They both include the concept of a BDSM universe, but one is a romantic porno fantasy and one is a feminist allegory. How is this such a difficult concept?
It's like how "Stargate SG1" and "JAG" are both about military officers doing their jobs, but one is a sci-fi adventure and one is a legal procedural show. Things can have topics in common and still be quite different.
The more I read, I am having difficulty seeing Helen's story as more as a dropping off point to rant about another story in her comments.
If Helen's point was, "I think Xanthe's story is terrible and awful, let's all criticize it," I don't think she would have any problem simply coming out and saying that. Why would she spend weeks and weeks writing an alternate take on the subject matter when it would be so much simpler to make the point in a regular LJ post? (As many other people have done to many other stories by many authors in SGA fandom, in their own personal journals and in communities like thecuttingboard.)
I think if you can't see anything in Helen's story but an insult to Xanthe or BDSM, you are missing its point entirely. It is not about how terrible Xanthe's story is, or lifestyle BDSM. It is about how terrible *traditional gender roles* are, and it uses an imaginary universe where *institutionalized* BDSM is a part of *society* as a metaphor for the traditional gender roles that are institutionalized as part of our society.
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Date: 11/19/06 01:16 am (UTC)They both include the concept of a BDSM universe, but one is a romantic porno fantasy and one is a feminist allegory. How is this such a difficult concept?
It's like how "Stargate SG1" and "JAG" are both about military officers doing their jobs, but one is a sci-fi adventure and one is a legal procedural show. Things can have topics in common and still be quite different.
The more I read, I am having difficulty seeing Helen's story as more as a dropping off point to rant about another story in her comments.
If Helen's point was, "I think Xanthe's story is terrible and awful, let's all criticize it," I don't think she would have any problem simply coming out and saying that. Why would she spend weeks and weeks writing an alternate take on the subject matter when it would be so much simpler to make the point in a regular LJ post? (As many other people have done to many other stories by many authors in SGA fandom, in their own personal journals and in communities like thecuttingboard.)
I think if you can't see anything in Helen's story but an insult to Xanthe or BDSM, you are missing its point entirely. It is not about how terrible Xanthe's story is, or lifestyle BDSM. It is about how terrible *traditional gender roles* are, and it uses an imaginary universe where *institutionalized* BDSM is a part of *society* as a metaphor for the traditional gender roles that are institutionalized as part of our society.