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

[dossier.livejournal.com]

Interesting! I totally agree with your comparison, Xanthe's stories are on the hardcore Romance end of the spectrum, but Helen's is a bit more realistic--the flip side of Xanthe's coin.

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.

I think Helen's story is a social commentary on the insider's view of the USMiltary complex. I definitely remember the sexual harrasment issues at VMI not even a decade ago. Tailhook, anyone? I seem to recall AFA problems, but no details.

John's dad, the career counselor's attitude towards John just leaving to find a top are barely stylized examples of the glass ceiling that still exists; I believe there's a rule that disallows women from serving in active combat. I think also that you have to think of time period that the story is describing and make it equivalent to the mid 1950's. Now, the glass ceiling is so much thinner or non existent in the rest of American society, that's it's a little shocking to know that we've only come so far.


I think that John as a sexual sub but not a lifestyle sub is a really effective metaphor for with his interaction with Elizabeth. The question of Elizabeth's intent (outside of being a plot device) is a fascinating one. Is she making a not-so-subtle statement about how the military is subservient to the ends of the expedition? Is she indulging in a personal, misogynistic (wow, what a twisted way to use that word) mindset that subs don't get to have initiative? It's difficult to make any real call here, Elizabeth barely exists, a few lines of dialog and John's colored perception of his treatment.

I've read all three stories, the BDSM in them doesn't bother me, because it's so over the top. I know there's a subsection of society that does indulge, but I don't correlate that with the fiction--as Xanthe says repeatedly--it's fiction.

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

It wasn't until I read fiamaya's comments and some of the other comments upstream that I realized how much of the story was about the US Military culture in particular as opposed to women's issues in general. (I tend to be kind of thick about picking up on things like that. :-/ )

Elizabeth was kind of a mystery in this, possibly because she was more of a plot device used to inflict/portray oppression, and because her relationship with John was irrelevant to the story Helen wanted to tell.

I fall into the camp that liked Helen's story for the lack of fetishized BDSM. I read large portions of both General & Dr. Sheppard and Coming Home, but was unable to finish either, partly because of the style and partly because of the BDSM. At the risk of being too personal, I think my issues with BDSM are so ridiculously out of proportion as to be indicative of some other, unrelated issue that hasn't quite made it to my conscious mind yet. I suspect that in time whatever the real issue is will come to a head and be dealt with, and my feelings about BDSM, D/s, etc. will return to something more normal. (The irony is that I used to like it a lot as a fictional theme, and have even written it. Go figure.)

[september1967.livejournal.com]

See, this is where I think people who only read some of Xanthe's story and dismissed it out of hand because it was D/s didn't understand it because many of the issues in Helen's story is brought up in Xanthe's - it isn't fluff or I will concede total fluff- there are real issues in it as well mainly having to do with relationship and self esteem issues.

Style

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I'm confused by this statement. Are you making a general comment about some readers, or are you saying that *I* am one of the readers who dismissed Xanthe's stories out of hand because it was D/s? Because if it's the latter, I assure you that's not the case.

In fact, there are a couple of reasons I didn't like Xanthe's stories as much as other readers did, and the D/s is a relatively minor one. It's minor because *I know* that I have strong, personal reactions to D/s these days, and because I know that about myself I am careful to separate that reaction from my judgment of a story. If it were only the D/s, I would just say it's not my kink and leave it at that. There are lots of kinks I don't like, including voyeurism, orgies and hate!sex. I don't say stories are bad because they're about things I don't like. I say I don't like them because they're about things I don't like, if that makes any sense?

And FWIW, I'm not saying Xanthe's stories are bad. I think they're very well written, and there are many, many people who love them, which says a lot. But they do have a certain style, and not all readers like that style.

I think if Helen had written a story that accurately portrayed the practice of BDSM and D/s lifestyles--something more along the plot and theme of Xanthe's--it still would have been a very different kind of story, because Helen's stories are always kind of quirky, uncomfortable and even a little unpleasantly realistic. It's her style. Different readers prefer different styles and there would still be readers who liked one and disliked he other. My preferred style is actually somewhere between Xanthe and Helen; one of my favorite writers is Speranza, whose style of writing tends to be more rough and realistic than Xanthe's, but happier and more upbeat than Helen's. The only reason I like Helen's stories as much as I do is because no matter how ugly things get she almost always brings the boys around to a happy/hopeful ending.

Re: Style

[dafna]

This is a really interesting point. We warn and rate for subject matter and pairings but often, it's the relative realism that really makes a difference in terms of which readers enjoy which writers. And of course it changes over time, too -- I know early on, I read a lot more of the romantic/idealized writers than I do now. I suspect that says more about me than them, however.

Re: Style

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I think this is why I tend to follow favorite writers into new fandoms. When I find writers who write in the style I like, I want to read all of their stuff. Except for the very first one, I got into every single fandom I've been in by following a writer.

I know what you mean about changing, too. I used to adore stuff written in Xanthe's style and read it all the time. I've changed to the point that I don't like it as much anymore, but I wouldn't disparage it because I once loved it and I know a lot of people still love it. (And I hope none of my comments have come off as disparaging toward Xanthe's writing.)