#silvans are feminists

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Honestly:

Headcannon that Legolas 100% knew Eowyn was disguised as a soldier in the army when they ran for gondor, but not mentioning it to anyone bc “of course she should be here, have you seen those muscles and callouses? We can use such skilled warriors”

He 100% didn’t know theoden and even aragorn wanted her to stay behind bc she was a woman. Eowyn being on the battlefield was such an obvious choice that, for a second, he forgot sexism existed and thought that everyone else knew she was there too.

Legolas, post battle when he hears about Eowyn killing the witch king: NICE

Idk who, some guy maybe: *to Eowyn* what are you doing here? You were supposed to stay behind!

Legolas, abruptly reminded that sexism exists:

[pinkfey]

explain about tauriel? I’m not remembering anything 😅

yes ofc!!

so in lotr women are frail, subservient, and are supposed to hold the children while the men die at war. that’s nothing new. galadriel and eowyn are the exceptions to this rule, with eowyn actively fighting quite literally every man in her life (save for merry) for her right to be on the battlefield. ultimately she does it with literally no man’s blessing because all men in the films want her safe and believe her “better than” the horror of war; essentially she is their delicate flower in need of protecting.

she serves as our Token Woman and catalyst for some liberal feminism. i don’t really have to explain much further the lenses through which women are viewed in lotr are misogynistic, but at the very least eowyn is complex. her relationships with men are not her becoming an accessory to them and the story devotes a pretty great deal of time to showcasing what’s going on in her head. and i love that.

enter tauriel!! she’s cool!! she’s badass!! she does flips and kicks on par with legolas!! she’s everything we wanted!! a woman efficiently fighting from the get-go!! no need for saving!!

except that’s not really tauriel. yes, she is an exquisite fighter and i do love the choreography of her fight scenes, but that is not why she’s there. like eowyn, tauriel’s sole connections in the films are men: thranduil, legolas, and kili. but unlike eowyn, tauriel exists to accessorize them. any possible backstory of hers gets chalked up to being a silvan elf and the single other scene of her expressing her thoughts is used to show kili developing feelings for her.

tauriel is there to show thranduil’s high standards for his son, to show legolas’ bitterness over her unrequited love, to provide the viewers with an unearned heterosexual love story between her and kili, and (and i don’t see this brought up much) to watch over children. when kili is injured and bard is off in jail, tauriel is there to take care of the children. because of course she is. women are caretakers after all.

so!! in summary!! though i really really wish tauriel was more than just a cheap faux feminist ploy, she just isn’t that. despite tauriel being what most people wanted out of eowyn—sharp and quick on her feet and efficient—she falls short of everything eowyn rose above!! aka men!! tauriel is a weak plot device, and from just her introductory scene it’s made clear she will not be written with any care, where she swoops in to save the man who will fall in love with her and the camera lingers on her in a way it does not do with bilbo or thorin. it’s supposed to be a nod to the audience, a cue to applaud her for breaking such a gender norm, while also informing you of the stale romance that is to come.

so there u have it!! everything i’ve noticed about the absolutely terrible writing of tauriel ♡

[diversetolkien]

I just want to say your pieces on Tolkien's work are brilliant! You've totally expressed the feelings I shared, but couldn't materialize in words! It must be very difficult in the fandom w/ the racist 'gatekeepers,' which is similar across most fantasy fandoms including ASOIAF. I love your takes on Thranduil and Feonor especially. Most ppl just make Thranduil's wife some silver white elf, but your take is so much more powerful and I personally think it's much more accurate and true!

Thank you! Unfortunately Tolkien’s standard for fantasy affects almost every aspect of high fantasy, which is why it’s not surprising that some of the racist tropes read in Tolkien’s works are seen in ASOIAF and other forms of media—even Star Wars.

Tolkien borrows his own views from incredibly racist authors as well. For instance, Galadriel’s character is based on Ayesha. I’ve included why that’s not a good thing in the link!

And I think it’s incredibly plausible to think that Thranduil’s wife would not be the typical Sindar elf—or even Sindar at all. Legolas adapts to Silvan culture, and even prior to that, Thranduil had as well.

Also, British nobility married into families that would give them strong ties to the country or area they needed to rule. This is something we see constantly in Tolkien’s elven marriages. I feel like one of the few exceptions is Feanor and Nerdanel, but most elves marry for some sort of gain.

Therefore Thranduil marrying a Silvan elf, thus sharing equal power with her, and also having a son that considers himself 100% Silvan starts to make sense when considering that. Mirkwood/Greenwood didn’t want outsiders ruling their kingdom, and the only way for an outsider to do so would be to assimilate into their culture.

It’s almost so strange how Legolas can trace his lineage back to Doriath and how he is connected to perhaps one of the most important Sindar elves, yet never claim his Sindar heritage.

Like at all. And it doesn’t seem like Thranduil claims it either.

Anyway, Thranduil will always be my favorite because he is genuinely one of the first devices of anti-colonialism that I’ve seen in Tolkien’s work—both he, Legolas, and his unnamed wife. Her character is so, so important, because it reaffirms that not only is Thranduil still very much assimilating into Silvan culture, but it is an example of Legolas, a prince and a male, completely shunning his father’s lineage and choosing his mothers and her people.

That’s incredibly powerful, especially considering what the narrative did to the Silvan.

It’s incredibly feminist, and I’m shocked we don’t talk about it more.

Historically male heirs were passed down things that their father had promised for them. When a woman married a King, she became the Queen or Queen Consort of that nation no matter the influence she had (ie: Cathreine Medici), this is why women like Queen Elizabeth didn’t marry, because sexism would destroy everything they had.

So to see Legolas take his mother’s legacy, to see Thranduil assimilate into Silvan culture, to see his son not take on his Sindar heritage, but take on his mother’s Silvan heritage is just mind blowing. Thranduil may be a King, but it is different than what a European king would look like.

And this tendency for women to have more power is definitely something we see in certain indigenous African groups—and with Tolkien living in South Africa, I do wonder if he was influenced by certain groups throughout the continent of Africa.

And yes, racist gatekeepers will always be a thing. Unfortunately, they’ve gotten under my skin more than I’d like to admit, but I try to keep my head up!

[midnatsblaamikrofiber]

sikkert, 7/6-’17, 02:02

en fredag da jeg var 14 eller 15 eller 16 og var på vej til privatfest hjemme hos C i Brønshøj med mit Maestro-debetkort i lommen sammen med en 1-krone og en sixpack øl i min fjällräven, dengang hed bussen 5a, I kan forestille jer den jysk-eksilerede københavners milde eksistentielle kvalme ved mødet med 5c, men dengang i 5a sad jeg bagerst ved vinduet ved døren (der sidder de seje jo) så jeg sad der med hjemmeklippet pandehår i gule unisex-jeans og ventede på mit stop, og to tolvårige drenge satte sig ved siden af mig. det er der ikke noget underligt i men de kiggede meget på mig, og jeg kiggede ud af vinduet, den 11-årige hader jævnaldrende drenge (kun i flertal), og den 11-årige var selvfølgelig inde i den 14 eller 16-årige, nå men drengene spurgte mig om jeg havde nogen penge og jeg sagde “Øh nej” for det havde jeg jo ikke, så spurgte den dreng der sad fjernest om jeg er en dreng eller en pige og jeg tænkte at da jeg var 12 turde jeg ikke spørge nogen teenagere om noget som helst og kunne de ikke se at jeg var sej og sad bagerst på vej til fest med øl og alt muligt, måske skulle jeg endda ryge et hvæs af en joint senere, men det kunne de ikke, og så tog ham drengen en lommekniv frem - sådan en med en tandstik, oplukker og mørkerødt plastik på, og pegede på mig med den hen over sin ven og sagde at jeg skulle give dem penge og jeg synes det var fjollet og hvad skulle han kunne gøre mig og hvis nu jeg kunne være sej og ydmyge ham, så jeg griner og giver ham min 1 krone, siger at hvis han skal tigge sådan må han godt få den, det er ligesom hvad jeg har, haha, men det er mit stop nu og de må ikke vinde, hvis jeg går ud af bussen nu har jeg tabt eller den 11-årige har tabt og jeg bliver nødt til at vinde for det er meningen at jeg skal være den store og seje, drengene spørger igen om jeg er en dreng eller en pige, jeg himler med øjnene og stiger ud to stop for sent. han gav mig 1-kronen tilbage og kaldte mig fattig

 lørdag morgen nævnte jeg det for min mor. mor kunne ikke forstå det, jeg er da så feminin, pige til fingerspidserne, alle kan da se at jeg er en pige og det skal jeg ikke tænke på. det var nu ikke fordi jeg brokkede mig over det, eller synes at det var ubehageligt det var ligesom bare et af de små absurde møder man kan gøre sig i 5a og som på en måde ikke bliver inviteret i 5c for man kan ikke sidde i mørket nede bagerst og jeg har slet ikke den rygsæk længere heller men mor lod til at være glad for, at jeg er en pige. helt til fingerspidserne. måske vidste hun allerede et eller andet sted, at min bror er min bror er min bror, måske var det bare en måde at bekræfte mig på. eller prøve i hvert fald.

 vi ringede sammen i går, og mor vil gerne gå en lang tur med mig på et tidspunkt. “Hej Noa!” flyder mere og mere naturligt fra hende, og hun siger at hun gerne vil gå en lang tur og tale om “alt det der” en dag hvor det bare er os to så hun måske bedre kan forstå det. “Jeg har fandme været feminist i 40 år” runger i mit baghovede og jeg taler om at det er rigtig dejligt at være kommet til psykolog igen at jeg endelig har mødt den 11 årige ordentligt og har tænkt mig at trøste hen i stedet for at skælde ud og taler om min nye altan og møbler og el-cykler man kan leje billigt i Silvan og jeg ved ikke hvornår vi kan gå en lang tur for jeg skal så meget i sommerferien og jeg ved også, at hun vil spørge hvorfor jeg ikke bare kan være en maskulin kvinde eller om jeg vil have hormoner og operationer eller om min kæreste så ikke er lesbisk eller flere spørgsmål som jeg ikke kan svare på men som jeg jo egentlig godt kan svare på og jeg kan være glad for at hun ikke kom sidst jeg stod og svedte sådan her og læste op og jeg kan være ked af at hun ikke er her nu for hvis hun var havde jeg nok snakket med hende inden i dag hendes øjne kan være så sorgfulde men kærlige og vi savner hinanden men mit køn ligger der midt i det hele og det er ikke altid vi kan se igennem det eller gå uden om det

 jeg føler mig snydt over at jeg ikke kan huske de utallige gange, jeg må være blevet kaldt en dreng da jeg var lille bitte. altså jeg er ikke nogen dreng men der er fandme aldrig nogen der tror det heller, og det er irriterende, og jeg bliver misundelig på dem som bliver fejlkønnet på mere en én måde men det er nok lidt ligesom at ønske sig at have Danske Bank med i sin Pride i stedet for Nordea altså hvad

det er nok godt det samme alligevel

men når jeg går en tur med mor, sikkert i københavn, sikkert i bagende sol og sikkert med både en klump og en sagesløs flue i halsen, sikkert svedig og nervøs og tørstig og anspændt, måske endda forløsende, når vi går dén tur sammen håber jeg at hun vil spørge mig om hvordan hun kan hjælpe. jeg håber at jeg kan fortælle hende hvor tarveligt det er, at jeg ikke eksisterer juridisk, at jeg skal vælge mellem førnævnte Danske Bank og Nordea hver gang jeg går på toilettet i offentligheden og hvordan mit hjerte banker fordi jeg ikke kan være ligeglad fordi jeg spiller fallit hver gang jeg vælger kjolen men pissoir er bare heller ikke særlig attraktivt når ens pik er en man har købt og man har den i hvert fald ikke med på biblioteket, vel, den her er ikke til at pisse med og jeg kan ikke overskue at skulle forklare hvorfor køn er vigtigt når det er konstrueret eller hvordan man kan have et når det er noget vi har fundet på altså mor du har sguda også et studielån selvom penge er et påfund ikke

 og pikke er ikke køn ligesom øjne ikke er renter, mor

 jeg håber at hun kan se lyset i mine øjne når jeg taler om frigørelsen

jeg håber at hun kan holde til at høre at jeg kalder mig selv for trans

jeg håber at jeg ikke trigger hende

jeg håber at hun ikke trigger mig

jeg håber at jeg tør tage hen i min mund med min familie

men jeg tror mest af alt at jeg ender med at brække mig midt i utterslev mose

 så kan flere af mine kropsprodukter være ude blandt jer, og brækket kan ligge der oven på gåselort og cigaretskodder og et par kløverblomster, jeg har altid haft lyst til at spise dem bare gabe ned over én og bide stænglen over, her er den sød og lidt sprød men jeg ved godt at det nok ikke er sådan og jeg lader være, især hvis jeg lige har brækket mig på den, men billedet står der og jeg står der, sikkert foroverbøjet og frastødt og fuld af hjemvé selvom jeg ikke ved hvad det er der mangler. helt sikkert trans.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Legolas: *asks the only female advisor in the room for her opinion*

sexist asshole: why are you asking her about emergency measures? she's a woman!

Legolas: yes, and it's because she's a woman that managed to make it all the way to the role of adviser, despite the heavily patriarchal society, that i know that she's more qualified to be here than any of you. So calm down, sugar tits, and let the professional speak.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Legolas, every time he’s in a battle amongst humans and the humans tell the women and girls to hide and have all the men and boys fight, regardless of experience: do ya’ll have any idea how terrifying a women is on the battlefield when they have something to loose?

Legolas: because i genuinely think you’re self sabotaging when you’re not letting grown ass adult women, who are plenty strong due to all the house labor, onto the battlefield with an axe.

Legolas: There’s a reason our god of war is female.

Legolas, pointing at Eowyn killing the witch-king: this is what i mean!

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Thranduil: Miss Piggy puts up with so much as a woman in show business and her response to misogyny is never to turn the other cheek or take the high road. it’s to physically attack people.

Thranduil: and she’s right.