Discussion Why is such a deal that women cannot cultivate in xianxia?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by jgfenix, Oct 13, 2016.

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  1. jgfenix

    jgfenix Well-Known Member

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    Today I started to read Enchantress Amongst Alchemists: Ghost King’s Concubine. The same thing: she is trash, everybody despises her, etc. And I asked myself: is it important? After all they are sexist societies were men have various wives and concubines and their obligation is to be pretty and give birth, no to win martial arts tournments.
     
  2. Frozen ink

    Frozen ink Legally had harem『Cathulu』Power of Love & Evil』

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    obligatory rape joke here~
     
  3. Falhrus

    Falhrus Avoiding enemies is hard work y'know?

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    ... Maa~ let the author do as he wants. Sexism is still prevalent in the world after all.
     
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  4. Chamber

    Chamber Mecha Translator

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    Well, in old culture, wherever it maybe(Asia, Europe, Africa, etc...), women were considered men's ... possessions. They had no 'rights' to speak of.

    Cultivation is usually set in the old world, so... there you go. Modern ones probably don't have that kind of setting.

    Read Korean ones(Although no cultivation stuff). Shameless Advertising
     
  5. aky

    aky Well-Known Member

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    Ofc its a big deal, what the future of women that can't cultivate in xianxia world ? At least men can do rough Job or something
     
  6. Robbini

    Robbini Logical? Illogical? Random? Or Just Unique?

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    If you're a noble house of sorts, and one of the women not only is poor at cultivating, but physically incapable of cultivating, it's a pretty big deal, especially since she's also engaged to the Crown Prince.

    It would be a different thing if she just was bad at cultivating.

    Not to mention, if they can't cultivate, they're pretty much up for grabs by anyone, because they can't stop anyone from doing what they want to do them. And the usual life-prolonging methods.
     
  7. kuroAnsatsu

    kuroAnsatsu Realistically Stoic

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    It's depend on how people see them.
    Well, I don't really care about something like that though
     
  8. asriu

    asriu fu~ fu~ fu~

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    to make more grand when she make a come back? not read it yet so dunno~
     
  9. ReadOrDie

    ReadOrDie already dead

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    The same goes for male mc.... trash, waste, good for nothing beaten to death.... found cheat
     
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  10. jgfenix

    jgfenix Well-Known Member

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    Not the same. Men are supposed to protect the family, direct the family bussiness .... Women aren´t supposed to fight: they must do house chores, look after children or (if they are from a rich family) live lavishly
     
  11. CaptainToast

    CaptainToast Well-Known Member

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    I really don't see your point at all. The MC of basically EVERY xianxia is trash at first.

    But beyond that, in most xianxia novels I've read, there are a fair number of women cultivators. Enough that there isn't anything ever mentioned about there being a lack of them. In a lot of stories, women are usually right up there at the highest tier of cultivation alongside men, so I really don't get where your coming from when you generalise all of xianxia.

    The main reason why you don't see that many female cultivators as characters usually is simply because it's usually not revelant to the story.

    In stories where a girl is the MC, there's not even a trace of the lack of female cultivators.

    In stories with a Male MC, they don't show up that often because it's simply unneeded. You have a few categories of that characters usually fit into. For guys it's friends for that bromance that the stories go for, mentors, and the largest group, random fucks who the MC can utterly destroy.
    For girls, it's sisters, love interests, and mothers.

    The majority of characters in novels are only really there for the MC to utterly dominate and most likely kill at some point. It's a lot easier to get behind that when it's a man instead of a woman usually. You can't really blame eastern culture for that either. History up until this very DAY usually depicts violence against women as something despicable, no matter what they do. Hell in today's world, a woman can punch a guy in the face repeatedly, break his nose, and when the guy finally responds he's the one who is instantly at fault.

    If you can't beat the shit out of someone, it's not really a xianxia novel, therefore most enemies are men, i.e., most characters written are men.
     
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  12. fuzor100

    fuzor100 Standby mode...

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    I need a plot. The man is trash and can't cultivated is too mainstream. How about making woman is trash and can't cultivated? That looks like not mainstream.
     
  13. RozenKristal

    RozenKristal NUF gender bender Emperor -> Queen

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    So far every xianxia I read is female MCs are useless and ugly (disguised of course), then they get stronger and stuffs. I guess it is because the translators just focus more on the male MCs ones?
     
  14. fuzor100

    fuzor100 Standby mode...

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    Every author need plot opening. Most author can't come up with better opening. So just stick with the mainstream, but mostly, what matter is the middle content, and let just hope the author can make a good satisying ending.
    Most translator are male, so male MC is more interesting to us, male. Only few can find good female MC that they want to translated.
     
  15. nanda322

    nanda322 [Self-Proclaimed Pervert] [Yandere Sect Disciple]

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    Immortal executioner does a pretty good job of gender equality. I mean two of the big 5 sects are made of women. And there's no indication of women being weak. Of course there's the typical story of some women being used as "cauldrons" in cultivation, but that's a pretty common topic in Xianxias.

    Also there's Grasping Evil where there are evil sects using men as cauldrons haha. Imagine that :D It was quite refreshing to read that haha.

    Although I want to make another point. With male MC's, they can have "brothers" but they rarely ever have "sisters". Most end up being wife of "brothers" or being a romantic interest, or just NTR'd in some hateful plots. (NTR hater here) Of course I'm aware of being "brothers" is because there is not much alternative but why can't the MC have a good trusty female friend hehe.
     
  16. Ai chan

    Ai chan Queen of Yuri, Devourer of Traps, Thrusted Witch

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    Being someone who just got back from Shanghai, I can tell you that Chinese men think all women are inferior compared to them and won't take no for an answer. I had to threaten bodily harm when one of them pushed me to the wall. Normally I wouldn't mind being pushed to the wall, I like men who takes charge, but I wasn't the slightest bit interested in him and I didn't even know his name. So freaking no. Waiwai said she suffered these kinds of harassments often while working in China, which was why she asked me to come and protect her. Waiwai is so adorable.

    Well anyway, to Chinese men, women are second class creatures and even if they're single, they're still property of men. So they can't accept that a woman is better than them at anything other than making babies and taking care of home. So to Chinese readers, xianxia women being nothing more than ornaments are logical and acceptable, xianxia women being super powerful is neither logical nor acceptable to them.

    Now, I'm not saying all Chinese men are like this. I won't even say that they're the majority. However, when all you see are misogynist men while the temperate ones don't even bother to help, you start thinking that maybe they're all the same.

    p/s: The guy who pushed me to the wall probably told me his name, but because I couldn't understand mandarin, I didn't even notice.
     
  17. Shio

    Shio Moderator Staff Member

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    Look around you. How many of your male friend have sister (as if friend sister, not romance focused sister figure)
     
  18. nanda322

    nanda322 [Self-Proclaimed Pervert] [Yandere Sect Disciple]

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    Well I would personally be checking out my "friend/sister's" figure all day long. Point taken.
     
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  19. RozenKristal

    RozenKristal NUF gender bender Emperor -> Queen

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    I often read viet translation, and the majority of the translators are female... I guess that is why :\ Still, I don't mind the repetitive theme of abused MCs, it just that whatever characters/skills/items thrown in should appear more than 2 times. May be I thinking too much.
     
  20. Arcelia

    Arcelia Well-Known Member

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    And offend a young master? They've read too much Xianxia to know where that goes.
     
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