Realizing it’s not romance that I hate but overdone straight relationships with zero chemistry built on a slew of misogynistic tropes was like a huge revelation for me
I have a story about this.
My revelation regarding this was spurred by a little-known film that actually didn’t do very well in theatres at all, from the early 90s called Corina Corina.
Starring heartthrob of the time Ray Liotta, fresh off his Goodfellas fame and…..Whoopie Goldberg??? as his love interest??????
Bear with me here.
Corina Corina is the story about a man whose wife died, leaving him alone to parent his 8-9 year old daughter alone in what appears to be the late 50s-early 60s. His daughter, Molly, is non-verbal due to the trauma of her mother’s death and is dealing with feelings of isolation as a result of her mourning process. Ray Liotta’s character makes a concentrated effort to be a good dad for her, but it’s real clear that both of them are still dealing with the death of his wife. Because Ray’s character works full time, he needs to find a nanny to watch his girl and pick her up from school. After a couple of terrible experiences (one with a hilarious appearance by Joan Cusack) he decides to hire Whoopie Goldberg.
Whoopie Goldberg’s character is a college educated black woman (in the 50s!!!!) who appears to be doing domestic work because its the only work white 50s America will hire her for. She and Ray’s daughter Molly get along well because she is the first person to take Molly’s decision to be non-verbal seriously and learn an alternate way to communicate with her.
Long story short, Whoopie Goldberg and Ray Liotta fall in love and live happily ever after.
But, more importantly, the way the movie built their love changed the way I was able to process hetero couples on screen forever.
1. First, they were both provided with alternate romance options from the beginning of the movie. Ray was given an extremely attractive white lady love interest, and Whoopie was given an attractive and charming black man love interest. Both of them were given opportunities to return their affection but both pointedly chose not to.
2. They were attracted to each other based on common interest. They both liked the same music, they both bonded over their ability to play the piano, they both loved molly, they both helped encourage each other in their chosen fields (whoopie’s was english, and ray’s was being a songwriter), they both respected each other’s opinions and they both were honest with each other about the circumstances they were in.
3. They were realistic about the issue of a black woman being in a relationship with a white man in the era, and didn’t glide over racial identity issues. Ray made sure that his white neighbors knew that he loved her and didn’t care what they thought. He even explained to his mom that Molly emulating black culture wasn’t shameful and that she should mind her business about the way he felt about Whoopie Goldberg.
4. When Ray confessed his feelings, it was incredibly heartfelt and he was literally crying.
5. They didn’t pursue a romantic relationship until Whoopie wasn’t working for him anymore. And they didn’t gloss over the issue of power disparity in that equation. Ray doesn’t condescend to Whoopie at all through the movie, but once he’s aware he has feelings for her, his new goal is to let her know that he unquestionably considers her his equal both in private and in public And its clear that he’s aware that this is the first thing that must be settled before anything else.
By the time you get to the end of the movie, the entire concept of Ray Liotta being with Whoopie Goldberg seems not only normal, but exceptionally romantic and you’re left wondering why you thought they would be a gross couple to begin with when they’re sO cLeArLy MaDe fOr eAcH oThEr
I now call this the Corina Corina standard.
If a movie has a hetero couple and their relationship isn’t as fleshed out as Ray/Whoopie, I now have difficulty accepting whats occurring.
The concept that two hot straight people who are vaguely near each other just doesn’t do it for me anymore after watching Ray Liotta walk through a black neighborhood in the 50s and knock on Whoopie’s door to beg her to come home to him.
Write them to show what’s healthy. Write them to show what’s unhealthy.
Write them because problematic behaviors exists, and writing is a medium to explore and show– to teach and make the reader think. Shying away from these topics only creates ignorance.
I see so many people telling writers to avoid anything that could be problematic, like writing about it is supporting it. They fail to see the importance of writing with depth and meaning.
Writing has always been about conveying thoughts and ideas without fear of censorship. Being able to present problematic situations in a healthy way is important.
If I ever stop reblogging this topic, assume I’m either dead or have been assimilated by the mindless masses.
i rarely see more than one (1) disabled person in fiction, and at that i rarely see disabled people that don’t have on sight disabilities. ya know i just wanna see a character or two having type one diabetes, better at that, i wanna see them be in some sort of fantasy fiction.
off topic of this, but i hate the “character with x disability gets disability ‘fixed’ once in fantasy/magical land” trope, like why are people so quick to fix us? why can’t people just make living with disabilities easier in fantasy lands instead of erasing them?
like i’d love to have a tiny pocket dragon that could sense my blood sugar highs or lows, i’d also think it’d be cool that a wizard could give me a potion that lets me eat cake or pizza or pasta without dying.
I think a lot of the time, abled writers are under the impression that they’re doing disabled people a “favour” by providing escapism from what they consider to be awful lives. The thing is though, when you’ve got a disability you tend to be quite good at finding ways around it, and honestly? Can you imagine how wild that would get in a High Fantasy? It’d be fantastic. Consider:
Pocket service-dragons like OP said, trained to monitor vitals and blood sugar. They’re good at helping people with cardiovascular-type problems, epilepsy, diabetes and asthma. All the dragons require in return is permission to hoard pocket lint in caches around the home.
A different, slightly larger breed of dragon will sit on the shoulders of those who are Deaf and/or blind. They’re probably about the size of a crow. These ones act as guides and signed language interpreters, and are able to communicate in more code (or a fantasy equivalent) by tapping with their claws. Plus, they’ll breathe fire at anyone who is being an ableist piece of shit.
Fantasy hearing aids that are part magic, part tech. They mould around the ear in whatever shape the wearer wishes (bonus if they look like serpents or vines with a silver sheen) and, if not being used, can coil around a wrist or finger. (Do you have any idea how many times I’ve almost lost my aids bc they fall out of pockets or get misplaced??)
If the wizarding world of JK Rowling gets wingardium leviosa, then fantasy can totally have magically enchanted supports – walking frames, crutches etc – that come to the person’s aid when needed. Also, levitating charms? Clothing that supports the wearer so that a lower-limb amputee can whisk around places? Just think about Doctor Strange’s magical cape.
And then, after all that, your fantasy world can literally just have the same aids as ours. There are many, many creative options and every single one of them are preferable to being erased from the world of fiction.
*sigh* I’ve already made an addition but this idea is SO under-explored. So please also consider:
The literally limitless possibilities for prosthesis, including having a character stand on their flying prosthetic foot in order to fly/levitate, prosthesis that remains awake while they sleep and can defend them in the night, prosthesis that looks completely real but is just packed with compartments, prosthesis that functions precisely like a real limb and is directed normally by the brain, invisible prosthesis, magnetized steampunk prosthesis, limb prosthesis that is basically a floating hand/foot with the limb between missing- like, can’t be touched missing,
A full menagerie of mythical beasts that can serve as service animals, up to and including keeping the soul in the body while waiting for healers to arrive so that the heart can be re-started much longer after it has stopped beating. Some mythical birds were said to steal nightmares and fly away with them as well.
Horse-sized intelligent dragons used as mobility aids
Chariot/chair/wheelchair mobility aids that levitate and/or move quickly
Emergency communication devices that will alert the other holders of a crisis with location and specifics even when you’re is unconscious, such as with epilepsy or passing out from low blood sugar
Hearing aids/glasses that not only aide impaired hearing/vision, but also allow the user to hear/see in other specified places in the world
Magical devices that stimulate dead nerves in cases where a limb goes dead, reducing the need for amputation
Similar magical devices that straight-up reanimate dead limbs, so that you can leave your arm lying around and still use it when you walk away (so much plot opportunity, SO much)
Magical capsules you can swallow that give you lots of healthy energy, which can be used for various disorders that lead to fatigue but can also be used as a first aide to aide healing of wounds/illness
Pill cases that remember what you need to take and what you’ve actually taken and WILL get in your face if you’ve forgotten
Capsules or spells for cleanliness that reduces the need to bathe for those for whom it’s difficult
House plants that release chemicals your brain SHOULD be producing so that you breathe it in- possibly in conjunction with medication that helps to regulate so you don’t overdose on serotonin what you’re trying to sleep
Plants you can eat that will literally replace your compromised immune system
A ritual that will take a magical 3D photograph of your current physical condition, and, if you’ve taken one, you can use this complicated spell to have your physical body go back and become exactly what it was at that point- like a computer backup.
Many, many options for spells, healing herbs and rituals that will ease chronic pain
I think ya’ll mentioned why abled writers ”fix” disabilities. Magic. Why give you a magical hearing aid when they could just magically fix your hearing? It’s magic, there’s no limit to it. I see what you’re all saying and it does sound cool af, but I’m just saying. If any of ya’ll write a story with what you’ve been saying tho, I’d love to read it.
But we’re asking these writers why they wanna “fix” us when magic is right there with so many more options, why “fix” us when there are so many things you can do for us with this magic? Like left and right we see ourselves portrayed as “wrong” or “flawed” and it reasonably irks us that people believe we need to even be “fixed” in the first place.
I obviously don’t speak on behalf of all people like me, but I don’t want some magic trick to fix a characters pancreas if they have type one diabetes, I want to see them be able to live a better quality of life. An easier one. That’s it! I don’t want to see them be fixed and turned “normal”, make their life easier than it is whether it be with magic potions for carb intakes or pocket-service dragons, and whatever else! Just don’t erase us.
It’s a matter of including us vs eliminating us.
A fantasy or science fiction world where disabled people don’t exist is the ideal world of people who advocate for eugenics, for our deaths because we’re broken and not human enough. That is a horror story.
If you want to give disabled readers escapism: write it without the ableism, not the disabled. Write it so every disabled character gets the accessibility devices the medication the prosthetics the accommodations they need. Not magically removing the disability.
I don’t want escapism from my disability I want escapism from ablism.
this goes back to the whole notion of disability justice, which is that people aren’t disabled by their bodies; they’re disabled by an ableist society.
because if someone in a wheelchair, for example, had access to every building and every vehicle, could navigate their way around a city or park or campsite or beach like an able bodied person, had all their basic needs met, had the same opportunities for employment and freedom of movement and housing as an able bodied person…would they be “disabled”? Or would their body just be different, but no less restrictive than anyone else’s?
and that can be the “escapism” in a fantasy setting. accessible fantasy worlds, where all bodies are different and all bodies are good.
This is something that happens every day in your life. A shift of your eyebrow in skepticism, or the way your lip may twitch to a half smile cause you’re trying not to laugh. These behaviors are vital for writing in character, because not only do the allow you to visually see what is happening but it is also reaffirming whatever emotion your character is showing.
So why should you write it?
Much of human communication is non-verbal which means you need to also translate this non-verbal reaction in a post. It allows you to greatly enhance the emotions of another character and always another person to ‘visually’ see how they feel in a post. Most of all, this will add depth and volume to your post to make it feel more real. IT will make your character feel like a human instead of just another fictional person you look at from above.
Below you will find a list different type of emotions and what sort of body language can be exhibited to them.
Three ways to accent an action.
When writing about emotions, there are different ways to verbally write them out. Each one is unique in their own way, allowing you to show more about the emotion.
Emphasize the Emotion.
But doing this, you are expressing both the emotion and the body language. We’ll use a simple example. It’s short and simple yet you can sense he is happy.
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall.
Complicate the Emotion.
Sometimes, even when you are feeling one emotion, deep down rooted underneath the facade of it all, there is actually an underlining emotion they feel. This is something you have to truly express otherwise no one will know.
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. However, it was obvious by the way his nose crinkled that he was disgusted by the actions beforehand. Instead, John covered it up by appearing pleased today.
Contradict the Emotion.
This is a little different than complicate. Contradicting means that you are claiming one thing when in fact its the other. In many ways, this has a variety of uses, from inner depth of the truth to what you see in person, or someone creating a wall. It could be considered a lie, but when is anything that easy?
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. In truth, once he was in the classroom, his shoulders slumped and a pout crossed his lips when no one was around, showing just how displeased he was with the situation.
Remember that you do not always have to contradict or complicate anything. Sometimes all you need to do is emphasize and that will be just fine. You don’t always have to have an underlining complicated for an emotion to make it more enhanced.
Do be afraid to use the Thesaurus to also improve an emotion. Such things as “happy” is a nice emotional word, but think of how much more powerful it is when you heard some is “overjoyed” or “content.” She how these emotions matched up with a body language can give two different styles of happiness? Mix and match to find what works best for your character at the time.
More In Depth Information
What I’ve stated above is more of a simplistic overview. IF you truly want to improve yourself, go to this
To see just how much body language can reveal about a person. You will find things such as how a person lies, how the eyes reaction, the positioning of a person in personal space, mouth, and head body language and so much more.
Use these resources to greatly increase the reactions of your character to another and create a more life-like world.
Stressed, Depressed, and Story Obsessed 