The Great and Powerful A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal!

Some of you might remember that I actually announced my A to Z theme way back in October. It was all neat and tidy and it was going to feature folktale collections. I was super prepared and on top of my pile of books.

SURPRISE!
I changed my mind.

The books I read and wrote about will be re-scheduled for other times. However, I decided to address a topic that currently intrigues me more - it is something I use for my teaching work in Culture Studies, as well as a workshop I am going to present at the end of April at the Northlands Storytelling Conference. With these things in mind, here is my actual theme (for real this time!):

Tales of Many Shapes and Colors:

Representation and Diversity in Storytelling

Representation and diversity are much discussed topics in relation to movies, comic books, literature, and the media. People have been speaking up about having more stories that feature characters that have not been featured before - or if they have, only sporadically, in minor roles, or as stereotypes. Projects like We Need Diverse Books and Miss Representation have proliferated all over the Internet, and rightly so.

As I see it, there is no reason why there shouldn't be a parallel discussion in oral storytelling as well.
Here are some things I believe:

Knights of color
in shining armor?

People want stories.
People want diverse stories.
You can't be what you can't see. (Or, in our case, hear about)
People want to see themselves in the stories they hear.
People want to see their experiences and problems represented in the stories they hear.
Storytellers have a responsibility towards their audiences.

Here is the thing: First and foremost, I work with traditional stories. Myths, epics, folktales, fairy tales, legends, that kinda stuff. And people have been pointing out that there are many things that you don't see represented in these stories - simply because they were written down in times when these issues and identities were not talked about (or have been erased since).
BUT.
This does NOT mean that:
- stories like that should not exist
- stories like that have never existed (you just have to dig for them)

I want this A to Z to be a resource for storytellers and people interested in stories. Each day, I will pick a topic that has been questioned in relation to traditional stories, such as:

How about female knights?

Why are stepmothers always evil? Are there any kind ones out there?
Can you name any folktales that feature female friendships?
Why are there so few traditional tales with LGBT+ representation?
Are there any stories where a male and a female hero fights side by side?
What about legends where heroes of different religions coexist?

And I will take a closer look at traditional stories to see what I can come up with. Of course, there will be topics that are truly hard to fill with any folktale or myth (this is why we need New Trad, as my colleague and guest blogger Danielle Bellone so eloquently explained). But it can often be surprising what you can find when you scratch below the surface.

Happy A to Z!

(My other theme, on the MopDog, will be Crazy Hungarian Cartoons! Check it out here)

Join the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal Blogfest!

Sign-ups for the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge are already under way. If you have done it before, you know how much fun it is (good for you!) and if you have not, this is your chance to give it a try! You can sign up to participate HERE.

One of the most burning questions participants ask themselves every year is: "Should I have a theme?" Themes are not mandatory, but definitely fun. They let your visitors know what to expect, and help you create posts that line neatly up from A to Z. And they also have an added bonus – they let you participate in a whole separate blogfest!

Three years ago, A to Z participant Mina Lobo started the Theme Reveal, and we thought it was such a great idea that we made it tradition.

Here is how the Theme Reveal Blogfest works:

Sign up on the Linky List below. On Monday, March 21, reveal your theme on your blog and give us a hint of what to expect from it. Then, once your post is up, use the Linky List to visit all the other blogs announcing their themes.

This is a great opportunity for all of you to get a jump start on your A to Z experience. You can link up with fellow bloggers, scout out and bookmark themes that you look forward to, and lure in wandering participants with your awesome theme. This way, by the time the frenzied posting begins on April 1, you will already have an audience eagerly awaiting your posts.

Sign up below, ready your theme, and put March 21 on your calendar!

Blood, Boobs and Carnage Blogfest: Hungarian folktale edition

Today I'm participating in the Blood, Boobs and Carnage Blogfest! It is a blog hop hosted by Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh and Heather M. Gardner. Participating blogs are supposed to post today about books, movies, shows etc. within the topic of... well, Blood, Boobs, and Carnage (or any combination of the three).

If you want to visit the other participants, you can find the Linky list HERE.

Since my other blog, the MopDog, is covering the Blood and Carnage parts through a selection of Hungarian children's songs, I decided to focus on the Boobs on this one.
WARNING: Nudity. Duh.

There is a folktale type numbered ATU 875, called "The clever peasant girl solves the king's riddles." It exists in many shapes and forms in world folklore. Most often it includes a final scene where the famously smart girl is ordered by the king/prince to appear before him, and he sets some criteria: She has to be dressed but not dressed, bring a present but not bring a present, arrive mounted but walking, etc. I am particularly interested in the "dressed but not dressed" part, since it is solved in various ways in different tellings - and each one says a lot about the particular culture's (and storyteller's) ideas of decency.
For example, in one variation of the folktale, the girl undresses and then lets down her hair that covers her from head to toe, Lady Godiva style, protecting her decency. In another, she puts on a fishing net as a dress, which probably doesn't leave a lot to the imagination (and hence invents a whole new kink).

And then there is the Hungarian version.

In the video below (NSFW) you can see a children's cartoon (!) version of the folktale, titled "The Judge's Clever Daughter." In this version, after solving several long-distance puzzles and annoying the king, the girl is invited with the usual criteria. She shows up with one leg on a goat (mounted but walking), carrying a pigeon that flies away (gift but no gift), and wearing nothing but a bra and an angelic smile. When the king asks her why she decided to cover her boobs but not her "shame," this is the explanation she gives:

"That was given to me by God, hence it is nothing to be ashamed of. These I grew myself."

You really can't argue with that.