Today, I’m wrapping up my gratefulness/ how to be a better person series with a few final thoughts. On life, on how we behave, on how we can behave better. I had an interesting week, filled with downs, then ups. I reflected on my politics and beliefs. I should start with a bit of preamble about one of those commitments, which I thought was implicit but was recently challenged: I’m a male feminist. I got all riled up by Emma Watson’s speech. I tweeted #HeForShe. I purposefully craft strong female characters overcoming difficult situations. Furthermore, I am accepting of people regardless of their gender, race, creed or sexual orientation. I can’t credit myself for my humanitarianism—I owe that mostly to my incredible, socially-defiant mother. She, who married an African-Canadian fellow to the disgust of certain friends, family and her parents at the time (they came around). We had a burning cross on our lawn, which I seem to remember even though I was very young, as in infantile (or my writer’s mind has concocted enough of a reality from the family legend that I appear to remember). My father, obviously, also deserves admiration for standing against intolerance and hate, and without a doubt he faced a number of struggles as a child and as a man.
My parents fought for women’s rights, gay rights and racial equality. While they won a few important battles, many hatreds and biases are so ingrained into our culture it is unreasonable to hope to erase these issues in a generation or two. Sexism is one of them. Still around, and still a thing. Back to the male feminist thing, I shouldn’t have to be one. The whole concept that we fight for one sex to have equal representation and respect in the world is absurd. If that means that I have to brand myself as a radical to defend this concept, then so be it.
I’ve talked about these issues before on my blog, in one post in particular called Women In Fantasy. I wanted to expound upon that topic now, which was really just a rant on how much I dislike terribly written female characters in fantasy. Terribly written as per my personal tastes: pining wife, succubus, spoiled princess, or always-needs-to-be-saved. We also get those “female” characters that have been stripped of all femininity and emotion and are written as men, which is just as frustrating. For the record, terribly written and stereotypical male characters abound in popular novels, too. None of that is important, except to emphasize that I’m doing my part to initiate change by challenging these stereotypes with my work.
What are you doing? Sorry if that sounded confrontational, however, it’s a question that we should be asking ourselves. How have we as a modern society allowed segregation, hate, and bias to exist for so long? How do we fix our universal apathy? We can start by being grateful, we can start by being kind, we can start—and this point is key—by correcting misbehavior and prejudice as it occurs. We’re not talking about the annoyingly obtuse rules of Political Correctness, where one is excluded from saying anything outside of any context aside from bland. I swear. I make tasteless jokes around the people that I know won’t find them offensive. Knowing your audience is key. And so is stepping outside of your comfort zone and tastefully, respectfully, standing up for the things that need to change. When you see a little girl wondering why she isn’t popular and famous like Miley Cyrus, explain to her how great she is as her quirky/ nerdy/ chubby/ whatever self—perhaps without the obvious and easy defamation of Miley’s character. I repeat: know your audience. I wouldn’t advise walking down an inner city neighborhood and suggesting—even politely—to others to embrace humanity and courteous fellowship. That’s a different and admirable challenge to be tackled: breaking down ghettos (which I believe we should do). It requires a unique set of tools beyond mere civility.
I started talking about feminism, because that is a cause which I dedicatedly support. However, every form of intolerance in the world is in need of champions. Will we ever eliminate hate, greed and violence? Not a chance. We can only minimize these evils. Any change happens in increments, usually ones so tiny that they’re untraceable. The whole “ripple becomes a wave” thing. Well, we can be those ripples. At least I consider myself one, in this tiny corner of the internet, and in the words I’ve cast out into the world. You don’t need to be a writer, a speaker, or anyone with any obvious form of influence, however, to be an instigator of change. You only have to care, and act.
Four Feasts Till Darkness
Book One
Christian A. Brown
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: September 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495907586
Number of pages: 540
Word Count: 212K
Cover Artist Lamin Martin
Book Description:
"Love is what binds us in brotherhood, blinds us from hate, and makes us soar with desire.”
Morigan lives a quiet life as the handmaiden to a fatherly old sorcerer named Thackery. But when she crosses paths with Caenith, a not wholly mortal man, her world changes forever. Their meeting sparks long buried magical powers deep within Morigan. As she attempts to understand her newfound abilities, unbidden visions begin to plague her--visions that show a devastating madness descending on one of the Immortal Kings who rules the land.
With Morigan growing more powerful each day, the leaders of the realm soon realize that this young woman could hold the key to their destruction. Suddenly, Morigan finds herself beset by enemies, and she must master her mysterious gifts if she is to survive.
Available at Amazon and Createspace
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/8E_RVXgpqB8
About the Author:
Christian A. Brown has written creatively since the age of six. After spending most of his career in the health and fitness industry, Brown quit his job to care for his mother when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2010.
Having dabbled with the novel that would eventually become Feast of Fates for over a decade, Brown was finally able to finish the project. His mother, who was able to read a beginning version of the novel before she passed away, has since imbued the story with deeper sentiments of loss, love, and meaning. He is proud to now share the finished product with the world.
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1 comment:
Truly, we shouldn't have to fight for equality for any person for any reason, we are all equal. Unfortunately there are too many haters out there that want to feel superior by making someone else feel inferior, causing those of us that believe in equality to have to fight for it. Whether for ourselves or someone else. I appreciate your honesty and forthrightness in this blog post, proving to me that I'm not the only one that believes everyone should be treated and respected the same, regardless of any differences they may have.
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