Necrophilia

Source

(By the way don't Google this topic. People are so, so gross.)

We all know what this is, right? A paraphilia, or sexual fetish that involves corpses. Like many sexual fetishes, necrophilia has the potential to reinforce common cultural inequities. The overwhelming majority of images and commentary online to do with necrophilia are rape fantasies, or jokes that imply rape. ("She can't say no if she's dead.")

(I could comment extensively here also on the Vampire Romance genre as a form of necrophilia, but properly speaking, necrophiles prefer the dead, not the undead or living dead.)

At the same time, stories about necrophilia can turn the tables on rape culture, or explore more sensitive territories (no play on words intended...well, maybe a little). Remember "Kissed"? The woman protagonist's necrophilia was based not only on her obsession with death and dead things, but on her ability to perceive exquisite beauty in the process of dying.

"Kissed" has a convoluted set of origins. The film is based on a short story by Canadian writer Barbara Gowdy. It appeared in her collection We So Seldom Look on Love. The title of the collection - and, presumably, the inspiration for the story - came from a mock ode poem by Frank O'Hara, "Ode on Necrophilia" (source).

Blogging from A to Z Challenge, April 2011

See that shiny apple badge in my sidebar? It is your magic portal to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, the brainchild of Arlee Bird over at Tossing It Out. What's it all about? I'll let Mr. Bird explain:

The premise of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April except for Sundays. In doing this you will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet. Each day you will theme your post according to a letter of the alphabet.

You will only be limited by your own imagination in this challenge. There is an unlimited universe of possibilities. You can post essays, short pieces of fiction, poetry, recipes, travel sketches, or anything else you would like to write about. You don't have to be a writer to do this. You can post photos, including samples of your own art or craftwork. Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

Obviously, participating in this challenge has many moral, physical and spiritual benefits. Personally, I'm planning to use it as a warm-up to the even more terrifying Story A Day in May challenge.