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Fantasy books written by women are often assumed to be young adult, even when those books are written for adults, marketed to adults, and published by adult SFF imprints. And this happens even more frequently to women of color.

This topic’s an ongoing conversation on book Twitter, and I thought it might be worth sharing with Tumblr. And by “ongoing,” I mean that people have been talking about this for years. Last year, there was a big blow up when the author R.F. Kuang said publicly that her book The Poppy War isn’t young adult and that she wished people would stop calling it such. If you’ve read The Poppy War, then you’ll know it’s grimdark fantasy along lines of Game of Thrones… and yet people constantly refer to The Poppy War as young adult – which is one of its popular shelves on Goodreads. To be fair, more people have shelved it as “adult,” but why is anyone shelving it as “young adult” in the first place? Game of Thrones is not at all treated this way…

Rebecca Roanhorse’s book Trail of Lightning, an urban fantasy with a Dinétah (Navajo) protagonist has “young adult” as its fifth most popular Goodreads shelf. The novel is adult and published by Saga, an adult SFF imprint.

S.A. Chakraborty’s adult fantasy novel City of Brass has “young adult” as its fourth most popular Goodreads shelf.

Tasha Suri’s Empire of Sand, an adult fantasy in a world based on Mughal India, has about equal numbers of people shelving it as “adult” or “young adult.”

Book Riot wrote an article on this, although they didn’t address how the problem intersects with race. I also did a Twitter thread a while back where I cited these examples and some more as well.

The topic of diversity in adult SFF is important to me, partly because we need to stop mislabeling the women of color who write it, and also because there’s a lot there that isn’t acknowledged! Besides, sometimes it’s good to see that your stories don’t just end the moment you leave high school and that adults can still have vibrant and interesting futures worth reading about. I feel like this is especially important with queer rep, for a number of reasons.

Other books and authors in the tweets I screenshot include:

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

A Ruin of Shadows by L.D. Lewis

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Day Before by Liana Brooks

A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell

Shri, a book blogger at Sun and Chai

Vanessa, a writer and blogger at The Wolf and Books

TLDR: Women who write adult fantasy, especially women of color, are presumed to be writing young adult, which is problematic in that it internalizes diversity, dismisses the need and presence of diversity in adult fantasy, and plays into sexist assumptions of women writers.

thingsthathavebeensetfree

There’s a saying that age doesn’t matter when learning something, but I believe that time matters. Age and time are different, right? You should always be opened to learn something new, but if there’s an opportunity to learn something in a better environment, I believe you should work for it and agonize over it.

Blue Night, September 5th 2015 (source: thatcoolcatmeow)

SHINee singing Every Time

SHINee: ~every time we shu

Taemin: BEE

#SHINee #OT5FOREVER #shineeisback #ilaughedmyselfawake

relatablepoetryandquotes

…we cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever.

Haruki Murakami

shareaquote

Things I want to tell myself at 21 1. You’ve achieved so much in terms of self care and self respect but there are still some things you have to work on. Like dancing. Yes, you can get drunk and dance and you can dance alone in your room but why do you feel so restrained in front of people? 2. You have a beautiful smile. But you can’t smile genuinely in crowds. Blur them out. Crowds shouldn’t dictate how wide you smile. 3. Have more ice cream. Have double scoops of different flavours and walk around when the sun is out with sticky hands and stained lips. 4. When you’re in situations you have no control over, do not stress. There’s literally no point. Instead focus on things you can control which will indirectly have a positive impact on those tough situations you can’t directly deal with. 5. Always read the preview of a book before buying it. Always. 6. Don’t force yourself to giveaway your childhood books. Somethings you can keep for yourself even if only for occasional smiles and nostalgia. 7. Try. And don’t give up. You will have relapses. You will be doing so well and then will suddenly faulter. A day. Maybe five. But you can get back to it. You can start again. The number times you go back to something you’re trying to change, something you’re working on, strengthens your will. It’s not a sign of losing. It’s a sign that you will eventually conquer. 8. I know you just can’t understand when women are against feminism and when men and women have such a wrong idea of what feminism really is. But you can’t get so agitated. You can’t forcefully change their beliefs. 9. You would like to believe that a friend would be a certain way and your grandparents would be a certain way but just because they are supposed to be loving and available doesn’t mean they actually will. People hardly ever live up to what they should. Even if they are family. Even if they are love. 10. Save first. Then spend out of the remaining money. That’s the only way you can have your Seoul trip by 2020. 11. When you watch a movie or read a book that makes you emotional and nostalgic, texting them isn’t a wise option because they aren’t feeling the same way. It will just be another unwanted text from you. 12. You are privileged. In different ways from most but still privileged. Know your privilege. Don’t look down on others. They aren’t blessed with the same advantages as you are. 13. Let those who want to cancel plans cancel. There’s no point in meeting someone who isn’t as excited and as desirous of meeting you as you are of meeting them. Even if you are friends since 9. Even if you have a treasure trove of childhood memories with them. 14. Sometimes excuses are genuine reasons. 15. 20s isn’t the only decade you’re alive. Don’t stress yourself to achieve everything in these 10 years and don’t drive yourself insane accomplishing things you don’t even want to but believe that you should. 16. Be true to yourself. Even if that’s the only thing you will ever be.

creatingnikki (via shareaquote)

adulting is realizing you cant spend all your money on books

#growingup #adulting #books

dailyinspirationquotes

mushbabe

Underwatched Animated Films I Recommend You See at Least Once in Your Life

EDIT: i didn’t expect this post to get so many notes. for the record, these are just my personal recommendations, not a definitive list of best underrated animation. i also did not include anything made by Disney. I know that they made some movies that didn’t get as much attention as their other hits, but lists of underwatched Disney films are pretty common, so I thought I’d make one of films by studios that aren’t household names.

Angel’s Egg (1985)

This movie is a nearly silent film with painstakingly beautiful frames and environmental details. All I can say is that it is a real piece of art worth watching and can be watched on YouTube here.

Les Triplets de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) (2005)

An incredibly quirky, strange and humorous French film, also with almost no dialogue. The colors, creative storytelling, and almost caricature-like designs make the Triplets a must-see. The setting and timeframe is left sort of abstract, but it’s a clear transition from last-century rural France to the hustle and bustle of urban America. Lots of homage is paid to cartoons from the 1920s.

Mindgame (2004)

This movie, quite like the title says, blew my mind. It’s also incredibly strange and out-there, but the awkward imagery gives way to real emotion and huge payoff by the end. The colors and animation are delightful, and always tailored to the situation. It is an amazing intersection of an altered state, a love story, a struggle to get home, an existential trip, and an unlikely group of friends. I almost always cry when I watch this. Seriously, can’t stress this enough. There is absolutely nothing like Mindgame.

Le Chat du Rabbin (The Rabbi’s Cat) (2011)

Rabbi’s Cat is a French film based on a French comic by the same name. The comic artist also directed the movie. Honestly, the dialogue in this is unmatched. Both Cat and Rabbi are witty and have the best banter. The setting is one of the most unique and real-feeling I’ve ever seen a film take place in: a Jewish community in Algeria. It’s wonderful and incredibly charming, could not recommend more.

Tekkonkinkreet (2006)

This movie hits me on a number of levels. I have so much love for the two orphans, Black and White. The story quickly becomes raw and almost difficult, as it touches on a lot of the feelings we see in things like Grave of the Fireflies, but in a much more abstract way and on a much grander scale. Also less sad, but there are very sad parts also. I guess the best way to describe this movie is intense. While there are a lot of sweet, domestic moments, none of the gruesome reality is sugercoated for you.

The visuals are all completely stunning; the art is on another level. Treasure Town is a rich, fantastical environment and the characters flow through it effortlessly, like water. You gotta see this at least once in your life.

Chico and Rita (2010)

An American/Spanish romance between an aspiring Cuban piano player and a young black singer. The film has a vibrant and unique visual style, and explores a multitude of music styles and cultural backdrops. The film is touching and sweet, but does not erase the hardships of being a black music star in America or living through the Castro regime.

Wizards (1977)

Ralph Bakshi is notorious for underappreciated gems. Wizards is set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world where magic is real and man has survived the radiation to evolve into fairies, elves, and dwarves. It’s a classic nature vs industry story with Bakshi’s unique spin. My favorite character is Necron 99, the assassin robot turned pacifist. I’ll warn you though, Bakshi films aren’t everyone’s taste (he’s responsible for Fritz the Cat, which against my better judgement I recommend as well).

Wizards was completed during the dark age of animation, and its fascinating to see how Bakshi gets around these limitations to produce something that grossed more than twice its budget.

Memories (1995)

Memories is a three part anthology based on three different manga short stories, Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, and Cannon Fodder. While the entirety of the movie is beautifully animated and worth the watch, the best of these is the first one. It is a mysterious, tragic sci-fi horror short film set in space and worked on by Satoshi Kon (so of course its amazing).

brownsunbisexual-permarchive-de

there is just an aspect to being a woman, which is that we are socialized to live under the male gaze and to comport ourselves with the knowledge that everything we do will be scrutinized and deconstructed by men. no man will ever understand this, even if you’re a gbt man. heteronormativity is debilitating and brutalizing, but there is no societal pressure for any man to perform for women. no man’s worth is tied to how women interpret him. there’s no “female gaze”. like, heteropatriarchy may tell gay/bi men that they’re “not good men” for loving men, of course, but it’s not telling them that their value is tied to how “useful” or “appealing” women find them, whereas it does tell women that. sexuality is far more traumatizing for women (cis or trans, straight or not) than it is for men.