[ SECRET POST #6053 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6053 ⌋

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


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[Evan and Kaitlyn/Orphan Black]



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[Arknights; art by Gloomspiral]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 12 secrets from Secret Submission Post #865.
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

[(Anonymous)]

I decided to read 'Normal People,' because...well, I'm not really sure. Even though it's kind of zeitgeisty, it's still not my usual kind of books (I mostly read genre fiction and non-fiction).

So, first, wow has it got a lot of sex in it! There aren't, like, full-on sex scenes of the type you see in romance or smutty fic, but it's a lot more descriptive than I'd expect modern, critically acclaimed lit to be.

Second, however, is that I keep thinking about one of the criticisms it got, which was that it glorified thinness and restrictive eating. I remember reading a review that pointed out how often the author describes the main female character's eating habits, and her too-slim body parts, and the reviewer was like, "is she trying to say that only ultra skinny people are beautiful?"

Well, here's the thing: Marianne's eating habits, and her too-slim frame, are very clearly portrayed in the novel as symptoms of her trauma and self-loathing. She neglects to eat when she's been mistreated; when she convinces herself that she deserves to be mistreated. I find myself baffled how someone could read it and think Marianne's disordered eating is presented as a good thing.

I don't really know where I'm going with this. It's just something that's been circling around in my head.

[(Anonymous)]

SA

I suppose I should also say I find it overall to be a very sad, wistful book, with some passages that are achingly real. I can see why it got so much praise, even if it does seem sort of pretentious of the author not to use quotation marks.

[meadowphoenix]

honestly i think it's a little sensitivity over how much depictions of thinness are persistent, and also...when i was a teenager there were a bunch of internet forums, like pro-ANA sites, which would recommend books like this because despite the portrayal being about the negative consequences of bad mental health, it would end up validating disordered eating for people in the thick of it because of the descriptiveness.

i think you're right though that that shouldn't stop literary depictions of that type of mentality, but descriptiveness is one of those things where i don't think there's a consensus on the balance between depiction and glorification, because it will be validating for people who already have a warped perspective.