The Faceless Woman

[dragonyphoenix]

For my writing class we are reviewing each other's stories. One I'm reading has a very minor character, a waitress, who allows her customers to put her payment into her cleavage. I have so very many problems with this, but it did draw my attention to something interesting.

When I see this woman, I see a voluptuous woman – that is, a woman with big tits – wearing a bright, low-cut dress, with dark curvaceous hair (she's Latina), and absolutely no face. She's like something out of a science fiction movie with a pale blankness where her face should be.

Because she has no personality, I didn't fill in a face for her.

Comments

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I think this is the first time I've noticed it. We didn't have enough time during class to discuss this guy's story. Three of us (women) got only a chance to start touching on the treatment of women in his story - which seemed sexist to us although he was writing about the fourties which did have different mores.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Then I'm really glad I'm living now.

Part of my problem with this story is the guy comes off as if he approves. It's subtle things. OK, so perhaps the leaving money in her tits is true to that time/place, but if say Raymond Chandler had written it, you'd know that the woman was pissed off about it (if only because almost everyone has a chip on their shoulders in his novels). She'd still have a personality.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Actually this guy's women aren't sexist so much as mere sex objects, of interst to the men but with no opinions (interesting or otherwise) to call their own.

Icky icky icky!

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

I was less than pleased, she said in an understated manner. I think he had no idea that he was doing it.

That's the second story by a man that I've betad, and the second story by a man that treated women as second class citizens. The other wasn't as bad as this one though; his wife had looked it over before he gave it to the writing club.