When I first read the sex scene, warning bells went off. When I looked at it again last night to write my review, my first thought was, "Why on earth did I react that way?" The fairy (or faerie) specifically says there's no spell. The cynic in me says that's Gaiman trying to deny that there's any problem with consent. Then again, why does Gaiman have to deny that there's any problem with consent? Because the human character is described as "intoxicated," and he's having sex with a woman he has just met. I think I'm hypersensitive to consent issues because of students I've had in the past. I don't want to go into details, of course, but I know people who have had problems from both sides—including one who was convicted of a crime. (I knew that person years before the conviction. I was floored when I realized the person in the newspaper had been a student of mine. I'd never given a thought to whether a student of mine might do something like that.)
Yes! I feel very similarly about sex scenes. I know that people do it, just as I know that they use the toilet, but I don't need to read the details. I especially don't want the details in YA books!
I have so many movies and other shows to watch that I don't feel the need to see Stardust on the screen, but if we happen across it, maybe I'll give it a chance.
Scene in Stardust
When I first read the sex scene, warning bells went off. When I looked at it again last night to write my review, my first thought was, "Why on earth did I react that way?" The fairy (or faerie) specifically says there's no spell. The cynic in me says that's Gaiman trying to deny that there's any problem with consent. Then again, why does Gaiman have to deny that there's any problem with consent? Because the human character is described as "intoxicated," and he's having sex with a woman he has just met. I think I'm hypersensitive to consent issues because of students I've had in the past. I don't want to go into details, of course, but I know people who have had problems from both sides—including one who was convicted of a crime. (I knew that person years before the conviction. I was floored when I realized the person in the newspaper had been a student of mine. I'd never given a thought to whether a student of mine might do something like that.)
Yes! I feel very similarly about sex scenes. I know that people do it, just as I know that they use the toilet, but I don't need to read the details. I especially don't want the details in YA books!
I have so many movies and other shows to watch that I don't feel the need to see Stardust on the screen, but if we happen across it, maybe I'll give it a chance.