Curiosities Curated: Regency Adaptations, The Lady Shogun, To-Read
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.
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.