Sex - Culture Failure

It seems to me, attitudes towards sex reflect the chasms which separate different individuals and different groups of people today. Sexual behaviour often reflects culture failure--the failure of one generation to transmit its rules, and the reasons behind those rules, to the next generation.

In the past, sex was one of those things God and the men who worked for Him tried to control, especially in women. "You may only have sex with people I approve of, and after seeking and receiving my blessing."

After many people abandoned their faith in God (usually cited as after World War I when millions of lives were sacrificed in His name), society began to question its blind faith in those leaders talking to God. In despair and feeling "lost," individuals often rebelled against the old ways. Many chose coupling/intercourse as a form of self-medication. These senses--of sex as reaction, sex as rebellion, sex as a path towards healing--are still present, although perhaps less acknowledged.

Thankfully, there seems to be less emphasis on sex as a reason to get married. You do hear fewer people saying "let's make babies." The excuses du jour seem to be "because sex is fun" and "because it feels good."

I feel as if I should be including words like "love," "communication," "pleasure" in here, but I don't want my outdated romantic notions to show. I do see somewhat less emphasis on the assumed coupling of sex and love. Sex no longer = love. Love no longer has to lead to sex. I do denounce the idea of sex as a power game. Remember that old wives' wisdom: Who's going to buy the cow if you give away the milk for free?

PS Cow/cattle imagery is important in EMBERS.

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The Fire Within 2

Writer - J.M. Bridgeman

Writer Bio: J.M. Bridgeman When I hand a copy of EMBERS to anyone who knows me, I have to resist the urge to insist: This is not about me, and you’re not in it. It is not exactly that age-old writer’s dilemma of having to wait until enough people die to be able to publish. It is more like the writer’s quest for that ideal reader, sophisticated enough to allow that imagination and creativity are the source of material which, hopefully, feels real, as if the writer actually experienced it all herself. As far as I’m concerned, the only “real” things in this story EMBER S are the places. And that itself is a clue, because for me, place, our attachment to place, is one of the most important aspects of our life here on Earth. So, here’s the short fast version of my life and you can see and judge for yourself what the intersections / crossroads are, where the story comes from. I was born in Rivers. I have always and still do love the sound of that. Born in rivers. Rivers is ...

Style (2)

Style (2) “Write like you talk” is one of my favourite writing tenets. And EMBERS opens with the protagonist, Wyn McBride, talking to herself. While driving. While negotiating a flagperson stopping her on the highway. Start and stop. Jerk. Jerk. Free association, with words, sounds, songs, and sights, as the sound echoes the sense . Although setting is primary, I do see EMBERS as a novel of character . The plot and the conflict centre upon character revelation and character development. I was also attempting to experiment a bit with point of view ( POV ). Variety of POV is one of the ways we learn more about the main character—what others say about her. For most chapters, Wyn is centre stage as narrator. Sometimes as unreliable narrator, because she is not always conscious of why she makes choices she makes. Most chapters are conversations—with Sylvain, with Lu, with Liam. Doll does dramatic monologues, which tells you something important about Doll. Some of Wyn’s Ir...

Embers - a novel by j.m. bridgeman

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