Take Clothes Off As Directed by Helenish

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

Take Clothes Off As Directed by helenish is NC-17, BDSM themed, and an unauthorized homage set in the alternate universe created by xanthelj in General & Dr. Sheppard and Coming Home.

I read Helen's story both as a sly, clever reflection of male/female relations in Western society, and a look at the potential pitfalls of a society with an institutionalized BDSM lifestyle. And it's an interesting contrast to Xanthe's stories and style.

First off, I have to say I feel kind of cheeky posting about this, because I've only read parts of General and Dr. Sheppard, and I haven't yet decided whether or not to read Coming Home. I have some strong feelings about BDSM, and (of course) that colors how I read stories with that subject matter. I think BDSM in the bedroom is a kink, and I take a live and let live attitude toward kink. BDSM (and Domestic Discipline) as a lifestyle is something else, and it's something which for personal reasons makes me uncomfortable.

Having said all that, I think I read enough of General & Dr. Sheppard to get something of a feel for the writing, and I think it's an interesting contrast. Xanthe's writing feels lush and emotional, sweeping the reader along like a fictional Tchaikovsky. Helen's writing is more spare, quirky and at times almost uncomfortable, more like, say, Erik Satie. And I think these different styles suit the different stories very well. I can see these two styles/stories existing in the same universe, the lush, operatic story told of people who are happy and suited to their lives in this society, and the quirky, sadder story of people who don't quite fit and aren't quite as happy.

I found Helen's story to be very sad, the only hopeful part being that John had finally found in Rodney a partner who loved him and would treat him the way he wants/deserves to be treated. I'm not sure if it was Helen's intent, but I read this as John not really being a sub per se (nor Rodney being much of a top), but both of them forced into the roles by the rigid hierarchy of their society, and going along the best they could. I read it as John being the sort of person who wants to play BDSM games in the bedroom, not live it as a lifestyle, and the only reason he wasn't crushed by this society is because he's a stubborn, contrary bastard.

I was almost nauseated by the way Elizabeth so obviously and earnestly felt she was doing the best, right thing for John with her inappropriate 'discipline', when in actuality she was more of a hindrance, just one more thing to be ignored/overcome in John's attempts to be himself and to do his job. Because being routinely beaten, undermined and humiliated is just the downside of being a sub who's trying to do his chosen job. (And, of course, he wouldn't have these problems if he hadn't got above himself and stayed in his proper place.) It felt very realistic, and therefore very unsettling, to see just how easy it was to strip John of his dignity and humanity, and turn him into a second-class citizen, essentially a slave. And perhaps it's all the more unsettling because there are still people in the world who are slaves, and who are routinely treated in degrading, disrespectful ways, and they too have no choice but to suck it up and endure.

Although it's a bit of a slap in the face to overlay this dynamic on our society and see the sub=women angle, I think (I hope) things are not quite that bad for women anymore. At least not in first world Western societies. It's also good to remind myself that fantasy universes aside, most of the people living rigid BDSM lifestyles are doing so because they want to, not because they have no choice. Nevertheless, I think this story is going to stay with me for a long time.

Comments

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

I disagree. I think Helen is making the point that traditional gender roles are a form of D/s

... I'm not sure how that statement makes sense by any definiton of D/s that I know of. D/s is a sexual kink, it's consensual, and it takes place between individuals. How does Helen's story lead you to believe that traditional gender roles are similar to D/s in any of these ways? John clearly doesn't get a sexual charge off of the "sexual harrassment" that happens to him when he steps out of his "traditional sub" role. It's clearly not consensual, and it's societal, not just individual.

and that because of that weight of custom & history it's hard to write toppiness/subbiness without also coding them as masculine/feminine.

Is it, though? You might get somewhere in that argument outside fandom, but I'd say the overwhelming majority of same-sex BDSM stories that I've read (and it's a lot) actually don't equate top/sub with male/female. (At least, no more so than any random slash story feminizes the bottom and masculinizes the top.)

Xanthe does write a very strong and masculine John and a very insecure (at first) and emotional Rodney in her universe, but come on-- that's because it's apparently how she honestly sees the characters (since when AU John and Rodney meet canon John and Rodney, canon John and Rodney immediately fall into line as far as the D/s component of their relationship goes.) And any exaggeration of her perception in the alternate universe of her story is clearly a purposeful choice meant to make the porn more exciting, because it's *her kink* to have a masculine dom and a feminine sub-- not because the BDSM content of the story is somehow uncontrollably affecting her characterization.

And that one of the weaknesses of Xanthe stories is that she lets the two dynamics leak into each other -- so, for instance, John "roars with laughter" and has short hair while Rodney "giggles" and has long hair.

See, you're assuming that because Xanthe feminizes Rodney and Helen doesn't, that Helen is critiquing Xanthe's story. Isn't it also possible that she simply sees the characters differently, and wrote the characters according to her own individual view of them? (I mean, when *I* write a totally random story with manly!Rodney and sensitive!John, am I critiquing Xanthe's characterization? Then why should Helen be, just because she's writing in Xanthe's universe?)

I think it's easy to see that Helen's characterization of John and Rodney in "Take Clothes Off As Directed" is not that different at all from her characterization of John and Rodney in her other SGA stories.So how can it be a critique of Xanthe's characterization? It's not; it's just *different*.

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

From the community rules (http://community.livejournal.com/thecuttingboard/499.html): "To keep discussion uninhibited, authors are asked not to join in discussion of their own stories."

I don't know if carolyn_claire is around this afternoon to delete your comment, but I'm certain she would want you to.

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

Xanthe -- whether or not you delete this comment, I'm glad I got your perspective on some things. (I doubt I would be able to keep out of a conversation this intense about my own works.)

I do think I overstated my case a little in the comment that you responded to and said some things I probably don't *entirely* mean, and because of that I especially appreciate the even-handedness of your response.

If there's some way we could continue this conversation elsewhere, I'd like to, unless you're tired of discussing it at this point. :)