Fiction_L Archives Pejorative terms Dates: 12/16/99,11:00 AM  through  12/17/99,3:14 PM  (5 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2009-current     2007-2008     1996-2006    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to December 1999 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Deborah T. Walsh" <dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 11:00 AM

Real British mystery fans don't find them *prissy* and
find this term pejorative.
It seems to me that we all need to remember that the
words we use to describe the books we like as well as
the books we don't like are subject to interpretation,
and often travel with a lot of baggage. I love
historical romance novels and would never think to call
them bodice rippers. All genres and sub-genres have
their detractors, and using negative words to describe
the books can seem disrespectful to the people who do
like them. The corollary to "never apologize" might
need to be "never belittle."

Debbie Walsh
Geneva Public Library District
Geneva, IL
dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us

FROM: "Ridgefield Library Fiction Room" <rdgnovel@biblio.org>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 1:17 PM

One and all -- I am sorry to have been so flippant. I did not mean to be
pejorative in my comments on bodice rippers, and I fully agree with all the
comments on historical romance and science fiction labels. I was being
ironic in my own use of the phrase. I was just struck by the formulation
Marla used (bodice busters rather than the rippers I have more often heard),
and in the context of the outlandish covers this material sometimes has, I
couldn't help visualizing some promotional hack at a publisher
differentiating rippers from busters in terms of artwork...

Mary

10:58 AM 12/16/1999 -0600, you wrote:
>
>Real British mystery fans don't find them *prissy* and
>find this term pejorative.
>It seems to me that we all need to remember that the
>words we use to describe the books we like as well as
>the books we don't like are subject to interpretation,
>and often travel with a lot of baggage. I love
>historical romance novels and would never think to call
>them bodice rippers. All genres and sub-genres have
>their detractors, and using negative words to describe
>the books can seem disrespectful to the people who do
>like them. The corollary to "never apologize" might
>need to be "never belittle."
>
>Debbie Walsh
>Geneva Public Library District
>Geneva, IL
>dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us
>
>
>
Mary Rindfleisch
Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
Ridgefield Library
Ridgefield, CT
rdgnovel@biblio.org

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 3:37 PM

I learned a new word. Never heard "pejorative" before. Jeanne

-----Original Message-----
From: Ridgefield Library Fiction Room <rdgnovel@biblio.org>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Date: Thursday, December 16, 1999 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: Pejorative terms


>One and all -- I am sorry to have been so flippant. I did not mean to be
>pejorative in my comments on bodice rippers, and I fully agree with all the
>comments on historical romance and science fiction labels. I was being
>ironic in my own use of the phrase. I was just struck by the formulation
>Marla used (bodice busters rather than the rippers I have more often
heard),
>and in the context of the outlandish covers this material sometimes has, I
>couldn't help visualizing some promotional hack at a publisher
>differentiating rippers from busters in terms of artwork...
>
>Mary
>
>10:58 AM 12/16/1999 -0600, you wrote:
>>
>>Real British mystery fans don't find them *prissy* and
>>find this term pejorative.
>>It seems to me that we all need to remember that the
>>words we use to describe the books we like as well as
>>the books we don't like are subject to interpretation,
>>and often travel with a lot of baggage. I love
>>historical romance novels and would never think to call
>>them bodice rippers. All genres and sub-genres have
>>their detractors, and using negative words to describe
>>the books can seem disrespectful to the people who do
>>like them. The corollary to "never apologize" might
>>need to be "never belittle."
>>
>>Debbie Walsh
>>Geneva Public Library District
>>Geneva, IL
>>dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us
>>
>>
>>
>Mary Rindfleisch
>Adult Services/Reader's Advisory Librarian
>Ridgefield Library
>Ridgefield, CT
>rdgnovel@biblio.org
>
>

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/17/99, 12:05 PM

Your point is well-taken, Debbie. The difference is that I intended
"prissy" to be negative, but people who use "sci-fi" and
"bodice-rippers" usually think they're just descriptive, not negative.

I would now be interested to know what negative terms real British
mystery readers use for the American "hard-boiled dick" and
"hard-boild chick" mystery subgenres, unless they read them with
equal pleasure.

Mary K.

>Real British mystery fans don't find them *prissy* and
>find this term pejorative.
>It seems to me that we all need to remember that the
>words we use to describe the books we like as well as
>the books we don't like are subject to interpretation,
>and often travel with a lot of baggage. I love
>historical romance novels and would never think to call
>them bodice rippers. All genres and sub-genres have
>their detractors, and using negative words to describe
>the books can seem disrespectful to the people who do
>like them. The corollary to "never apologize" might
>need to be "never belittle."
>
>Debbie Walsh
>Geneva Public Library District
>Geneva, IL
>dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us


**********************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Associate Professor

Work: Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
254 Rosenthal Library
Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Fllushing, NY 11367
Phone: 718/997-3667 direct/voice
718/997-3790 office
718/997-3797 fax

Home: 35 Mercury Ave.
East Patchogue, NY 11772
Phone: 516/286-4255 or 516/776-2166

nb Suffolk County's 516 prefix was supposed to have changed to
631 on 11/1/99 but when it actually goes into effect is still a
mystery.

*********************************************************************

FROM: "Jocelyn Bach" <jbach@wclc.org>
REC'D: 12/17/99, 3:14 PM

One of my acquaintances sometimes says, "My favorite F word is 'fortuitous' ".

-Jocelyn Bach

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
>Academics love it. Unfortunately, I have succumbed. Also like
>"obsequious" and "ubiquitous" a lot.
>
>Mary K.
>
>>I learned a new word. Never heard "pejorative" before. Jeanne
>>
>

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