PROJECT ANON: 2(012)

[kficrevolution]

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sort of relevant links:
challenge responses
delicious archive of all fic and wips
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if the world actually ends this year maybe i'll come up with a punnier title.

if you want to ask mod a question or raise an issue, do it in the comments to the screened mod post. not here. also, don't post ponies.

Comments

Re: i'm really sorry, everyone please scroll ;;

[(Anonymous)]

Hello, Hello,

I'm not looking to cause problems or anything, but I did have a bit of a problem with this statement: Like a woman will never be able to write like a man, and I don't really think it's good to let perceptions like this go unchallenged.

While it is definitely true that a large number of male and female authors tend to write with an eye towards different things, it's important to note that authorial voice is formed by experience and exposure.

The literary influences one has had, the level of technical instruction and life experience are going to create the individual voice. It is individuals who write stories not genders, and as no two individuals are the same, no two authorial voices will be the same.

It would be naive to believe that only male authors would have similarities with other male authors and females authors with female. Amongst people whose experiences and literary exposure is comparable that is where you are most likely to find similarities.

The statement also appears to be taking a binary view of gender and I'm afraid I feel unqualified to address why and how that is problematic.

And finally, I would be hesitant to toss this kind of statement around without qualification. There are unfortunate implications attached to it that I am sure you did not intend. There is still an unspoken but pervasive tendency to relate male with good or better and female with secondary. Which, as it did not appear to be your point at all, could give the wrong impression. -I'm not sure if I should leave this last part as I would like for it to be irrelevant but there it is. Sorry, Anon, I hope you don't find any of this offensive.

Re: i'm really sorry, everyone please scroll ;;

[(Anonymous)]

hi! i'm the person talking to anon/op of the review um sorry to barge in ;-;

i just wanted to say that i think you have a really good point and while i don't think anon meant it to come with the implications attached that it did, it's important to acknowledge them and their pervasiveness. so thank you for raising the issue! i'm personally finding this an insightful addition to the discussion we were having.

Re: i'm really sorry, everyone please scroll ;;

[(Anonymous)]

Barge away, Anon! I'm sorry to have inserted myself into your conversation.

I agree with you that Anon probably didn't mean any of the things a statement like that can carry, but I do still feel we have to be careful about how we toss conclusions like that about. This is totally in keeping with the conversation that you were having above, reading a statement like that, you internalize it and if you don't look at it and think about it right away, or if you see it often and repeatedly, it will start to inform your opinions on things. It can be very seductive to rely on the things you 'know' when what you know has been informed by dozens of opinions not your own and throw-away comments that haven't been fully thought through.

I'm actually a little sorry to be missing out on what you are discussing. A large part of what you're talking about is what I tend to think of as the apple effect.

What I mean by that is that an author is never just talking about/mentioning an apple. The bible is, I believe, the most widely read document in the world and there are millions of people who know Eve's story and the Garden of Eden. Also, if we're going with a conservative estimate, there are roughly three generations of North Americans who have grown up with Disney's Snow White somewhere in their past. So if an author mentions an apple they're not just talking about a red fruit that's crisp and juicy, they are mentioning everything the reader has ever known or related to apples.

this response is all over the place, sorry!

Re: i'm really sorry, everyone please scroll ;;

[(Anonymous)]

it's more than okay, anon! i thought your response was quite coherent. i really do appreciate where you're coming from, and i think that it's really easy to miss the implications of those kinds of statements especially exactly because nobody walks around second-guessing everything that comes out of their mouth. i agree on the internalising bit, we are all socialised into particular settings and that can really change what we 'know'. so i'm glad you came and pointed it out, because as anon and i were talking about people do perceive and interpret things differently, and i think this is a great example of that!

you could join in, anon! well that's if this thread doesn't get lost, which i think it already might've haha.

yes, i think your apple effect does tie in a lot with what we were discussing! it's not just the object itself, but the cultural meanings and symbols that are assigned follow along automatically too. and everytime a new idea or work comes out, it sort of builds onto that shared cultural knowledge. i'm not sure if this is quite how you meant it orz