#female portrayal

[diemelusine]

Boulevard in Paris (1885) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. Turku Art Museum.

[datadrivendelights62blog]

[starry-bi-sky]

my martha knight au in a nutshell:

Danny/Martha: see up here?

Danny/Martha: *taps skull*

Danny/Martha: intense psychological damage

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Danny/Martha: *upon finding out she's pregnant*

Danny/Martha: oh my god i cant be a mom, I'm fifteen and homeless--

Danny/Martha: im going to be a terrible mother--

Danny/Martha: i live in a cAR--

Danny/Martha: what if the baby inherits my powers? Oh no--

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Danny/Martha post giving birth: i've only had Bruce for a minute and a half but if anything were to happen to him i won't even need to fuse with Vlad, I'm razing this goddamn planet to the ground myself

Danny, to Baby Bruce: you are the last remaining thread of my sanity. I'm going to give you the world :)

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Danny/Martha prior to getting pregnant: Fuck it, if everything in my life has led to this moment, i'm allowed to make one stupid decision. I'm getting drunk and getting laid

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Danny/Martha while Bruce was a toddler: i swear to fucking god i am going to kill the next person who talks to me--

Bruce: hi mommy!! i brought you something!!!

Danny/Martha, immediately flipping on a dime: hi baby!! what do you have?

Bruce, a weird child like his mother: a spider :)

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Danny/Martha, talking to Falcone after he made an unsavory comment at her and Bruce: If you ever come near me or my son again, I will dig up your shithead father's corpse and make you eat his skin.

Danny/Martha: do you understand me

Falcone:... crystal, ma'am

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Danny/Martha new in Gotham: *getting mugged*

Danny/Martha: *grabs man's arm*

Danny/Martha: I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU IN HALF LIKE A TWIG, FUCK BOY, DO YOU HEAR THE WORDS COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH--

(she then proceeds to terrorize Gotham's night life for the next extended period of time, mostly unintentionally)

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Danny/Martha: Danny Fenton?? No. you must be mistaken, my name is Martha Knight.

Danny/Martha: this here is my littlest knight, Bruce.

Danny/Martha: I made him all by myself :]

[gentle-hero-blog]

Actually wait ok i'm not done. i'm actually so serious abt this. I think that a large part of the reason i got attached to metroid when i was younger is because it was the first media i discovered where the main female character was allowed to look like this:

and like. people thought she was cool. BOYS thought she was cool and I had never seen boys think a female character was cool before, much less want to be like one. she had all these interesting traits that I had only ever seen in male characters (person of few words, calm and ruthless bounty hunter persona, highly respected for skill, her appearance isn't mentioned Ever, etc etc). and that was formative for me and my relationship to gender i think

[ocaledonia]

i find it frustrating when people conflate criticism of drag and its culture with intolerance for gender nonconformity. men putting on exaggerated facsimiles of women's bodies and acting out the most offensive and regressive stereotypes about us for entertainment is very different to a guy who just likes wearing skirts or women who shop in the mens section

i was a very nerdy teen and went to a lot of conventions, where crossplay (dressing up as a character of the opposite sex) was common, so i know men can dress up as women and perform in character without being offensive. i also have no issue at all with guys who want to dress up as barbara streissand or whoever and sing and dance, it's the caricaturing of women's bodies and minds that offends me and other feminists

the hatred of women is a feature of drag culture that can and should stop

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[kacievvbbbb]

Maybe it's just me and I just don't understand the arc. Or maybe this arc will get some grand conclusion I'm really starting to doubt. But like I'm sick and tired of Tashigi being used as Zoro's misogyny proxy. Like the "a woman swordsman could never beat a man" belief and trauma made sense for both Kuina and Tashigi and was a very valid fear way back in the East Blue when they were still fighting relatively normal people and had no scope of how big the world is

but at this point where there are literally 20 feet tall dudes and people can blow up a whole city with just Haki the only reason Tashigi is still weak is because she is being written that way. Which is really hard to understand because it seems now more than ever One Piece has been getting more and more strong female characters so I don't know why every time Tashigi is on screen with Zoro we have to rehash this. It's even worse cause all she does in the scene is prove Zoro right by getting in a fight that she can't handle and needing saving. It's such a confusing message and honestly doesn't really apply or come up anywhere but with Tashigi and Zoro (outside of that one time where Zoro yells at enel for blasting Robin because she's a woman which was weird because Robin's been in a lot of fights before but seemed there just so enel could point out just how ruthless it is.)

Hell with the exception of the G5 all being in love with her. She is treated like a regular character and not just "the woman"

It honestly feels like both Tashigi and Smoker got lost in the narrative and Oda just doesn't know where to put their arcs. It feels like she was being written to help Zoro overcome whatever mental block Kuina's death instilled in him about facing female opponents with his sword. But she is just sooooo far behind him it renders the point moot and strengthens his convictions (it's weird that he will literally crush a woman's face rather than use his sword and is the only reason I won't say he doesn't fight women he does he just seems to have a mental block about cutting them down especially if they fight with anything blade like) but also we've only ever seen him face female character he knows can't challenge him it would have been interesting to see what he'd do in a fight against someone like big mom, tsuru or smoothie doubt that will happen though. But here's to hoping for Tashigi to have an actual arc.

[maxdibert]

Lily Evans and the Tragedy of Poor Character Writing: How She Could Have Been Interesting but Was Reduced to the Moral Compass for the Men in Her Life

The way Lily is used as a moral instrument for the male characters prevents her from standing on her own as a character with individual depth, aspirations, and personal struggles. While we see hints that she has agency and a personality beyond her relationships, these moments are fleeting and sacrificed in favor of reinforcing the men’s journeys. This lack of consistent development reduces her to what feminist criticism calls the “moral arbiter” or the “redeeming woman” trope, where a female character exists mainly to define or “purify” a male character’s storyline. This phenomenon is particularly evident with Lily, whose interactions serve to validate or critique the men in her orbit but rarely to explore her own motivations, desires, or struggles.

Lily’s relationships with Severus, James, and Sirius reveal moral contradictions that could have added complexity if they were properly addressed. For example, her friendship with Severus is cut off for reasons that appear, on the surface, morally justified—but she doesn’t seem to apply this same standard to James or Sirius, despite their bullying and violence toward others. Her reaction to Mulciber’s behavior is harsh and unforgiving, yet her forgiveness of Sirius’ behavior (he comites attending to murder) as they get older suggests a double standard that’s never examined. These decisions could have made her a compelling, morally gray character; instead, they’re brushed aside to uphold her as a “good person,” an infallible figure who’s somehow always in the right. This sanitizing approach dismisses her potential for growth, change, and inner conflict, flattening her character to fit the role of a flawless moral validator.

Her relationship with James, too, suffers from this one-dimensional portrayal. The narrative pushes the idea that James becomes a better person because of Lily’s acceptance, implying that he is redeemed not through personal introspection or growth but by “winning” her approval. This reinforcement of the idea that men can be “fixed” or redeemed by a woman’s acceptance or love is problematic because it perpetuates the notion that women exist to reform men, placing responsibility on women to serve as emotional caretakers or moral rehabilitators. This is a trope rooted in misogyny, as it frames female characters as moral tools rather than individuals with their own agency.

Feminist theory critiques this kind of portrayal, arguing that it reduces women’s roles to secondary functions in the narrative. Lily becomes a kind of “reward” for James’s perceived growth, not a fully realized partner with her own arc. This approach reflects Rowling’s broader struggle with female characterization, where women often lack agency beyond their relationships with men and are rarely allowed the depth, autonomy, or moral ambiguity afforded to male characters. By framing Lily as a moral gauge for Severus, James, and even Harry, Rowling removes her complexity and potential flaws, opting instead to present her as an idealized figure who serves primarily to validate the men around her.

The inconsistencies in Lily’s portrayal have led to her being a divisive character for many fans. She’s often disliked not necessarily for her actions but for the incoherent, contradictory ways she’s written, and this is ultimately a failure of Rowling’s character development. Instead of being an empowered, nuanced figure with her own voice and flaws, Lily is molded to fit the needs of the male characters’ narratives, leaving her motivations unclear and her personality inconsistent. This reflects Rowling’s problematic handling of female characters throughout the series, where women are often defined by their relationships and reduced to supporting roles. Lily, as one of the most significant female figures in the story, suffers from this treatment, and it’s a major reason why her character often comes across as both underdeveloped and unrelatable. The narrative’s inconsistent treatment of her is not a flaw of the character but a symptom of Rowling’s broader issues with writing female characters, who frequently lack the autonomy, depth, and agency that would make them compelling and relatable in their own right.

And yes, I’ll admit it—Lily Evans really annoys me, but it’s precisely because of everything I’ve discussed here. She’s been reduced to this saintly figure, this ultimate epitome of “good” motherhood and femininity in the narrative, and it’s frustrating because her complexities and contradictions are glossed over or ignored. Lily isn’t allowed to be fully human; instead, she’s turned into a symbol, an idealized version of what a woman should be, stripped of the depth and nuances that would make her an interesting character.

Instead of exploring her flaws, her contradictions, or the ways she fails to live up to the moral standards she seemingly sets for others, Rowling chose to simplify her into a narrative tool. Lily’s personal contradictions—her selective morality, her double standards, her often unquestioned choices—are brushed aside because they don’t serve the image of “perfect womanhood” the story wants to project. Rather than treating her as a fully realized person with her own journey, she’s treated like an object, a measure of how “good” or “redeemed” the men around her are.

It’s this reduction that bothers me the most. In focusing on Lily’s role as the moral benchmark for others, especially the men she interacts with, Rowling denies her the chance to be anything more than a tool for measuring their worth. She doesn’t get to make mistakes and grow; instead, she’s held up as an unattainable ideal, and that’s not just boring—it’s damaging. It perpetuates the idea that women are there to serve as moral compasses for men, to help shape their actions and destinies, while never being given the chance to explore their own complexities or motivations.

This lack of depth doesn’t just harm Lily as a character; it harms the story as a whole. The other characters’ arcs are all defined by how they relate to her, which only highlights how little she’s allowed to define herself outside of them. Lily could have been so much more than just the woman who inspires James to be better or the woman whose approval validates their actions. She could have been a flawed, messy, deeply human character. But instead, she’s been turned into a one-dimensional ideal, and that’s why I find her so frustrating—not because of who she is, but because of how the narrative chose to treat her.

[namtanlovesfilm]

I'm gonna be honest, one thing where thai straight dramas & lakorns have bl & gl shows beat every time is that they're not afraid to mix their top actors in ALL the pairings. by having them not stuck in only one ship, it really builds up excitement about who they'll next be paired up with. like right now we're really getting yaya & tor and mai & film in two iconic historical lakorns and I'm LIVING for it. they collect all the co-stars in a way fixed queer ships absolutely cannot & for that, they deserve recognition!

[diemelusine]

Portrait of Helen Beatrice Myfanwy Hughes, daughter of Billy Hughes, Prime-Minister of Australia (1931) by Philip de László. Private collection.

[aoloieruarchive]

[queeringclassiclit]

Irene Adler

from the Sherlock Holmes series (A Scandal in Bohemia) by Arthur Conan Doyle

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Sword of Kaigen

standalone fantasy set in a rural mountain village at the edge of an empire that still holds traditional values, with families of powerful water/ice magic warriors

follows a powerful young heir who begins to question his beliefs about the empire when a new boy comes to his village from the city

and his mother, a housewife who has tried to forget her youth as a warrior and vigilante in the city since she moved back home to a loveless marriage

when there’s a violent attack on their village that they’re unprepared for, everything changes, and she has to embrace her old skills to protect her family and people

[deldeldel90]

when i say "she's just a girl" i'm 100% talking about devi vishwakumar, rory glimore, princess aurelia, rashta, sumin, hermione granger + ginny weasley, and susie campbell

[botanikos]

AND BEFORE ANYONE ASKS - YES, ONE VERSE OFFERS THE CLOACA AND IT'S LITERALLY JUST THE MAIN CANON.

[chemileen]

It’s me 🦅