Rimmer And Yvonne McGruder

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

There's a thread on TOS about the morality of Rimmer sleeping with McGruder while she was suffering from concussion.  Personally I've always assumed that if she'd been discharged from the medibay then she was sufficiently "with it" to know what she was doing.  I also accepted the "Last Human" retcon which explains a lot more about what went on that night.  (Spoilers in the thread just in case anyone hasn't read it.)

But reading some of the points brought up in this thread makes me uncomfortable.  Wondering how others interpret it.

http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/forum/messages.cfm?threadid=B9128677-1999-AFED-B439706F293BF2EA

Sorry to bring up such an unsavoury topic, but it's something that clearly had a big impact on Rimmer and is referenced quite a lot in the series.

Comments

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was annoying (the fat thing). But to be fair, I was rewatching "Memory" the other night, and when Rimmer is drunk and honest, and Lister asks what he wants most, he's all "to have sex with a woman with thighs like a hippo's?" and seems pretty happy at the idea. Coupled with his book-canon love of looking at Renaissance naked women, I get the idea Rimmer might not have any problems with bigger ladies.

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Ya know, I always took that 'thighs like a hippo' comment as further evidence of Rimmer confusion about what is supposed to be sexually attractive in women. As in, he thinks about it and goes "well, if women are attractive, surely MOAR of them, as large as possible, would be EVEN MORE desirable?" He seems, to me, to be constantly and desperately trying not only to be heterosexual, but the right kind of heterosexual.

Just so that's clear, I'm not arguing that fat women aren't desirable (I should hope not, being one myself), but that it's not really mainstream to have and express the view that they are. Not sure if any of that made sense. :p

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I suppose that's possible, though if he's trying to be "right," I would figure he knows the ideal enough to identify with wanting that. As I said, him being drunk is what makes me suspect he might be being more honest than usual - though we just can't know. ;-)

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Well, you know, that's the thing. He always tries way, way too hard, and then he gets things wrong because he's too paranoid and stressed and worried and now I'm suddenly thinking about how Rimmer-like Martin Crieff is. (Dunno if you follow Cabin Pressure, if not - you should!)