Curious about this for awhile...

[saucyirishlass.livejournal.com]

It's been said in many places by different people that LKH's portrayal of the BDSM lifestyle is off. I know a bit more than just the basics - ah, the joys of reading - and can sort of inherently pick up that something isn't right with her depiction, but I can't really articulate it. I was just curious to hear from those who participate in the lifestyle, what they personally find offensive, frustrating, or just headdesk-worthy about LKH's portrayal. Perhaps they can help make it clearer to me why it feels amiss.

Comments

[nightangel486.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with this, it seems like deep down, LKH does like these things but despite her REPEATED claims of being comfortable with the darkity dark darkness in her head, she still has some hangups abotu the things she's into when it comes to sex (perhaps said repeated claims are a case of the lady protesting too much?). That whole "ooh, I want this, but it's bad, so I shouldn't want it" hence the plot devices to force the women to have sex. That way she can write all the sex she wants, the characters can have all the sex they want, and neither she nor the characters have to face the fact that they enjoy these things because omgz it's not HER, it the ARDUEREUR

[catskin.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's the other way around - She wants to have these interests, kinks and sexual proclivities because it suits her darkitydark image of herself, but she actually doesn't. That's why her writing on the subject is so shallow, tame, and misinformed - because she can't immerse herself in that culture.

[catskin.livejournal.com]

I definitely feel she's gone to great lengths to create a particular public image, and I think her professed interest in BDSM, threesomes, etc is part of that. However, I do think it's just image. It's a way of attracting readers to her.

[jycaegima.livejournal.com]

I agree with this totally. It reminds me of the people in high school that were bordering on homophobic, but wanted everyone to believe that they were bisexual because it was good for their image.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

Of course it's obvious to all of us but herself. All this talk of homosexuality, of kinky sex and deep down she's a conservative housewife who decided to write her deepest and most shameful fantasies. Too bad she doesn't actually seem to know much about BDSM and gay sex. And she's too stubborn to research so she just writes it as she thinks it is. But fantasy is not normally the same as reality... :)

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

If I were a writer, and I had deep down proclivities I was afraid and ashamed of, I don't know that I would choose to work through these issues in front of a "viewing" public of several million internationally, complete with my close-up glamour shots, real name, and a daily blog. (Although exhibitionism might very well be part of the fantasy.)

(I'm starting to feel guilty analyzing this woman I don't know. ^___^ And yet I can't stop...)

I have a couple of semi-serious problems with Jacqueline Carey's writing, but the morality of it is never one of those problems. It's POV, or character, or that kind of writerly stuff which is only my opinion and can easily be argued for or against. But her stuff is never exploitative or disturbing to me, even though she gets into some pretty "dark" sexual territory.

Plus she doesn't spend nearly so much time stoking the cult of her own personality with blogs and black dresses and online histrionics (that I know of), which is probably a major part of it.

And I'm totally rambling now when I should be working...*relurks*