(no subject)

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

First post. I'm not well-read in the Anitaverse at all (read one, skimmed others, read the comic, seen lots of excerpts and reviews), and so I've hesitated joining the com, or saying anything too mean (I'll probably continue hesitating on that one), based on, well, my scanty qualifications.

Still, I read something today that was rather like a lightning strike, and I wanted to share. (I've Googled to see if it's shown up in this community before, and I can't find it.) It's an old blog entry by Kit Whitfield (an author I first heard of in this com) on a permutation of the Mary Sue -- the "Snappy Sue."

The fit is so apt it's kinda scary, I think.

Writes Whitfield (naming no names):

"A variant of Mary Sue becoming increasingly common in female-written and -marketed fantasy fiction. Snappy Sue is an empowered chick, generally urban and frequently in her twenties or older, who's respected/admired/worshipped for being a Strong Woman. Unfortunately, the author continually asserts her strength by giving her a tendency to take her temper out on all around her. This, oddly, makes people admire her more."

[....]

"Though she owes much to the rise of feminism, Snappy Sue fundamentally doesn't like women. She tends to be surrounded by men and have few female allies - female heroism is in short supply here, and Snappy gets all of it. ..."

Full blog entry:
http://www.kitwhitfield.com/2006/09/mary-sue-gets-mean.html

It's really fascinating.

(The preceding entry is also pretty fun: Mary Sue in the time of George Eliot)

Comments

[slayra.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Snappy sue = AB to a tee. Also, I don't think it's mentioned in the article, but this snappy sue (Anita) tends to be quite the man in her attitudes. I guess it's implicit.

Attractive men find her a turn-on, though they tend to be 'strong' men themselves; perish the thought Snappy Sue's aggressive behaviour might lead her perfect mate to be a naturally submissive man
This part isn't true. AB breaks yet another record: there are no strong male figured around her.

In general, Snappy Sue can be seen as emotionally dominant but sexually submissive
Also, no. AB is the best in everything and she is so dominant that if she didn't have boobs I'd say she was a barbarian man from the Middle Ages.

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

It actually has shown up before, though I can't think when. But I do remember clicking on the link and reading Kit's essay. I'd just tried reading her book too, so it was timely.

It'd good to see it again, though.

Wow.

[theotherbaldwin.livejournal.com]

Though she owes much to the rise of feminism, Snappy Sue fundamentally doesn't like women. She tends to be surrounded by men and have few female allies - female heroism is in short supply here, and Snappy gets all of it. She also is seldom called upon to go for long stretches without a boyfriend, or at least a man in the background that she's temporarily staying away from, but will be waiting for her when she chooses to return. Her 'strength' never takes place in isolation, and never goes unnoticed: men keep pointing it out. As such, Snappy Sue isn't really that empowered: she needs a constant supply of male attention to keep going...

[ravenhaley.livejournal.com]

Anita is a Mary-Sue on all the levels.

LKH's written has become nothing more than a young girl's fanfiction.

Sad thing is I have read better Fanfiction than what is being dished by LKH.

This just reminds me of Karen Scott's blog about Forty + Things I’ve Learned In Romanceland This Week…

http://karenknowsbest.blogspot.com/2007/05/forty-things-ive-learned-in-romanceland.html

My favorite part: Just because you got published, doesn’t mean that you deserved it. Your editor may have been high at the time.

Which in LKH's case it explains a lot.

[vmisery.livejournal.com]

The shame is, there are plenty of female urban fantasy characters who are "strong" and follow at least some of a formula, share a lot of similarities to their authors, but are still enjoyable to read.

Sadly, Anita hasn't been one of them for a long time. Since finding out as much as I have about LKH and observing the drastic decline of the series firsthand, I've even gotten rid of the books that I actually liked once upon a time. I can't bring myself to go back to them now, knowing what I know...

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

I remember seeing this when it was first posted here, and MY GODS it made a lot of sense. 'Tis good to be reminded of it.