Saturday, June 23, 2007

Were-clams and other we(i)r(e)d possibilities


Were-creatures are popular in romance at the moment. Although it's gone now, some months ago Loose Id had a section dedicated to them on their home page:
Fangs, furs, or pretty fish tails. Whether wolves, stags, or octopi, shapeshifters frighten and fascinate with their Jekyll & Hyde, Beauty & Beast, implications. And really, what’s sexier than animalistic mating urges? Hear the grunts, growls, and Alpha wolf howls.
But there's also been some discussion lately about how far the trend for were-creatures in romance can go. Annie Dean commented over at Romancing the Blog that:
I think it helps going forward when you take into account what worked, overwhelmingly, for your audience and what didn’t. This is based on consensus, of course. If everyone who reads the book says, “I really liked it, except the fact that the hero was a were-clam” then why wouldn’t an author make a note of that? What’s the point of writing a whole series about were-clams if NOBODY likes it?
But why wouldn't readers want to read about were-clams? The answer probably seems obvious: were-clams would not be sexy. And why not? Well, I suspect because
(a) on a practical, physical level their equipment isn't the stuff of sexual fantasies. And not just that sort of equipment: unlike the 'Cephalopods (squid and octopi) [which] have large brains and are capable of sophisticated movements and learning', 'Molluscs (slugs, snails, clams, squid and octopi) have ganglia--collections of axons--associated with the mouth, foot, and gut' (from here)

(b) clams aren't creatures that we imagine as having an exciting life (one description of molluscs that I found online speculated 'did ancestral molluscs abandon a more active life style for a sedentary existence (like the clam)'? Hmm. So, not only do these creatures lack a brain, they've also got a sedentary lifestyle. Clearly not hero material.

(c) they just don't look right. How virile does that clam look to you? And that's a giant clam: the smaller ones are, well, often quite a lot smaller.

and

(d) unlike werewolves and various species of werecats, they're not part of our existing mythologies. At least, not as far as I'm aware.
Smart Bitch Candy has suggested were-ducks and were-slugs. They've got very interesting equipment and some exciting mating practices (click here to see the BBC video of mating leopard slugs, or, if that doesn't work, here's the same video at YouTube- it's really quite beautiful, in a strange sort of way). Nonetheless, ducks and slugs probably aren't considered the most lovely of creatures and they don't project an aura of power or danger.

A rhinoceros is more threatening when angered, but even so I had my doubts about a were-rhino hero and try as he might, the hero of Cassandra Curtis' free online erotic romance Stroke It couldn't convince me of his sexiness.

Mrs Giggles raised the issue of were-dragons. They've been gaining in popularity but
What is it with dragons that can be considered romantic, edgy, or sexy? I don't get it. Dragons in Chinese and Indonesian mythology are long serpentine creatures with sly faces. Dragons in European mythology usually end up dead at the hands of knights or are depicted as savage devourers of innocent maidens. How did we go from there to sexy?
It's true. Dragons may have the equipment and the exciting lifestyle, but they've almost always been the villains in mythology. Maybe that's the draw for some authors. Can you get a darker or more tormented or more in-need-of-redemption hero than a cold-blooded killer with a penchant for virgins? However, Jo Beverley observes that
Dragons seem to be another “monster” that’s been tamed by the modern imagination. I think they were once universally harmful and feared in European culture (anyone know differently?), but now they’re often large, flying horses, or warships, or amiable – even heroic shape shifters. In romance in particular, we’ve domesticated vampires and werewolves, and we’re working on demons now. What is it in our modern age that wants to tame everything? Are there any imaginary monsters left that really scare us?
Of course, quite how far the dragons are 'tamed' does depend on a given author's worldbuilding. Shana Abé's Smoke Thief, featuring a drákon hero and half-drákon heroine, enjoyed great success and received many extremely positive reviews (including this one). One that was less than favourable was written by Lynn Spencer, who disliked the fact that the hero decides:
to force her [the heroine] by using the frankly brutal laws of the dra'kon. It is at this point that the book becomes dark as Kit uses all forms of coercion, deceit, and false bargaining to gain his bride. [...] Those with a higher tolerance for super-Alpha males may enjoy this tale.
So, dragons are in but their earth-bound near relatives may not be. Mary Jo Putney was discussing her latest novella which was appearing in a dragon-themed anthology
and mentioned that Dragon Lovers would be out soon. The habitué was pleased. I mentioned that a dragon was really just a serpent with legs and she said, “EEEUUUWWWW, don’t go there!” It’s amazing what a difference legs make.
It can't just be the lack of legs, though. Mermaids may not have legs but they don't lack sexual allure. Maybe it's that snakes are a frightening and very real creature, unlike dragons. Snakes do appear frequently in mythology. So maybe it's only a matter of time before we get a were-snake in a romance. Maybe one already exists.

Pictures are of the giant clam (Tridacna gigas), from Wikipedia, and a woodcut of a rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer (1515), also from Wikipedia.

23 comments:

  1. Laura, one of my favorite pictures hanging in my office is a copy of a painting done in 1900 by J.R. Weguelin titled "The Mermaid of Zennor." You can see a copy here: http://tinyurl.com/ypadur

    I love how the young man is so astonished that he's clasping his hands to his mouth, and his dropped books are tumbling down the stairs at his feet.

    I know there've been merman heroes, but I have to agree with you about mer-clams--just not sexy! *g*

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  2. He does look astonished, which is how I'd feel if I saw a mermaid.

    I realise that yet again I was thinking primarily of were-heroes (a while ago I discussed alpha heroes and paranormals here and I quoted something you'd said, Sherrie, at the Word Wenches blog).

    Although I did mention mermaids and a were-dragon heroine and I know there are a fair number of other were-heroines, would it be fair to say that in pairs where only one is were (at least initially) it's more common for the were-person to be the hero?

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  3. I'm not sure we'll ever get sexy non-mamalian were-animals -- at least sexy enough for the majority of the populace.
    Most "Sexy" weres are mamals, and mermaids aren't really "weres" anyway, but have enough female anatomy to count -- especially the correct anatomy if you think about it.
    And, dolphins are mamals. Perhaps mermaids are really related to dolphins.
    JuliB

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  4. I think you're right about the most popular were-creatures being mammals. That makes sense from the point of view of them being fairly intelligent. There also seems to be a preference for predators (i.e. no were-cattle or were-sheep as far as I know, but lots of were-wolves and were-panthers/lions/tigers). But the dragons aren't mammals (I suppose they'd be a species of reptile if they were real?).

    And you're right, mermaids are not were-creatures if they always keep the same appearance. I've always wondered about the having 'enough female anatomy to count' part, because although they have breasts (which is a mammalian feature, not a fishy one) it's never been very clear what they have below the waist, other than a tail.

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  5. Hi Laura,

    When I wrote that mermaids have enough of the correct anatomy to count, I just meant they had breasts and therefore could count possibly as mammals, if they gave live births, etc. (Unless of course mermaids are related to platypuses.)

    But in the light of day I see the error in my logic. There must be more to it than merely being mammalian, since a rhino would count under that, and I do not think of them as sexy. (Disclaimer, I have not yet read the work cited and could be convinced otherwise. But I'm doubtful.) Maybe they do need to be predators as well. Mermaids did have the lure of danger to sailors.

    I also have to say I'm doubtful I'll find were-dragons sexy, since I'm already prejudiced by "American Dragon: Jake Long."

    Finally, by the light of day, I see I spelled my own name wrong. (sigh)

    JulieB

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  6. WERE-RHINOS, LOL!! I just love it--and have been loving this blog, thanks so much. No doubt it has long ago been proposed that the appeal of different were-animals and vampires is that the males can get away with Alpha behavior that many readers will no longer accept from their human counterparts, making their capitulation to the female far more exaggerated, drawn-out, and ultimately satisfying.

    But if that v. taming is the Name of the Game, there has to be a reason to go through the trouble. I really think this is part nature, part nurture, and who knows, maybe there is a culture out there where rhinos figure prominently as sexy objects of mystery. But I have to wonder...

    I've been sorry to see that authors no longer seem to wish to go to the trouble of bringing that same extended taming/courtship to plain ol'men and women plots--why waste all this great stuff on dragons? Do authors actually understand what readers are looking for here, beyond the fantasy factor?

    I live in hope. What do you all think?
    andrea

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  7. Well, I think readers sometimes want the fantasy of taming the alpha, so the more alpha, the better the fantasy. And what's better than taming an alpha who isn't even really fully human, whose more alpha than the most alpha of humans? The alpha dragon, wolf, lion, whatever--the most alpha of predators. While some readers are sick of this, it's apparent that most aren't. Most love it, and it's therefore what's written.

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  8. Maybe they do need to be predators as well. Mermaids did have the lure of danger to sailors.

    That's a good point about the mermaids, and it strikes me that maybe the dangerous woman/temptress/femme fatale/belle dame sans merci is more attractive to (some) men, whereas, because the romance genre is still primarily 'by (heterosexual?) women, for (heterosexual?) women' (with exceptions, of course), then perhaps it's more likely to have the focus on making the hero seem desirable/a challenge. It's not that femmes fatales don't ever turn up in romance, but they're rare and it seems that most readers want a heroine to be nice, whereas they find 'bad boys' a turn on (again, there are lots of exceptions, but that's the impression I've got from what I've read on discussion boards).

    No doubt it has long ago been proposed that the appeal of different were-animals and vampires is that the males can get away with Alpha behavior that many readers will no longer accept from their human counterparts

    Yes, I definitely think the appeal of were-creatures, vampires and other paranormal beings is often (though not always) that they can be extreme alphas. I posted about that a while ago here but I'm glad to get further confirmation from people who like alpha heroes and know more than I do about paranormal romance.

    I have to admit that my personal preferences in romance reading aren't for alpha heroes or paranormals, so when I write about those topics I'm even more open than usual to correction from people with more knowledge than I have. I'm glad Sarah's chimed in here, because she's probably the one of us (i.e. bloggers at Teach Me Tonight) who's most into the 'taming of the alpha' type romance, and she's been reading more male/male romances, because, as she puts it, you get 'two for the price of one'.

    I've been sorry to see that authors no longer seem to wish to go to the trouble of bringing that same extended taming/courtship to plain ol'men and women plots--why waste all this great stuff on dragons? Do authors actually understand what readers are looking for here, beyond the fantasy factor?

    I suppose it depends on which level of fantasy you're talking about (e.g. is it sexual fantasy and/or fantastical settings and magical characters), and how much distance is being placed between the reader's fantasy and their reality.

    There are also lots of different readers, with differing tastes and boredom thresholds, and trends seem to come and go, so I'd imagine it's difficult for authors to know 'what readers are looking for'. And, of course, some authors are more able to write to a trend/with the readers in mind, whereas some can only write 'books of their hearts' and/or couldn't do as well if they tried to write in a different sub-genre. I think it must be hard for them, because some readers are looking for something 'fresh' and 'new' whereas others are upset because their favourite themes/sub-genres are now out of fashion.

    I do have to wonder if some of the more bizarre were-creatures are thought up in a deliberate attempt to create something 'fresh', but I'm sure others are the result of a spontaneous, innovative idea. I still don't think were-clams are going to be the next big thing. ;-)

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  9. I might suggest a slightly different pespecitve here--which also takes into account the insight that mermaids still hint at female anatomy. The were-clam by contrast, for example, disrupts the visual field (and our stereotypes aboutanatomy) and so leaves us with sexual uncertainty--we do not know where we are in other words in relation to the were-clam (as the example). This disruption of the visual field undermines desire and so is experiened as "ugly."

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  10. We're in synch. I just commented on the alpha/male animal pattern yesterday, and it's something that's been bothering me lately as I'm exploring paranormal romance.

    In Christine Feehan's Carpathian books, vampirism serves the same role; furthermore, her vampires are all male, and they typically force their mates into a dangerous and unbreakable bond without the woman's consent. They're not only alpha, they're older, more knowledgeable, and their decisions are shrouded in mysteries and ceremonies that the human woman can't penetrate or alter. It's distinctly a cult of male knowledge and power. Not that it's necessarily unattractive, but the message is verra verra strong.

    Lora Leigh's Breeds series is about human/animal hybrids rather than were-critters, but the same principle applies: the animal genes justify an alpha personality--but only in men. Of a 13-book series so far, 10 involve a Breed male and human woman, and the relationships are clearly male=alpha, female=protectee. Almost all of the Breeds are large cats and wolves, though IIRC in one book there's a rumor of bird Breeds.

    The book I reviewed yesterday features a Breed woman and human man. We're told the Breed woman is a vicious killer, in keeping with her Breed heritage. But throughout the book her animal nature is portrayed as "cute" (in so many words) and surprisingly submissive. It's unclear whether she's not the toughie that everyone thought, or whether finding her mate (hormone surge; giving in to her femininity) created an enormous change in her.

    I was disappointed that it fell into the expected gender roles, as it seemed to conflict with the Breed woman's backstory and with the Breed characteristics that Leigh built up in previous books. However, I'm sure many of Leigh's readers prefer the relationships exactly as she wrote them.

    The widest variety of were-species seems to occur in horror with romance themes. The Laurell K Hamilton books feature attractive, powerful men with animal forms or parts. In the Merry Gentry books, one character's canine form is attractively "wild" but the possibility of having puppies drives women away. Another character's tentacles clearly represent a transgressive mode of sexuality, rather than mainstream attractiveness.

    Keri Arthur's books feature a wide variety of true weres. Were-reptiles and -octopi are portrayed as evil, killers, bred in labs, a crime against nature to the extent that they physically smell of decay. OTOH, a horse-shifter is prized for being... yknow... hung like a horse.

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  11. the insight that mermaids still hint at female anatomy. The were-clam by contrast, for example, disrupts the visual field (and our stereotypes about anatomy) and so leaves us with sexual uncertainty

    It's true that clams are sexually ambiguous: 'Giant clams are protandric hermaphrodites: they mature first as males in two to three years, then develop gonads with both sperm and egg releasing components' (University of Hawaii), but I'm not sure what you mean by 'disrupting the visual field'. Do you mean that they're not immediately identifiable as either male or female by secondary sexual characteristics?

    Thing is, I tried to find photos of wolves and the most obvious difference between male and female wolves seemed to be size, so I suspect if I came across a lone wolf I wouldn't know what sex it was (unless it rolled over to let me inspect it more closely). Lions are much easier to tell apart, because of the mane on the male lions.

    Thanks for that confirmation, RfP, of what I was thinking about masculinity and were-animals (and the bit about male vampires, too).

    You also mentioned birds, and I was wondering about them, because it seems that the most popular were-animals are also among the most popular in heraldry (lion, leopard, wolf). So I wondered why there weren't more were-eagles or were-ravens. Lots of human heroes have eagle or raven as part of their surname, and eagles in particular have been popular in heraldry.

    I think it does come down to a variety of different factors, with physical, sexual characteristics playing an important part as well as symbolism/mythology.

    Keri Arthur's books feature a wide variety of true weres. Were-reptiles and -octopi are portrayed as evil, killers, bred in labs, a crime against nature to the extent that they physically smell of decay.

    That made me think of Leviticus 11.10-11:

    all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you. They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

    But, of course, Leviticus also includes eagles and ravens as an abomination and says that 'whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you' (11: 27), so the evil were-octopus has probably got nothing to do with that and more to do with the slime (or perceived slime) factor. And I'd imagine that being literally cold-blooded has its metaphorical overtones for were-reptiles. Dragons can maybe get over that because although they're cold-blooded they're obviously hot when they want to be.

    In the Merry Gentry books, one character's canine form is attractively "wild" but the possibility of having puppies drives women away.

    Most puppies are much smaller than human babies, so from a practical point of view that could be quite convenient. In one of Diana Wynne Jones's books (maybe Howl's Moving Castle or its sequel, Castle in the Air) there's a secondary female character who's turned into a cat. She was pregnant at the time, so when she gives birth, still in cat form, she produces a kitten, with relatively little difficulty. In that respect other mammals seem to have a big advantage over humans.

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  12. Greetings, all! Just fyi, there is a Lora Leigh book involving bird-like characters, but it was published (if I remember correctly) by another e-Publisher, not Ellora. It is not a "breed" story, though I do wonder if she wrote this to test out the waters, so to speak, after making the reference to telepathic bird Breeds at the end of one of Breed novels.

    The characters are ranked by their connection to eagles, crows, etc., and the bird-like attributes are mainly wings, and the tendency to make nests. I've just moved or I would dig it out of my library for the title, sorry!
    andrea

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  13. Thanks, Andrea.

    the bird-like attributes are mainly wings, and the tendency to make nests

    I'm not so sure I like the sound of living in a nest, but I can see how wings would work well and have a link to pre-existing mythologies/beliefs, because of Icarus, various winged deities (including Horus), and, of course, angels. The ranking of birds is something that happened with falconry, so again, there's a precedent for it:

    In 1486, Dame Juliana Barnes published "The Boke Of Saint Albans", which described all aspects of falconry in the middle ages, including setting out the rigid rules of "Social Rank and Appropriate Bird:

    Emperor: Golden Eagle, Vulture, Merlin
    King: Gyrfalcon
    Prince: Female Peregrine
    Duke: Rock Falcon (subspecies of the Peregrine)
    Earl: Peregrine
    Baron: Buzzard
    Knight: Saker
    Squire: Lanner Falcon
    Lady: Female Merlin
    Youngman: Hobby
    Yeoman: Goshawk
    Poor Gentleman: Male Goshawk
    Priest: Sparrowhawk
    Holywater clerk: Male Sparrowhawk
    Knaves, Servants, Children: Old World Kestrel
    (from the BBC)

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  14. Greetings again--I found the Lora Leigh bird book:

    BROKEN WINGS
    by Lora Leigh

    Publisher: Cerridwen Press
    Published: March 2006

    Apologies for not having this information before. As I recall, it presents the males v. much in the Alpha role, females definitely submissive, per Leigh's usual style.
    andrea

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  15. Thanks for the info, Andrea.

    And I realise that when I said 'I'm not so sure I like the sound of living in a nest', it might have been interpreted as meaning that I wouldn't like to read about characters who live in nests. What I meant to say was that I myself wouldn't like to live in a nest ;-)

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  16. Mmm. I could definitely see a way to make a were-clam sexy for an erotica reader. Doing it for a romance reader might be a tad more difficult, because of the problem in depicting the clam form as having any sort of intelligence or personality (though I can see a way round that). Coming up for a plausible reason for the existence of a were-clam could be the interesting bit. :-)

    When I wrote a short about a merman some years ago, I decided that the bottom half was dolphin rather than fish, in part going from the theory that the classical mermaid was wishful thinking about manatees on the part of sailors. So marine mammal rather than fish. To get the dangly bits right, I went Googling for webpages about dolphin sex, which is something I don't recommend doing anywhere where you have reason to worry about whose looking over your shoulder...

    That research came in handy last year when I wrote a dolphin shapeshifter romance, although I did do more research, and found that what's out there now is even more eyebrow-raising. I didn't actually put in all of the alpha male stuff, because I suspect that a lot of readers would find it off-putting in cute smiling dolphins, even if they'd lap it up in wolf guys. I did use some of the cute stuff like the prehensile penises, though. :-)

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  17. I could definitely see a way to make a were-clam sexy for an erotica reader. Doing it for a romance reader might be a tad more difficult, because of the problem in depicting the clam form as having any sort of intelligence or personality (though I can see a way round that). Coming up for a plausible reason for the existence of a were-clam could be the interesting bit. :-)

    So clams as a new form of sex-toy? And I suppose if they had a collective brain, like the borg, then the protagonist could have sex with multiple clams and all of them would enjoy it very much. Giant clams can't move, once they've clamped themselves on: 'The giant clam gets only one chance to find a nice home. Once it fastens itself to a spot on a reef, there it sits for the rest of its life' (National Geographic), but I suppose that wouldn't be such a problem if they had some kind of mind-merge. So bisexual mind-merged clams and a gay hero, perhaps? ;-) I think I'll have to drop the 'were' bit, because changing from human form to mind-merged clams spread all over the sea could be very tricky.

    I didn't actually put in all of the alpha male stuff, because I suspect that a lot of readers would find it off-putting in cute smiling dolphins, even if they'd lap it up in wolf guys.

    Yes, and I've heard about dolphins killing porpoises for no apparent reason. Not nice, smiley stuff.

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  18. But shapeshifting into a bipedal form is how these clams get around...

    No. Go away. I do *not* need a story idea like that.

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  19. I do *not* need a story idea like that.

    I'm sure you don't! ;-) I suspect there wouldn't be many editors who would buy it.

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  20. So clams as a new form of sex-toy?

    Oh dear. I take it you've never seen a geoduck clam? (Pronounced gooey-duck)

    > Photo <

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  21. Oerk! [strange noise as Laura's eyes pop out and have to be put back in] OK. There are most definitely sex toy possibilities with a geoduck clam. Even the pronunciation is suggestive.

    I went over to Wikipedia to find out more and apparently 'It has a life expectancy of about 146 years, with the oldest recorded at over 160 years'. That's a nice long HEA too.

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  22. Good point about the HEA. I often think about life expectancy when I read historical romances with protagonists in their 30s-40s. Hmm, I'm talking myself into were-clam romance. Jules Jones, are you still here? I think there's a market after all....

    Were-partners must have interesting bed talk. "Honey, I need some deep 'duck tonight.... Could you shift?"

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  23. Sort of still here. I'm at a science fiction con this weekend. The "alien sex" panel is always good for story ideas...

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