Radbod Jarl's page

Sichlgaita also looks at the Tengu. "It's at times like this," she says, "that I understand why my father was so stingy about the amounts of wine he allowed himself. Watered-down wine it was, too." A small smile crosses her face. "Except for the day I was born. My mother told me after I was born, he held me for a solid hour, then stood up and made for the door. When she asked him where he was going, he said 'First I'm going to drink a bar. Then I'm going to start a fight with ten men and win it. Then I'm going to smoke an entire stock of pipe weed. Then I'm going to get the finest gifts for the pair of you that I can think of, and come home.' He arrived home the following morning being carried by ten men - all of whom were badly marked about the face, while he only had a black eye - carrying two of these." Tugging on a delicate silver chain about her neck, she holds up a reddish-brown wood Holy Symbol of Iomedae, intricately carved and delicately detailed. "One for my mother - though Desna was her goddess, she paid her respects to Iomedae too - and one for me. Made of Verduran Oak, which he collected himself. And when you consider how jealously the inhabitants of the Forest guard the trees, you can understand how amazing a gesture this was. Though if he'd have done it were he sober, of course, is another question. Though at least he didn't try singing."

Hmmm. The way I see it:

When a story takes a well-designed, interesting, and fully realized character and adds sexuality, it's an improvement.

And when a story takes a flat, cardboard, one-dimensional character and adds sexuality, it's still an improvement.

So... what was the objection again? If you don't like flat, dull characters, fine. But sexing them up is irrelevant to that.

Except that it's not an improvement to add sexuality to a flat, cardboard, one-dimensional character. If anything, it makes things worse, as it looks like (and is often the case) that that character's just there so male readers have eye-candy. I'm sorry, but I don't think a 1D character is improved when 1 becomes 34 and another 'D' joins the first.

Adamantine Dragon wrote:

Pippi, my point is that in my experience women want it both ways. They want to complain when men look, but they also do everything they can to be worth looking at.

They rank hypocrisy of the thing is what makes me laugh.

Is that where this is going?

I want you to step back and look at what you've posted. Really consider it.

Do you honestly think that is a good representation of what you're trying to say? Because if it is, I don't think I have anything more to say to you regarding this subect.

Right. This is my two pence worth on this subject. When women are depicted in a certain way, there's no choice or consent involved. When women dress themselves, that's their choice. Simplistic, but there it is.

Also, before anyone asks: (Epic Linkara voice) I AM A MAN! (Punches the air)

...and it went from this to a chain-mail bikini? I'd much rather have read a comic with *this* character...

The thing is, though, women portrayed in this fashion..OK, using the Red Sonja example. She is, essentially, a one-note character, her entire thing is hitting people with swords and looking sexy. Can anyone tell me one thing about the character, besides maybe her backstory (a misogynist variant on 'Dark Lord burned my village down')?
Now compare that with Sydney Bristow, the heroine of Alias. Did she occasionally dress in a certain way? Sure. But that wasn't *all* she was about. She was a well-rounded, well-defined character, she was as intelligent as non-Mary Sue characters can be...and she didn't try to storm bio-weapon facilities while dressed as a go-go dancer.