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 didn't dislike it! Just found the worldbuilding too hand-wavey for me to fully believe in it. (The MsM thing is only tangentially relevant in that it might help explain why I might be a harder sell than many other readers.)
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).
Yeah, I don't like that either. (As a woman who lifts heavy weights 4x/week and is pretty swole, it would indeed be hypocritical of me to insist that women naturally are or should be weak.) I was rather trying - perhaps not very clearly - to speculate on whether she'd have the opportunity to develop impressive strength the way canon Valjean does, since she doesn't spend two decades hauling around rocks, as you say.
(I'd forgotten about the bull; that is indeed unrealistic. Maybe he is a bull whisperer...)
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. [...] And I don't see how tree pruning is sex-restricted?
Good points, both of them. Again, I wasn't trying to suggest that she *couldn't* do it, just questioning whether she *would*, since pre-Toulon Valjean seems to have led a fairly conventional life by all accounts. Then again, I don't know if tree-pruning was considered a typical male occupation - and even if it were, she might well take it on because of necessity. Being considered unfeminine and therefore suspect would indeed add to her loneliness/sense of alienation. :-/
(I always figured that the pruning was where Valjean got his agility from and then prison turned him super-strong, or at least stronger; canon isn't clear on whether he was unusually strong before the bagne, I don't think. Anyway, female!Valjean spending years pruning trees would definitely be strong and fit.)
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.
There's a difference between doing something in the heat of a moment, powered by an adrenaline rush, and doing it after having spent ten minutes going "oh shit, am I going to do this with Javert watching?" though. :-P Anyway, it's a minor point, since it doesn't HAVE to be a cart - the important thing is that she does something impressive, although it might reveal her.
her strength as a woman might intimidate men simply because they don't expect a woman to be that strong!
Now that I agree with. And the main important thing about Valjean's strength isn't that he can specifically do XYZ (though he has to be able to save Fauchelevent and later Marius), but that it's something that makes him stand out - and also it's significant that he *could* hurt people physically, but specifically chooses not to. So my quibble about female Valjean perhaps not exceeding all men in strength is merely a quibble, and certainly not an indication that I think she'd be weak or incapable of doing impressive stuff!
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).
I agree, but I'm also interested in how gender roles would affect the fates of the characters, exploring how their basic personality is shaped by the constraints of their lives, if you will. So on one hand I find it freeing to read/watch stories where women are NOT hindered by sexism, on the other I'm also interested in stories where sexism is part of what affects the characters' lives... So I guess it all depends? (I don't really know enough about 19th century France to specifically suggest another time period, sorry. :-/)
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I didn't dislike it! Just found the worldbuilding too hand-wavey for me to fully believe in it. (The MsM thing is only tangentially relevant in that it might help explain why I might be a harder sell than many other readers.)
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).
Yeah, I don't like that either. (As a woman who lifts heavy weights 4x/week and is pretty swole, it would indeed be hypocritical of me to insist that women naturally are or should be weak.) I was rather trying - perhaps not very clearly - to speculate on whether she'd have the opportunity to develop impressive strength the way canon Valjean does, since she doesn't spend two decades hauling around rocks, as you say.
(I'd forgotten about the bull; that is indeed unrealistic. Maybe he is a bull whisperer...)
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. [...] And I don't see how tree pruning is sex-restricted?
Good points, both of them. Again, I wasn't trying to suggest that she *couldn't* do it, just questioning whether she *would*, since pre-Toulon Valjean seems to have led a fairly conventional life by all accounts. Then again, I don't know if tree-pruning was considered a typical male occupation - and even if it were, she might well take it on because of necessity. Being considered unfeminine and therefore suspect would indeed add to her loneliness/sense of alienation. :-/
(I always figured that the pruning was where Valjean got his agility from and then prison turned him super-strong, or at least stronger; canon isn't clear on whether he was unusually strong before the bagne, I don't think. Anyway, female!Valjean spending years pruning trees would definitely be strong and fit.)
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.
There's a difference between doing something in the heat of a moment, powered by an adrenaline rush, and doing it after having spent ten minutes going "oh shit, am I going to do this with Javert watching?" though. :-P Anyway, it's a minor point, since it doesn't HAVE to be a cart - the important thing is that she does something impressive, although it might reveal her.
her strength as a woman might intimidate men simply because they don't expect a woman to be that strong!
Now that I agree with. And the main important thing about Valjean's strength isn't that he can specifically do XYZ (though he has to be able to save Fauchelevent and later Marius), but that it's something that makes him stand out - and also it's significant that he *could* hurt people physically, but specifically chooses not to. So my quibble about female Valjean perhaps not exceeding all men in strength is merely a quibble, and certainly not an indication that I think she'd be weak or incapable of doing impressive stuff!
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).
I agree, but I'm also interested in how gender roles would affect the fates of the characters, exploring how their basic personality is shaped by the constraints of their lives, if you will. So on one hand I find it freeing to read/watch stories where women are NOT hindered by sexism, on the other I'm also interested in stories where sexism is part of what affects the characters' lives... So I guess it all depends? (I don't really know enough about 19th century France to specifically suggest another time period, sorry. :-/)