Excuuuuuse me???

[kelliem]

So I'm happily reading this vaguely sci-fi-ish thriller by an author (male) whose work I've read and liked before, and come across this:

"Coffee sir?" An aide approaced David with a tray of mugs.

He gave the tiny-breasted girl the barest shake of his head.

Say WHAT? Since when is it okay to describe someone only by the size of their secondary sexual charcteristics? Not only that, but he infantilizes this person, clearly old enough to be a White House aide, as a 'girl.' Not a woman. Swear to Goddess, one of these days I am going to write a story where someone describes a minor male political flunky as "the tiny dicked boy."

Comments

[tinriddick.livejournal.com]

one of these days I am going to write a story where someone describes a minor male political flunky as "the tiny dicked boy"

Do it...come on... doit *throws monopoly money as an attractive inticement*...Ya' know you want to... Maybe an off hand comment made by Thatcher at the wrong moment?? Not that i'm encouraging a new DS Fic...or anything... {G}

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

*snerk* It does sound like something Thatcher would say, doesn't it? ;-D

[shiningmoon.livejournal.com]

Was this actually in a printed book? Either way, I'm appalled.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

Yep, an actual printed book. Deep Fathom, by James Rollins, c. 2001. Harper Torch. I've read other work by the same author and enjoyed them quite a bit. It just really shocked me to run across such egregious sexism in a recently published book. Especially since his works tend to have very strong, competent female characters.

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

Is it too much to hope it's a plot point? And at the end of the novel, we find out the "girl" was selling state secrets to the Taliban to raise money for breast implants? And at the end, cornered, wielding a chainsaw, having cut her way through a good swath of the white house and covered in blood, she screams, "You fuckers did this to me! My MA in political science from Princeton wasn't good enough for you, noooo! I had to be a C cup too! Well, fuck you! Fuck you all!" < / dream > *G*

[delurker.livejournal.com]

Wow, extreme dodginess.
Stopped by to tell you that I love your fic, and to friend you. Hope you don't mind.

[ardent-muses.livejournal.com]

That is hilarious!

The post, I mean. The line itself is hideous.

Maybe you could say instead, the "tiny dicked author"?