Yes to all of that. And the thing that bugs me more the more I think
about it is that structurally, this whole thing comes down really
heavily on the side of endorsing a particular kind of femininity as
real or innate or whatever. Like, okay, female dwarves have lived as
male dwarves for a very long time, so clearly there isn't a
well-developed concept of "feminine behavior" in dwarf society, if you
know what I mean. So when they decide to be ladies openly they default
to this whole stereotyped notion of exaggeratedly feminine dress,
shape, etc. As if that's, like, the universal understanding of what
ladies are. Which is plausible as a way to react to oppression --
clumsily copying what they observe from humans and others, and missing
all the nuance. But that's me making excuses for Pratchett that I
really don't think he deserves on this one.
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momijizukamori and
no subject
Date: 2013-11-23 03:13 pm (UTC)Yes to all of that. And the thing that bugs me more the more I think about it is that structurally, this whole thing comes down really heavily on the side of endorsing a particular kind of femininity as real or innate or whatever. Like, okay, female dwarves have lived as male dwarves for a very long time, so clearly there isn't a well-developed concept of "feminine behavior" in dwarf society, if you know what I mean. So when they decide to be ladies openly they default to this whole stereotyped notion of exaggeratedly feminine dress, shape, etc. As if that's, like, the universal understanding of what ladies are. Which is plausible as a way to react to oppression -- clumsily copying what they observe from humans and others, and missing all the nuance. But that's me making excuses for Pratchett that I really don't think he deserves on this one.