Betsy here: I guess we’ve got no scheduled posts for this week so it’s free-for-all here at the Night Bazaar!! Woot! Next week we’ll emerge from the mayhem with a scheduled topic.
Just got a new review for EXILE from examiner.com:
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This post from Jim Hines speaks to our discussion on harassment at Cons. Publishing is a small world. People are watching. Behave yourselves.
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Along similar lines, lots of folks are talking about this month’s SFWA Bulletin cover. I think it’s rockin’ cool art.
Hell, she must be a good fighter. She killed that dude and look! not a scratch on her. And we’d know, wouldn’t we?
What are your thoughts of a scantily clad, buxom swordswoman on the cover of our professional organization’s magazine? It’s okay to be torn, I guess. After all, SF/F has that tradition of scantily clad swordswomen.
But then, SF/F has that wee tradition of harassing scantily clad cosplayers at cons too. Does this kind of portrayal contribute to that culture?
Paul (@princejvstin) on January 28, 2013
Well, frankly, I winced when I saw the cover, Betsy.
I winced because I am a heterosexual male who finds the woman on the cover attractive, alluring and desireable. I winced because the cover reinforces a lot of negative stereotypes about our genre, whether that its intent or not. The lack of reasonable armor is the big thing. Sure, in the right circumstances, I can see the woman wearing such an outfit. But in the wild, having just killed that monster? Um, no. Hell, no. “chainmail bikinis” indeed.
betsydornbusch on January 28, 2013
Paul, yeah. I get you. I write an urban fantasy series in addition to the SEVEN EYES series, and the women are every bit as kick-ass, and armored up when necessary, as the guys. The last thing any of them are thinking about is looking sexy.
LOL, it looks cold there, too!!
Zachary on January 29, 2013
I think, more than anything, that these depictions communicate one thing: It’s normal for a woman to be objectified as a sexual object.
Like Paul, I winced, and largely for the same reasons: I like women. I like them wearing little clothes. What I don’t like is the almost inhuman draw my eyes feel toward a scantily clad woman due to years of, um, programming. Advertising seems to dare you NOT to look.
I see this as a huge problem in our (and other) societies. Men — especially young men — have trouble controlling their eyes. They very rarely realize that a stare can be nearly as violating as a touch. Images like this, though cool and attractive, do nothing to communicate that always staring, staring, staring is not cool.
I don’t know — did that make sense?
betsydornbusch on January 30, 2013
I think it makes perfect sense, Zach. Body language is communication. Staring is communication. It’s important for everyone to think about what they are saying when they stare.