May I ask what terms you were thinking about it in?
I think I was holding up the mindset that is always valuable to point out the harm done by the kyriarchy, and not thinking about all the ways in which it's just a tool to do so. One of the reasons it's taken me so long to respond to any of the comments on this pair of posts is because your post, followed by this question, gave me some painful soul-searching about when I point to the reinforcement of hegemonic power structures (which is usually when they are so distant in my experience that I not only can't claim responsibility but there's seemingly nothing I can do to address the problem), and when I ignore them (when they are closer to me). Which is an obvious revelation, when I say it out loud like that, but still it's painful to realize that so much of what I think of as Ally Behavior is actually using somebody else's oppression as a tool. As an example, it's made me think of how often I use a politician or political party's hatred of immigrants as a rhetorical tool with which to beat the politician (frequently), compared how often I go to immigrant support rallies (never).
Considering her endnote 9 against her "no mythologies inherently their own" question, it seems to me that she just overlooked Native Americans altogether
That's probably the most likely; I was trying to give her a benefit of the doubt, but you are right that a close reading of the text strongly implies your interpretation.
there are also clear issues of displacement in the mythologies of white Americans. The mythologies that go with this land are not the mythologies of Britain, and British mythologies cannot be made to serve. (Referencing my own landscape: there are no British stories about Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St. Helens, nor are there British stories about orcas. It is very obvious to me why one so often runs into the phrase, "There is an old Indian tale...")
There is a combined set, I guess, of the mythologies of WASP Americans. (Is WASP derogatory? It was when I was growing up but I'm not sure if that was my context or not.) It's a little bit of Britain, a little bit of Vikings, a little bit of Brothers Grimm, a little bit of Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed, and a little bit of "old Indian tales". And I feel like it is expected to serve for all of us.
I find Malinda Lo's Ash very interesting. Lesbians and East Asians in what is clearly Fantasy Britain, and present without explanation for how they got there: Fantasy Britain had always had lesbians and East Asians.
So the other reason I delayed responding to any of these comments was because I decided to read Ash over the weekend (I had it in a pile of library books I needed to read and return anyway), and I didn't read any of the characters as being of East Asian descent. Did I miss something? I mean, except inasmuch as the author is of East Asian descent.
But definitely, as you say, fantasy Britain has always had lesbians. Fascinating.
no subject
I think I was holding up the mindset that is always valuable to point out the harm done by the kyriarchy, and not thinking about all the ways in which it's just a tool to do so. One of the reasons it's taken me so long to respond to any of the comments on this pair of posts is because your post, followed by this question, gave me some painful soul-searching about when I point to the reinforcement of hegemonic power structures (which is usually when they are so distant in my experience that I not only can't claim responsibility but there's seemingly nothing I can do to address the problem), and when I ignore them (when they are closer to me). Which is an obvious revelation, when I say it out loud like that, but still it's painful to realize that so much of what I think of as Ally Behavior is actually using somebody else's oppression as a tool. As an example, it's made me think of how often I use a politician or political party's hatred of immigrants as a rhetorical tool with which to beat the politician (frequently), compared how often I go to immigrant support rallies (never).
That's probably the most likely; I was trying to give her a benefit of the doubt, but you are right that a close reading of the text strongly implies your interpretation.
There is a combined set, I guess, of the mythologies of WASP Americans. (Is WASP derogatory? It was when I was growing up but I'm not sure if that was my context or not.) It's a little bit of Britain, a little bit of Vikings, a little bit of Brothers Grimm, a little bit of Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed, and a little bit of "old Indian tales". And I feel like it is expected to serve for all of us.
So the other reason I delayed responding to any of these comments was because I decided to read Ash over the weekend (I had it in a pile of library books I needed to read and return anyway), and I didn't read any of the characters as being of East Asian descent. Did I miss something? I mean, except inasmuch as the author is of East Asian descent.
But definitely, as you say, fantasy Britain has always had lesbians. Fascinating.