#This is still misogynoir

[jaijeijayjei]

“Race and gender don’t matter in Piltover and Zaun!”

The writers and viewers of Arcane are real people who are not immune to biases, subconscious or not.

Calling out harmful tropes that sideline or villainize minorities in media is valid! Calling out double standards in the fandom is valid!

Even if racism and sexism don’t exist in universe, Arcane exists in the context of the real world.

[evie-doesnt-write]

I don’t know how to say this exactly but like… fandom and show are kinda weird about Mel and Ekko and it is very much rooted in racism

[aishabellasbigblogofeverything]

Honestly seeing that one bitch say that Halle Bailey has a "man cock" in addition to being so fucking racist and disgusting, was also really disheartening and served as a harsh and disturbing reminder that...it doesn't matter how pretty or feminine or soft and sweet and delicate you are as a Black woman, you could be all these traits superlative to any white woman on the planet, but as long as you're Black they will always find a way to call you a man...no matter what. As long as you are a Black woman you will be masculinized and have your femininity called into question. It's really hurtful.

[princessefemmelesbian]

Maybe I’m just being dramatic but it does legitimately scare and sadden me to see that a lot of transandrophobia truthers are literally just…young boys. Like, actual children. Like you’re not even old enough to vote yet and you have your whole life ahead of you and yet you are being manipulated into joining an mra group that hates trans women with a passion and thinks that men are oppressed in society for being men, and constantly uses Black men as their talking point in order to sound diverse and inclusive, meanwhile they’re also appropriating and misusing terminology specifically created by Black women to talk about our own oppression in order to get their misandry point across…to say nothing of the fact that the largest people in this group(including but not limited to its creator!) have misogynistic rape/detrans kinks centered specifically around preying on lesbians and trans women and this is something that is normalized and defended by the vast majority of transandrophobia truthers, or at least defended viciously by every single transandrodork that I’ve ever encountered who argued with me(a lesbian!!!) that actually there’s nothing wrong with getting off to the corrective rape of women because two consenting adults can do whatever they want in the bedroom(yeah right)! Not to mention I have yet to come across a transandrophobia truther who wasn’t also a raging die-hard Zionist.

And that’s why it disturbs me so much to see young trans boys jumping onto this transmisogynistic hate train like you guys realize these men don’t have your best interests at heart, right? They’re only going to manipulate you into being a sexist entitled asshat who shuns and bullies the trans women in your community and sees them as oppressing you. Like I know you’re still in middle/high school but you can still think for yourselves, you can choose to be better than this, you can choose to actually learn about feminism and realize that it’s not actually misandry that oppresses you, it’s transphobia. Misandry doesn’t suddenly become real because you slap a trans paint over it that’s not how it works that’s not how intersectionality works that’s not how any of this shit works. There are better trans men to talk to about trans issues who know that the patriarchy is real and don’t shit on trans women in order to speak out about trans topics, so go seek them out, okay? You absolutely do not have to listen to shit that the “male supremacists but trans” group of lowlives has to say. Hell, tell them to fuck off instead! Please, I promise you that there are much better options, there are ALWAYS better options, and you still have time to escape before they fully radicalize you into basically being an incel. There will ALWAYS be another way. ❤️

[sukibenders]

"You can't ship MelVik because Mel was mean/looked down on/was classicist towards Viktor, and it's obvious Viktor doesn't get along with her because of how he looks at her!" But you ship JayVik, which equally has its moments of Jayce looking down on Viktor and carrying his own form of classicism, has his being mean or just inconsiderate here and there (and Viktor to him in vice versa), and even Viktor himself has been shown to argue or not always be on the same page as Jayce, but you have no problem shipping them together. This isn't about trying to influence people to ship MelVik, because whether you do or don't, the argument usually against it (or from what I've seen) from these certain types of fans is so surface level and often always paints Mel in this weird light like she's the sole perpetrator of everything bad in Viktor's life and/or acts like two characters suddenly disagreeing with one another is grounds for a ship being incompatible, even though worse things can happen between a pairing and they still will be enjoyed. And this argument is usually, even outside of Viktor, aimed towards ships involving Mel (eg. MelJay or Melvika) and it's not hard to know why, especially with how rampant misogynoir is in this fandom. Again, not saying you have to ship MelVik, but if your reason behind that is the excuse I listed above and you're aligned with the rest of this post....I need you to analyze that.

[q--uee--n]

It doesn't quite sit well with me when parts of the fandom act as though they don't understand why, exactly, people become so hyper-defensive/are so hyper-sensitive when people bring up Mel being manipulative. It's because this trait has been weaponized to demean and disparage her at the expense of acknowledging any other nuance/facet about her character, and this also often goes hand-in-hand with ignoring the faults of other characters as to emphasize hers. The fact that Mel is a Black woman can not be put aside as a definitive factor as to why and how she's perceived the way she is—by both the fandom and the writers of the show. I would even argue that one of the show's original sins is a lack of understanding of the real-world intersections between race, class, and colonialism.

In regards to both Mel and Ambessa, this lack of understanding is evident in the writing. Writing that ignores the real-world implications of the Medardas and their social position relative to whiteness, which is one informed by socioeconomic and sociocultural disparities as a result of racism and misogyny. Yes, I understand it's a high fantasy show where things like racism don't exist, so to speak, but Arcane, like all media, is informed by the state of affairs of the world we live in. With classism—classism, which Black people are disproportionately victims of—being a core theme of the show (ostensibly), it's disingenuous to disregard the, from a Doylist perspective, haphazard nature of Mel's function in the narrative as a wealthy Black woman in a classist society juxtaposed against poor, oppressed white main characters (this also applies to Ambessa as a warmonger).

With that said, and harkening back to the beginning of this post, even if you're not bringing attention to Mel's flaws and complexities to demonize her, you have to acknowledge them in the context of her as a Black female character being written with little understanding of intersectionality and how they've been weaponized against her, which are the reasons people—specifically Black woman fans such as myself—are compelled to defend her (or even pretend these flaws don't exist. After all, it's never been a problem in fandom when non-black and male characters' flaws are erased/diminished. It can't suddenly become one now). It's easy to say Mel is a multi-faceted, three-dimensional character, thus, that's why downplaying her flaws is a disservice to her charcter, and this isn't an unreasonable point. However, it's harder to admit that the reason people point out these flaws is not always in the service of acknowledging her complexities but instead in the service of demonizing her due to internalized/unknown biases against Black women. In the end, no one has to like a character. No one even has to defend a character they don't like on principle. No one has to not be annoyed at the sanitization of a multidimensional character. But if those things are being done without an acknowledgement of how the perception of that character is mired by racism and misogyny—knowing or unknowing, from the writers on down—then maybe it's time to address some oversights or unpack some internalized biases before wondering why people feel the need to defend that character.

[awakefor48hours]

The Legend Of Korra: *spent years fighting an uphill battle of misogynoir and queeephobia*

Korra and Asami: *kiss and announce they’re a couple before gay marriage was even legalized in the United States*

Fans: Korrasami is a bad and underdeveloped relationship. Why do people even like it?

[demigodsanswer]

I'm sure it's been said before in more articulate ways, but it does always strike me as hugely telling when people bitch and complain about the casting of Ms. Leah Jeffries as Annabeth, but not about any casting of Grover. Movie, musical, and TV show, a canonically white character has been cast as a character of color and no one bats a fucking eye. But the moment the smart girl who our pov main character loves, values, and thinks is beautiful is a Black girl, then it's an issue. When the only main trio character who is literally not human is cast as a person of color, then it's fine. But the moment it's Annabeth? Well then being blonde is actually a marginalized identity, and you all need to act like you have degrees in Representation.

[sanyu-thewitch05]

I feel so bad that Megan has to deal with the AI sextape being passed around. Yet again, this whole scandal is being perpetrated by Blackistan and its members( The black blogs and obsessive stans) and at this point I think Megan needs to pull a Tina Turner/Eve move and distance herself from the collective rap industry. In general she’s partially already doing that by leaning into her anime watcher side and including that into her music(because let’s be honest, Blackistan stays away from certain kinds of aesthetics and music on purpose).

Also, on the topic of Blackistan and Megan, Blackistan has had its ugly neck out for her ever since Tory Lanez got put in jail. I still remember when the Black rap blogs were putting out fake headlines that Tory was found innocent, only for them to be wrong. They don’t like it when criminal Black men are held accountable in any way. If we learned anything from Tina Turner’s life and death, Blackistan is going to make Megan’s injury, virtual harassment, and fake sex tape a joke to degrade and humiliate her even when she’s in the grave.

And it’s not lost on me how Taylor got sympathy and the government to start doing something when she was the victim of this happening. But Megan doesn’t even get basic human respect and the ability to cry because she’s being dehumanized online via a deepfake.

[aishabellasbigblogofeverything]

Seeing people lust over Luigi Mundane Mangione just because he killed the CEO(“fuck capitalism!” my ass because lbr if a Black person killed the CEO y’all would hate them so much) and then the very next day seeing people shit on the cutest Black girl you ever did see and call her ugly, masculinize her, and compare her to animals, all for not looking like a zombified facelifted mugshawty Barbie sex doll.

This is what it’s like to be a Black girl. Constantly having your dignity and womanhood and value tarnished and dragged through the mud, and being reminded time and time again that the world hates your very existence and considers you the fundamental opposite of everything a beautiful and feminine woman is. Everyone walks all over you, everyone sees you as a despicable subhuman monster who doesn’t deserve or need protection and care, everyone uses you to get a one-up and prop themselves up because you’re seen as easy picking and nobody defends you when the going gets rough because to them you’re just there to remind them that they’re better than you because “at least I’m not a Black girl”. And when you complain you’re “aggressive” and “dramatic” and “it’s not about race/gender” “people can’t help what they’re attracted to, Black features are inherently more masculine anyway”. I hate it here.

[void-star]

Recently, I confronted a white guy I know irl who is a long-standing member of a community I organize on his racism (being comfortable enough around black people to try dropping the n-word cause one of them said it in his presence).

It did not go well, I don't really need to explain that to anybody who has ever tried to talk to white people about racism. Deflections, distractions, then turning to accusations when him selling me on his innocence/ignorance did not stop the confrontation.

Anyway, I set down the boundaries and let him decide whether he would take the actions requested of him or not (action informed by conversations with the black people in my community about what they needed).

He had to chew on it.

I found out later he did send out an apology, but only after he went to the person in this community (one that he affected) that he perceives to be another man ( and he is closer with), trying to find someone to soothe his sore ego.

I keep thinking about that goofy post about the alt-right pipeline.

I was nice to this man. I gave him the opportunity to be honest. I offered him an understanding of the importance of the confrontation. But I had to be firm because dude could not, would not show up to the table.

And he still ran to a safer "man" anyway, looking for whatever confirmation or validation he wanted in order to avoid responsibility. And only apologized to a black woman because the "man" he went to reinforced that he needed to be accountable.

I don't know what else happened in the conversation between them, but I can only imagine what platitudes had to be exchanged and how much diminishing of me, at least, had to have been to get this dude to do something as fuckin simple as apologize to somebody.

I wonder where the fuck us "being nicer" to these types of men fits into this exchange to "avoid" pushing men to the alt right.

I could literally do nothing to make this guy behave like a normal fucking person in this situation.

"Be nicer" lmao.

[sukibenders]

Not some CaitVi stans playing victim on Twitter, wondering why no one vibes with them anymore, even though they went on a spree of harassing black Arcane fans, calling them, Ekko's VA, and black Arcane characters racial slurs while pretending they [Reed and black fans] were homophobic for not liking how Cait was a cop and gassed Zaun, even going as far as to dox some fans for even daring to ship Vi with someone else (who is black). But, suddenly they feel unsafe in the fandom? Sure, Jan.

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

(For the record. I'm not attacking Keith Lee. He's an amazing creator, and as a foodie I love what he's doing for small businesses.)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRtAXn6e/

But I just want to point out what Black women have been saying (and whether Keith Lee knows it or not, what he's calling these big companies out for).

A Black woman has an idea. He loves her idea, replicates it, giving her credit. And the big company comes in and supports HIM and not the Black woman that originally had the idea.

This happens all the time for Black women creators. Whether the idea is picked up by a Black man, white woman, or white man. Black women never get their credit.

(Keith Lee did everything right. He gave the Black women their credit in his videos. He's calling out the big businesses for snubbing them.)

Anyways. I don't have any input. There's nothing I can add that Black women haven't already said. I just wanted to point out that it happens.

-fae

[kouhaiofcolor]

Damn man. Think I’ve realised it’s not Black people at large. It’s not. Nope. It’s a very specific part of the diaspora that is behind most modern apparatus in all forms that reduces, caricaturizes or, in entirely too many ways among entirely too many of us, disgraces Black culture and the representation of Black People in general.

And at the risk of offending or pissing some Black ppl off, it’s the African American community specifically. Black Americans. Specifically af, and I’m done defending it. It’s us. It’s Black Americans in their full-circle complacency. It’s literally the worst of us here making the rest of us look fucking terrible — and that is so anguishing. Year round.😮‍💨

It’s not Black Brits; it’s not Black Germans; it’s not Black islanders; its not Black Canadians; it’s not BIPOC; it’s not Africans in anywhere near the kind of prevalence we observe or experience the kind of shiftlessness and stagnance unique to the state of modern Black American communities. It’s Black Americans, 1000% of the time, making Black People all over the world out to be thee fucking same in the worst contexts. There’s a shame in desecrating our cultures, ourselves and each other that we just do not have here in the US.

And this why I gotta go. Y’all can have it; whole damn continent. All of us definitely cannot make it out — and i fear we’d be worst off encouraging everybody try. This some shit we as Black Americans definitely gotta unpack tho (and maybe get a move on?⏱️👀) cus it’s getting pretty damn irreversible. That should be terrifying. I gotta gtfoh.

[godalyn]

Can't wait to see people making more shipping content for Richter and Alucard despite them not being together over the canon relationship of Richter and Annette:)

[c0rpseductor]

on one hand the idea of being attractive in a Womanly Way and thinking about the fact that i have been made legible to others as a sexual agent through a lens of assigned womanhood throughout my lifetime and am often still seen through that lens understandably makes me, A Man, very dysphoric and uncomfortable. on the other every time i see one of those clearly very venerating venus figurines of the paleolithic fat ladies i start jumping up and down and hooting and hollering like THAT'S ME!!!! because i do look like that.