This is a bit of an odd post and will start with a dose of life with Asperger’s – or, at least, how things are for me – and end up with a moment of (in)equality but I’m filing it under “language” because that is, basically, what it’s about.
I have recently got involved with a women’s HEMA social group called Esfinges [External Link]. This is … Continue reading
Does anyone else remember the above poster from history lessons? Well, I was reminded of it while catching part of yesterday’s Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2. He did a segment about the recent doping allegations against Ye Shiwen and it ran into some things that have come up recently in other parts of my life / conversations. You can … Continue reading
WARNING: I’m using the Avengers film as a running example in this post so there will be spoilers. This is not a review and I’m not attempting to comment on how well I think the team of creators responsible for it did. It’s just the most recent example of “strength” I’ve seen.
Anyway, it’s safe to say that the speculative fiction post code – divide the genres and subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror … Continue reading
(Post title appropriated from Salt’N’Pepa)
Once again, I’m about to do a blog post without any real research or tracking back to relevant information. I am a bad scientist, one of the many reasons I didn’t finish the doctorate I started many moons ago. So, we’re about to set off on a many thousand word essay with the advance warning that this is my opinion (and deluded reasoning) only. Here we go.
Okay, the now traditional reminders first. I’m focussing on the period between 800-1600 A.D. (or C.E.). I’ve specifically picked this period because this tends to be the inspiration for “medieval” fantasy although this actually covers a number of historic time periods. However you split the time frame up, a lot of things changed so any generalisations will be crude and possibly insulting.
The disclaimers:
So, it’s time to look at “General”s a bit more and consider what kind of woman ends up as one. As with the previous posts in this series, this will look at some actual examples, then some more recent examples or suggestions, finishing off with what this means from a fantasy fiction point of view.
For those new to this series of posts or those who want a reminder, I’m focussing on the period between … Continue reading
In this post, I’m looking at the character type I defined as a “Soldier” a bit more in-depth with the character types covered. As before, this will look at some actual examples, then some more recent examples or suggestions, finishing off with what this means from a fantasy fiction point of view.
As with all previous posts (Women’s Roles in Fantasy Fiction, Women’s … Continue reading
In this and the following posts, I hope to go a bit more in-depth with the character types covered in the Women’s Role Models: Introduction post (in other words, actually discuss some role models) and then look at things from a more modern perspective as well as what this means from a fantasy fiction point of view.
As with the previous post and the starting point ( Continue reading
As I commented on the Women’s Roles in Fantasy Fiction post (rather than in because my brain had started to melt by the time I got to 5000 words), there are real examples of women taking on important roles in history. I hope to put together a few posts about them, starting with this one. I will link forward to the connecting, more specific posts once they’re written, so … Continue reading
This post is based partly on email conversations with Amber Fox about one of my works in progress, The Three Guineveres. In re-jigging the Arthur / Guinevere material and trying to make a workable version of my own (the movie credit would read “inspired by”), I’m wandering into some difficult areas that could give the reader the impression that the fictional character’s thinking is my own – and as it’s not very flattering thinking, I’m … Continue reading