A dramatis personae is not a common thing to find on a blog, but it seemed appropriate here. Each of the people listed below is entirely fictitious. This means that they will not be offended when I say that they are completely wrong. The statements attributed to them will come from a variety of sources: people I know, people online, media, and my own wild imagination. Rather than having statements from actual people, we will anonamize the statements by attributing them to our friends described below.
Furthermore, these characters give us a structure in which to consider how various people may consider different issues from their own particular backgrounds and biases in to order to help us gain a greater understanding of a complex topic.
Clark Lawrence Ueless
Clark is a really nice guy who knows about as much about women, relationships, and sex as the average polar bear knows about quantum physics.
Casanova DeMarko
Casanova is a true lady's man, and a gentleman's man on some occasions for the right gentleman. If you don't believe me, just ask him. He will tell you all about it. He believes that he has mastered the arts of love, and many women agree with him. He has never had a relationship last longer than 14 hours.
Daniel Myers
Daniel is a smart, open-minded man. He holds no illusions that women are some kind of alien creature, incomprehensible to men, but he also does not delude himself into thinking that he understands women either (or men for that matter).
Joe Sumber
Joe is just this guy, ya know? Average guy, mid-twenties. Dates a bit, knows what he thinks he needs to know about relationships. Joe thinks that women are just complex and incomprehensible. Why even bother to understand them? They are just irrational anyway. But, he does his best, like ya do, and his best seems to be good enough.
Dominick
Dominick is not his real name, it is his scene name. He has spent much of his life in the scene, and he knows most of what there is to know about it. He knows every knot, every suspension style. If there is a kind of role play, he has considered it. And, of course, he is an expert in all manner of kink safety and communication. There are some who say that he is arrogant, but he knows that they are just jealous of his position in the community.
Susan "Suzie" Quade
Susan is an average woman, mid-twenties, living on her own. She might like to settle down one day, but she can't seem to find the right guy. Men are confusing. She'd really rather just hang out with her girlfriends anyway, but one day she'll probably want a family... or at least her mother keeps wanting her to have a family.
Jenny McGregor
Jenny identifies herself as a feminist. Many feminists identify her as a misandryst. She has read the literature extensively, and she is ready to serve as a warrior on the front lines of the gender war against the Patriarchy and straight, white, male privilege. Some tell her that she is being paranoid, but she knows that they are just ignorant of the truth of how the world really is.
Candice "Candy" Powers
Candy has been around the block a few times. She enjoys the company of men... and women for that matter. She doesn't have anything to prove or have anyone to impress. She just likes sex. She actually refers to herself as a slut, believing that the word should not have the negative connotations that it does.
Emily Paulson
To most people, Emily is your everyday, average working woman. She has an average, middle class job, an mid-range car, an average husband, and an average boyfriend, and an average girlfriend. She is polyamorous and open about it. Not in-your-face, but she doesn't hide it either. She feels that by being visible, she helps to expand people's horizons on the topic.
Mrs. Richard Jennings
Amanda believes in the traditional household. Her place is in the home, taking care of the kids and doing all the domestic work so that Mr. Jennings can do what he needs to do in the business world to take care of the family. She finds this to be a very comfortable arrangement, as she gets to stay where she is comfortable and be a very important part of Mr. Jennings' success at the office.
