SHOUTOUT TO LILIANA FOR REPEATEDLY KILLING MEN

maybe im overthinking, but do you ever think abt how in episode 1, utena justifies wearing the boys uniform by saying its not against the rules? while this was clearly a "gotcha" moment against that stuffy teacher, i feel like it also shows how shes still functioning within the parameters of the ohtori system. like, yeah, shes being rebellious, but its a form of rebellion that isnt actually revolutionary- shes still following the rules propagating the structure built around the patriarchal prince, shes just doing it in the "opposite" way of whats expected, but shes not actually fighting it. though, of course, even this much deviance still tries to get corrected... its still not against the rules. i feel like from the beginning we're told aspiring to princedom isn't a noble goal, and that utena is still part of the system as long as she pursues it

2023 in review! I made an effort to try more things and it worked mostly (at least for TV and movies). New things, new-to-me things, and new installments of old things all had characters to love even if I didn't necessarily feel fannish about them, and I'm hoping 2024 does, too.

what would be fem!sns's dynamic to you, kinds curious

tbh pretty much the same but maybe even a little more violent (we love toxic yuri!!!)

sasuke’s personality would stay pretty much the same but i can see naruto’s repression be translated to struggles with gender too because due her tomboyish looks and personality it’s easier for outsiders and herself to see how she’s not fitting gender roles and her chasing of another girl while ignoring men’s confessions. (< very utena)

what's with continuously calling arya a "weird girl", she's just an outdoorsy and outgoing type of girl, i do myself think is a lot weirder wanting to be mostly a broodmare at the age of eleven.

no but if i have to see the term girl-anything ever again i think i will kill myself

Ok and another thing about Jason which adds to the fact that he feels so relatable to a female audience is the way his age is used. Women get the wonderful (/s) experience of being called "girls" no matter if they're 16 or 60. Because it's easier to either think of women as cute or pityable or whatever, but to take them seriously. And yeah you won't take a "girl" as seriously as you would a "woman". So whenever Jason goes against Bruce it is framed as the boy going against the man. The man (Bruce) being automatically the authority and in the right for no other reason other than that it is his right to be in the right.

But when his tragedy is discussed and especially the question of responsibility, he becomes an adult. A woman is often only granted "adulthood" and no longer called a "girl" when her rights are being neglected. Because it is easier to say of an adult, she can deal with it on her own. In this instance granting her autonomy is not a sign of respect, it's a justification of neglect of duty to protect others and act in service of respecting their rights. And Jason is also left to stand alone once the question of responsibility and culpability arises. It's easier to then view him as an adult. Someone who should know better and be able to handle things on his own. Attempting to strip him of power when the truth is that, no, no one does things alone. Even the big Batman, here the ideal of masculinity, famously proclaimed to work alone, but recognized by everyone honeslty as dependant on cooperation ranging from Robin to Batgirl and more. For the man, the narrative of the lone wolf is an excuse to pretend your achievements come from you alone. For the woman the lone wolf narrative obligates her to constantly prove how much she has truly achieved on her own and isolates her from the kind of support men can more readily get.

And Jason needs to live with this same kind of dichotomy of age. The portrayal of his age is used in a very female-coded way to justify neglect and disrespect.

I really hate that people are framing this like Shiv being stupid or fucking herself over for no reason.

No, Shiv made a real choice. It just wasn't based only on her own personal ambitions, for once. It was part anger, part jealousy, but also part understanding that Ken just shouldn't be CEO, no matter what became of her. It was a rare moment of choosing based on her real feelings, not just whatever benefits her. Because she knew she couldn't win anyway. She exerted whatever power she had, not to really win, but to avoid the tragedy of Kendall winning.

Stop throwing that "lol she'll be a housewife now, she’s so dumb" shit like Shiv didn't know exactly what she was doing. Sure, there's tragedy there, but Shiv is not stupid. And she doesn't need Tom to survive, they're all getting massive golden parachutes. At the end of the day, knowing she couldn't win, Shiv still decided everyone's fates at the board meeting. It's an ironic moment of agency and power from someone knowing she can't ever fully wield it. And she did it knowing it would mean Tom, not herself. There were entire scenes dedicated to her processing that.

Shiv knew very well. And she made the choice, anyway. She didn't win, but you don't have to treat her like an idiot.

guy who’s only seen utena watching serial experiments lain—

wondering if the mutuals would actually try to fight me if i spoke my truth about the barbie movie…

RHENRYA AND ELICENT SHOULDVE KISSED OR BEEN KINDA IN LOVE WHY AM I GETTING SUCH IN LOVE VIBES WHEN SHE HAD HER HEAD ON HER LAP AND THEY WERE TALKING WHILE WATCHING THE FLOWERS BLOOM SHIT IS GAY AND I FEEL LIKE THE BETRAYAL WOULDVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL IF HER DAD GOT WITH HER BEST FRIEND WHO SHE COULD NEVER HAVE BECAUSE ITS IS NOT HER PLACE HER PLACE IS SUPPOSED TO BE MARRY A KING AND PRODUCE AND HEIR BUT HER FATHER GETS HER OMFGGG GAY GAY GAY GAY I WNAT MORE LINGERING GLANCES AND FORELON TOUCHES

Lol I feel you and yeah I totally agree it would’ve been even more impactful if they had gone the friends to lovers to enemies route but alas…..at least we have the cast interviews that confirm that they are indeed a little in love w each other

Speaking of which the latest official hotd podcast ep w Emily Carey was really great, she went into more detail abt the intentional queer undertones as well as her process for getting into character. In the other interviews I’ve seen she didn’t get to talk as much but in this one she went into a lot of detail abt her character and the intentions/thought processes behind some of the scenes that might clear up some confusion for the audience. She’s very well spoken and intelligent and I really hope she and Milly can somehow make an appearance in later seasons maybe in flashbacks

thinking about utahimes forehead...

Hey I know this might seem odd, but:

I need feminine names from Greek Mythology

But here’s the trick: they have to had a happy ending

So far all I got is Danae and Andromeda

Does anyone know any other name?

p.s. preferably not a goddess’s name

i mean, the thing is. it's not like there's a problem with one person themselves being feminine and unintelligent. those are common traits and they have no moral value. however, they shouldn't be portrayed as inextricable. but they're not. things like "girl maths" and "explaining things For The Girlies" presents both as morally neutral (which they are) and inextricable (which they are not). there's nothing that's "explaining the stockmarket For The Boybabes" (using sports allegory or beer, obvi). also, most people who like feminine things don't like *all* feminine things because we're all individuals. and of course, normalising these things contributes the narrative that "women belong in the kitchen" and "women should only be doing household duties" furthering heteronormative and stereotypical gender roles (seriously, not even ancient societies were that bad extreme. and they were bad).

point is, it's fine to be feminine. it's fine to not be conventionally intelligent. it's fine to be both. what's not fine is presenting those as true for all women.

I saw the Barbie movie today and tbh I have mixed feelings about it. It was really funny in parts I won't lie and I liked the humor but there was something so... I don't know. I think the message was nice enough but the film felt shallow?? Idk

as much as i love being a hater and hating on men which i think is so so justified i just also really hate it when people try to argue that no men in your life = the way to feminist utopia. im always like i really want you to look at some statistics about single mother households right now. then come back and tell me to my face not living in feminist utopia is a skill issue