Some of you might be aware that I am a big fan of the works of Laurell K. Hamilton. In particular the “Anita Blake” series is pretty cool. Vampires, Werewolves, Changelings and all manner of other beasties seem to inhabit a nice little alternate universe.
Far and away the most useful thing about it all is the frank and cool way she deals with power. The nature of these “other” creatures is usually much closer to power as I understand it than most other “normal” people are. They form packs, they owe fealty, they submit, the rule… they lead. It’s a world primal and raw but still filled with humor and humanity. Oh yea, the sex is really hot too.
Lots of Blood Good stuff.
Anyway, Kimiko pointed me at a thread on her fan clubs message board. Go check it out, below is my reply (I posted it as well).
As a special note to those visiting from the Anita forum, here is a list of links here you might find of use understanding my point…
- The Estate- Article- A World in Four Parts
- We’re all just animals… thoughts on non volitional submissive response…
- Knee Jerk Reactions – reflex discussions redeux…
- Ownership and metallurgy…
- The Consent Equation
- Non-consent in softer terms…
posted by By Soulhuntre on Monday, November 15, 2004 – 05:26 am
ed note: I cleaned up the spelling
One of the things I have always liked about the Anitaverse is the lack of smoke and mirrors surrounding the concepts of dominance and submission. There are few enough places where the concepts are discussed for what they sometimes are – literal dominance, literal submission.
Humans have more animal left in us than many like to admit, and the Anitaverse, with the excuse of the supernatural, gets to explore this concept.
The Anita character feels very honest to me because she sees this and acts on it as she needs to… trying to be as ethical as she can be, but still acting when it is required.
As for the concept of mental health among the characters I will make only a few comments…
- The idea that only “healthy” people can, do or even should form relationships is one I think doomed to extinction when it meets reality.
- That one can generalize the reactions of abused humans in the “realverse” is an iffy enough concept.
- That we can generalize from this to the reactions of humans in the Anitaverse is even more of a stretch. These people have experiences that are, literally, unreal – they move in a different realm of social and personal issues. While they are human, they are not always going to be / react the same as we would think of them.
- When dealing with magical / supernatural forces some things that many consider “excuses” are not excuses at all. S supernatural compulsion that overpowers ones will >IS< materially different ethically than a realverse abuser saying “I couldn’t help myself”.
- Speaking only for my experiences in the BDSM community, the commonly held idea that any large portion of those who are submissive personalities hold power positions in their “professional” lives is a fallacy. While many, many “bottoms” do have such a position, few submissives do.
BTW – HI!
Ken