class and gender in Firefly/Serenity

[firecat]

Via my cousin-out-law Michael, an excellent blog post about class and gender in Firefly.

http://capitalismbad.blogspot.com/2005/12/in-which-i-descend-to-previously.html

I don't know that I agree with the blogger that geisha-type careers would not exist in cultures where women can hold a variety of respectable jobs, but I do agree with the blogger's dislike of the Mal/Inara relationship.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I think that, if there was genuine sexual equality in the 'Verse, then there would be male Companions. As it was, Companions were female only, and the one time we saw a male prostitute, it was unusual enough for Kaylee to comment on it. "Hey! They got boy whores! How considerate!"

[jenk]

Um, Kaylee's from the sticks. What does she know about Companions?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

There are no male Companions. And the fellow she was talking about was a prostitute, not a companion. I suspect that, while Kaylee might not know anything about Companions, except what she might learn from the fact that one of them is one of her best friends and thinks of her as a little sister, Kaylee has a perfectly normal working knowlege of whores.