elbales: (BAAL SMASH)
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

Look, we all know how totally fucked up the gender roles are in the Twilight series, right? Edward is a total stalker, Bella has no spine, Jacob force-kisses Bella, blah blah blah. Someone has actually managed to top Stephenie Meyer's bullshit. Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush features a too-stupid-to-live heroine who gets stalked, harassed, intimidated, flat-out terrified, and I'm running out of horrid verbs, by the "hero," a fallen angel who, I kid you not, wants to kill her so he can get back into Heaven. And we're supposed to believe that she's attracted to him. Worse, she goes for help to adults in her life, repeatedly, and gets told that she's overreacting. What the fuck. What the ever-living shit. This is what we're serving up to our young people? Urge to kill rising.

[livejournal.com profile] bookshop has done an excellent, if possibly triggery, discussion, one which is well worth reading, of this heinous trend in YA lit.

ETA: And [livejournal.com profile] ceilidh_ann has done a full review so that anyone may be properly horrified without having to subject themselves to the book.

ETA2: Also linked by [livejournal.com profile] bookshop is this very interesting post that asks, "Do books teach or reveal?" Let me stress that I don't believe in censorship. I may think that the Twilight books and all of their imitations depict extremely unhealthy relationships in a way that tends to glamorize them... but I wouldn't support burning the books even though I despise what they stand for. I just think that we desperately need better written books for young people, books that show readers that it's okay to think for yourself, to stand up for yourself, to have agency in your own life. And if parents are going to let their kids read books like Hush, Hush, it's incumbent on those parents to sit down with their kids and say, "Okay, honey, now we're going to talk about things that it is absolutely not okay for a boy to do to a girl, or vice versa, or any of the other possible gender-based permutations out there." That's the only real solution.
 
elbales: (DO NOT WANT cat)
AUGH
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

Briefly, some people at a con came up with this marvelous idea of asking women, "May I touch your breasts?" It really does sound like it was a positive experience for the original, very small group of people, but there is just so much potential for huge ugliness inherent in the idea. At least the original poster followed up to say that he realized this was potentially a Very Bad Thing and please do not do this, because. But still. Yuck.

Personally, anyone asking this question of me would get a basilisk glare and an icy "How dare you!", followed by an irate call to Security. As [livejournal.com profile] lizbee put it, if you have any desire to father children, you'd best not ask.

. . . And then someone linked to OH JOHN RINGO NO in the comments and my head exploded. Srsly. I am appalled that anyone would publish such revolting, pig-ignorant, misogynist tripe. I must be sadly sheltered.

Also, I now have a strong urge to fly to New York and bitchslap Jim Baen. I will refrain only because his company has recently bought work from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller and they are pure win.

I have to go to work now.

Goddammit, I NEED BLEACH.
 

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