Sexualized Saturdays: The Life-Changing Magic of Being Not Like Other Girls

As I recently read S. Jae-Jones’s YA novel Wintersong, I noticed something troubling. The book seemed designed to appeal to me: it was a fantasy romance with strong (really strong) inspiration from both the movie Labyrinth and my favorite poem, Christina Rosetti’s Goblin Market. However, something about Liesl, the main character, bugged me, and it took me a while to figure it out. Not because it wasn’t obvious, but because I thought that, in this, the Year of Our Lord 2017, we had done away with the “not like other girls” trope.

It’s a tale as old as time: a girl who’s just ~not like~ the other girls around her, against all odds, wins the day. These stories are appealing to us because these girls are framed as the outcasts; we can relate to their being bookish or plain or unpopular. But a problem that uniquely affects the female characters who fit these roles is that they often succeed or achieve victory at the expense of other women and girls, or by denigrating traditional femininity (or both). Liesl is an on-the-nose example of this trope: she is terribly jealous of her sister’s physical beauty, a trait Liesl lacks and constantly laments. Liesl is a genius composer, but her skills are downplayed or overlooked because of her gender. Meanwhile, it feels like her gorgeous sister is set up to be resented, as she at least can win men’s attention with her looks.

The cup of a carpenter is not like those frilly other cups. (via indygear)

However, when offered a beautiful fae gown by the servants of the Goblin King, Liesl instead chooses a plain dress, and this is played like Indiana Jones correctly picking the right Holy Grail. But instead of just rejecting the wealth and majesty of the other dresses, it reads as though Liesl is casting a value judgment on the majority of the other women in the book, who did choose to wear frills and finery.

This is just the latest example of this issue, rather than the only one. Pop culture has a long and varied history of celebrating these not-like-other-girls, from formative Disney flicks all the way up to watch-at-your-own-risk premium television like Game of Thrones. These portrayals enforce a terrible message: that there’s only one right way to be a girl, and that it’s totally acceptable to tear down other girls who don’t meet those standards.

Agent Carter: “The Edge of Mystery” and “A Little Song and Dance” Review

First, let’s get one thing out of the way:

ANGIE ANGIE ANGIE ANGIE ANGIE ANGIE.

(Spoilers after the jump.)

Agent Carter: “Life of the Party” and “Monsters” Review

We got a double dose of our favorite secret agent this week, although the episodes were each a little Peggy-lite. First in body, as Peggy was still recovering from her grievous injury, and then in mind, as she made a series of uncharacteristically stupid decisions.

Spoilers after the cut!

Top 20 Romantic Couples in Geekdom (10 Canon/10 Fanon): 2016 Edition

Here at LGG&F we like our romance with a side of geek, and this year we are bringing you a ship list to make any fangirl swoon! Yep, it’s Valentine’s Day, that sickeningly sweet holiday when our authors nominate and then vote on ships for our Top 20 Romantic Couples in Geekdom (10 Canon/10 Fanon) list. Many were nominated, but only a select few made the cut.

via reddit

It is now my duty to present to you this year’s super cute and sexy ships!

via the-many-facesof

Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Review

Yet another week and yet another Agent Carter episode has come and gone. “The Atomic Job” probably wasn’t my favorite episode, but it let us get to know a couple more reoccurring characters a little bit better, and they were super fun to watch. Hit the jump to find out my thoughts, and spoilers are up ahead.

Agent Carter: “Smoke and Mirrors” Review

There’s nothing quite like sitting down to an episode of Agent Carter after a long day of work, and it’s an especial delight when said episode delivers above the expected level of awesomeness. This week’s episode of Agent Carter was chock full of plotty intrigue as Peggy and her posse got down to business, but it also gave us a much-coveted look into Peggy (and Whitney)’s past.

Spoilers below the jump!

Agent Carter: Season 2 Premiere Review

Oh Miss Carter, it’s been entirely too long.

Something funny happened about a week ago: I was half-watching a playoff football game on ESPN when I suddenly heard the voice of Hayley Atwell. Looking up, I discovered that they had finally decided to leverage the mighty power of the Disney corporation (owner of ESPN, Marvel, and ABC) in order to promote the best part of the MCU. Yes, friends, ESPN was airing an Agent Carter commercial during its highest-rated broadcast of the year.

With a dynamite premiere, hopefully the show is going to be able to keep some of those new eyes focused on Agent Carter, and earn us all a Season 3.

Trailer Tuesdays: Agent Carter Season 2

Season 2 of Agent Carter is finally almost here! After being pushed back two weeks due to the president’s last State of the Union address (#ThanksObama), Agent Carter is set to premiere next week on January 19^th with a two-part episode. I can’t wait! So let’s dive right in.

The Past was Terrible, the Present is Terrible, and the Future will be Terrible

It’s summer! We passed the solstice on Sunday, and the season finally turned, meaning we can leave behind a nerd culture spring that was unusually dark and full of terrors. The spring seasons of Game of Thrones, Agent Carter, and Orphan Black have all come to a close, and the MCU will pass from the Age of Ultron to the Age of Ant-Man.

And while that list has some peaks and valleys in terms of quality, there has been a real unifying theme: the realms of science fiction and fantasy have become truly effing bleak.

via Hawkeye #2

In genres long renowned for escapism, we have become obsessed with escaping into nightmares.

Fanfiction Fridays: The Hustle by anamatics

She doesn’t even hear the bell ring at the door until the cook clears his throat loudly and Angie looks up.  Her breath catches and she has to swallow down her blush.  Her hands still, she forces on her best smile.

“English,” she whispers.  It comes out a hoarse croak.  Peggy Carter’s right eye is a livid black and blue, and she’s got a bandage around her hand that looks nasty and is still a bit stained with blood. She hasn’t been home the past few days, telephone conference in DC, she’d explained loading up her suitcase while Angie leaned against her open door and watched her movements with the lazy appreciation that a gal sometimes has for a friend.  “What happened to you?”

Peggy slumps down into Tito’s vacated stool and Angie turns and collects the tea things without a word.  She sets the milk and sugar that Peggy usually turns away down before her and gives her a look, the kind that Angie’s got to remember for auditions.  The one that brooks no argument at all.  “Thank you,” Peggy says weakly.

Tea softens her.  It makes her seem less brittle, less like she’ll fall apart if Angie touches her.  Peggy’s shoulders hunch forward and she holds the tea before her, two sugar cubes deposited in when she thought Angie wasn’t looking and far more milky than it usually is.  Angie fists her hands in her apron so she doesn’t reach out and press her fingers to Peggy’s temple and smooth her hair into something less bedraggled looking.  Anything to make her look less like she hasn’t lived through a war and a half, and that she’s still fighting.

“You gonna tell me what happened?”

“You know I can’t.” Peggy replies, her eyes shifting down, guilty.

“Won’t here or you ain’t gonna?”

“At home, Angie, please.”

Angie’s missed her.

It’s been a solid six months since the last time we recced a Cartinelli fanfic, so I feel totally within my rights bringing you all another one. The Hustle is set in those glorious post-Season-1 Angie-and-Peggy-in-domestic-bliss days—except their domesticity isn’t exactly as blissful as anyone hoped.