requires treatment, we won't be able to afford it. Griffon's 13 and has lived with us for 11 of those years. I'm just very ... sad right now.
- Mood: sad
That's the message I left for our vet at about 8 p.m. last night after we noticed our German shepherd splattering blood all over the kitchen and living room floors (don't ya just love light beige carpet). To give him credit, our vet phoned right back (despite being out of town) and told us it was probably urinary problems and instructed us to wrap him in diapers and an ace bandage to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.
So, after nearly 2 hours of drip, drip, drip, puddle, Griffon's bleeding finally stopped. We're waiting to take him in and have him checked out. He looked pretty funny last night with 2 pair of Huggies wrapped around his middle, wearing my hubby's old blue tee shirt and an ace bandage holding the whole shebang together.
- Mood: worried
I've been hooked on a couple JDramas recently. Two that stick out in my mind are Nobuta wo Produce and Hana Yori Dango. You can view them both (English sub) at http://www.dailymotion.com if you search for them. Hana Yori Dango has two seasons. The second is listed as Hana Yori Dango 2 Returns.
Nobuta starts when popular guy Kiritani Shuji (Kamenashi Kazuya AKA Kame) meets a shy, suicidal girl, Kotani Nobuko (Horkita Maki). It turns out she's the new student in his class. She's so odd and quiet that she's a natural target for bullies. Only Shuji and class clown Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa AKA Yamapi) realize the trouble Nobuko is in. They secretly plot to "produce" Nobuko and turn her into a popular girl, but all in secret. Nobuta is a sweet, funny and sometimes sad story. If nothing else, check out (I think) ep. 4 where Shuji and Akira decide to show Nobuta how to act on a date with Shuji playing the female part.
Hana Yori Dango is another JDrama that's also been produced as Meteor Garden (Taiwanese, I think) and is also a hugely popular manga/anime. It's better known as Boys into Flowers. The female lead is a poor girl attending a prestigious and snobby rich kids' school. The school is run by the four richest and popular boys, known as the F4. If the F4 doesn't like you, they red tag you and you are bullied until you quit school. Makino (the lead) doesn't take this lying down, though. Initial conflict turns into friendship and love. It's another funny and touching drama that everyone should watch.
But what does this have to do with Mizuki? Doumyouji wears fur. He wears purple. He wears flowery shirts. Maybe I'm a Philistine, but I wonder if he actually has any fashion sense at all. Add to this the fact that he refers to himself as "Ore-sama," and I get a vicarious PoT thrill everytime I watch an episode. My absolute favorite outfit of his (which I unfortunately do not have a picture of) is a purple suede jacket with an (I think) mink collar. The suede is embossed with flowers. It's just so, so ... Mizuki! Here are a few stills so you can see what I mean.
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| Wearing a dead raccoon | Doesn't show well, but that tux is made of gold lame'! |
- Location:through the looking glass
- Mood:
amused
