Most destructive Anita Blake trait

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what people think is the most destructive concept in the Anita Blake series. In my opinion it is the fact that Laurell K Hamilton created a date rape drug in the ardeur and the fact that characters line up to be addicted. It would work for me if characters treated the ardeur like a curse and tried to find a cure, but instead it's presented as the best thing ever. I read on these boards that a lot of people a disturbed by LKH's racism. Still others think that Anita is a pedophile. 

So what do you think is the worst message going out to the readers of these books?

Comments

[drho.livejournal.com]

The most destructive concept is that anyone who doesn't agree to have sex deserves either rape or death. The ardeur forces sex upon Anita and everyone around her. It's really sick that Laurell is now trying to twist it to be "love," as if people are haters if they don't want to be raped.

But the most destructive person is clearly Laurell. She's a self-proclaimed wiccan goth, but is actually just a sheltered, racist, and sexist rape apologist.

[last-servant.livejournal.com]

That churning out shitty first drafts is a writing carrier. It's edges out ardeur-rape by being more personally offensive, as I don't know any rape victims.

[kathrynthegr8.livejournal.com]

Unprotected sex with any man within spitting distance is A-OK. As long as DIETY is cool with it.

(Seriously, what kind of message is that?)

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

What bugs me most is Anita's blind, immature self-centeredness in the later books. She doesn't seem to care how the ardeur affects people, she doesn't *really* give a damn about the repercussions of her actions (she moans around about it a little, but it just gives me this impression of, "mah morals are pastede on, yay!"). Other individuals exist solely to enhance her personal power base (and ego).

She can have sex with any penis-bearing individual in her vicinity, but they must then become immediately, totally faithful *to her.* It all reads like some appalling junior high school sex fantasy scenario.

What really gets me is that the later books are often described as "exploring polyamory." Nuh-UH!!! "Everyone has sex with Anita" is NOT poly. >:( *grumble!*

[drho.livejournal.com]

Right. I also hate how all of the other women are abusers, because they don't want their partners sleeping with Anita.

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

Word.

And icon love -- DT with a sword = <3 <3 <3 :D

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

That is one of the things I hate about the series too. I mean really, how hard is it to have the guy throw on a condom?

[graylor.livejournal.com]

She doesn't seem to care how the ardeur affects people, she doesn't *really* give a damn about the repercussions of her actions (she moans around about it a little, but it just gives me this impression of, "mah morals are pastede on, yay!"). Other individuals exist solely to enhance her personal power base (and ego).

Exactly! Anita is like an addict, in the worst, most narcissistic throes of her addiction, going down the third time and taking everyone down with her--and we're supposed to cheer for this as if it's somehow "empowering". I'm hard put to decide if it's misogynist, misandrist, or just plainly misanthropic.

[duchym.livejournal.com]

I hate how none of the major male characters, with the exception of Richard (and the other characters rip him down every chance they get), have careers or education or goals. They are protrayed as having these wonderful, great lives while being workers in the sex industry and being used as food by an evil succubus.

If Anita really did love Nathaniel, wouldn't she be encouraging him to take classes so he can get a real job that is not sexually exploitive - especially given his background? Wouldn't she want him to improve himself in every way - so that he can stand on his own two feet?

It's like Hamilton glories in people who have been sexually abused and damaged - glories in furthering their exploitation in feeding them to this horrible excuse of a human being in Anita - and wants them to be victims forever.

There is no healing, no help. Only further abuse, called "love" by Anita and LKH.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

And yet, doesn't the whole "NO NO NO THE ARDEUR IS ABOUT LOVE, AND MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY, HONEST!" argument just reek of "Holy shit, maybe Teh Haterz have a point, I must now backtrack and bullshit to make this less obviously abusive"?

[duchym.livejournal.com]

Condoms, yes - or other birth control. And what about the whole baby scare thing? How it was thought that an emotionally immature and childlike stripper (Nathaniel) would be a more fit father than an experienced teacher (Richard) who has you know - an education and a job and medical benefits?

[terrie01.livejournal.com]

Her "It's true because I said so" attitude. It's not rape, because she says so. It's cool and edgy, because she says so. Anita is really a strong woman, because she says so.

[drho.livejournal.com]

Right. Just like the rape in Narcissus in Chains.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it, it's the way her world just does not make sense sometimes.

Now, I've been in drawn-out arguments before about the merits of Richard's attempts to democratize the werewolves, but add to that the whole "Joseph is far too weak to be Rex of a lionpack" - so why is he still? Why aren't the Council putting all their effort into actually destroying Anita instead of sending her wet dreams? How does Anita pay her mortgage when she's never at her day job? Why does no one acknowledge what a bad fucking thing it is when Anita lets off the ardeur near London?

And that's ignoring the inconsistencies that are just LKH being a crap writer - Sylvie "doesn't do girls", Richard keeps having the same damn scene in every book (or you'd have to make some argument for short term amnesia/pathetically unable to keep promises/develop as a person), Requiem is too annoying to live, Anita is inherently unloveable.

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

ANITA WAS JUST GETTING THE EXACT THING SHE WANTED, which was apparently nonconsensual giant soap-lubed peen. I mean, TWU WUV.

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

While still killing off the lion family, raping all of the swans and the rats and abusing Richard. Yeah, that's love isn't it?

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

Other birth control just seems so obvious. If she can't be bothered taking a pill every day, and there's "not enough time" to get out the condoms when the ardeur hits, HELLO, there are other options that don't require basic attention to important details like "I really really don't want to get pregnant".

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

But Nathaniel can stay home with Jr. and teach him how to strip. Isn't that more important then medical benefits and a job?

[cicipsychobunny.livejournal.com]

See, there would be an interesting opportunity for character development - Anita realises that the ardeur can give people what they really want, but only certain people, and there could be a huge moral conflict about whether fucking up those people was worth making others happy.

Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.

but.. guys always want it!

[nimnix.livejournal.com]

I think one of the things that bugs me, aside from everything you mentioned, is the concept that guys will tolerate anything just to get laid. That gay or straight, they'll do whatever necessary for a quick roll in the hay. That a gay man will have sex with Anita because she's just soooo amazing, or "well it's sex!".

It's a complete objectification of men as purely sex-driven animals, as if they just can't control themselves. Reverse-sexism is just as bad as sexism.

Or maybe I just hang around too many actual men, and not paper-cutouts or stereotypes. So glad she's not my source for what men are supposed to be (or women for that matter).

Re: but.. guys always want it!

[jerel.livejournal.com]

So glad she's not my source for what men are supposed to be (or women for that matter).

Since everyone else has already hit the misanthropy and the looks-like-rape, quacks-like-rape, but-isn't-rape (i.e., the real "worst stuff"), I'll go into the "slightly annoying" that relates to your statement.

I'm glad I didn't read her descriptions of sex before I actually had it. Because if it was like it is in the books? I don't think I would have wanted to have sex. Ever. At least not without a snorkel, because it sounds like there's enough fluids to float a small craft.

[plum-arden.livejournal.com]

I hate the whole "sex is love" message. No, sometimes it's just getting laid, no more, no less. Tab A into Slot B. Whatever else you want to say here.

And I have to totally agree with the objectifying of men. Gay men will not just have sex with a woman because it's sex. I remember having a conversation with a gay man once when I said "I've never found a woman I've found attractive in that way." His response: Honey, neither have I. Now, I can see a gay man having sex with a woman if he's still in the unsure stage, but I don't think they'd have sex with a woman "just because it's sex!" LKH, put down the calendar and do some real research.

[astronauta.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I didn't read her descriptions of sex before I actually had it. we would have been severely disappointed with our men too >.>

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

But none of LKH's characters are gay. They're all bisexual (eyeroll) with a preference for Anita.

[longtail.livejournal.com]

If Anita really did love Nathaniel, wouldn't she be encouraging him to take classes so he can get a real job that is not sexually exploitive - especially given his background? Wouldn't she want him to improve himself in every way - so that he can stand on his own two feet?

It's been mentioned in a sentance I think in either CS or ID that she made him go out and get his driver's license and some stuff like that...I guess it's indicates she's been doing stuff to make him more independant. I think that was the last mention of it, but I haven't read past Micah.

From the way I see it, she's twisting this to make it look like he's somehow not the mentally crippled guy he was anymore. According to Jason in ID, Nathaniel IS happy and content now with his own job, a home, a family, and being one half of Anita's "wife" along with Micah. Somehow, Nathaniel's not "broken" anymore. It's like the rape/not rape scene with Micah in NiC and the "it's about Twu Wuv!" shit with the Ardeur. She SAYS that what it is, but it's not what was written.