#aspects of whiteness
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By: Wilfred Reilly
Published: May 18, 2023
There has been a good deal of talk in the US over the past few weeks about ‘Hispanic white supremacy’. The idea itself sounds darkly funny, but its widespread prominence says something serious about the mainstream media’s embrace of race essentialism.
The recent prompt for all this talk was the mass shooting at an upscale outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on 6 May. Nine people were killed, including the perpetrator, and another seven were badly injured. Almost immediately, the national media looked beyond the tragic reality of the murders themselves to focus on right-wing activism and, more specifically, on white supremacy.
The Washington Post’s first social-media post addressing the shooting read: ‘The gunman who opened fire on an outlet mall in a Dallas suburb… was a man in his early 30s who may have had white-supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs.’ Meanwhile, Salon seems to have simply assumed that the shooter was a white supremacist, asking in a headline: ‘When a mass shooter is a white supremacist. Does it even matter?’ The UK-based Independent similarly honed in on a potential white-supremacist motive, running a long piece on the gunman’s ‘white-supremacist social-media footprint’.
One important detail was rarely mentioned, however – namely, that the Allen mall shooter, Mauricio Martinez Garcia, was actually Hispanic.
Yes, it is true that Garcia displayed a fondness for elements of the radical right. He was active on 4chan-style websites, like the obscure Russian platform ok.ru, where he posted photographs of swastika tattoos, ‘praise for Adolf Hitler’, a range of incel gibberish, and – perhaps unsurprisingly – ‘complaints about the state of his mental health’.
However, Garcia does not seem to have dreamed of an all-white society (which he would presumably be excluded from). His rambling writings suggest that he actually believed Latin Americans to be the planet’s superior race. Nevertheless, several major publications tried to square the circle by running headlines like the Nation’s unforgettable ‘White supremacists don’t have to be white’.
The media line that this pro-Latino Hispanic lunatic was actually a white supremacist would simply be a curiosity if this were an isolated example. But it isn’t. In fact, a growing number of right-wing ethnic minorities are now finding themselves accused of believing in ‘white supremacy’. Take, for example, the attacks against Larry Elder, the popular black conservative radio personality. During Elder’s Californian gubernatorial campaign in 2021, the LA Times referred to him as ‘the black face of white supremacy’.
What do these accusations mean in practice? At the root of ideas like black or Hispanic white supremacy is an essentialist view of race. Many wokes and even liberals now believe that different races are immutably linked to specific cultural traits. Within this rather insidious framing, racism and conservatism are said to be ‘white’ traits, and so black racists or even just black conservatives must therefore be ‘white’, too.
This is no exaggeration. In 2020, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture published a list of what some prominent staffers considered to be distinctive ‘white’ traits. Among them were a stable ‘family structure’, ‘objective, rational… thinking’, the belief that ‘hard work is the key to success’ and showing up on time for work.
Similarly, more than a few American liberals appear to believe that academic performance is a proxy for whiteness. A past column of mine for spiked dealt with a novel technique devised by at least one major US school district. To explain the high academic performance of ‘oppressed’ Asian and West African students, the school district simply labelled these overachieving ethnic-minority students as ‘white’.
This sort of essentialism is remarkably racist. It implies, for example, that being hard-working, or being objective and rational, are natural predispositions for whites, but not for blacks. Such claims are nonsensical and dangerous. Believing that certain characteristics or traits automatically attach to members of any racial group is the very definition of racism. Some members of minority groups can be radicalised to the political right, but the fact that they are right-leaning criminals or terrorists does not make them white. Acts of violence committed by black or Hispanic people that have a racial component – the Waukesha Christmas parade attack comes to mind – must be understood for what they are. They should not be ignored or shoehorned into a box that does not fit them.
More broadly, it is important to recall that people do not behave as they do because of their race. Mass shooters kill people mostly because they, specifically, are disturbed. And immigrant kids do well in school not because they are acting ‘white’, but because they tend to study hard. When analysing people at either of these extremes or in between, it’s generally a good idea to put aside the labels and focus on that smallest of minorities – the individual. Otherwise, we risk reviving a very ugly and divisive form of racial thinking.
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“Another aspect of the construction of whiteness is the way certain groups have moved into or out of that race. For example, early in our history Irish, Jews, and Italians were considered nonwhite—that is, on a par with African Americans. Over time, they earned the prerogatives and social standing of whites by a process that included joining labor unions, swearing fealty to the Democratic Party, and acquiring wealth, sometimes by illegal or underground means. Whiteness, it turns out, is not only valuable; it is shifting and malleable.”
-- Delgado/Stefancic, "Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (Third Edition)"
“Reflecting on the social and economic advantages of Whiteness, critical race scholar Cheryl Harris (1993) coined the phrase “Whiteness as property.” This phrase captures the reality that being perceived as White carries more than a mere racial classification. It is a social and institutional status and identity imbued with legal, political, economic, and social rights and privileges that are denied to others.”
-- Sensoy/DiAngelo, "Is Everyone Really Equal?"
Critical Race Theory regards "whiteness" as property. Not simply in the "helium has the property of low density, high thermal conductivity" sense. But in the sense of an exclusive club you can be either born into or buy your way into, like a country club. In effect, it means someone can be disavowed as a "sellout" ("acting white," "race traitor," "internalized racism"), who sucked up to the members to gain their favor and admittance to the club. Because race essentialism, as Reilly touched upon.
#Wilfred Reilly#white supremacy#whiteness#aspects of whiteness#race essentialism#neoracism#antiracism#antiracism as religion#woke#cult of woke#wokeness#wokeness as religion#wokeism#religion is a mental illness
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Alright so I'll never play gacha games, I actively dislike them.
But...lord have mercy in heaven above
#on top of the fact he's got multiple checkmarks for my type as a country girl myself this is appealing to me in ways i didnt think it would#robot aspects mixed in with some goth aspects mixed in with western LORDY#AND he's a gunslinger with long mostly white hair#in the chaps too...catch me at the saloon later#*loops She Keeps Me Up by Nickleback*#i need his voice lines like yesterday#they cooked him up just for me#honkai star rail#hsr#hsr boothill#boothill
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REACH HEAVEN THROUGH VIOLENCE
#My art#KSBD#K6BD#Kill Six Billion Demons#I was going to add Yabalchoath originally and do Aspected Chaos as a bonus#But I ran out of steam on these and gave up#So this is The End of these Chibs#Which is sad I am absolutely obsessed with the designs in Wheel Smashing Lord#They're the reason I wanted to draw these chibs to begin with#And they turned out the worst by a long shot lmao#I can not capture The Heir's swag at all. I can not do her justice#White Chain either. Baby girl I am so sorry
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the gangs all here!!!
#kagarts#rival silver#trainer kris#trainer ethan#trainer lyra#johto#pokemon gsc#pokemon hgss#I think it’s fascinating seeing so many interpretations of this bunch#on who is champion or what each of them do in postgame/timeskip scenarios#it’s really cool seeing so many variations of each like. hell yeah man#here’s a lot of factoids on designs sorry for the wall of text in advaaaaaance#lance picked silver’s main cape color and chose white so he would appear less intimidating and approachable when teaching kids about dragons#lugia matchy too for that dragon connection there#kris’ gear revolves around biking and the lil tassles were an attempt at suicune ribbons#she has aspects from all the lion dogs in her full fit (she gets a helmet and jet/boostpack)#channeling kamen rider and bomb rush cyberfunk/jet set radio to give her a more future vibe#ethan I personally wanted to channel the ken sugimori chill vibe of how he was drawn#very old school (college fit); with a bit of early age grunge#friend to all birds and does a bit of nature/wildlife photography (based on the hgss picture taking feature!)#also loves the pokeathlon#he gets a ho-oh pattern/colorset for his tracksuit#lyra in this interpretation is the champion and got to battle red#protag to protag communication happened and she wants to set a better example for trainers going forward#a great teacher who wants to encourage the next set of trainers to set out on their own journeys#she’ll be the champion until she has to pass that torch on#but she also cares for the ilex shrine as per family tradition (even taking that with her into her champion outfit! celebi dresssss :D)
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"I want Annabeth to be blonde :(" then pick up a PJO book and read it you dumb fuck
#pjo fans stop being weird about black annabeth challenge IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#first off annabeths race isnt important to her story. annabeth could be any race. her skin colour doesnt actually impact her. her hair does#now im not blonde but im a white girl so let me explain why some pjo fans need to stfu. i have grade 9s. im called stupid for my appearance#im not insulted bc im white or bc i have blue eyes or brown hair. im insulted bc women are judged on their appearance. im insulted bc SEXIS#annabeth isnt really called dumb for being blonde. shes called dumb bc shes female. and ppl are more likely to stereotype women than men#this is especially true for black women! whatever sexism white women get is always horrifically multiplied for poc women#black hair frequently gets called unprofessional untidy unhygienic etc. its VERY likely that show annabeth has been called dumb for her hai#does this make the casting “accurate”? no. but castings don't have to be accurate. they have to ADD to the character.#annabeth being black ADDS to her character because it showcases how women (esp black women) are devalued for their appearance#movie annabeth wasnt bad for having brown hair or white hair she was a bad adaptation bc she was ooc#i just think its ironic that a core aspect of annabeth was being judged for her looks. and now show annabeth is getting judged for her look#like. you guys really missed the point here.#anyways disagree all you want but book annabeth is still blonde. no one is erasing her. theres a new PJO book w blonde annabeth SEPTEMBER 2#GO READ CHALICE OF THE GODS IF U WANT BLONDE ANNABETH OMG! adaptions and source material can be separate and coexist!#rant over sorry#pjo#percy jackson#annabeth chase#pjo show#percy jackson and the olympians#the lightning thief#discourse#shitpost#percy jackson show#pjo discourse#riordanverse
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Ricca Sposa 👗
#bridal couture#short wedding dress#Ricca Sposa#white dress#beautiful model#aspect ratio .582#kirstydreaming
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white women who forgive other white women for racism (especially anti blackness) just because they said something vaguely good about transphobia/misogyny/homophobia: DIE
#this shit happens so much#both irl and online#but i keep seeing posts from known racists being shared around because they said smthn that makes sense abt transphobia#and i have to remind all of you that you dont get to decide what racism to forgive#especially bcuz of other aspects of someone's identity#youre white before youre trans#and when you forget that you abandon all us trans poc#mine#gay speaks up#racism#anti blackness
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Passing as a trans man is a nuanced and complex topic, but one thing I have been noticing as somebody who is a cis-passing (white) trans man is the way I'm treated when there is conflict.
I've noticed that in conflict, people are almost meek around me, willing for me to try working with them up until a woman is involved. When a woman (or, really, anybody who the other party assumes is one) is part of the conflict, they direct all their anger and rage to them. It's fucking insane the way a woman is treated when there is conflict, even if it isn't her fucking fault. These people are fundamental cowards for seeing my manhood as the only reason they can't be openly hostile to me, but it reveals a lot about how a misogynist thinks on an almost primal level.
I'm watching the women and people around me I care about being torn apart by people, and that's unacceptable. I can't sit around to watch it, and I don't want to do that. I need other people to perhaps read this and remember to not stand by if there is something that you can tangibly do to help, even if it's to lend a listening ear or let the person vent.
#feminism#misogyny#misogyny tw#before writing this i was worried about my blood pressure because i'm fucking angry#i hate the way cowards will look at me and see a man and be scared of me until they see a woman they feel strong enough to abuse#and i have faced my own experiences with misogyny and abuse now that i have transitioned and am recognized as male...#...like i had NEVER been catcalled until i medically transitioned. and now that i'm much more male i have been catcalled MULTIPLE times...#...which is why this topic is nuanced and complex and i hate this idea that we can bulldoze it down flat to 'make it make sense'#i want to always believe in people but i'm not a fool. i am not willing to stand around and just pretend like this shit doesn't happen#i WATCH this shit happen. i WITNESS it and HEAR it and i try to find some way to help the woman and/or person in question#and i know there's this aspect of white privilege in this where my white manhood is seen as a lesser threat#i can absolutely imaging a Black or otherwise MoC trans person not being given this level of grace from the get-go#i'm angry right now and i hope that my words are making sense. i want to address as much as possible but i'm sure you understand
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not to wade into discourse about shows online which I swore to stop doing but I think some of you need to recognize that not every piece of media is about you, and that focusing only on the themes that you personally identify with while erasing the ones you don't is Not Great
#some of you only know how to analyze things through a VERY specific queer lens that matches your own personal experiences and it shows#and I just think there is a lot more to enjoying narratives about having a complex relationship to gender in a very specific historical era#than arguing about what specific pronouns and labels they would use in 2023#and that white queer people reducing stories that are about a character's struggle with being multiracial#to *only* the queer elements that we identify with is. not great???#you can't separate these things you can't just ignore them#I'm obviously not equipped to do in-depth *commentary* on that aspect of mizu's character because I am in fact a white queer#that is for other people to speak about and I'm enjoying reading their takes on it#but like. you need to engage with media that is not about you. you need to assign artistic merit beyond what you personally identify with.#you can find things that resonate with you in them but you should not make the whole thing about you
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AND THY PUNISHMENT.... IS DEATH!
Been thinkin abt Minos Prime a lot lately... cool dude. I've been trying to P-Rank everything so that I can actually access Prime Sanctum but I'm painfully busy so for now I just draw him :V
#im really struggling with the transparency aspect of this design.. i know i could just make him all white but. idk that's boring#he's very blue in this one but i was just messin with colors so whateva#nayarts#minos prime#ultrakill#artists on tumblr#ultrakill fanart
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the idea of ua teacher bakugou honestly makes me so sad, because you have to consider the possibility of him not making it to the end as a hero which !! is heart-breaking !!
but at the same time — there is something really cathartic i think about him growing up and growing out of measuring his worth by being number one, by being the best. and i like to think of him as a grumpy professor !! a bit like aizawa !! or him keeping a close eye on the shy, quiet students, watching out for them and always there to bully them (affectionate) along their path . or for him to be an all might to someone, a young kid that looked up to dynamight in his hay-day, now getting to follow directly under his lead.
#so sweet 🥺#i think he'd be a good teacher#he's learned so much already from his relationship with deku#going from a lil bully to realizing his mistakes#to knowing you have to work as a team with your other heroes and that you cant do it all on your own#that being number one isnt everything#that you'll never grow if you think you're too good to learn from anyone else#i think his relationship with aizawa and jeanist would really help him in that aspect#and whenever he does something cool with his quirk all his students get all crazy excited and it makes him all 😏😏😏😏😎#still makes him feel good lol#also bakugou in his unbuttoned white shirt with a loose tie and some glasses sitting in the teacher's lounge#coming up on him by surprise PHEW#HELLO SIR#okay bye#maybe will write something for him one day#blast from the past: hiatus q#edit to say: i wrote this in january and just found it in my drafts 🥺🥺🥺🥺#✿ willow writes#✿ thoughts: bakugou
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starter for @forgotten-contract
Bustling cities had a kind of charm about them that just drew people in. Merchants bringing wares to sell, adventurers seeking their next job, the impoverished looking for a new start, and of course knowledge seekers pulled in by the wealth of information and skills the guilds provided. Ul'Dah was the jewel of the desert. It's streets gilded by the sun, and its people the heart of its illuminating glimmer. Yet, in all the excitements and pleasures the glittering gem provided, what interested Cyra more were the secrets that laid in the dark.
It had been six months with no answer to her summons, and she grew tired of waiting. The wound still fresh in her heart had been her driving force for the last year, and now her curiosity and thirst had brough her to the Thaumaturges' guild once more. The brothers that commanded their charge of the tomb their order operated out of were no strangers to her. The healer had made generous donations of both monetary and service-related origin in the past. Even her interest in the arts of Thaumaturgy had captured their interest enough to allow her nearly free roam of the sanctuary. What interested her more than their method of manipulating aether was the carefully kept tomes secreted in their collection.
The art of Thaumaturgy was deeply rooted in an understanding of the Voidsent, and the natural charge of a Black Mage was the power of destructive magics at their fingertips. The techniques had been passed down from mages who had learned to wield and control the secrets given to them by the denizens of the Void, and Cyra's desire for those secrets carried an unnatural thirst for the forbidden knowledge stored within the sanctum. While she had the support of the guardians of the tomb, none of them were willing to grant her permission to access those materials.
Perhaps there is aught I can glean from their available texts. In the very least I can try to keep track of constant themes between tomes. Her thoughts danced around the idea of sneaking in after hours, even casting a simple sleeping spell on the brothers on watch just to get a glance. Initially, she only wanted to ask permission to simply see the secrets they kept locked away, but even her display of mastery over the destructive magicks wasn't enough to convince them that she could keep her wits about her.
They had the right of it.
Cyra's want for their information was borne entirely out of her craving for power. Were she a little more lost to her madness, she would have considered taking it by force, but her principles kept her from acting on impulse. She would not take a life so needlessly. Not unless her well-being had been threatened first.
The hours she had spent in one day alone was more than most of their students would spend practicing their craft. So driven was she by her desires that she neglected any attempts at getting her attention throughout the days she had spent perusing their collection. She would find the answers she was looking for, and if she had to, Cyra was prepared to even commit crimes to fulfill her wish.
"Gods-damnit!" She cursed in a sharp whisper. "This would be so much easier if they would just let me have a peek." It took a significant amount of restraint to keep her from slamming her fists onto the table in frustration. Several stacks of tomes covered the surface within her reach, with a rather large and delicately decorated one opened in front of her. She tapped her dry quill on the page, rereading her notes as she compared copied passages from multiple books with one another. The mentions were too vague to have any immediate connections to the titles she had heard Cocobuki mention in passing to one of his brothers.
She leaned back in her seat, setting the quill down in the ink well and letting out a frustrated sigh. The Miqo'te rubbed her face with her free hand, her gaze shifted distantly to the candle that sat just out of reach on the other end of the table. The playful dance of the flame held her focus for a moment. It was curious how something so small had the power to cause catastrophic destruction. She knew what she asked of the brothers. She knew what the consequences would be should she lose control over the magick she sought to control. Cyra was sure that her determination and desire were strong enough to overcome any perceived failure they may have had nestled among their doubts.
"Aghk!" Something in the light felt like it burned a hole into her mind. She winced, hunching over slightly in the chair as she cradled her face delicately with her clawed hands. She had felt headaches before, but this was different. The sharp pain behind her eye moved to her forehead. Her vast knowledge of the body, and its innumerable ails didn't provide her with any immediate answers.
"Perhaps..." She grunted, rubbing her temples. "Perhaps it's time for a small respite from throwing my head at the wall." The healer pinched the bridge of her nose and pushed her seat away from the table. As she moved, the headache seemed to pulse. The way it ached had her nearly incapacitated. But as suddenly as the pain appeared, it had subsided to a dull throb. I should return home. I doubt they will grant me access, and I have much to go over. I would also prefer to suffer through this fatigue in the comfort of privacy.
As she stood up from her seat, spots obscured her vision. She wobbled, only catching herself at the last moment on the surface of the table before she had completely toppled over herself. In her brief episode, she had knocked over the chair. The sound of the wood clattering onto the stone floor had silenced any conversation happening throughout the sanctuary, and yet she couldn't be bothered to even pay attention to it. All she wanted was to regain control of herself. But something felt like it was wriggling around in her head, sending her vision into a spin and losing focus on the task at hand.
The flame on the candle flickered towards her curiously.
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i dont like the tumblr-esque discussion abt "privilege" and such bc like. it isnt centered around using ur privilege to help other ppl, moreso abt. how should i say that. jerking off to ur own guilt? in a way thats like. if u have privilege u should feel bad, or even, if u have privilege ur a bad person (which is silly bc literally everyone has privilege to some degree).
bc like. wouldnt it be more helpful to just do what u can to help and go on and live ur life? like isnt idk. not eating out bc ur middle class there are literally homeless ppl (which is fr how some of you all sound) is silly, shouldnt you just go out, give the waiter a big fat tip and give ur money to the homeless guy on the corner of the restaurant? isnt it more helpful than wallowing in ur own guilt? isnt engaging w other cultures for example, even messily, better than building a big fence around urself culturally bc ur privileged?
bc like. stuff like 'how can u live ur life when there are litcherally people dying' (which is. p much word for word posts ive seen on here) isnt. helping the ppl that are dying? how is me sitting home miserable n jacking off to my own guilt helping them? wouldnt it be better if i like. donated money 4 example, or went 2 protests, or learned abt them, or had meaningful discussions w those around me, while also trying to live my life to the fullest?
ppl are suffering and thats terrible. but sitting at home doing nothing but masturbating to your own privilege/guilt isnt helping them. its just adding another name to the list of ppl suffering. idk what my point even is w this post. i just see a lot of like. guilt-trippy shit that drives me insane.
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Thinking about how people who only (or primarily) understand Mike’s arc through a “hes queer and coming to accept it / struggling with heteronormativity/will get his happy ending when he gets with Will” lens are missing at least half of what defines his arc in the wider context / themes of the show.
Forewarning: long post (& also maybe an unpopular opinion)
Even as a queer person myself, I know that his arc isn’t solely about embracing his queerness (though it’s inherently interlinked). In Mike, you have a character who is being radically challenged by both external circumstances and his own decisions through a journey away from all kinds of forced conformity (social, familial, romantic & heteronormative) and into someone self actualized enough to live how they want…while also being strong enough to accept that they made mistakes along the way. Someone who is learning to be brave enough to say “this is who I am, what I enjoy, and what/who I love…and while it took me a lot of time to figure it out, now I can exist in the world embracing that even though it will take consistently resisting the tendency to accommodate people who think it’s unacceptable.”
Like. Even from a time before puberty (see: S3) Mike wants a life that stands apart from what’s expected of him in every area, not just in choosing a romantic relationship with another guy. He wants to continue to be a nerd and “child at heart” even though something else is repeatedly demanded of him by everyone from his parents to El in his romantic relationship. He wants to be a writer and someone who takes those nerdy interests into his adult life (cue aggressive gesturing toward the duffers themselves) and grates against all that’s been constructed for him even when he’s not (yet) brave enough to challenge it directly. Mike liking boys/loving Will is just “the final nail in the coffin” of his social and societal nonconformity—not the first (or the last) aspect of what makes him different from Hawkins or the life he was made to believe would suit him best.
Even the fact that Mike has a desire to be “normal” comes from an insecurity and fear that choosing what he truly wants will lead to him being outcasted and losing the people he cares for entirely—which is partially motivated by his queerness yes, but that also has a basis in his general interests and personality…which becomes especially obvious when you realize we are repeatedly shown that he is punished/has his wishes ignored in all areas he doesn’t conform, even long before we get into a plot where it’s clearer he likes boys.
We see it in how his parents have already started to demand he put boundaries on the time he spends playing his “childhood games” the very first scene of season one, how they demand social acceptable emotions from him when Will is missing, and how Karen & Ted want him to give up toys in S2 when he’s showing signs of depression (because they think the issue is him growing up, not that he’s struggling with loss or guilt for what happened to El).
We see it in how his own father comments about taking his CA trip away from him after calling Hellfire being a group for “dropouts” in S4 (implying that he is failing on an academic and social level that matters to wheelers—and that Nancy is good at).
We even see it in the way everyone from his bullies to his own girlfriend threaten and take things away from him when he doesn’t conform to social expectations...from Troy telling him to jump off the cliff to save Dustin in S1 (as punishment for the one time Mike stands up for himself in the gymnasium) to El jumping straight into breaking up with him and spying on him when he doesn’t do exactly what she wants him to in Season 3.
All of these moments are critical to understanding Mike as a person because they show us that, even without addressing his queerness, Mike’s desire to conform to socialized expectations involves but is not solely about him moving out of heteronormativity—it’s about him moving against everything that WASP, patriarchal, heteronormative and capitalistic and performative “wholesome American” values…and how he is learning to move past the fear of what will happen if he steps outside the lines in general, even though he already knows he hates those standards.
Mike’s “coming of age” arc is about finding the strength to choose the “path less traveled” in all areas of his life—even when it means (potentially) losing the support of the people he cares about. It’s about starting from a place of privilege and becoming okay with being outcasted from it in a way your insecurities never let you be before (which is inherently different than Will, who has always been shown to have some kind of support not just for his queerness but his artistic endeavors as well). Mike’s lack of support is why he starts from a place of deep insecurity, yes—but it’s also why him learning power of choosing to be himself, even if it means “losing” people when he’s honest about who (& what) he is will be universally powerful.
You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of what it means to know you will be okay even if people leave you. You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of stepping outside social expectations or your family’s way of raising you. You don’t even need to be queer to understand the weight of breaking up with someone you were only with to satisfy what you thought you should do, rather than be with who you want to.
The power of being strong enough to overcome your insecurities in order to “step out of line” and live and love as you want to is universal, and a stunningly brave choice no matter what or why you chose to do so. The fact that Will will be there waiting to love him in that honesty with himself is beautiful, yes—but it’s not the only lesson to be learned for Mike’s character.
Mike starting out with everything the world (or, at least America) tells would make you happy, realizing he is not happy with those things and rejecting them knowing it might have consequences is what makes his arc powerful, because he is learning (exactly like his sister Nancy) to be brave enough to accept those consequences (which for him are getting dumped, and feeling like he’s being left behind by some of his friends) to follow his own heart.
Even though The Duffers aren’t writing this into a tragic ending (aka: he’s not going to die or be left alone, because the duffers writing is inherently designed ro champion the outcast), these are the things that have (and will) make him relatable even to an audience that doesn’t know queerness. Erasing the fact that his lesson is the bravery it takes to follow your heart solely to talk about him liking guys (even Will) is to undermine his humanity, and the lessons to be learned from him by even the most general an audience.
TL:DR - the heteronormative aspect of Mike’s character is not the sole or even inherent issue within Mike, though heteronormativity is inherently built into his struggle.
There are deep dives on how his arc is also about a war against toxic patriarchy, toxic masculinity, emphasis on capitalistic and academic accomplishments over artistic ones, and even conformist relationships (whether they’re queer or not) that should be explored for his character—and I for one like him too much not to move out of just “this boy is queer because xyz” and into “let’s talk about Mike in terms of the wider scope of his cultural context and upbringing.” 🤷🏽♀️😂
#imma go watch the Oscars now but#i know people mean NO HARM in focusing on the heteronormative part of his arc because on tumblr esp that is inherently relatable but#it’s not the only thing that makes his character interesting!#and it’s not the only thing he’s struggling with in his ‘coming of age!’#understanding white masculinity in America on a wider scale is SUPER helpful to understanding Mike#and in that sense Reddit is actually pretty good at catching his drift—THEY JUST DONT REALIZE THE DUFFERS ARE U N D E R M I N I N G it#erasing Mike’s queerness is to do him a disservice. I absolutely believe this.#but to deny every other part of him that isn’t just expected to be straight is to oversimplify him aggressively#you need BOTH to understand him#which is why you need both El and Will to make sense of his struggle lmao#(I still 100% believe he’s gay not bi)#(but him dating a girl was necessary to make sense of understanding that aspect of socialized expectations).#ANYWAY. Sorry for the rant lmao#mike wheeler core#mike wheeler#my st commentary#byler#< target audience#stranger things
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im SO obsessed w/ @sootslash’s jayfeather design,,,,,,
#all my fave jay design aspects…… white fur…. eye imagery….. ouHG#yeen art#jayfeather#nicking that eye markings idea for my own designs btw lmao
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big fan of this guy, fucked up and doomed rat my beloved <3
#my art#rain world#i tried to make them more modified than the other slugcats I hope i kinda succeeded at least lol#rw spearmaster#fuck i forget every time: spear is a tuxedo (black/white) with purple undertones. not too special but I wanted to focus on other aspects of#their design more
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