Sci-Fi, fantasy and speculative Indie Authors Review discussion

Good post. It must be hard to be such an introvert...

My books have excellent rabble rouser females. Strong females are my favorite. The novel I am currently writing has a total badass female protagonist. If you like audio books, PM Me, I have coupons for free audio edition of Book 2: The Broken Cage I can send you.

Will do.

Interesting post, and not at all off-putting. I'll share the link with the Spouse once she gets home from work.

I have daughters, and until they're old enough to learn self-control they'll be staying home with me (I'm registered to teach and my mother-in-law has a Masters in Special Needs). Before you think 'Oh, one of them', due to genetics my daughters will eventually hit or exceed 6 feet (182.88 cm) in height, and they're descended from warriors. I don't want one of my daughters to break the bones of any boys who might insult them, because women in my line who grow to optimal size for our genotype tend to be very strong (as in punch a man once and plant him in the dirt strong).

I've noticed that far too often Western society teaches women to underrate their own strength, and then teaches them to avoid the activities that might help them to defend themselves, all in the name of beauty.

Ah, genotype/phenotype (ancestry) is an interesting topic.

My contribution.
Scots (the first over a POW and family transported to one of England's American penal colonies during the 1650s)
Irish (emigrated two centuries after the sept was outlawed and it got old living in the shadows)
Native American (from a survivor of Jackson's ethnic cleansing of the 1830s who managed to evade deportation)
Scandinavian (not sure when or whether to one of the Scots or Irish, but some plucky Viking thought getting drunk with one of my female ancestors and bumping pelvises in the dark would be fun. When he managed to slip away, she was pregnant and he was walking funny.)

The Spouse's contribution
Welsh
German
Native American (survivor of a dawn raid on a sleeping village by US Volunteer Cavalry during the US Indian Wars in the West)

On how to optimize growth with small children, one aid is nutrition based on genotype. My ancestors acclimated to more protein and fats due to where they lived, so an early diet of cereal and fruit tends to set us up for diabetes as adults. Once the teat isn't enough, I start with pureed avocado mixed with mama's and goat's milk, and later start adding in some pureed boiled chicken.

The older girl grazes, often on chicken, pickles, avocado, kippers, and then there's the occasional small furry mammal or sunning reptile she catches for snacks when she's outside. So far, the turkey vultures avoid flyovers or landings when they see her step outside.

On combating attitudes and victimization of females in Western societies, much less other cultures, I'm not sure I'd have the best advice as I try to be nice as long as people allow. Once someone pushes it so I'm not nice, then it's time for the axe, the battleaxe, and then there's the mess and the crying from someone picking their face up and running away (just kidding). Most people tend to see the battleaxe and decide it's time to go pester someone else.

To be honest, it's a process requiring time to change both attitudes and laws. It starts in the home and spreads. Girls need to learn it's okay to say no, mean it, and defend themselves. Boys need to learn no means no and yes means yes. Add in a change of regulations, teach girls not just to defend themselves, but how to sterilize and physically neuter a rapist. You'll see a swift decrease in sexual assaults. Nothing gives a predator pause like the realization it is prey.

My little sister (5' 2", 120 lbs, used to power lift 350 lbs) had a 6 foot tall boyfriend who began getting mentally and physically abusive once he got her to move away from family. She put up with it till she remembered what I'd told her as a kid. He got home one night, saw her seated at the table with an empty skillet and an unopened beer in front of her, and asked: "What, you think you're going to get drunk and work up the nerve to hit me?"

Her reply was simple. "No, the beer is for you so you can go to bed. Once you go to sleep, I'm going to beat your skull in and then erase your face and the rest of my fear. Then I'll call the authorities, explain how you hit me and I snapped. Since you've left enough bruises on me..."

He turned around and left, then returned the next day while she was at work to pick up his stuff.