Curiosities Curated: Regency Adaptations, The Lady Shogun, To-Read
Do you have anymore media to recommend?
Hi, I’m Jeannette, and this is the 25th issue of The Sex Beat, a newsletter documenting my research on sex. I recently switched up my publishing schedule – Thursday mornings instead of Monday nights (GMT+8). Don’t want to get this newsletter anymore? Go ahead and unsubscribe here.
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My amended thesis is due tomorrow! So besides my job, and all my other anxieties, that’s what’s taking up my headspace.
In the interest of preserving the little brain energy that I have left, this issue’s going to be a short one about some of the things I’m curious about. Perhaps some of them may compel me to explore further.
Bridgerton and faux-Regency romances
I have loved Jane Austen novels ever since high school. It was the kind of chick lit that had very practical happy endings and this resonated with me.
So of course, I had to read Julia Quinn’s novels. And of course, I had to watch Bridgerton. (Confession: I binge-watched two seasons at once.)
Recently, I came across a book called Scales and Sensibility. My head was going “No, just… no.” And yet, I couldn’t put it down.
Why? What is it about the Regency period that makes it so great for pop culture adaptations?
The Lady Shogun and Her Men (2010)
A friend shared a YouTube recap of this movie and I immediately felt like I had to watch it.
Japanese media is another rich source for analysis. One of the things I looked into – very, very briefly – for my thesis was the symbolism of the school girl in Japanese anime / manga.
It’s not a simple kink. (But then again, are kinks ever simple?)
On my to-read list
I always have way more books on my to-read list than I have time. After so many years of this, I’ve gotten used to the idea of having a list I will never complete. (The book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman made it even clearer that I should come to terms with “missing out”.)
But some of the sex-related books I definitely want to get round to reading are:
Choice Words: Writers on Abortion edited by Annie Finch
Beauty’s Kingdom by Anne Rice (sometimes I’m just compelled to complete a series)
Before Porn was Legal: The Erotica Empire of Beate Uhse by Elizabeth Heineman
There’s more on the stuff I’ve been reading in my Bibliographies section.
Do you have media – movies, books, podcasts, videos, blogs, articles etc – to recommend? I’m always on the lookout, so please feel free to share. Hit reply and say hey.