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temporoom · 1 year ago

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I don't believe it's because of fandom heteronormativity in Luo Binghe’s case (though it could definitely be depending on the fanartist or the writer) but rather because of how western typically represents villain and hero coded characters in popular medias.

Villains tend to be pictured as tall, slender, with sharp features and a cold aura in popular western media. (Think Jafar in Aladdin, Loki in Thor, or even, on the less tall side, Azula from Avatar The Last Airbender) It is particularly true when it comes to school-related stories: the evil teacher who gives you bad grades and treats you with contempt… They often fit that description. (Think Severus Snape in Harry Potter, the book version specifically, not Alan Rickman) Not only that, but more often than not, they’re also associated with queerness (and feminity) in order to “other” them from the rest of the cast. (It happens often in Disney movies: Scar from the Lion King, Hades from Hercules…)

Which I might dare say fits very well with the western fandom’s depiction of Shen Qingqiu.

Meanwhile Heroes tend to be pictured as broader, with softer features but also more typically masculine traits. They’re often kind, a bit awkward, and sometimes they have one specific feature that other them, but usually only one. (Think Superman in the DC comics, Captain America or Thor in the MCU… On the less broad side, but same category: Aladdin from the Disney movie, Harry Potter, Aang from Avatar The Last Airbender).

Again, if you add to that some of the hyper-masculinity associated with stallion novel protagonists, you end up getting the western fandom’s depiction of Luo Binghe.

So yes, inevitably, when shipping a stereotyped hero with a stereotyped villain, as imagined by western media, there is some sort of heteronormativity going on. I might even dare suggest the western fandom leans even more into those aspects because a queer effeminate man being the first antagonist of a stallion novel fits awfully well with what they have seen from western media. There is some heteronormativity, but not because of internalized homophobia, rather because it’s about taking back the tropes and play with them to go against expectations. (You know what’s also very popular in the SVSSS western fandom? Bottom Luo Binghe. That’s not very hyper-masculine, is it?)

Another factor that made me believe it’s more about playing with popular western media tropes rather than fandom heteronormativity is how the rest of the SVSSS cast is pictured by the western fandom. They ALL fit some sorts of trope.

Luo Binghe’s subordinates all fit antagonists’ underlings’ tropes: Mobei-Jun is the broad brawn who usually stays cold and quiet, Shang Qinghua is the evil henchman (a trope often associated with animalistic features by the way… Often rodents… You know, like hamsters), Sha Hualing is supposedly the sexy seductress, but the western fandoms more often than not depict her as being “one of the boys” (both tropes often associated with female characters in a group of antagonists). Honestly, I could go on and on about the way Sha Hualing is represented depending on fandoms and cultures, but the gist of it that in the western fandom she is Harley Quinn.

Meanwhile Cang Qiong Mountain fits the tropes associated with allies of the protagonist: Yue Qingyuan is the leader (think Shiro in Voltron), Liu Qingge the lancer, Shang Qinghua the comic relief (lucky guy gets both sides), Qi Qingqi the “girl”, and Mu Qingfang the nerd (he is often depicted with glasses in the western fandom btw).

Meanwhile if you look at it all from an eastern fandom’s POV, most of the characters DO fit the harem genre as explained in SVSSS. The reason as to why the western fandom doesn’t follow that kind of logic is because we typically don’t have harem centered stories in popular media… Except in one very specific place: fandoms. Hence why when we tend to make analyses of SVSSS we tend to think from a fandom’s POV. But once you start looking at the broader picture, it’s clear that the western fandom simply reclaimed the tropes they were used to from popular media through SVSSS which is a book about subverting popular media tropes through fandom culture.

So basically, Tl;Dr : It is heteronormativity, but not because we typically represent tops as broader and bottoms as weaker, but rather because those are two opposite popular tropes (the queer villain and the hyper-masculine protagonist) which inevitably leads to some sort of deliberate heteronormativity people can play with and break the codes of.

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 16/∞

LUO BINGHE HAS A "STEREOTYPICALLY MASCULINE" APPEARANCE

Rating: FANON - CONFLICTING

In fanworks, Luo Binghe is often portrayed as particularly muscular and buff, broad-shouldered, often with tanned skin and sharply-defined features-- all traits that are considered to be stereotypically masculine in the west.

All of this directly contradicts his canonical description.

Necessary disclaimer: I'm not talking against depicting Luo Binghe with a naturally darker skin tone. While that still contradicts the canonical description, I can understand going against colorism (something very rampant in east asian beauty standards!) in fanworks. This sort of discussion is particularly toward those who portray him as fair-skinned on Qing Jing Peak, darker skinned after the abyss, hence "tanned." While this sort of thing might have issues of its own, that's also not the topic of this post, and as a light-skinned Asian person, I don't feel particularly qualified to talk about it.

In truth, deep down, Bing-ge’s fair and clean pretty-boy type didn’t really suit the tastes of “Great Master” Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky.... The art of growing stallions was grounded in science, and the research was clear: women preferred men who looked cultured, pretty, and even a bit soft and feminine. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

The buff and bulky Luo Binghe often seen in fanworks is not what I would consider to be cultured, pretty, soft, and feminine.

Luo Binghe is described this way just before the conference:

A seventeen-year-old youth, slim and tall and graceful, dressed in white robes, lips turned upward in the hint of a smile, gazed at him with a pair of shining eyes. (7 Seas, Ch. 4)

And again after his return:

The other party was a little taller than [Shen Qingqiu], slender and willowy, dressed in clothes as black as ink that exposed only a fair neck. (7 Seas, Ch. 7)

And a description of his hands later on:

That hand was slender and unadorned. It didn’t look like the hand of a young lord of the demon race who had already taken countless lives, but rather one whose master had been born to pluck strings, his hand to burn incense and bathe in snow. (7 Seas, Ch. 14)

Consistantly, Luo Binghe is depicted this way-- slender and refined, with fair skin and a softness to his appearance that contradicts his actions.

As for where the fan depiction of buff, tanned, "hyper-masculine" Luo Binghe may have originated?

I'm not certain where the first such depiction came from, but as for the logic behind it, such phenomena could be explained as thinking of Luo Binghe, the stallion protagonist, as having an "ideal masculine" appearance.

For western audiences and beauty standards, this would certainly be that same sort of muscular, tall, with tanned skin and defined features. Naturally, when first thinking of what a "stereotype of an ideal man" would look like, these traits would come to mind.

It is a bit different in eastern standards. While muscular appearances can still be favored, lean muscle is vastly, vastly preferred over bulky muscle, and fair skin, which represents elegance and status (as those with fair skin tones are perceived as those who are wealthy, and do not need to work outdoors) is preferred over tanned skin. This is, of course, a generalization-- but as a representation of ideal masculinity, Luo Binghe's appearance would also be a generalization.

Particularly, Luo Binghe's figure and appearance is described not as those favored by men for themselves, but as those favored aesthetically by women. Therefore, that gentle, refined appearance is a must.

So often i've seen that Luo Binghe's bulk and muscles are shown as central traits of his physical appearance, despite the fact that this directly contradicts his actual depiction in the novel. Thus, it is inaccurate to depict him this way.

Luo Binghe's canonical body type and build is tall, slender and willowy, and his features are soft and a bit effeminate. The best example I could give for reference would be to base his body type off of a pretty-boy type idol.

Of course, fanartists are perfectly free to continue drawing him however they please, but it should not be assumed that a Luo Binghe with bulky musculature, tanned skin, and sharp features is a canon-compliant depiction.

Luo Binghe is a pretty boy.

#I hope I was clear enough with what I wanted to say ^^'#As a fanartist in this fandom this is personally what I've noticed about that matter and what i thought about when making my own designs #btw we all grew up with different media codes so for example I draw LBH more like a typical shounen protagonist #it all depends on what people have been used to growing up I believe #meta #analysis #svsss

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