[ SECRET POST #3777 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3777 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Early for once!

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 44 secrets from Secret Submission Post #541.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Physical strength, I mean.

I noticed just recently that a huge part of the teen male culture seems to be pushing strongly the claim that women are vastly weaker than men. Now I know there is a bit of a gap, but the overlap can be substantial, it is not really an issue until you get right out to the extremes. However there seems to be a strain of thinking that there is a major, major, difference in strengths and that a young man who does no strength training will be automatically stronger than any young woman.

I got to wondering, is this the reason why so many fashion brands and media are pushing the idea of stick thin women? That the current beauty ideal is petite and very thin? It is almost like an enforcement of that dogmatic belief that men must be stronger than women is being conducted through media image.

I also noticed that physically strong action women in the media are now pretty much always given their strength by supernatural or technological means of some sort, that they are mostly Whedonesque magic waifs who still conform to the petite and thin image while having magic strength. Is the media pushing the idea that women are just automatically inferior, that there is nothing to be done about it, and just to look pretty instead? Should we not be avoiding media and narratives that push this now?

Also I have a severe headcold and am on some major painkillers and I can see like echoes of where my fingers are when I type. Like a super slo mo movie shot. It is freeky. Every body way in.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

I think this is too complex a subject to address in just a few points, but...

* I think teen male culture (like teen female culture) is in part a reaction to the feelings of insecurity most teenagers naturally have at that age. The idea of physical strength and superiority is probably the male reaction and arguably not the greatest means of coping with those anxieties. Female teens will likely have a different reaction.

* "a young man who does no strength training will be automatically stronger than any young woman" - The idea that you can win without any real effort on your part is appealing to many groups, for much the same reason.

* Stick thin women have been popular in fashion, but not necessarily to the mainstream. There's a bit more wiggle room... not much, but a bit more. Ask a random straight dude and he'll be just as likely to express an admiration for women with a fuller figure, albeit usually only in the bust/hip regions. Ask a random woman what they'd like their body to look like and they're not necessarily going to say they'd like to be 5'10", 120 lbs and a fairly flat chest.

* Petite but strong women are a way to get the best of both worlds, I guess. On the one hand, they have the qualities of a kickass heroine, i.e. strength and fighting skills. On the other hand, they're not physically imposing so even an average built guy can feel big and strong standing next to them. If their strength comes from supernatural or technological means, this also means it can be taken away as a plot device, making them physically as well as emotionally vulnerable. I get the impression that this is a plot device Whedon likes, but he's not the only storyteller who does.

Hope you feel better soon!

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Ibdon't think there's any moral imperative to avoid things with strong women, whether that strength came from mystical forces or hour at the gym.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Urgh this reminds me of MMA culture. The whole Ronda Roussey thing really brought out the sexist redpill douchebags. Go on any Ronda Roussey video on Youtube and you'll find the majority of comments about how she sucks, is a terrible fighter, is ugly, and could not beat a single person of the male gender in any situation ever. It's amazing. One of the strongest female fighters - who could pretty clearly toss around most guys like nothing. When she finally lost her fight last year (two years ago? whatever) these men were fucking creaming themselves, claiming this as proof that she is terrible and wanking over the frames of her getting punched in the face. Seriously disgusting - and crazy. After all, it really just proves that there are multiple strong female MMA fighters now, but evidently Ronda was the one that threatened their manhood or something.

The fantasy novel I'm writing stars a female warrior, and features multiple female warriors, too. I've done a lot of research into MMA, boxing, and other martial arts, and focus on any description of them looking at the size of their arm muscles or their abs, rather than rambling on about how slender, big-breasted and pretty they are like so many fantasy novels do. I am also sick of "female action heroes" that look like stick thin models wearing stilettos. I really just want female action sequences that look as authentic as male action sequences. It frankly feels condescending or demeaning then they are just portrayed as sexy waifs.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[diet_poison]

ugh yeah. I'm sorry, but a female professional fighter will pretty much be able to beat up any man who isn't an athlete, which is 95% of them or more, and probably some that are, depending on their own strength and what sport they are in.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Similarly, during last year's Olympics, I don't think I ever saw an article about Katy Ledecky that didn't have comments about how "any average male high school swimmer" could wipe the floor with her.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[diet_poison]

Seriously?? >_______>

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Lol where have you been? The idea that women need to be thin, frail reeds has been prevalent for a long time (remember the "heroin chic/waif look" of the early 90s, and before that the stick-up Twiggy look of the 70s?). Not to mention women who are physically strong or appear to be are insulted and called "manly" or whatever, that's been around for ages,ago too. But in spite of all that bullshit, it's still not true.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

I am curious about this because it does seem like there's a huge push to keep women thin, frail, hungry, and docile.

I do remember also seeing that while women are allowed to compete in Olympic events, there's a huge disparity in the number of companies willing to sponsor female athletes for the less 'pretty' and 'feminine' events so female heavy lifters and etc. have a much harder time being able to afford to compete.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Men of all ages do this. It started to really bother me when my job involved a lot of lifting and carrying, because it made it sound like I was less qualified for my (extremely easy) job than a kid who hadn't finished puberty yet. I'm thin and relatively petite.

I'm not polite when people are weird about it anymore. I am a physically fit adult who knows what I can lift. I will ask for help if I need it. I know how to lift things properly, when plenty of guys don't and will hurt themselves. And men have the weirdest idea of what constitutes "heavy" (a box of paper??). It will only include things that threaten them too. They don't have weird comments for mothers picking up their 5 year olds.

Re: Strong women ramblings

[(Anonymous)]

Female fashion plates being stick thin has been around a while - since maybe the mid-60s. There were earlier waves, too, like in the 1920s when the fasion for women was to have the body of an adolescent boy - all straight-up-and-down like.

Anyway, I think wanting to feel strong and powerful is just a typical teenage boy thing (because they obviously aren't all that strong and powerful compared to adult men, so they need to believe they are stronger than someone) and pushing other people down so you can feel good about yourself in comparison is just a typical everybody thing. (I'm continuously surprised by the misogyny displayed by young boys, don't get me wrong, but I don't think that's new, either.)