[Thinlómien]

I think this thread itself has become a good example of the things Lush (and many other people) don't appreciate about gender discussion. This has turned a debate about feminism, and I don't think that was the original idea. (Of course correct me, if I'm wrong.)

Tolkien wrote only a few (strong) woman characters. That's a fact and we can't change it. We can call Tolkien a conservatist or even if a chauvinist, if we want. (The latter one is a bit unfair accusation, but I won't start writing about that.) We should accept LotR with all its faults including the lack of strong women characters. No one can write books that everyone thinks perfect. And it seems Tolkien didn't write to please feminists. I don't think he wanted to please anyone with his books, he was writing more to himself. (Or, so I have read from somewhere. Again, correct me if I'm wrong.)

The things that we should be discussing here (and most people are) in my opinion are 1) Why it always turns into useless debating and use of frail arguments here in the 'Downs when the topic turns to (the lack of) women in Tolkien's works. This, I believe, was the original idea for the thread. 2) As suggested by Child and Lalwendë we could also discuss about the position of the women that are in the books, not the ones that could be there. This may need a thread of its own, because it is maybe a bit off-topic. Or what say you, o mighty threadmistress Lush?