tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post3243030984279448919..comments2024-03-29T06:43:19.987-04:00Comments on Romance Novels for Feminists: Individualist Feminism in Julie JamesJackie C. Hornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-88422427862035805152023-11-08T13:07:37.449-05:002023-11-08T13:07:37.449-05:00You have a very good gloss. Thank you!You have a very good gloss. Thank you!outlookindia comhttps://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/2023년-한국을-대표하는-카지노-사이트-best-10--news-326663 noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-59267605121663459562023-11-08T13:07:07.746-05:002023-11-08T13:07:07.746-05:00Much appreciated. All of your blog was amazing. I ...Much appreciated. All of your blog was amazing. 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We look forward to hearing from you in the future.<br /><br />I think there are feminist elements to James' books--portraying high-powered working women who love their work and eagerly go toe-to-toe with equally powered men is all too rare in contemporary romance fiction, which is why I appreciate James' novels. But I agree that her books' feminism is often problematic in his class politics: a feminism that benefits the highly educated, but not working-class women.Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-66061961095261041482013-08-01T09:56:40.304-04:002013-08-01T09:56:40.304-04:00Just discovered your blog BTW and LOVE it!Just discovered your blog BTW and LOVE it!Joy Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16275701867935938949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-44648196400902230942013-08-01T09:56:04.055-04:002013-08-01T09:56:04.055-04:00I like Julie James' writing and she has strong...I like Julie James' writing and she has strong female characters but I am pretty sure she would not consider herself a feminist. In fact her stories seem to say that strong women can make it if they really try and only the weak rely on things like courts to enforce equality law. Ironic coming from a lawyer. <br /><br />In her first novel, Practice Makes Perfect, a female lawyer takes on a case defending a mega corporation against charges of massive sex discrimination. Of course she plays to win. The lawyer even makes a point of saying that having a female on your defense team is a good move, presumably to show that mega corp isn't sexist if it can hire a female lawyer.<br /><br />James never mentions any qualms the lawyer might have about the screwing hundreds if not thousands of working-class women who are part of the suit. Are we supposed to assume the corporation is innocent? It seems more like we aren't supposed to care. In a later book James' seems to defend her position about sex discrimination suits by saying something like women have to work to get ahead and not expect handouts but she never convincingly shows that the women weren't be discriminated against. Maybe I'm biased but how likely is it that thousands of women all across the country (in her story and in real-life) conspired to screw a large company? Is it possible that - gasp! - that some companies' hiring and promotion practices are discriminatory? Wouldn't that be a first.<br /><br />So while her characters are strong, smart women I would not consider Julie James to be a feminist romance author. It's not enough for your characters to look like they walk the walk - they also have to talk the talk. Joy Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16275701867935938949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-20575385534379704632013-05-21T12:37:53.613-04:002013-05-21T12:37:53.613-04:00Welcome, Laurie. Hope you enjoy this one, and Jame...Welcome, Laurie. Hope you enjoy this one, and James' others -- stop by again and tell us what you think after you've had a chance to read her.Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-32731890577680558692013-05-21T12:37:11.688-04:002013-05-21T12:37:11.688-04:00Yes, Emma, I completely understand what you are ge...Yes, Emma, I completely understand what you are getting at. Any individual choice can look right, can even be justified as feminist. But when you gather them together, a pattern emerges, not just in Julie James' books, but also in real life. So many women argue that their de-prioritizing work is a personal, individual choices, what works best for their particular family. But such arguments rarely take into consideration the larger pressures that MAKE such choices "right" for women but not for men. Socialization that makes us feel better by presenting itself as personal choice...Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-47532486969381985252013-05-17T12:46:17.469-04:002013-05-17T12:46:17.469-04:00You said: "I think you'd enjoy all of Jul...You said: "I think you'd enjoy all of Julie James' books -- they feature strong professional women who do not give up their careers in order to engage in romantic relationships."<br /><br />Yes! Julie James is new to me (I'm fairly new to romance). I love strong, professional female characters in romance. I need to add this book to my list. Laurie Evanshttp://www.handymancraftywoman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-64022530469828183742013-05-16T09:59:22.316-04:002013-05-16T09:59:22.316-04:00This is such a great post -- particularly your poi...This is such a great post -- particularly your point that the novel form itself is almost exclusively interested in individual subjectivity and thus doesn't do the "social" well. Another problem with work-life balance narratives, I think, is that it's difficult to critique the choices of any individual and relate them to the collective. In Love Irresistibly, Brooke makes the right choices for her, she negotiates successfully, etc. But when the individual choices of all of Julie James' heroines, are taken together and the pattern is so obvious, the politics are pretty clear. All of the women decide to deprioritize work and all the men remain breadwinners, focused on their careers, etc. What I'm saying, very incoherently, is that whatever one thinks of Brooke's choice it seems different when it not just her, but all three of James' heroines, who make the same choice albeit for different reasons. It starts to seem less like a choice and more like socialization.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09749578406594865913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-27469492660241188602013-05-15T12:46:39.413-04:002013-05-15T12:46:39.413-04:00Parchita:
I think you'd enjoy all of Julie Ja...Parchita:<br /><br />I think you'd enjoy all of Julie James' books -- they feature strong professional women who do not give up their careers in order to engage in romantic relationships. <br /><br />Yes, it would be great to read a romance in which career/family balance is addressed, and which actually shows not just the sacrifices a woman has to make in order to achieve balance, but also the contributions her partner (whether male or female) has to add in order for a dual-career family to function and thrive.Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-91714919062477574302013-05-15T12:32:18.901-04:002013-05-15T12:32:18.901-04:00Jackie, it would be awesome! I would read it the m...Jackie, it would be awesome! I would read it the minute it hits the bookstores. And about the issue of the "outside forces", well, of course you´re right. Many women don´t realize just how much their choices are made by our society and our sexist education. Sadly, like Brooke, I had to hear myself that I wasn't the kind of woman to raise a family. People have some ideas of what a woman should be, and career-focused women fail to match the standards. Besides, society tends to "masculinize" that category of women, something I find very unfair. I don´t feel any less of a woman for not wanting to have kids or for putting my career on top of my desire of being a mother. Moreover, I believe women can have both a family and a career if they want, but this decision is difficult to make nowadays, because it is society who says is not possible. I would definitely want to find a discussion about this in a novel, to bring into question some stereotypes. I would say that what this novel depicts is our reality today. Some of us have to make work-life choices individually, and we feel very alone during the process. Even with the spoiler, I will buy this book. Brooke and I have a lot in common.parchitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03157526014200811130noreply@blogger.com