well behaved women

"....the gist of it being whatever a woman enjoyed wearing was feminine and whatever she didn't enjoy wearing wasn't."

-Anne Bishop "Heir to the Shadows"

...for such a little line, a throwaway paragraph roughly in the middle of the book, damn that hit hard. Because, you know, even though I should know better, on a certain level I bought into the myth of 'feminine'. Dresses. Pink. Society's carefully sculpted mould.

Anne Bishop! ♥♥♥♥

It's funny because in the Black Jewels world I think the relationships--besides the bad ones, which are really bad and acknowledged as such--are some of the healthiest I've seen in fiction. And she is very clearly saying something; along with a story and characters I love, there's a strong and very welcome commentary on gender roles and interactions.

And it's set up explicity, the Protocol and Queens and Warlords, taken to exaggeration in fantasy, and yet doesn't for a minute come off caricatured or as slapping us in the face with it.

Anne Bishop, so much love. **fangirls like mad**