So you disliked it because you dislike Valjean/Javert in Montreuil-sur-mer? Or because you specifically thought that, given the historical context, it was unrealistic to have female Valjean and Javert in their respective positions, even if one were crossdressed? I mean, I can understand you on fem!Valjean becoming mayor as unrealistic, but there's quite a few examples of women crossdressing as men to serve on the battlefield even before 1800s France...
Now, I'm gonna disagree with you on the strength issue, because it really pisses me off when people use the "women are physically weaker than men" argument to keep women out of certain roles (such as U.S. combat, as we've seen in recent years). So female Valjean isn't going to be as purely strong as male Valjean, but Victor Hugo basically made Valjean unrealistic in strength... what was that line about stopping a raging bull in its tracks? And all his other feats of strength? Few if any men in general can do that - you'd have to be on the extreme end of the bodybuilder scale, and even then, I challenge you to get in the ring with a pissed off bull :) or casually lift a car on your shoulders. The average man may be stronger than the average woman, but I think female Valjean is not the average woman just like male Valjean is not the average man; she'd be born with significantly more brawn, and given that she had to support her sister's family when her brother-in-law died, I can make an argument that female Valjean had to engage in "male work" around the farm, take on jobs as a laborer, etc, whatever paid the bills. In difficult times, I doubt people would argue against her sex when they're more concerned about not starving. And I don't see how tree pruning is sex-restricted? In fact, it requires more flexibility, dexterity, and agility than strength IMO, areas in which women have been proven to exceed men. I agree she wouldn't be hauling rocks in the bagne, so she doesn't get those 19 years forced gym workout; still... there must have been prisons where women were forced to labor physically, and a defiant female Valjean would get sent there for causing trouble (perhaps precisely because the guards fear/can't control her?). Finally, I recall reading numerous articles where a woman lifted a car in order to save her child trapped underneath... I forget the details, but adrenaline is a hell of a drug. So female Valjean could certainly lift the cart if circumstances forced her to tap into that strength.
tl;dr, I believe female Valjean would be at the extreme end of the strength scale for women, which means she'd exceed the strength of most men, even if she's not Superman Jesus male Valjean as Victor Hugo describes. Added to that, her strength as a woman might intimidate men simply because they don't expect a woman to be that strong! Think of the first time she fights back against a would-be harasser, overpowers him, and beats the shit out of him LOL. Piece of shit little dandies like Bamatabois would get flattened.
Anyway, I'm super passionate about writing female characters that aren't restricted in their story roles or settings by their sex, because we rarely get that even in modern cinema (and part of the reason I avoid historical drama is because I'm tired of seeing women restricted to the wife, mother, and fucktoy roles). Maybe 1800s France is too early to do this realistically. If I were to move this forward a little, what in your opinion is a reasonable time frame? I dislike modern AUs so I don't want to change things more than necessary to, say, have fem!Javert realistically be the first and only woman on the police force. (And I'm still keeping mayor crossdressed Valjean, since women would be barred from such powerful political roles for a very long time).
Oh, and forgot to add - I like that you're genderswapping Les Amis too!! A female Enjolras would be fantastic, I totally see her in my head as Lady Oscar :) and it would be cool for a group of women friends to lead the revolution. The'd sing Drink With Me about all the pretty boys they took to bed, hee hee, and tease female!Marius about mooning over some gorgeous young boy with moe eyes and long blond hair <3. Yeah, I'm 100% on board with female Les Amis. (I had a vague idea for it inspired by the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, if I ever get around to researching the history).
no subject
Now, I'm gonna disagree with you on the strength issue, because it really pisses me off when people use the "women are physically weaker than men" argument to keep women out of certain roles (such as U.S. combat, as we've seen in recent years). So female Valjean isn't going to be as purely strong as male Valjean, but Victor Hugo basically made Valjean unrealistic in strength... what was that line about stopping a raging bull in its tracks? And all his other feats of strength? Few if any men in general can do that - you'd have to be on the extreme end of the bodybuilder scale, and even then, I challenge you to get in the ring with a pissed off bull :) or casually lift a car on your shoulders. The average man may be stronger than the average woman, but I think female Valjean is not the average woman just like male Valjean is not the average man; she'd be born with significantly more brawn, and given that she had to support her sister's family when her brother-in-law died, I can make an argument that female Valjean had to engage in "male work" around the farm, take on jobs as a laborer, etc, whatever paid the bills. In difficult times, I doubt people would argue against her sex when they're more concerned about not starving. And I don't see how tree pruning is sex-restricted? In fact, it requires more flexibility, dexterity, and agility than strength IMO, areas in which women have been proven to exceed men. I agree she wouldn't be hauling rocks in the bagne, so she doesn't get those 19 years forced gym workout; still... there must have been prisons where women were forced to labor physically, and a defiant female Valjean would get sent there for causing trouble (perhaps precisely because the guards fear/can't control her?). Finally, I recall reading numerous articles where a woman lifted a car in order to save her child trapped underneath... I forget the details, but adrenaline is a hell of a drug. So female Valjean could certainly lift the cart if circumstances forced her to tap into that strength.
tl;dr, I believe female Valjean would be at the extreme end of the strength scale for women, which means she'd exceed the strength of most men, even if she's not Superman Jesus male Valjean as Victor Hugo describes. Added to that, her strength as a woman might intimidate men simply because they don't expect a woman to be that strong! Think of the first time she fights back against a would-be harasser, overpowers him, and beats the shit out of him LOL. Piece of shit little dandies like Bamatabois would get flattened.
Anyway, I'm super passionate about writing female characters that aren't restricted in their story roles or settings by their sex, because we rarely get that even in modern cinema (and part of the reason I avoid historical drama is because I'm tired of seeing women restricted to the wife, mother, and fucktoy roles). Maybe 1800s France is too early to do this realistically. If I were to move this forward a little, what in your opinion is a reasonable time frame? I dislike modern AUs so I don't want to change things more than necessary to, say, have fem!Javert realistically be the first and only woman on the police force. (And I'm still keeping mayor crossdressed Valjean, since women would be barred from such powerful political roles for a very long time).
Oh, and forgot to add - I like that you're genderswapping Les Amis too!! A female Enjolras would be fantastic, I totally see her in my head as Lady Oscar :) and it would be cool for a group of women friends to lead the revolution. The'd sing Drink With Me about all the pretty boys they took to bed, hee hee, and tease female!Marius about mooning over some gorgeous young boy with moe eyes and long blond hair <3. Yeah, I'm 100% on board with female Les Amis. (I had a vague idea for it inspired by the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, if I ever get around to researching the history).