#I really do understand people’s desire for escapist period pieces

[itspileofgoodthings]

where are the Spenser jackets and bonnets why is everyone in evening dress outside

[aion-rsa]

Bridgerton: Let’s Talk About Sex Education, Baby

https://ift.tt/3n6QZ6O

This Bridgerton article contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1, including the ending.

If you think our sex education could be better today (which you should), then Bridgerton‘s depiction of Daphne’s pre-marital lack of knowledge around sex may astound you. In the first season of the delightful romance drama, Daphne has to find out about masturbation from Simon and heads into her wedding night knowing next to nothing about what might happen between two adults in lust, aside from the fact that it has something to do with the act of having children. Later, Simon keeps the details of his “inability” to have children from his new wife much longer than he could have if Daphne had a better understanding of procreation.

Elsewhere on the show, Penelope Featherington and Eloise Bridgerton put their considerable minds to the task of finding out how babies are made so they can avoid getting pregnant before marriage—a valid question and concern for women of any era. Unfortunately, the closest they get to answering it is: women get pregnant because of love, which is not very helpful. (Bet you’re feeling pretty lucky to have Google right about now.) Is this level of ignorance historically accurate? Let’s dive into the real history of sex education in Regency-era England to find out.

The first season of Bridgerton is set in early 19th century London, which falls during the Regency sub-period of the Georgian era. While many think of old-time England as a repressive place, that stereotype comes more from the Victorian era, which followed the Georgian era when Bridgerton is set, and was notoriously repressive when it came to matters of sexuality and “morality.” The Georgian era was (generally) less conservative. As historian Faramerz Dabhoiwala puts it in his book Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution (via The American Conservative), the 18th century urbanization of England (by 1800, more than one million people lived in London) led to “more opportunities for sexual adventure,” and an increase in pre-marital and extramarital sex. By 1800, almost 40% of brides getting married were already pregnant, and about 25% of first-born children were born out of wedlock.

“We know that Regency society is a very bawdy society, generally,” Bridgerton historical consultant Hannah Grieg told the Chicago Tribune. “Extramarital sex is no longer illegal, most adult consensual sex is within the law, there’s a very open culture of prostitution in London. We get celebrity courtesans and mistresses.”

That being said, just because society is free for some, doesn’t mean it is free for all. England circa 1813 had its own share of socially-constructed ignorances and, as with today, one’s access to sexual education varied based on things like gender, class, and location. In Bridgerton, this kind of difference is depicted in instances like Marina knowing much more about sex and pregnancy than Daphne does before marriage. Presumably, that is partially because she has already had an affair and become pregnant before she even comes to London, but it is also because her slightly lower class (and childhood on a family farm) has not meant the same degree of social shielding as Daphne. That said, Marina presumably had little education or knowledge about birth control and, as we see later in the season, does not have the necessary knowledge (or access to resources) to effectively terminate her pregnancy.

“There would have been nothing in the way of formal sex education,” Lesley A. Hall, a historian of gender and sexuality, told the Tribune. “Mothers might have given some premarital counsel to daughters, but although it almost certainly wasn’t actually ‘Close your eyes and think of England’ it may not have been much more illuminating.”

And, as with today, most freedoms in Georgian-era England benefitted the white, heterosexual, rich men first, most, and sometimes to the exclusion of all others. In Bridgerton, we see a stark difference between what is socially acceptable for Anthony vs. what is socially acceptable for Daphne. Anthony carries on a sexual affair with Sienna and, though he doesn’t particularly what his family to find out, it would not ruin him. For Daphne, however, merely being alone with a man who is not family could ruin not only her prospects, but the prospects of her sisters, as we see happens with the unmarried Bridgerton girls when Marina’s pre-marital pregnancy is made public.

Obviously, Bridgerton is not going for total historical accuracy. As with all period pieces, the story is as much if not more so about now than it is about the time in which it is set. Modern viewers are not watching Bridgerton for an education about the past (nor would they, on the whole, get one); they are watching it as a cathartic and escapist romp, which also has incredible social value.

So what does Bridgerton‘s treatment of sex have to say about today? That is up for interpretation, of course. For me, it is an exaggerated depiction of some of the struggles and joys of contemporary womanhood, in particular a denouncement of all of the decisions about our bodies and our futures that are still kept from us. Here (and in some more obvious ways), it is represented as various female characters’ ignorance around sex, a subject that is kept from them not only by the men in their lives but, in some cases, by other women upholding the patriarchal norms. Daphne herself realizes she has been one of these women when her own experiences lead her to see Marina in a new light. She finds empathy for Marina, whom she rightfully views as another fierce survivor of a social labyrinth designed for men—a girl punished for seeking out pleasure, in a way that men are not for doing the same.

Read more

TV

The Real History Behind Bridgerton

By Amanda-Rae Prescott

TV

Bridgerton: Will There Be a Season 2?

By Kayti Burt

Bridgerton takes on those gender-driven constraints and, over the course of a season, has its many women characters rail against them, not only pointing out their absurdities but finding ways to work within the patriarchal structure to find power in pleasure. No, I am not talking about the controversial scene in which Daphne forces Simon to release inside of her, which has nothing to do with pleasure and everything to do with power. I am talking about Daphne masturbating for the first time, alone in her bed, with nigh a man in sight (though certainly one in her erotic fantasy), for no one’s pleasure but her own. Or on her early honeymoon with Simon, enjoying all of the sex, depicted as just as eager for the rendezvouses as her husband.

“I refer to this season as ‘the education of Daphne Bridgerton,’” creator Chris Van Dusen told the Chicago Tribune. “She starts out as this young innocent debutante who knows very little of love. And she knows nothing of sex. And over the course of the series we watch her transform entirely.”

Knowledge really is related to power and, in Bridgerton, we see much of that accumulation of knowledge takes place in the bedroom, and much of that accumulation of power represented through sexual pleasure. Season 1 is the story of Daphne learning about her own body and its capacity for pleasure regardless of its service to men. After an adolescence of enforced ignorance, Daphne is finally given the knowledge and space to explore her own sexual desire. The fact that it comes through her relationship with Simon is one of the reasons why their romance is so damn sexy—it’s so much about Daphne’s pleasure, even when it isn’t about her happiness.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Bridgerton: Let’s Talk About Sex Education, Baby appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/34XdDsf

[cherry-bombs-and-gasoline]

“Why must we suffer? Because we desire. And desires are never at an end…”

The title of this blog post is found at one of the very last pages of the the first Lucifer comics in the 2018 series. The comic follows the story of an imprisoned Lucifer trying to find his son’s mother. At the same time a car is crashed and a tumor speaks its first words. There seem to be two storylines at play in the comic. One is about Lucifer and his search and the other seems to be an LAPD detective called John Decker on his way to grief the death of his wife, answers as to why his wife spoke about her cousin the last time he heard her speak and something deeper that I think most of us search as well: purpose and happiness. I of course can not say with certainty what this fictional character is looking for exactly. I am not this character nor am I the writer of this character. This is simply my own personal interpretation that is based on what I have read so far and my own experiences and thoughts.

The text in the title of this blog post caught my eye for multiple reasons. I am left with a feeling of uncertainty if I will ever find all the reasons as to why the text struck me and had me pausing my afternoon reading time which I so carefully managed to switch my brain on for. It is not that I did not have a good time, on the contrary, I was enjoying my ride to another world of sorts. I guess escapism is one of the most popular desires, especially among young people. Can you really blame us, though? I think the way Dan Watters found the words in that small of text (and honestly in the rest of the comic as well) just worked really well. I think he does have a point and that small piece of text reminding me of my desires may have just kicked me back into the real world. Just when I thought I was doing such a good job escaping reality.

Defining desire and suffer

I decided to do what I, along with the majority of people around my age, am good in: asking a search engine for help. I thought finding at least one definition would be the first step in providing some clarity. Merriam-Webster was able to provide multiple definitions,. Among those definitions were ‘to long or hope for’, ‘to express a wish for (or to)�� and ‘conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment.’

Merriam-Webster was also able to provide multiple definitions for ‘suffer’. Among those were ‘to submit or be forced to endure’, ‘to put up with especially as inevitable or unavoidable’, to endure death, pain, or distress’ and ‘to sustain loss or damage’.

Rewriting sentences

As someone who is bilingual but does have the pleasure and privilege of having my first language be English I like to rewrite sentences if I am looking at definitions and for a better understanding. The sentence ‘we suffer because we desire’ has multiple outcomes if I were to use the definitions I just found. The sentence would bend in ways such as ‘we are forced to endure because we long for (or hope for)’, ‘we put up because we express a wish for (or to)’ and ‘ we endure distress (but I believe both pain and death are very well possible here too) because we have a conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment’. Of course none of these sentences are really grammatically correct and I never expected them to be in the first place. It is simply a tool I use to create a better understanding which I believe is vital at various times in life. If I were to write grammatically correct sentences that made sense that carry the same definition I would have written something like ‘we are forced to endure distress (or pain) because we possess a conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment.’ I think it would be really interesting to break that down with someone who has actually studied the language but for now my brain capacity suffices some ability to break down and analyze something. One could argue that humans are forced to endure pain, to suffer, because they are in search of enjoyment, of happiness. One could argue that that is pretty grim and I suppose they would be right and I guess that may be one of the reasons it fits so well in its use in the gritty comic and story.

Quick disclaimer

I am not looking for entire studies or explanations to tell me what this text supposedly means, I am simply looking for other points of view. Sure, it would be absolutely brilliant if I actually found concrete things and were able to connect those and found out some proven meaning and evidence, but truth is that it is simply not my intention. I like the idea of humans using their brains and having their own interpretations, especially when it comes to art and the experience of life. I am however looking for some more clarity and if finding that means I find answers than I would absolutely be content too. I guess I am really just suffering the consequences of my desire to find answers as to why a text box in a comic book caught my eye and what (extra) meaning it holds.

The Problem of Desire

Looking further I found an article called ‘The Problem of Desire’ on Psychology Today. The article, written by Neel Burton, states that ‘desires constantly arise from within us, only to be replaced by yet more desires. Without this continuous stream of desiring, there would no longer be any reason to do anything’. Just a few sentences later he writes ‘it is desire that moves us and gives our life direction and meaning’. We constantly need something to wish for and we apparently constantly are wishing for things (things can be literally anything, from a book to an experience to another human, anything). It is that wishing that provides us with a meaning in our lives. I suppose to meaning and the feeling of enjoyment in the attainment of our wishes is what works together with the meaning. Maybe desires and our decisions on how to (not) give in to them are what gives us things like a sense of control, happiness and meaning.

My own experience and views

I like to call myself a ‘self-proclaimed escapist’. The debate on whether or not the amount of escapism in my life is a good or bad thing is something we will have to save for another time (I like to escape from things, this is no exception). My desire to (frequently) escape the outside world probably stems almost as much from a sense of control, happiness and meaning than it attains me. I could execute my decision to give into my desire in multiple ways, I like to keep things entertaining and safe (although the safety of using social media is something that can be argued) and stick to feeding my hunger to consume stories in various forms of media and use of social media. I consciously chose the what I consider to be the ‘sort of healthier’ options over the options such as alcohol and drugs where society tends to frown upon. The discussion on what is healthy and what not and on whether or not this decision temporarily makes me a better person is not something I am trying to have here. Escapism is just one of my desires, although escapism seems to more than an overbearing theme rather than one desire only. I assume that consuming stories would be more of a desire than escapism. Maybe consuming stories is an option of the desire to escape. That is the beauty of having both multiple definitions and multiple interpretations being possible. There are multiple if not infinite ways to look at things. Moral of this paragraph is, even in my own experience there are most likely a thousand desires in my head and it did not take me long to find one to use as example. I must admit, I had not previously thought of the smaller desires or rather reasons behind my actions to consume media. I always kind of assumed my desires were things such as world peaces, a stable income, having my own place and happiness for a prolonged period of time.

The paradox of desire

The article later speaks of ‘the paradox of desire’. Burton mentions ‘us being so used to desiring that we are not conscious of our desires, which only register with us when they are very intense, or when they come into conflict with our other desires.’ I briefly touched upon this in the previous paragraph about my own experience and views. I was not aware of my ‘smaller desires’ and when it comes to my ‘bigger desires’ I quickly made peace with the idea they were not going to be achieved short term (if ever) or without some sacrifices. Getting my own place and taking care of it is not half as fun as I had thought it would be at the start. It was rocky but it does bring me an overwhelming sense of enjoyment every time I get to come home to it. Burton further mentions that the desire to stop desiring is itself a desire. That is the paradox right there, we can wish to stop wishing and we can long to stop longing. It does not even sound remotely right to me personally, but it is strangely true. That is the paradox of desiring.

The problem of desire

In this paragraph, Burton writes about multiple points of view which does include the Hindu tradition and the Bible. The link to the article can be found earlier in this blog post but it can also be found here if you desire to read it in full. I am choosing to focus on the most basic things in the article as I am simply looking for more clarity on the text I found and I like to frame those within the borders of how I live my life which is without any religion. This is not to say I look down on religion or think it is unimportant or complete nonsense, I do not at all think those things about both religion and the people who are religious. I am simply stating I have made my decision and would like to stick to the basics, in this blog post as well.

Burton mentions that ‘all suffering can be framed in terms of desire.’ Maybe that is what I have been looking for all along, a confirmation of the text within the text box. Burton then goes on to write that ‘if unmet desire is painful, so are fear and anxiety, which can be understood in terms of desires about the future, and anger and sadness, which can be understood in terms of desires about the past.’ So both met and unmet desires can be seen as painful, meaning we are always going to suffer. Maybe that would mean that we are in fact always suffering except for the moments we give in to our desires and experience our feelings of enjoyment when we attain our desires.

My own experience and views

I would like to think that life is not as bleak or as simple as saying we are always suffering but maybe that would simply be giving into my desire to escape or to be happy or live peacefully. Maybe it is both right and wrong. When I started writing this I did not expect to end in such a deep thinking hole but here I am and honestly I quite like it. Maybe this is just me giving into the simple desire of wondering about the meaning of life while I claim to think there is no such thing yet I am enjoying my time writing this. I wish to believe we are not as simple of beings that we exist purely out of desires only. I would like to think there is more to us than that. Maybe I am right and maybe I am wrong, I will shortly go on to live my life with all desires within the borders of what society and I deem acceptable to give in to whether I like that or not.

from WordPress https://thepleasestandbychronicles.wordpress.com/2020/07/17/why-must-we-suffer-because-we-desire-and-desires-are-never-at-an-end/

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 12/5/17

Son of Cornucopia of Briefs!

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 2 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Last time I said Glenn was too irritating, this time the opposite may be the case. Part of that is due to the fact that this is mostly just a big battle, as Rumia has been kidnapped and Sistine and Glenn have to rescue her. This involves a pile of fights, some of which are more exciting than others. The final fight is an anticlimax, partly as the villain is dull and gives up very easily, and partly as Rumia, in order to contrast with Sistine, is also quite dull. The best part was Glenn pushing Sistine out of the building, frankly. This is an OK series if you like magical high schools, but there’s honestly better ones out there. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 5 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – As I’ve said before, the quality of this series is dependent on the amount of music depicted in it, and this volume has a LOT of music, making it easily the best volume to date. Nino can be good at playing and singing, or she can blow everyone away with her voice and emotions, but she cannot, seemingly, do both at the same time. The result is a concert that looms towards trainwreck the entire time but never quite gets there, riding entirely on the skill of the band and Nino’s desperate cries of the heart. The art here is stunning, and remains the best reason to read it. The romance, honestly, is the weak link, and you’d really like it to resolve itself but know that it won’t. Get this for the band. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 7 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – The more things change, the more they stay the same. Ryu has been offered a promotion to the Washington, DC branch of his news organization, and, with encouragement from Asuka, decides to accept. They attempt to make the most of the months they have left, including a few fun dates and an outing in which Ryu introduces Asuka to his brother. He even proposes, sort of. “In spirit,” he says. But still, once he’s gone, we get essentially the same stuff as before. Vague glimpses at Asuka’s job, her brother showing up to poke his nose into her business, and, most significantly, yet more of Kamiya and his persistent angling for Asuka’s affections. It’s not bad, but it’s a dynamic that I’m pretty tired of. Still, it’s a quick, light read, so I’ll probably keep following it. – Michelle Smith

Frau Faust, Vol. 2| By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – I must admit, I was very disappointed at the big plot twist of Frau Faust‘s second volume. I really liked the badass adult heroine, so seeing her, though the bargain she has with her demon, have her body stripped away so she looks younger and cuter strikes me as not the best bargain I’ve ever had. That said, her personality remains the same, and it wouldn’t matter if she was young or old, nothing was going to be able to stop Marion getting himself into trouble, as he possesses a thirst for knowledge second only to her own. And most of the horror in this book is given over to a creepy church with an evil priest and nun, always popular with readers. Despite the age regression, I’m still enjoying Frau Faust. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 6 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics – I expected to be happy and relieved when these two awkward failboats finally got it together, confessed they liked each other, and had their first time. And I was. The good news is that it does not in any way detract from the fact that they are still two really awkward massive failboats, even as they deepen their relationship. Because they still can’t think of it as a relationship—in particular, Mikuri is panicking at the fact that being his real wife means giving up on the income she’s been getting. Which you could argue is meant to be a comment on the sheer amount of unpaid work the average wife goes through, but I think is more meant to show that Mikuri has serious compartmentalization issues. I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

Idol Dreams, Vol. 4 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – Idol Dreams has always been “problematic but readable,” and both qualities amp up in this fourth volume, as Chikage deals with her decision to date Ru as a 15-year-old. She thinks of things as an adult, so can’t really understand a teenage boy’s drives and desires, which almost leads to tragedy, and does lead to her doing something very cruel in order to “fix” things. The other problem is Chikage’s complete and total lack of self-worth. This is, after all, a woman who tried to kill herself near the start of the series. It’s so bad that she even gets “confidence” lessons from the other girls in the office. Tanemura is always readable, but I still can’t see this ending in any way other than everyone being very, very unhappy. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 2 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Despite still having issues deciding how much of a comedy it’s supposed to be, this is a better volume than the first. Our heroes have gotten together, though of course given Kaede’s idol status it’s a big secret—if found out, Hinana could be in big trouble. I liked the added depth we got from Hinana here—she does initially have confidence in her relationship with Kaede, but is still a teenage girl, so lies can persuade her. She also reveals that she’s adopted, which means she feels the need to excel in school, and being around Kaede all the time is not helping, especially when he keeps trying to distract her. (The sniffing scene was a highlight). I’m having sufficient fun to continue. – Sean Gaffney

Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | VIZ Media – As ever with Ooku, time moves on, and when I first started reading this volume, I missed the beloved group of characters involved with eradicating the redface pox. Soon, though, I realized that Iesada, the first female shogun in over sixty years, is awesome, and that Takiyama, her new senior chamberlain, is likewise awesome. Moreover, her female senior councilor (becoming more of a rarity as the male population recovers) Abe Masahiro is seriously awesome. Now they (especially Takiyama and Masahiro) are as beloved to me as the other group! The moral of the story is: never doubt Yoshinaga. She even knows how to give a reader goosebumps via a dramatic reappearance of a symbolic kimono design! I’m so happy there are at least two more volumes of this. – Michelle Smith

A Polar Bear in Love, Vol. 1 | By Koromo | Yen Press – This is a cute and seemingly heartwarming manga, but its relationship between predator and prey makes me a bit uncomfortable. I think the manga artist is aware of this—we get constant reassurance from the polar bear that he does not, in fact, want to eat the seal but has fallen in love with him instead. And the fact that they’re both male is also not overlooked. There’s a lot more going on here than you’d expect in a series that’s meant to run on “ooooh, adorable animals!” Still, there’s no denying that the seal is terrified the entire time and unable to really escape for a while, and the fact that he’s slowly starting to fall for the polar bear does not really quiet my misgivings. Warily recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 7 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Say what you will about Kanno, she really knows how to drag out the canon scenes to serve her own interests. And serve them very well, as this is another volume of Rose King that you absolutely can’t put down once you start reading it. Margaret’s downfall will be very familiar to readers of the Henry VI plays, but that doesn’t make it less tragic. As for Richard and Henry, Richard seems to be descending closer and closer to madness, and he doesn’t even need Joan of Arc’s ghost this time around—his mother fills in nicely. Add to this Anne being ABSOLUTELY BADASS, and you have another volume of what may be the best Shojo Beat series out there that isn’t Shojo Beat. You need to be reading this. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: abec Artworks | By abec | Yen Press – It’s always nice to see a series do well enough to justify licensing the artbook, and I’ve always liked abec’s work. We get some gorgeous art here, of course, along with some insight into the process (such as Kirito being added to the cover of book seven by editorial fiat). There’s also a short story at the end by Reki Kawahara, which involves an artist who’s trying to figure out a way to paint in Aincrad, whose game nature does not make it easy on artists requiring a large canvas. There are also lots of pieces unseen by North American fans, as we get art for promos and magazines. Basically, anyone who is a fan of Sword Art Online should be getting this. It’s also out digitally, but that may not do it justice—go for the bigger print book. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 9 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only for the moment) – I was equal parts anticipating and dreading this final volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, because I wanted a happy ending for Rinko and Key and Mr. Hayasaka, which was going to be impossible. That said, I’m quite satisfied with how things turned out. I won’t give away any plot details, but I loved how Rinko both changed and did not change, in that instead of saying “what if” and regretting the state of things, she’s now determined to say “because” and be grateful for events and people who have helped her grow as a person. She’s now more honest with herself and with others, and yet she’s still the Rinko who periodically gets sloppy drunk with her friends. This is a really strong conclusion that even made me a little sniffly! – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith