Fanfic Inara - anti-feminist?

POSTED BY: AgentRouka
UPDATED: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 12:10
VIEWED: 13612
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AGENTROUKA

Monday, January 5, 2009 7:53 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:

Companions are glamourous examples of everything that's good, enlightened, liberated, wise, and beautiful about the Alliance. I think they'd be careful about just who can become a companion, and I suspect it's a very selective process.

I guess we will really have to agree to disagree on this. :) There is no evidence to support either position definitely, and I know I can never accept the concept that the Alliance would be allowed in any way to meddle with Guild affairs. To you, the concept is valid.

But it was a really nice discussion on this tangent. Thanks!

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 5, 2009 7:58 AM

Sorry about the stacks of posts here, don't know if there are rules here that consider that spamming or double posting. I keep coming up with new thoughts unrelated to my previous posts, and the edits wouldn't jive with the rest of it.

Clothing! Inara in trousers. Now, I can see the problem where she's just trying to impress Mal, or the only purpose of the clothing change plotwise is that Inara unintentionally impresses Mal.

But really, on a ship, and in particular on Serenity and all the rough-and-tumble situations that spring up, trousers would be pretty practical in my mind.

And historically, isn't exchanging a dress for trousers a sign of female empowerment? Joan of Arc got burned at the stake for it, as I recall.

As for whether Mal would be willing to accept Inara, companioning and all, before Inara gave up her career.... It occurs to me he already did. Or maybe almost did, but I think technically even if he didn't get to express it, he still had to reach that conclusion internally at that moment in time to even attempt to say it.

BYTEMITE

Monday, January 5, 2009 8:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:

I guess we will really have to agree to disagree on this. :) There is no evidence to support either position definitely, and I know I can never accept the concept that the Alliance would be allowed in any way to meddle with Guild affairs. To you, the concept is valid.

But it was a really nice discussion on this tangent. Thanks!

Heck yeah, it was fun. :) Even with me embarrassing myself left and right, but hey. I've got to say, I've been hanging around here just to see what you'd say next today.

AGENTROUKA

Monday, January 5, 2009 8:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
I wonder about age limitations. Sure, lots of men like their women young, but what about the older men who want someone who looks more their age, or who has the same sort of maturity? I guess companions make a lot of money, but would they really retire early when they might still have a client base?

My theory is that their early working years are spent acquiring a certain steady client base with whom they continue to work until it is time to retire. If new clients come in over the later years, all the better, but around that time it's probably less about glamor and more about trust and familiarity, both in terms of counseling and sexual pleasure. With the right steady clients, a Companion might keep working well to age 50 or so, though by that time it would not be her main income source anymore.

Quote:

Course, for it to really be feminist, the emphasis would have to be on the crew helping, not just Mal coming to save the day. I can particularly see little Kaylee and River shining in this scenario, and Inara too, standing up for herself.

I like this idea a LOT! :D

AGENTROUKA

Monday, January 5, 2009 8:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Sorry about the stacks of posts here, don't know if there are rules here that consider that spamming or double posting. I keep coming up with new thoughts unrelated to my previous posts, and the edits wouldn't jive with the rest of it.

Were that a crime, this thread alone would have had me banned. I admire people who can combine different replies into one post, but it is not a gift I possess.

Quote:

And historically, isn't exchanging a dress for trousers a sign of female empowerment? Joan of Arc got burned at the stake for it, as I recall.

Well, but that was a time when women HAD to wear dresses. On Serenity, Inara is a conscious exception in her wearing of dresses. River tends to wear loose clothing and dresses, too, and they both can because they do not do messy work (Kaylee) or have a uniform to advertise (Zoe). Unless Inara takes up either, there isn't really a reason for her to wear pants and a switch to them would seem like a kind of conformism with Mal's world. I like that she has her own visual identity.

Quote:

As for whether Mal would be willing to accept Inara, companioning and all, before Inara gave up her career.... It occurs to me he already did. Or maybe almost did, but I think technically even if he didn't get to express it, he still had to reach that conclusion internally at that moment in time to even attempt to say it.

Good point! In my favor! Yay!

KPO

Monday, January 5, 2009 4:21 PM

Quote:
As for Mal becoming more accepting.. well, that's easy once it doesn't cost him anything, right? I don't see this meaning much of anything and I think it could easily create a rift between the two of them, Inara feeling resentment for having given up something that Mal always claimed she is better off not doing, anyway.

Hmm, I never thought that Mal was really so puritanical about sex, and the companion profession - he just needed some way to express to Inara the hurt he feels every time she goes with someone else. Since he has no claims over her, he stands back and scoffs. It's like an immature outlet for his feelings, but the only one he has.

With the amount that he loves her I never saw it that he had real contempt for her profession, and her choices.

As for whether a teacher/cook role for Inara aboard serenity could be completely happily ever after for her, I don't really buy it myself, or see an alternative that might be as fulfilling. But then again I'm not sure that Joss framed their relationship with 'happily ever after' in mind...

I could imagine some bittersweet moments of real happiness together for them though, in the future.

Heads should roll

AGENTROUKA

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 12:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kpo:
Quote:
As for Mal becoming more accepting.. well, that's easy once it doesn't cost him anything, right? I don't see this meaning much of anything and I think it could easily create a rift between the two of them, Inara feeling resentment for having given up something that Mal always claimed she is better off not doing, anyway.

Hmm, I never thought that Mal was really so puritanical about sex, and the companion profession - he just needed some way to express to Inara the hurt he feels every time she goes with someone else. Since he has no claims over her, he stands back and scoffs. It's like an immature outlet for his feelings, but the only one he has.

With the amount that he loves her I never saw it that he had real contempt for her profession, and her choices.

While I agree that most of the time Mal conflates his misgivings about Inara being with someone else with his misgivings about her profession, he denounces her work as "whoring" from their very first meeting. It's not entirely based on his feelings for her.

And our own speculation on this is based on our observations of Mal on the show, which are not identical with Inara's. I don't think she has any reason to guess that Mal truly respects her choices, regardless of what he says in Shindig. So even if he does deep down respect her profession and her choices, he would still need to demonstrate this credibly to Inara.

Quote:

But then again I'm not sure that Joss framed their relationship with 'happily ever after' in mind...

Yeah. Another reason I tend to tire of Joss series after a season or two. I don't mind twists and turns but you can't count on anything, and I don't think it makes me a sheep-like consumer to find that too exreme to be appealing. *shrug*

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