Feminist Monday & Update

First...the update. Things are going really well [knock on wood] with this novel. As stated on Twitter, usually this is the phase of novel-writing when I'm writing like a rabid weasel inside an electro-shock stimulus cage. That is, I'm all terror, anxiety, and "Let's just get this over with, okay? I can't miss the deadline. I can't..." Over and over until done. Usually, I'm a mess. And...well...I suspect it shows in my writing. Endings in and of themselves are difficult to write well. (Just ask Stephen King.) Stick yourself in a situation where there's not a lot of time to process the ending--particularly if you're an organic writer and...yeah. Train wreck. Every novel is different. Every novel has its lessons to teach. That's why, for me, it never gets boring. There's no mastering all that there is of the art of writing. There's always something new. I love that aspect of it. However, the end of novel deadline terror has been the constant of my novel-writing-life. Not with Blackthorne. No doubt, part of the equation is that this manuscript is what was once my very first (written only for me) completed novel. Mind you, that has presented its own set of problems. Mainly, the years and years of tearing down and building and refitting and rebuilding until it resembled something close to the Winchester Mansion. There's very little remaining of what it once was, plot-wise. The themes are the same, however. That said, I'm hitting the last of the manuscript this time and am amazed at how the pieces are fitting together. Bits I never thought would smooth out have done so with very little effort. I'm not used to being able to do this at this stage. I'm having fun. Two weeks and change before deadline is not when this usually happens. Usually, I'm having panic attacks and tearing my hair out. This is, I hope a really good sign.

Well, that, and the fact that the test drive on the opening chapter got the same audience reaction the test drive of OB&H's first chapter did--again, from non-genre readers, no less.

Anyway, you're not here for all that blithering. You're here for Feminist Monday. But I wanted you to know the blog-break has been for a good cause and that it's worked out better than I'd hoped. And now...Feminist Monday behind the cut.

Literary/Entertainment: I've one thing to say about our first link. What the ever fuck? CBS Passes on Nancy Drew Adaptation For Testing “Too Female” For Lineup​. What did they think they were producing? Didn't they know what Nancy Drew was? Maybe that's it. I haven't seen the pilot, but now I will because maybe the writers modernized it. Made it less about Nancy's Dad being perfect and all those traditional "1950s how a young woman should be" and more of what Nancy had potential to be--an entity all her own. (I read the first few books as a kid and was bored to tears. She kept apologizing in her perfect twin suit and clutching her pearls for not being the invisible maid. Bleh. Turns out, Trixie Belden would've been more my speed.) Upcoming Short Film Project Together Now Pairs Female Directors With Actresses​. Sci-fi media coverage dominated by men, survey shows​. Two words: No shit. How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion. The 'funny' thing about that article? It says that TB no longer is an influence, and yet, the skinny, red-cheeked, red-lipped, big eyed look is still a fashion mainstay. So, let's admit it already? M-kay? Also, remember A Winter's Tale? The mysterious disease that Beverly is suffering from? The one that makes her so beautiful, and yet, feverish enough to melt snow? It's tuberculosis. In the Victorian era, the 'fashion' for TB was so extensive that basically the only good, saintly, desired woman was one that was literally dying.

Guest Post: 10 Fantasy Novels Whose Depiction of Women Did Not Make Me Smash Things, by Kate Elliott​. The Fantasy Genre Hates Women. That one led to a conversation wherein I ended up having to explain that sexism is, in fact, real to a group of men who clearly should've known better. (see: The Thing All Women Do That You Don't Know About below.) Who gets to be an artist? An interview with cultural theorist Hans Abbing​. If I don't get pants, no one gets pants. And YEESSSSSSS!!! Marvel Commits to Black Widow Solo Movie​. Kari Sperring writes for Nobody Knew She Was There​. 

General: Filed under the "If women are equal to men, why haven't they invented things or done anything great in history? Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because women's work is more often than not ignored until a man takes credit for it?" conversation... The Little-Known Nuns who Mapped the Stars. Also, 10 Badass Female Revolutionaries You Probably Didn’t Learn About In School​. Artist Turns Racist Flirtations on Tinder Into Compelling Look at Race and Sex​. States dig in against directive on transgender bathroom use​. Real Talk: On Fatness, Desirability, And Why Socialization Is a Beast. The Thing All Women Do That You Don’t Know About​. People of Color in European Art History​. The First Oral Contraceptive Was Approved On This Day In 1960 — Here's How It Changed History​. Mind you, that was seven days ago, but still, the pill changed history. This next one is not safe for work: The truth about female desire: It’s base, animalistic and ravenous​. Alabama Passes a Bill to Regulate Abortion Clinics Like Sex Offenders​. Sheryl Sandberg Admits Leaning In Is Harder Than She Originally Thought​. Again, two words: no shit. 6 ways America totally screws over pregnant women and mothers​. 

Trigger Warning: I'm listing this link because it demonstrates an instance where men could've benefitted from Feminism, in this case, taking seriously the plight of victims of sexual assault and harassment. ​Arkansas Judge Resigns After Thousands Of Pictures Of Nude Defendants Found On His Computer.