ladybusiness | (Reply)

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I am honestly not innocent of this behavior at all. I wince to think of how I treated Stephenie Meyer in conversations about her work in the past because of the content of her books. (Oh, growing up! Oh, learning.)

I did link the post in question where the comment was left. To reiterate, it wasn't that the comment itself bothered me, but what the comment was suggesting: that out there in the great wide somewhere people are claiming that John Green writes girls as props. But because these conversations weren't cited, my first assumption is that the claim reflects the first definition of prop I provided. Girls with no value to the narrative other than supporting the journey of a male character is what I took away from that.

But then we get into the sticky business of defining what that support means, how the girls are portrayed in the text, and what their agency is outside of the boy's journey. My rule of thumb is to ask if the story is also portraying the girl's journey as well, or if everything is subsumed by the journey to Knowledge and Light by the boy. First instance, 500 Days of Summer, which Ana has discussed several times, I don't believe shows the girl's journey at all. It's all about the journey of the dude. I think you've seen that, right? So it would give you a frame of reference.

And we don't allow that kind of talk here! ;) You're plenty deep enough for this conversation if I am. ♥