The Spiral Dance

"Though both are bound in the spiral dance, I would rather be a cyborg than a goddess." - Donna Haraway

Posts tagged ha!

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eschergirls: Remember a while back I posted a link to Jim C. Hines trying to pose the way women are posed on novel covers?  (Which has since been re-submitted to me 10000000 times XD ) He’s done a sequel after all the usual “but men are objectified toooo” & “what about romance covers huh? huh? huh?” (this one is particularly problematic in another way because it implies that every other genre is specifically meant to be a hetero male sexual fantasy. http://www.jimchines.com/2012/04/posing-like-a-man/ There it is.  The painful life of posing like a man. XD He’s so brilliant I want to give him infinite hugs. :D /fangirl AHEM. I love that he photoshopped himself in both poses in the last one too. Edit: I should probably leave his conclusions here too: In Conclusion Men on book covers are indeed posed shirtless in ways that show off their musculature. However… Male poses do not generally emphasize sexuality at the expense of all other considerations. Male poses do emphasize the character’s power and strength in a way many (most?) female cover poses don’t. When posed with a woman, the man will usually be in the dominant, more powerful posture. Male poses do not generally require a visit to the chiropractor afterward. See also ocelott’s post comparing male and female poses. She comes to pretty much the same conclusions as I did.

eschergirls:

Remember a while back I posted a link to Jim C. Hines trying to pose the way women are posed on novel covers?  (Which has since been re-submitted to me 10000000 times XD )

He’s done a sequel after all the usual “but men are objectified toooo” & “what about romance covers huh? huh? huh?” (this one is particularly problematic in another way because it implies that every other genre is specifically meant to be a hetero male sexual fantasy.

http://www.jimchines.com/2012/04/posing-like-a-man/


There it is.  The painful life of posing like a man. XD

He’s so brilliant I want to give him infinite hugs. :D

/fangirl

AHEM.

I love that he photoshopped himself in both poses in the last one too.

Edit: I should probably leave his conclusions here too:

In Conclusion

  1. Men on book covers are indeed posed shirtless in ways that show off their musculature. However…
  2. Male poses do not generally emphasize sexuality at the expense of all other considerations.
  3. Male poses do emphasize the character’s power and strength in a way many (most?) female cover poses don’t.
  4. When posed with a woman, the man will usually be in the dominant, more powerful posture.
  5. Male poses do not generally require a visit to the chiropractor afterward.
  6. See also ocelott’s post comparing male and female poses. She comes to pretty much the same conclusions as I did.

Filed under book covers sexism ha!

6 notes

oliviawaite:

resoundingmelody:

I went to the library today and just for fun, I picked up this romance novel. I can’t even remember the title. It was something like “Warrior in Love” or “In Love with a Warrior” and there was this buff half-naked man wearing plaid on it with long hair, cradling some chick with this crazy revealing dress in his arms. 

I now have hope (after reading a few chapters of this) that I could get published. Because honestly, this was some of the craziest shit I have ever read. There lines like  ”Her dress revealed the tops of her plentiful bosom” and “Her eyes were like the purest of lavender”. It was pretty flipping hilarious. 

Congratulations on your desire to publish a romance of your own! Congratulations as well on your innocence, for thinking that getting published is as easy as falling off a log! Pay no attention to the thousands — nay, millions of intelligent, educated women who love romance and devote many of their waking hours to reading it and writing it and honing their craft and technique. Surely your one lackluster experience with a book that was not to your taste — though you appear to have gotten several chapters in — gives you more authority about the genre than someone who has actually read an entire romance novel. The same way that my dislike for the novels of Thomas Hardy means that I could no doubt produce a stellar example of classic English literature.

Bonus points for talking about the cover rather than the text. Authors traditionally don’t have a great deal of control over romance covers, especially the clinch-tastic ones like you describe.

In fact, though, your desire to be published in romance is on the right track: romance is the most flourishing part of the book industry right now, whether we’re talking about print or digital or anything in between. It’s also a hugely supportive community, so it would be quite easy for you to find mentors and others who can help you hone your writing and strengthen your work.

I wish you the best of luck!

+1 for the commentary!

Filed under ha! romance novels books publishing

59 notes

turnabout:

greengrey:

ttssgg:

Why do men think sitting with their legs wide open is more important than allowing the person next to them on the train have a full seat? He also has his elbows out. And refused to move his coat off the seat, so I sat on it.

I love you.

Men should obviously learn to keep their damn legs together. Someone should hand out aspirin.

Filed under ha!