The Novelty Girls

So this week’s theme is about physical insecurities. We all have them; we all wish we could change things about the way we look.

This came to my attention from a recent discussion on Romance Divas about plus-sized heroines. Some people didn’t like big heroines because they felt they had too many “issues.”

Here’s a snippet of my response to that thread:

body image issues and problems with self-confidence are not the purview of plus sized women. There’s no person, no matter what their size, who doesn’t have things they dislike about themselves physically. Two of the most gorgeous women I know, Lillian Feisty and Eden Bradley, have both complained to me about things they hate about their appearance, things that make them feel less confident, less attractive, less sexy than they want to be.

I’ve written several plus sized heroines, some had body issues, some didn’t. ALL of them had issues of some kind or other, because every person has to constantly grow. I just want to point out that not all plus sized women loathe themselves and shoving all your characters into that stereotype makes for cookie-cutter characterization. There’s more to people than their weight, and dwelling on that with plus sized characters is selling them short as PEOPLE, which is what you want your readers to believe, that these could be real people they empathize with.

So I wanted our discussion this week to be one thing we love about our looks and one thing we hate. No matter how gorgeous we are, there’s always one or ten things we’d like to change, and I think that’s important to bring up…and to bring out in our writing. People are people, they have insecurities, they have issues, so I’m keepin’ it real with that this week.

Thing I Hate: I have shelf-butt. You know how you’ve seen women with big booties that really stick out and are almost flat on top, like you could set a drink there and it wouldn’t tip over and spill? Yeah, I have one of those. Also, it makes it a total bitch to find jeans that fit right without having that gap in the back where the jeans don’t come back in to hug my waist because the shelf-butt goes out so far.

Thing I Love: Dude, I have bad-ass awesome hair. It’s curly. Naturally curly. And not frizzy or poofy at all with a little mousse. I have the lowest maintenance hair on the planet, and it looks like I spend hours a day on it and spend a fortune to make it as pretty as it is. I lurrrrrv it.

In my most recent release “Resisting Command”, DNA manipulation plays a big part in the plot.  It began with an idea.

What if there was a “genetic war” where two alien species vied for dominance through genetic manipulation?  What if humans had been space travelers long before the twentieth century and spawned a whole new race of people that look NOTHING like humans?

My newest hero,  who is featured in the book I’m working on now, has been genetically changed through DNA manipulation.  He wants to be part of this alien race and rejects his human origins.  It’s dangerous and almost gets him killed.  Ultimately, he must face the truth.  That he allowed himself to be used by an alien to avoid facing his reality.

To me, genetic splicing is all about control.  We genetically change our food to feed more.  We genetically enhance our animals-through natural selection or in the lab, the results are the same.  Look what we’ve done with dog breeding?  The idea that we can use a lab to “make life easier” has its good points and its dangers.

In a way, I agree with Dayna.  We are arrogant.  We often find new ways to interfere with nature, but we rarely know the consequences.  But then, the strides we’ve made against disease and hunger are truly amazing and essential to our survival.

As with everything else, it’s a balance.  In my books, I can explore the “what ifs” with the only long suffering being my characters.  Real life scientists explore them with much larger implication.

All in all, I sometimes wonder if we know what we’re doing.  I always think of the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”  We certainly do.

this week. Awesome topic Crystal.

I’m a Christian. Yep, I said it. I believe in God. Heaven. Hell. The Bible. The Ten Commandments. All of that stuff. It was my upbringing and nothing profound has happened in my life to alter my perception of that fact.

However, I also say…to each his/her own. Live “your” life the way you want. I have never and will never hold that against any one. I’m African American. There is too much stuff in my race’s history to hold “who” and “what” you are against you or judge you or be prejudiced against you. I absolutely love that everyone is different. I’ve already stated in a comment, how boring as hell would it be if everyone was the damn same. If there were too many blond haired/skinny/blue eyed OR light skinned/skinny/hazel eyed people in the world…I’d freaking go insane.

God, in his infinite wisdom meant for everyone to be different and for everyone to have a choice to be exactly who they want to be. Yes, some people were born with genetic frailties that make them even “more” different. To me, it’s all about differences. There are always two different sides to the coin. Black/White - Smart/Not So Smart - Those Who Can/Those Who Can’t - Those Who Will/Those Who Won’t.

If everyone were like me, there wouldn’t be a scientist or mathematician in the world. Who’d be around to save anybody then? Who would experiment and try to find cures for the diseases that our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, suffer from? Again…it’s all about differences. There IS a reason for everything and everybody. Everyone has a purpose. Whether or not we like what that purpose is…good or bad…they are who they are.

Science, in itself, is about discovery. Giving people hope. I’d love a procedure or a drug that could get rid of all murderers, child abusers/molestors/pedofiles, diseases that effect children, deafness, blindness. But where do we cross the line? We’ve already agreed that humans are arrogant. When is too far…too far? When do we say stop? When do we say enough is enough?

In the end, if we’re not able to do this, I think we’ll destroy ourselves in the process of trying to find the perfect cure for everything that is wrong in the world.

Yeah, I said it. I think as human beings, we’re pretty damnd arrogant. I think it boils down to the passage in the Bible where God put us in charge…and we took it to mean we should use the earth in whatever way we see fit for our own benefit.

I know, harsh much?

But honestly…I’ve realised in my time being a  parent that taking care of something means putting it first, no matter what I might want. And when ut comes to the planet, we don’t.

We’ve got some messed up priorities, too…paying movie stars more than we pay doctors is a prime example.

So when it comes to genetic engineering…I think there is great potential in it…and once again, we’re screwing it up. Choosing gender? Please.Why not try to bring back some of the plant and animal life we’ve made extinct because it’s more important for there to be a few billion humans kicking around instead.

But I have a bias when it comes to kids and gender. My entire family wants girls. When I was pregnant with boy #1, I might’ve chosen to have a girl…til I saw his lil face. When I had boy #4…people kept saying “you want a girl, right?” And truthfully, it didn’t matter. Healthy mattered.The idea of missing out on any of my kids….the beautiful boys they are…because I was hung up on their plumbing just underscores for me how screwed up humans are.

All of the genetics conversation has been very interesting but everything I’d say has pretty much been covered! Thanks y’all.

It makes good subject matter for a book though. Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks so since so many authors have written about the possibility of altering our genes intentionally and the benefits/repercussions of doing so. One of the most interesting takes I’ve seen is Charles Ingrid’s Marked Man and Last Recall. I loved both books. They’re set in a post-apocalyptic LA several generations after human’s dna was intentionally merged with several types of animals. That merging is what has enabled them to survive, and they realize that, but almost every major character in the books are completely wrapped up in finding a “pure” human, in returning the gene pool to what it once was. Some people are willing to go way too far to ensure that of course. Lots of fun stuff going on in these two books and I won’t give it at all away in case someone wants to check them out.

And speaking of unusual genetics, RG and I both have new releases tomorrow! Mine is Captured Moon: Lunar Mates Book 6. It’s about werewolf twins Rule and Lawe going after the woman of their dreams. The problem is she’s not sure she wants to be caught! It will be available from Cobblestone Press.

RG’s is Who Needs Another Superhero? the sequel to Who Wants to Date a Superhero? There is no one around but Rock to save the day when Dayna goes chasing after The Pearl of Isis and a story that could be the death of her. And when he gets his hands on her, all bets are off. Look for it tomorrow at Ellora’s Cave!

Crystal, you have picked a right doozy of a topic this week. *G*

Genetic manipulation is personal to me on multiple levels. I have been an avid science fiction/fantasy reader since I was nine years old, and as such, I have read many “cautionary tales” on the matter. There are so many things that could possibly go wrong with unchecked and long-term use of genetic manipulation that I am very concerned about the matter.

The question of simply boy vs. girl… well, while I can’t have children myself due to several medical conditions, I have to admit I wouldn’t know what the hell to do with a boy-child, and thus would prefer a girl if I could. However, that’s why they have adoption.

I don’t think that it is right on a moral level to manipulate the genes of a child after it is created. Partially, I wonder, would genetically altering its sex result in a transsexual child? Seeing as my ex-fiance was a preoperative female-to-male transsexual, that is an extremely hard road. There is so much more about gender than simply sex characteristics; they have actually found many differences between the male and female brain. So tampering with gender while the baby is “in progress” worries me, because the transgendered life path is a very difficult one to walk — and the sort of folk who would want to pre-select their baby’s gender aren’t, I think, liable to be overly supportive.

On another level, where does genetic manipulation stop? I know — or rather, I should say, I knew — someone who believes that “gifted” people are the future and that anything lesser is worthless. This person has actually spoken in favor of “wiping” people with certain mental disabilities from the gene pool. I ask, is that not eugenics? How is that different from what the Nazis tried to do in the Third World War?

Certainly, were I to have a child and find out that it would have a serious mental handicap, such as Downs’ Syndrome, I don’t think I could personally care for a child with those needs. There are other ones, however, that I would feel myself more prepared to handle, like ADHD or bipolar disorder. I, personally, would likely abort if I found out my child had Downs’. (Realistically speaking, if I found out I were pregnant at all, I’d be aborting. There are too many risks for me to attempt to carry a pregnancy to term.)

I can understand being personally uncomfortable with certain handicaps. I can’t understand wanting to wipe these people off the Earth, because they are some of the kindest and most honest people I know. Yes, they may not be as intelligent as you or I, but what matters most is the heart.

If one were to say that people with mental handicaps should be genetically altered / aborted, or that living people should be sterilized (as some have suggested), how far does it go? I read one person recently state that anyone with a disability should be “removed” from the gene pool. That, by the way, would include people like me. Yes, my life is hellish someday; just last night, I had to take a vicodin, two ultram, and multiple muscle relaxants to get the pain to ease up so I could sleep. But it’s my life, and I’d like to keep on living it, thank you very much.

I don’t personally intend to pass down my genetics, because in the case of both my male partners, fibromyalgia and related conditions run in their families. Were I to have children under these circumstances, the outcome would be almost certain to have it at some point in his or her life. I don’t feel that’s fair. Other people feel that the gamble is safer, and that’s their choice.

I think people need to be more accepting of each other as they are, rather than wanting them to be something needlessly different. I have no doubt that if certain persons could pre-program their children to be devout worshipers of Christ, they would. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. It shouldn’t.

And for all the good that could come of genetic manipulation, I am deeply afraid of the day when it becomes common practice, because I do not know where they will draw the line.

Okay, we are talking about genetic manipulation this week. Its not an easy topic, but it is fascinating. As a science fiction lover I know all about the warnings, and they aren’t too far off base. We’re not exactly the most patient species. Whenever we discover something new-we must use it right away. We’re instinctively obsessed with leaping blind into voids. Naturally curious. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

My own thoughts are very personal. I had a rough childhood. I was sickly, with asthma and tons of allergies. I was short and overweight. I had crooked teeth and frizzy hair. If I could have taken a pill to turn me into a tall, thin blonde with a beaming white smile and a tiny waist I would have in an instant. Then.

But not now.

All of my experiences and even-if not especially-my deficiencies-have made me who I am. I learned empathy and developed my imagination. I learned to laugh at myself and how to walk through the world my way, on my terms.

Now you might say, what about serial killers and psychotic dictators? We could wipe them out completely. Well, as someone noted yesterday, though tempting, if you wipe out all the crazy then you could lose creativity: art and music, fiction etc, even science and invention…all the prodigies gone.

If we all became uniformly exceptional, then none of us would be.

You could also say we transplant organs, and replace blood and surgically alter our bodies. Inject poison into our foreheads, enlarge our breasts-there are even people seriously considering having wings and tails grafted onto their bodies.  So what makes genetic alteration different?

How easy would it be, do you think, to turn the desire to change a genetic predisposition to heart disease into the perfect child? A genius with enhanced senses and physical abilities. A human without flaw.

I don’t deny or question the science. The science is tremendous and amazing and potentially world altering. It can be used to heal and end suffering.  I question the people who use it. We have not been genetically altered. We are not perfect. We are burdened with darker emotions and personal agendas and the desire for instant gratification.

I believe in the soul. And as tough as it sometimes is to swallow, I believe that the physical and emotional challenges we face are all expressions of lessons our soul needs to learn to evolve. If we artificially create perfection, is that evolution…or cheating?

I ran across a controversial news article and I thought I’d kick this week off by starting an argument amongst the Novelty Girls. Remember that we’re all friends and all have wildly different backgrounds, so I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone’s take would be. I’m sure we’ll all disagree.

Anyway, the article was about a study being conducted in Texas at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine where parents get to decide whether they want to have a boy or a girl. Read the full article here.

The study is interesting to me because they’re using it as a social science experiment–what are the motivations of the people going for girls versus boys or vice versa. I’m pretty sure that part of it is going to geek Dayna out because she has a degree in head-shrinkering.

Now for me, I’m just going to come out and say I have no moral objections to people picking their child’s sex. Or hair color. Or whatever. I also don’t have a problem with cloning, human or otherwise. My only concern comes when we end up with too much of one thing. Humans messing with nature means any natural balance that comes out in genetics gets pooch-screwed. Other than that, I’m all for it. Spiritually, morally, I’m fine with scientists doing their thing to try to rid the world of disease and defect in utero. Maybe if I was a parent I’d feel differently, but I’m not, so I can’t say how I would react if I had a child already and knew there was a possibility this could have changed how they had turned out. I can say I’m from a family with a child that was born with a serious disability. As in needed to be institutionalized by age 5 type disability. I’m not saying I would change my younger brother for anything, but I know that him being born the way his was made things rough on a lot of levels for all of us. You know how you see those families on TV where they have a kid with Spina Bifida or Down’s Syndrome or severe ADHD and they’re so serene you wonder how they manage? Yeah, I didn’t come from one of those families. So I say if we can prevent the less than perfect families from going through that, praise the Lord and pass the genetic manipulation.

In any case, I am interested to see the study and find out what conclusions they drew about people and the choices they made for gender. What would motivate people? Who knows why anyone does what they do…especially for something this important? The social scientist/academic in me is curious to read the final report. I mean, there are so many angles to look at this. Psychology, sociology, history, cultural anthropology. I don’t know of a single social science discipline off the top of my head that wouldn’t want a piece of this.

It’ll also be interesting to see how long it takes for this to end up in one of my books. Hee!

 I live in the ”Boonies”.  This means I could lean two ways.  Either I’m constantly angling to visit Big Cities with their outlet malls and discount furniture.  OR I seek other places that are also the “Boonies”.

Yeah.  I’m a total converted Boonie lover.

Our family took a trip on  The Skunk Train   which led to some interesting conversations.  Like the man and his wife from Singapore with their twin sons who were showing their boys America for the first time.  He’d grown up around here, but this was the first trip for his family to this part of the woods (literally).  Isn’t that awesome that a little place like Mendocino County makes the iternirary of a family from Asia? 

Then, there was the couple from Santa Rosa, who were visiting for a few days and considered their “City” a part of the “Boonies” too.  It really isn’t very difficult to see that Americans are Americans no matter where they are. 

Regardless of the serious withdrawals I experienced from being “Offline”, I often seek the unusual, the odd, the hidden treasures in every area.  There’s a roadside stand on Highway 128 near a little town called “Booneville”  (You see the irony right?) that has fabulous cider and amazing apples.  There’s “Clendenan’s” in Fortuna that is a regular visit for my family every October.  There’s D’Aurelio’s in Fort Bragg that has the BEST Italian food I’ve ever had in my life. 

Hidden in the depths of every state, every county, there are places to fall in love with.  There’s memories waiting. There’s weird and wonderful experiences to have.  What are yours?  Convince me to travel.  Come on.  It’s not that difficult.  Trust me.

Oh boy….after reading everybody’s posts this week, I realize that I am severely less than well traveled. Have GOT to change that. I’ve only lived two places, Virginia - which I didn’t “hate” perse…but didn’t like all that well, and Arkansas, my home town, where I live now. Over the last year or so I think I’ve traveled more than I have in a really long time. My family has traveled to Texas at least twice or so a year because my husband’s sister’s live there and for extracurricular fun. But, in the last year, I’ve been to Jamaica, California, Florida, and will be on my way to the Washington, D.C. area in July for my cousins wedding. Just purchased the plane tickets yesterday for that…for the entire family, plus my mom and grandmother. Can you say “ouch” in the money pockets department. It will actually be the “real” first, I consider, family trip/vacation we’ve taken as a family. Of course, besides the wedding, we’re going to do all the touritsy things, visiting the Washington Monument, old Abe, the National Air and Space Museum, the Library of Congress (that’s totally me…LOL), and others of course. I think the kids will really enjoy it and when school starts in the fall, when the teacher asks, “What did you do this summer?”  - my kids will have a really good answer. I’ll be sure to posts pics of our fun after I get back.

So, I’ll end my post with a list of places I plan to/hope to travel with the family in the coming years.

1.  Florida - Have to do Disney World, Isle of Adventure, and Universal Studios. Did this with the girls a couple of spring breaks ago, but I was pregnant with the little one and couldn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. So, we’re planning a trip back next summer. And, I want to take the family to Destin. It was beautiful there.

2.  Cancun, Mexico

3.  Seattle, Washington

4.  New York

5.  Philadelphia - I’m dying to visit the Hershey Chocolate place.

6.  Aruba

7.  Australia - I have wanted to visit since I was a kid. I actually have a cousin who visited, met the man she married and lives there now.

8.  California

9.  San Antonia, Texas - Six Flags, Sea World, and the Alamo - gotta love it!

10.  Niagra Falls

So, what about you? Where are some places you’ve wanted to visit, but never have? I hope you have a great Saturday!