It’s finally happening: After two long years of waiting, I’ve finally defended my doctoral thesis! Since I just learned that one of EUROPE’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS PUBLISHING HOUSES in my field wants to publish it (just saying), I shall finally finish this post. It is a cleaned-up version of my introduction to Holocaust literature and book rec list that I wrote for my friend Susanna when she took a class on the Holocaust in college. As well as for some other friends who had asked me to recommend some reading material throughout the years I had bitched at them about the hardships of my academic life. I wrote my thesis on Holocaust literature, you see.
Blog
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (7/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (6/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (5/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (4/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (3/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (2/7)
A Guide To Writing Women (For Men Who Don’t Want To Offend Them) (1/7)
Content
Part I: Introduction: On what this is and who it is and isn’t for.
Part II: Pretty Things To Look At: Visual descriptions and their fallacies; subjects, objects and breasts; exclusivity and accidental pornography.
Part III: Pretty Things To Use: A casting call gone wrong; age of consent and why it matters; on how Daenerys Targayen said yes.
Part IV: Pretty Things To Use, continued: On sexy rigor mortis; entertainment vs. insult; on how beauty standards make it harder to write well.
Part V: Pretty Things We’ve Read Before: On building mixed ensembles; on why everybody hated Tauriel; what The X-Men teach about gender defaults.
Part VI: That’s… Not How That Works: On why you should fact-check your erotica; on how your bible studies teacher was wrong about orgasms.
Part VII: Do It Right: All the positive examples and bonus advice on how to do it right for all who made it this far.
HP reread! Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 6: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
On Bad Parents
Now that Vernon has lost his fight to “protect” Harry, he (and Petunia and Dudley) just turn mean. I mean, dropping Harry at the non-existing platform and leaving him there, laughing at him, that’s just mean. Before that, there was at least a warped sense of honor involved for Vernon. I guess this is his way of regaining his dignity. (he had the strongest agenda before, so I’m assuming that Petunia and Dudley are taking their cues from him now; this was Vernon’s idea.)
HP reread! Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 5: Diagon Alley
Much Ado About Muggles.
When Harry asks Hagrid why wizards hide from Muggles, Hagrid replies, “Blimey, Harry, everyone’d be wantin’ magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we’re best left alone.” It’s interesting because there’s no sense of fear. Also reminds me of later when Harry will write an essay on that witch that was supposed to be burnt at the stake but just made a joke out of it. The wizards are extremely isolationist, but they are like that out of a sense of superiority. That’s why Arthur’s interest in Muggles is considers so quirky, too; it’s like when somebody studies turtles, weird, quirky but harmless. Anyway, it’s a perfect breeding ground for an anti-Muggleborn attitude. In this world where Muggles are a nuisance at the best of times, of course a lot of people would consider Muggleborns inferior as well. And while a part of the wizarding world is fighting anti-Muggleborn attitudes, nobody is giving a fuck about anti-Muggle attitudes. Hagrid, of all people, has them. Everybody has them.
