Gods and Heroes

Sorry I’ve been so quiet. It’s been a busy, busy six months, and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up soon. But I’m rewriting a section of the second Superheroes Union novella, and I’m still pushing ahead on Boundless whenever I can wedge an extra hour into my schedule.

In the meantime, have a link! Mr. Diaz and I have discussed how we relate to superheroes, especially superhero teams, a number of times. The comparison to pantheons most of us relate to as mythology always fascinates me. So the shirt of the day over on Woot.com amuses the heck out of me today.

Seriously, though, what’s up with only one woman in that pantheon? I know Wonder Woman gets all the recognition, but if we’re going to make her over as a classical goddess, surely she ought to have a number of sister-goddesses. *g*

Arizona Senate Passes “Let Women Die” Bill

This is the part where I should apologize for a long silence, but I’m afraid I have something too urgent to wait on the apology.

The Arizona Senate has just passed a “wrongful birth” bill. Theoretically, the purpose is to allow doctors to withhold information about prenatal issues because a woman might choose to have an abortion based on that information. In practice, the ability to withhold information also means that a doctor could withhold information about issues that threaten the mother’s life, like ectopic pregnancy. And gee, by the way, it will forbid malpractice suits based on a doctor having withheld information.

What the hell are these people doing to my state? I have no words.

Because Boys Fly and Girls Smell Spell?

And while we’re on the subject of putting women “in their place,” apparently Dallas Independent School District thinks that a woman’s place is not in the cockpit of an airplane, and is taking some pains to make them aware of it young.

I know this story is a little old, but there’s only so much stupid I can deal with in any one day.

Free feminist dystopian short story: ILU-486

Holy crap, I was just pointed to this by Violetta Vane, who referred to it as “The Handmaid’s Tale 2012.” And she’s not wrong.

ILU-486 isn’t a romance, but I think anyone who reads romance should read this short story anyway. It’s a story about being a woman when it’s hard to be a woman.

This near-future, not-too-unbelievable world springs from some of the very scary legislation being proposed in both Virginia and Pennsylvania right now. It doesn’t have a happily ever after. Instead, it shows how some of us have to work for our ever afters to stay happy, and how we can’t take it for granted that there will always be heroes/heroines to save us. Let’s hope it never comes to pass.

More than that, let’s work to make sure of it.