#sexism and misogyny

[waterlilyvioletfog]

“Man in A Dress”, Gone With The Rain

TW: discussion of misogynistic and especially anti-trans tropes/stereotypes/rhetoric in media. I use male pronouns for a character who may be interpreted as transfem, for clarity.

Caveat: I’m white, I’m queer but not transfem, I haven’t watched the whole show and I haven’t read the novel the show is based on. Spoilers through Episode 18.

So it’s a reasonably common trope in cdramas I’ve watched recently to have a male character wear women’s clothes for Sneaking purposes (not usually Sexual Sneaking, but still uncomfortably close to that anti-trans trope) and it’s always played for laughs and it’s always like “oh doesn’t our six foot tall male lead with big broad shoulders look so silly in this maid costume hur dur”. Some dramas (Starry Love) can manage to make this not blindingly offensive, but other dramas like say, Blood of Youth, may have scenes where the male characters are in drag and look ridiculous and “unwomanly” and awkward. Lots of furtive looks and hunching down and hissing because They Are Men.

Gone With The Rain has two examples (so far, I’ve just gotten through ep. 18) of a “male” character dressing in women’s clothes… and they both feel different (at least to me) from this trope, or at least like there is something more substantial and meaningful at work than mere “man in dress lol” anti-trans misogynistic jokes.

The first case is in the first arc when Bai Moxi, our main heroine, dresses Wan Jiagui (a young loyalist soldier trapped in a rebel-controlled city) in women’s clothes and has him act as a body double for her so that he (and originally also she) can escape the city. Wan Jiagui is initially hesitant and embarrassed by this because He Is A Man and also your crush buying you women’s clothes is apparently emasculating or whatever, but the execution… Wan Jiagui is wearing clothes made to fit his body, not borrowed clothes, and there’s nothing sheer or form-fitting going on. The costume he and Moxi both wear isn’t the sort of thing she usually wears, either, with a big draping scarf as part of the bodice instead of her usual jacket, and cool tones where she’s so far mostly worn reds and oranges. It’s still not men’s clothes, but it’s not something that we would expect either character to wear. This makes the dissonance doubled (both characters are out of their usual uniform) and thus reduced (Wan Jiagui doesn’t necessarily look weirder to the audience than Moxi does). And beyond the initial discomfort Wan Jiagui displays, there isn’t much comedy to the disguise. The costumes serve a purpose, it makes sense that he’d dress as her, and he acts pretty much as he has for the last several episodes, including having a chase scene full of tension and danger, all while wearing women’s clothes. The male character isn’t wearing women’s clothes to sneak around the women’s quarters at the palace, he’s wearing them as his most practical choice of outfit for escaping a dangerous situation, with the co-conspiracy (actually, primary conspiracy) of the female lead. Instead of sinister or silly, it’s smart.

The second case is Wu Yin. Wu Yin (played by actress Liu Meitong) is an ostensibly male character who has disguised himself as a woman to infiltrate a women’s school. This, on the surface, is like, the DEFINITION of the predatory man in drag anti-trans trope— male character dresses as a woman to deceive women and enter a women’s-only space. But, as Bai Moxi notes, he’s not there for “promiscuity”, as she puts it. This is the primary reason why she doesn’t tell anyone when she discovers that Wu Yin is AMAB. If Feng Ming, who’s been harassing Moxi and her cousin Fengyao, had done the same thing, she’d scream to the rooftops. Bai Moxi does blackmail Wu Yin regarding his gender, but evidently feels no fear towards him and sees no harm in his continued presence. She blackmails Wu Yin because it’s a point of leverage and she’s a shady, scheming opportunist, not because she thinks what Wu Yin is doing is wrong.

Wu Yin (in situ) does behave differently from the rest of the class, but it mostly comes off as “Wu Yin is a stick-up-the-ass bluestocking surrounded by silly beauties who dance all night”. Wu Yin’s just naturally proper and somber, not uncomfortable. Additionally, we have another comparison of female characters wearing traditionally male clothes in the other class, who are top students who learn archery. Gender nonconformity is expected, textually and visually, and there’s a female character who belongs to that other class who has exactly as many hidden agendas and secret plans as Wu Yin does.

Most crucially for me are the scenes after the Marquis’s visit (Wu Yin wore traditionally masculine clothes for this time) where Wu Yin presents as a woman again. Everyone in the school knows Wu Yin is AMAB. Wu Yin just dresses as a woman because this is a women’s school and he should dress the part. Wu Yin’s words! The idea that a male character could willingly return to presenting and living as a woman, for no material gain— that isn’t anti-trans at all. That’s as close to a trans-positive narrative as you can get without explicitly making a character trans.

If you treat Wu Yin as a genuine portrayal of the transfem experience, Wu Yin’s guilt when Moxi calls him a man reads as self-internalized transphobia, or fear of being outed; wearing male clothes when acting as an official and returning to women’s clothes after comes across as a trans person closeting themselves around their co-workers and family; Wu Yin presenting as male becomes inextricably tied to loyalty to Wu Lang and his conformity is closeting for a transphobic parent’s love and approval; and Bai Moxi and Chen Wende both saying Wu Yin looks good in women’s clothes comes off as support and gender affirmation, demonstrating that trans individuals can be genuinely attractive in their gender identity, that the desire isn’t a one-way street for trans people.

All of this is not to say that the creators of this series intended to make a genuinely positive portrayal of the transfem experience or to show a transphobic and misogynistic joke played straight where a cishet male dude can just wear the fucking dress and kick ass— I’m sure that you can make the opposite case, and I’m not an expert in trans storytelling or stereotypes and can’t speak to the transfem experience personally. But it’s a way that a person with the lens of feminist, trans, and queer coding could feasibly interpret the text, and I think that’s interesting.

[jerrycummblr]

It's really simple. If you're born with a vagina and you naturally have elevated testosterone levels, you're a man. If you have a vagina and you take testosterone, you're a woman. But also if you have a vagina, you'll never be a man. But also if you have higher testosterone then you were never a woman. Woman never yes man a vagina testosterone no was an elevated. Vagina man.

[animentality]

[justaboutsnapped]

Why you shouldn’t support the upcoming game Black Myth: Wukong

Simply put, the creators behind Black Myth: Wukong are raging misogynists.

Founders and creatives of the studio have:

Joked about former female employees hypothetically doing prostitution

Used suggestive/objectifying/derogatory imagery & phrasing in their hiring flyers (under the cut), e.g. “In addition to hookup buddies, we promise to provide more thoughtful services” , “fatties fuck off”, etc.

Written entire think pieces on how video games don’t need female players or developers, how women are biologically inclined towards “softer” modes of gaming than men (there’s also a bit of homophobia mixed in through language such as “fuck sissies”), how some things should just be made for men, etc. “Fuck sissies, fuck tragic love stories, fuck moon-lit peach blossoms and flute-playing scholars! You don't need the reverse motivation of female players, you don't need to take care of those worms who just want to date chicks. Some things are just for men, their depression, their anger, their pain...”

Made numerous sexually explicit (& honestly incel-like) comments including ones about a female character in Black Myth: Wukong, e.g. “once you get used to this [character design] you can jerk off to it”, etc.

Boasted about how they’re losing followers, who must be women

To no one’s surprise, when people criticise the studio online, they’re met with vitriol about how they’re hypersensitive feminists, too politically correct, etc.

Chinese women have been YELLING non-stop on social media about how bad it is so it’s pretty depressing to see that a lot of non-Chinese gamers, even after reading an IGN article covering the situation, are apathetic. I get that a lot of people are excited about the novelty of a soulslike game based on Chinese mythology, but do you really want to support a studio that actively contributes towards and benefits from misogynistic gaming culture?

Talking about separating the artist from their art is bullshit if you're financially supporting them. Boycott! Pirate!

Here are some sources if you want to see detailed translations, learn more about the situation as well as the misogynistic gaming culture at large China:

[hussyknee]

Vajra Chandrasekera is a Locus and Nebula award-winner and has been short-listed for a Hugo Award this year. You can find his Tumblr here: @adamantine and his twitter here: @_vajra

[anarcho-smarmyism]

the way that "Karen" originally meant primarily white women using ther privilege to abuse people of color and service workers and the internet turned it into a stand-in for "bitch"...... the way that "NLOG" originally meant girls and women who performatively separate themselves from femininity and put down other women out of internalized misogyny but the internet turned it into a stand-in for their lesbophobic or transphobic slur of choice for masculine women.....the way "manic pixie dream girl" was originally a critique of a sexist trope in fiction and the internet turned it into a way to insult real life girls and women for being weird or quirky....never fucking ending

[silvermoon424]

One of my favorite genres of post is one man being like "the female orgasm doesn't exist. I would know, I've had sex with a number of women and they are BIOLOGICALLY INCAPABLE of achieving orgasm" and then a bunch of other guys show up to roast him

[misogyny4girls]

You wouldn't have fat udders hanging off your chest like you do if they weren't meant to be groped, squeezed, and slapped around after all, would you? Your body is a fucktoy for Men, and there's no reason to try and pretend like it's anything else, especially when you have big hangers like this cow.

[trans-androgyne]

There seems to be a lack of understanding around here of the way sexism can affect men. Of course men are the privileged gender under patriarchy, but you only reap all the benefits of hegemonic manhood if you’re seen as doing it the Right Way (being a masculine cishetallo perisex White etc. man). Feminine men experience sexist treatment. Black men demonized for being moc experience sexist treatment. Pregnant trans men painted as objects of disgust experience sexist treatment. Any time manhood is used to say men’s bodies must always look a certain way or that men are inherently more violent, aggressive, predatory, emotionally stunted, hypersexual, and dangerous than other genders, that is sexism and gender essentialism. To dismantle patriarchy, we need an accurate understanding of how it functions. Intersectional feminism includes men.

[decolonize-the-everything]

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A post shared by Caroline J. Sumlin | Author & Speaker (@carolinejsumlin)

Her caption:

carolinejsumlin: White Supremacy is the umbrella system that runs our society. It is the foundation in which our society is built on. It is the machine of our society, but this machine cannot run without each part working seamlessly to do its job. Each part of the white supremacy machine is one of these systems of oppression (and many others I was unable to fit here). Now, this isn't to say that these systems of oppression couldn't operate on their own. They absolutely can and do in other cultures and societies. However, within our modern, western society that was built on and continues to be run by white supremacy, these systems strategically run to ensure white supremacy's goal: a pristine social order of pure whiteness. One we understand the depths of how white supremacy works and just how much it is impacting us from every corner of society, we can begin to dismantle it effectively, while freeing ourselves from falling for its devices.

This concept is something I've seen posted and over and over by different people (usually Black women though). The idea that it's not just that specific groups are consistently targeted but anyone who deviates from the narrow norm of White Supremacy becomes a target, which is why Black women with multiple intersecting identities are the worst treated people in pretty much every society worldwide.

Which is why I listen and follow and share so many perspectives of Black women btw. When the Combahee River Collective said "If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression." I didn't see any way that could be false and it's because of white supremacy.

And as for how and where white supremacy exists:

I like this White Supremacy Pyramid, it pretty much encapsulates my understanding and belief of how its perpetuated and builds on itself -ultimately up to the genocide of groups that don't fit into the White Supremacist categories of ideal.

The "Pyramid of White Supremacy" is a component of assistant professor Erin Stutelberg's Diversity and the Self class. It's a one-credit course required for students majoring in elementary education at the Maryland college. Stutelberg said in a Friday statement to Delmarva Now that the violent Charlottesville rally took place as the course was being planned. She felt it needed to be brought up in class, but wanted to carefully do so.

She didn't want her students to think about white supremacy only "as men in robes or hoods or torches marching in streets" because it would give them the impression that it was separate from their lives. "Instead, I want students to explore the ways that race and racism are part of all of our lives," Stutelberg said.

Source

And while not everyone (including myself) agrees with the placement of absolutely everything, it's still decent enough to use so that's what I'm doing.

That to say white Supremacy exists and is perpetuated anywhere and everywhere, so it's up to us individually and collectively to hold ourselves responsible for where it's growing in ourselves, our communities, and countrymen.

I don't see how liberation or human rights will be won with anything but solidarity for the most marginalized communities there are.

How do you build white supremacist framework for future generations if the people here now refuse to hate each other enough to allow it?

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Vote like your life depends on it…because it literally does.

[rotzaprachim]

I know we’re in a new era of livetweeted misogyny but Elon musk threatening to impregnate Taylor swift on live social media feels like a new degree change in the air

[separatismus]

Killing leftist men should be legal if women do it actually.

[charlesoberonn]

I'm all for gay stuff too but you don't gotta be misogynistic about it.

[thisismisogynoir]

I love it when women hate men. I love it when women are allowed to vent to each other about how horrible and creepy men are. I love it when women form friendships with and prioritize each other over relationships with men(whether they're attracted to them or not). I love it when women put men dni in their bios and on their nude photos and on posts on their blogs. I love it when women refuse to mollycoddle and accommodate entitled male feelings with "but this doesn't mean I hate all men, I know a few men who are great, I love my father/sons/brothers/uncles/male cousins/guy friends" I love it when women complain about men WITHOUT "not all men" being a disclaimer. I love it when women avoid socializing with/refuse to be around/befriend/get close to men because they know men can't be trusted. I love it when women make "kill all men" jokes. I love it when women offer absolutely no concern or care for men's feelings and if their misandry offends men whatsoever because why should we, men are the oppressor class who have raped and killed and abused us and kept us as subjugated as second-class citizens for millennia, they regularly mistreat us and the women in their own marginalized communities still every single day and make this world so much harder and more awful for us to be in, and if we choose to hate them and not spare them any sympathy then so be it, and I don't just mean "men as a class" either, you can be a woman who doesn't want to have anything to do with any man on an individual basis and completely cuts off men from her personal life too and ykw I will love and fucking support you in that because men deserve absolutely NOTHING from us. If they're so tough and strong then they can handle it just like they can handle being lonely. If you are a woman who hates men, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A LESBIAN AND/OR A TRANS WOMAN, then just know that I love you. I love you, I support you, and you are safe here.

[misogyny4girls]

Rights are for Men, so that other Men can operate within society properly and keep things functional. Men have rights, Men don't have udders.

Women have udders, these are big sacks of fat and milk that hang off a girl's chest, denoting her as an inferior breeding cow who lives to be impregnated and milked. Women have udders, women do not have rights.