On Apr 5, 2006, at 10:46 PM, Angus MacSpon wrote:
< non relevant text removed >

But be that as it may.  On to your comments about the story.

Regarding my specific complaint in my earlier post, abortion and
morning-after treatments for rape are available in all countries with
an advanced system of medical care and even in many countries with
lesser developed health care (I did an internship in Romania a few
years ago).  I do not understand why so few fanfics involving rape
that are set in modern Japan consider this.

Your objection seems to be that Akane was raped, got pregnant, and  
didn't
have an abortion although one was likely available; therefore the  
story
is crap.  This objection is ridiculous.

Please don't distort my words.  If you read both of my postings you  
would have seen that my concern is the writer show that Japan is more  
than a name in a Ranma fanfic and is a very real non-Western  
country.  I was arguing that In a non-comedic fic of this sort the  
writer should show why Akane and her family behaved in a manner at  
odds with mainstream attitudes in Japan, a nation not known for  
rampant individualism, and if he was planning for the story to be Ra/ 
Ak then he should further show either why Ranma would marry her  
despite parental disapproval or why his parents would accept her as a  
daughter-in-law.  Recall that the Tendous and the Saotomes are more  
traditional and conservative than most Japanese families.  My  
comments were more as a preemptive warning for what the author should  
include in the story.

Consider the following:

-- There are a great many reasons why a woman might choose not to  
have an
abortion even when one is readily available.  Personal beliefs or
preferences, or family pressure, are among the most obvious but far  
from
the only ones.

There is still the availability of morning after treatment.  And  
again, talking about cultural context, the onus is on the author to  
explain why a conservative Japanese family would have a daughter give  
birth to an illegitimate child, bringing shame on the family.

-- The fact that Japanese society as a whole might be flexibly  
inclined
toward the issue does not mean than any given individual will be thus
inclined.  An individual is not the society.

Bear in mind that the matter of the rape, and the issue therefrom, was
raised in the very last paragraphs of the chapter.  The author  
might have
strong and valid story reasons why Akane's had the baby.  We don't  
know,
because the story hasn't got that far.  Judging from the amount of  
shit
it's had shovelled on it, there's a good chance that the author  
will be
disinclined to try any further.

Or the author can consider if the reasons given for lack of  
enthusiastic response have merit and rewrite the story to address  
valid criticisms.  Shouldn't authors who post on the FFML anticipate  
criticism?  In any event, I've seen harsher book reviews in the press  
and in teacher comments on student papers.  Again I point out that my  
remarks were addressed to the author not as a criticism of that  
specific chapter, but as expressing concern for a recognition of  
Japanese culture as an integral part of the backdrop in series set in  
Japan, an element that I feel is too often overlooked by many anime  
fanfic writers.  IIRC, the early attempts by some now well regarded  
fanfic authors were received with much criticism.

The story does indeed have problems, language and otherwise.  But  
from the
evidence given thus far, lambasting it because Akane hasn't done  
what you'd
prefer her to have done is premature at best.

Once more to restate, my concern is that the story would not place  
the character's actions within the framework of Japanese culture and  
society, including the fact that morning after treatments and  
abortion are available and common.  Nowhere did I say that that is  
what she should have done, only that the author should try to show  
reasoning that would be used in Japan.

BTW, apart from two stories, "Kuno Got Lucky" by Gregg Sharp and   
"Lost" by Gary Kleppe, I don't recall seeing any other Ranma fics  
involving rape and pregnancy where the fetus was aborted (in "Lost"  
it was to have been aborted but it was miscarried before that  
happened).  There may be a few others, but overall I find this to be  
an odd statistic for stories set in a nation where abortion is common  
for teenage pregnancies.

- whimsy




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