03-10-14 I should not be reading

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JoybuzzerX
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by JoybuzzerX »

RedHeadude wrote:
Artemisia wrote
We live in a society which pushes women to suppress our sexual natures, and tells women that being interested in sexual things is wrong. What's more, while Ruby would not necessarily be outright homophobic, she is probably extremely heteronormative, so the idea of being sexually aroused by two men being sexual or even romantic together is likely very difficult for her to resolve. This despite a recent study that actually found that straight women have a preference for gay pornography.

Thus, it isn't exactly surprising that Ruby is finding this difficult to deal with.
Is that what "normal" society is like? I was raised a Mormon, so as a man I have an incredibly sexually repressed background. I felt all of what Amber feels towards this sort of thing over looking at strait pornography, or even playboy mags. I wonder if Amber has some sort of religious upbringing . . . A secular upbringing wouldn't make sense for her to be like this, would it?
I'd say it's less raised Mormon and more raised religious. Being raised strictly any religion tends to repress people. The question will then be, can you break it. :p Some can, some can't or won't. Then there's just the easier idea of telling your kids nothing or making it seem bad or what have you. You might think "Why didn't my parents tell me?!" At the same time your parents don't want you getting pregnant or getting someone pregnant.

Then comes the government and other people nosing in on your family business. Trying to be open about sex with your children outside of the sex talk could get you in trouble in at least some areas of the US (not sure about Canada). And don't let people fool you. That isn't a right side/conservative/religious thing...that's both sides of the fence, want to interfere, we know what's best for you side of things.

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Artemisia
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Artemisia »

Maechris,

I'm about two hours from Canada...specifically Quebec. Even in Canada, things can be a bit conservative culturally. I know that the Scandinavian countries including Iceland tend to be far far less patriarchal than Canada and the US.
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wiseguy
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by wiseguy »

well, taking aside the "religious reasons" or the "I want me to be the first and only person of my significant other"


there are basically 2 ways to go about sex and relations

1) don't worry about relations, just enjoy sex

or

2) sex(or for some that separate sex and relations, emotional commitment) should be only with someone you decide to share your life with

the first one in itself means that you most probably have a very open view about sexuality, and explore anything between your parameters(heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, into BDSM, ANYTHING GOES, etc)

the second one is either divided into "sex in order to have children, no need to be so sexual"

or

"anything that my life partner and I agree to go into and explore"
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Spidrift
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Spidrift »

Maechris wrote:I'm about a full ocean removed from coming close to being Canadian, so I can't speak for Ruby's society, but it would appear that :
- Her parents were somewhat conservative, given how much Amber avoids telling them anything about her career.
Probably right, but I'd avoid drawing a firm conclusion there. Many people are shy of talking to their parents about their sex lives, just as many parents are twitchy about talking about sex much to their kids. (I can't say that the subject ever arose between me and my parents, I must admit.) And talking about working as a porn actress is by definition talking about your sex life. Furthermore, many people who are quite open about sex would regard the porn business as rather shameful. (There are serious liberal as well as conservative objections to porn, after all.) Amber initially avoided contact with Zii because of this worry, so it's hardly surprising that she hasn't raised the subject with her own parents.

We do know that those parents are wealthy doctors, which doesn't rule out them being conservative, but probably does mean that they're a bit more realistic about the body than some people. Amber (and Ruby) may turn out to be being over-cautious. We may find out some day.
Maechris wrote:- Ruby is hardly a 100% victim in her current confused state, being as much to blame for her own repression as any outer influences. It seemed she made it a point to be a serious, as-asexual-as-possible-and-carreer-oriented-woman as she could, and especially tried to be a foil for Amber's own way of life.
While a saner person than Ruby could have got over the trauma of that party incident and grown up into a balanced human being, I wouldn't pin too much blame on her. Amber has a lot to answer for there.

One of Ruby's virtues is that she's an extremely truthful person; she hates lying, and will blab embarrassing truths with very little provocation. But Amber asked her to keep a secret from her own parents for an unlimited period, currently up to seven or eight years. Amber probably thought that this was a fairly trivial request; not telling somebody something isn't lying, after all. But Ruby won't see it that way; she's been stuck deceiving the most important people in her life for all that time, because of sex. It's not surprising if she now sees sex and shameful and damaging and a source of pain.
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zaprzapb
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by zaprzapb »

Ruby's face in that last panel.

=)) =)) =)) =))

That's right Ruby, give into the Dark Side. :ymdevil:

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Schmorgluck
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Schmorgluck »

Spidrift wrote:
themacnut wrote:I'm quite sure Ruby's going to be sitting there all day with those books. Not like she's got anything better to do; no job to get to, not even a job interview far as we know.
It's definitely a Sunday; job interviews are highly unlikely.
It was heavily implicit that it was a Sunday, up until that comic made it totally explicit. (could have been a Saturday, but for neither Zii nor Jung seeming worried about late hours) (and in retrospect, I suddendly realize that Dillon gave a relevant advice to Ruby in that comic, even though it wasn't based on an accurate reasoning - Ruby does conceal her emotions too much, but her stating she can enjoy a little solitude isn't relevant to her personality to make such a statement)

She could still look up for positions and maybe send applications, though. I say "maybe" because I've been told sending an application over a weekend doesn't make it as visible to an employer or HR manager than during wordays.

@Maechlis
Slut-shaming is a real thing even in more relaxed places like Scandinavian countries. And seriously? By your statement, a man getting around gets as much or more flak than a woman doing so? In which universe do you live, bro? I'd be happy to migrate. I'm unable to make a move at a woman because of anxieties of mine, so if you know of a place where a woman will merrily make a clear move at a man without fear of getting shit from doing so, that's paradise to me.
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Spidrift
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Spidrift »

Schmorgluck wrote:(and in retrospect, I suddendly realize that Dillon gave a relevant advice to Ruby in that comic, even though it wasn't based on an accurate reasoning - Ruby does conceal her emotions too much, but her stating she can enjoy a little solitude isn't relevant to her personality to make such a statement)
Uh, no - just no. Ruby really doesn't conceal her emotions too much; jut ask Amber. She clearly has some difficulty restraining her anger, and doesn't bother doing so with her sister; she just about holds it back with Dillon, but that's because she's polite. She's very open about her affectionate response to Minew, she was unable to hide her nervousness about dating from Amber even when she wanted to, and so on.

That really did seem like one of the most stupid things Dillon has said. He thinks that Ruby is somehow hiding her emotions when she wants some time alone, but that's because he's a solipsistic moron who can't understand an introverted personality. Ruby shows her emotions when she's in company almost as much as Dillon, but it costs her energy; she recharges that energy when she's alone.

(Dillon, on the other hand, recharges energy in company. He thinks that makes him cool; from Ruby's point of view, it makes him a vampire.)

Actually, when she starts dating, Ruby is going to have to learn how to conceal her emotions better, or she'll put people off and find every date distressing and exhausting. When she trusts someone (apart from Minew) enough to be quiet with them - truly quiet, not just strangled like she is with Dillon - she'll be making real progress.
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Schmorgluck
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Schmorgluck »

You get a point, I should have restricted my comment to her sexual emotions.
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Spidrift
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Spidrift »

Oh, she's repressing one emotion - sexual desire - sure. Though that's a little different to concealing it; she's trying to persuade herself that she's not feeling it, and not concealing what she thinks she's feeling even there.

And, of course, the repression has become increasingly unconvincing; it's very hard how she'll convince herself that she's not interested for long after this scene. She really is a lousy liar.
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Don Alexander »

I like how Minew is her soundboard despite never doing anything except going "Minew!"

I'm also somewhat puzzled she knows how to read a manga! :-o
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Re: 03-10-14 I should not be reading

Post by Spidrift »

Don Alexander wrote:I like how Minew is her soundboard despite never doing anything except going "Minew!"
And I'm sure that translates as "Where's my food?"
I'm also somewhat puzzled she knows how to read a manga!
She's supposed to be bright. Anyway, I think that the first one I ever picked up had a note on it saying "Read from right to left, from the 'back'."
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