Visuals
Two things have been obsessing me at the moment, so I thought I'd put my thoughts down:
1. On Female Beauty (inspired by day_saving_geek)
Recently d_s_g made a post about strippers- in particular, wondering if he was being prudish for not especially approving of a situation where there was a couple, and the guy wanted to go to a strip club, which was widely supported by others (the woman in question had called in to a radio show for advice). Now personally, I've known a few strippers- the job itself doesn't bother me, nor do I think it's indicitive of a negative quality to the girl doing it, I just find stripping distasteful. It makes me wrinkle my nose, but not so much on a morality basis.
What 'bothers' me about stripping is that, like everything these days, it's cheap. Cheap in the sense that, while I respect the fact that it's one hell of a work out, it's (to me) boring. It's distasteful. It's vapid. All of which are exactly the same reasons that I don't like, or go to see, a great many films being produced these days- because they're carbon copies. The majority of women that I've known/seen who strip are also (physically) carbon copies- of course personally, they're quite interesting, intelligent people, and they're great fun to hang around with, but that's speaking personally and I'm speaking as a voyeur here.
Personally, what I find 'attractive' or desirable in people tends to be a certain measure of difference- I find women who are (generally) all skinny, all young, all un-tattoed and un-pierced just a bit outof my (physical) interest. I also hate thongs, I hate them with a passion- there is no one who looks good in a thongs, no matter how great their butt is. And finally, I don't like the lack of art- just how many school girl/fetish mistress/teacher acts does one need, after all? I wish we could go back to the days of burlesque- THAT I would gladly go and stare at for hours and hours. Burlesque is interesting, it's an art form, it's the elevated art of tease and it's feminine- whirligigging around a pole may be athletic, but it's not womanly- it's like 'here, stare at my bits'. Burlesque is more personal, it's more about beauty and it's more about eroticism as opposed to being about sex, and, as a female, I find it more flattering.
Burlesque is an art of costume, of casting a spell, of seduction, which is why it's so damn cool. As a person who is nigh on obsessed with the concept of costuming, I have to like it. Dressing up as Salome, as Marilyn Monroe, as a flamenco dancer and slowly, and sensuously getting your kit off is much more enticing and interesting. And burlesque also requires a mix of body types- you can be thin or fat or somewhere in the middle, there are midgits whoh dance burlesque- and not because it's a freak show, because it's a manner of feeling good about yourself and your body.
To me- this is more powerful, more about being in power of your body, your sexuality etc than stripping, because it's about you, how you feel about yourself, what costumes you want to wear that aren't worn by a thousand other people.
And my own personal favourite from The Velvet Hammer
Comic Books
I think D has influenced me a lot lately, in that I can't go into Impact without experiencing the desire to buy more comic books. I've made my way through Ruse (semi-steampunk detective), through Lenore and now I'm reading Elric of Melnibone, which is a graphic novel adaptation of the book of the same name- a favourite of mine when I was younger.
For a writer, I have a surprisingly visual mind, I think- I see everything that I write about in great detail. I've often wished that I'd shown some ability to paint and draw, but that ability seems confined to my mother. What I really want, I've decided, is to finish The Ebony Apprentice and see it turned into a graphic novel!
1. On Female Beauty (inspired by day_saving_geek)
Recently d_s_g made a post about strippers- in particular, wondering if he was being prudish for not especially approving of a situation where there was a couple, and the guy wanted to go to a strip club, which was widely supported by others (the woman in question had called in to a radio show for advice). Now personally, I've known a few strippers- the job itself doesn't bother me, nor do I think it's indicitive of a negative quality to the girl doing it, I just find stripping distasteful. It makes me wrinkle my nose, but not so much on a morality basis.
What 'bothers' me about stripping is that, like everything these days, it's cheap. Cheap in the sense that, while I respect the fact that it's one hell of a work out, it's (to me) boring. It's distasteful. It's vapid. All of which are exactly the same reasons that I don't like, or go to see, a great many films being produced these days- because they're carbon copies. The majority of women that I've known/seen who strip are also (physically) carbon copies- of course personally, they're quite interesting, intelligent people, and they're great fun to hang around with, but that's speaking personally and I'm speaking as a voyeur here.
Personally, what I find 'attractive' or desirable in people tends to be a certain measure of difference- I find women who are (generally) all skinny, all young, all un-tattoed and un-pierced just a bit outof my (physical) interest. I also hate thongs, I hate them with a passion- there is no one who looks good in a thongs, no matter how great their butt is. And finally, I don't like the lack of art- just how many school girl/fetish mistress/teacher acts does one need, after all? I wish we could go back to the days of burlesque- THAT I would gladly go and stare at for hours and hours. Burlesque is interesting, it's an art form, it's the elevated art of tease and it's feminine- whirligigging around a pole may be athletic, but it's not womanly- it's like 'here, stare at my bits'. Burlesque is more personal, it's more about beauty and it's more about eroticism as opposed to being about sex, and, as a female, I find it more flattering.
Burlesque is an art of costume, of casting a spell, of seduction, which is why it's so damn cool. As a person who is nigh on obsessed with the concept of costuming, I have to like it. Dressing up as Salome, as Marilyn Monroe, as a flamenco dancer and slowly, and sensuously getting your kit off is much more enticing and interesting. And burlesque also requires a mix of body types- you can be thin or fat or somewhere in the middle, there are midgits whoh dance burlesque- and not because it's a freak show, because it's a manner of feeling good about yourself and your body.
To me- this is more powerful, more about being in power of your body, your sexuality etc than stripping, because it's about you, how you feel about yourself, what costumes you want to wear that aren't worn by a thousand other people.
And my own personal favourite from The Velvet Hammer
Comic Books
I think D has influenced me a lot lately, in that I can't go into Impact without experiencing the desire to buy more comic books. I've made my way through Ruse (semi-steampunk detective), through Lenore and now I'm reading Elric of Melnibone, which is a graphic novel adaptation of the book of the same name- a favourite of mine when I was younger.
For a writer, I have a surprisingly visual mind, I think- I see everything that I write about in great detail. I've often wished that I'd shown some ability to paint and draw, but that ability seems confined to my mother. What I really want, I've decided, is to finish The Ebony Apprentice and see it turned into a graphic novel!