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Ph.D Classics. Reviews @ Reactor Magazine (ex. Tor.com) and Locus Magazine. Ireland. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hawkwing_lb Wordpress: https://lizbourke.wordpress.com Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@hawkwing_lb

Liz Bourke

And I find the, 'sure it was made up, but it is interesting!' responses really frustrating, because mostly what that adds up to is, "Yes, he's wrong, but he's wrong in a way that flatters my ideological presumptions and I'd rather not question those" and that's not a position I can respect.

These books, after all, were not philosophical thought experiments proposing *possible* societies, they were not models. They proposed that specific things *had happened* on the basis of shoddy evidence and poor argumentation. That's not interesting or useful, it's just wrong.

Big fantasy worldbuilding, excellent mystery/thriller plotting, accessible and atmospheric prose, weirdo Sherlockian vibes...: Robert Jackson Bennett's The Tainted Cup.

If sexual abuse was really considered a terrible thing, the world's richest and most powerful people wouldn't be abusers. The most valued technology wouldn't produce sexual abuse on demand. And allegations of abuse wouldn't be framed as positive depictions of masculinity. Our culture rewards abuse.