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pruneunfair · 1 month

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Ranking every manhwa villainess and white lotus I could find.

Keep in mind these are all opinion based.

#22: At the very bottom of the list is Sumin Jeong from Marry my husband

Now, like almost everyone else on this list, Sumin is kept a level that is below the FL Jiwon so she can never best the hero. However unlike the others here, Sumin has not once been shown to be anything other than a dumb and evil bimbo who talks like elmo even before Jiwon regressed, her reasons for wanting everything Jiwon has make no sense and she has no flavor to her, no backstory that makes sense, no real charm since it's lost as soon as possible, all she has going for her is a distinct design.

#21: Charlotte-the villainess maker

Honestly, Charlotte is about as forgettable as the comic she's from. She doesn't do much, just basic bland white lotus tropes over and over. She is portrayed as a sweet heart but she's secretly a jealous vindictive mean girl, she loses everything to the FL because she's too basic for the not-like-other-girls readers, nothing really revolutionary about her, but this could be chalked up to the story shes from canonically being an abysmal mess written by the FL when she was 14, Sorry Charlotte.

#20: Iris Van Conrad-Today the villainess has fun again.

A step up from Sumin when it comes to backstories, still not the greatest but it makes a little more sense. She's more passive aggressive since her actual plots are destoryed in nanoseconds by the plot, she gets dunked on so much I wonder if she's supposed to the Villainess or a discount Meg Griffin. Considering the fact to that Reilynn is pedo coded, Iris is less of the two evils.

#19: Aisha Selir-divorcing my tyrant husband.

Shes okay, But like Charlotte, Aisha isn't very noteworthy, as usual, any attempts she makes to best or outsmart Robelia are met with utter failure, she could be something really great if she were just allowed to make a mark on the plot. Like actually have Alexandros take responsibility instead of blaming her for her existence. Her design before the art shift was pretty enough and I'm pretty sure she's being possessed by a vindictive soul so that might explain why Aisha suddenly became a villain when she's described as being dainty, sweet, and a general damsel and saintess in the story within DMTH.

18: Fonta Magnus:the tyrants only perfumer

Fonta is the type of antagonist that would be adored as a isekaied protagonist. She doesn't really do much though since she gets defeated over and over with the same plan of copying Ariels ideas (how original, no pun intended) I like her though just because her design reminds me of cartoon goth girls, specially Gwen from total drama island.

#17: Benela Verdi- the princesses jewels

I don't care if she seduced Ariannas father or killed her brother, Arianna was out there acting like she wouldn't do the same just to get with a sexy man. Benela may suffer from the same problems every other villainess does but if ranked them based on that then almost all of them would be on the bottom. This image of her drinking her stress away is accurate to how I felt reading this one.

#16: Claudine von Brandt-Cry or better yet beg

I absolutely adore Claudine and she's not really a villain but unfortunately the narrative says she's a so she'll have to count. It's why she's this low since she's just a woman who gets in the way of the main ship

As you can probably guess, her only crimes are being condescending to Layla and valuing superficial values such as wealth and status, crimes that somehow make her worse than Matthias in the narratives eyes. Justice for my girl Claudine ✊️

now we are moving up to the middle tier

#15: Diana-for my derelict favorite

This girl has more protagonist material then Hestia ever will. Sorry but Hestias entire thing is just being a rich girlboss, simping for Cael and damning any woman who broke his heart including Diana, who is the saintess that opposes murder, Wow! Who would have guessed that the saintess woman wouldn't endorse literal murder! Could she have communicated better? Yes, was she always in the right? Hell no. But she's got more character in her pinky toe then everyone else in their entire bodies to I salute to her.

#14: Irene/Aileen Hascator- I didn't mean to seduce the male lead

I have a weird relationship with her. One minute I'm impressed because she actually does manipulation pretty well at first with making the lives of those who won't swear loyalty her unbearable in very smart ways, she'll buy all her friends expensive dresses so she can stand out in a simpler one, she'll defend the black sheep and make her into her friend to keep up her sweetheart facade, unfortunately it's all so she can get with a boy where she goes nuts on anyone who gets near him.

#13: Freya van Furiana- how to get my husband on my side

I really loved this manhwa, almost all of the characters are complex and 3 dimensional with a great commentary on abuse, ED, and family dynamics, with that said I was a little disappointed seeing Freya as another basic white lotus who only wants Izek for herself, it won't take much even a little more character traits would help because Freya isn't just some random girl who became the ogfl, she was the childhood friend of Izek and Ellen, so we should've gotten to see a little more too her then what we got

#12: Mielle Roscente- the villainess turns the hourglass.

Beautiful design, basic but rather solid goals, a charming personality, Mielle has all of that in the bag. She secretly wants Aria and her mother out of her life since they aren't of noble blood (before the terrible Arias a noble plot twist) and she's really entertaining. However I'll never understand how she managed to destroy Aria in the first timeline if she's such an idiot now. The first timeline also takes the blame off of Arias shitty actions with "Mielle tricked her into being evil!" It ruins the charm since Aria, as a villainess should be allowed to suffer the consequences while not wanting to quit.. since you know, she's not meant to be a good person.

#11: Isabella de Mare-sister I am the queen in this life

NOT YOU!

THIS is the Isabella I'm talking about

Absolute genius, she knows that Ceasre is a bastard and not just in the literal sense, she doesn't even love him and just wants that sweet sweet power and wealth. Fooled Ariande for years that she was on her side and as a bonus she can easily say she wanted revenge for Alfonso to the public if they ever found out she was behind it all. But the best part about first timeline Isabella is her villain monolog that women mean nothing to men, putting your life in their hands is a fatal mistake and if you want to make it to the top, you gotta crush the opponents. But alas we never see this version of Isabella after Ariande goes back in time

Higher tier now, the best of the best who managed to make it this far

#10: Rhyse/Lise Sinclair- not your typical reincarnation story

Yeah shes technically being controlled by the author or hell maybe she is the author I have yet to finish this one but for once we get a comic that doesn't immediately pit two women against eachother and actually gives a solid reason for her to be at odds with Edith. When something doesn't go her way, Rhyse doesn't throw a fit and turn on the water works no no no. She stands there, awkwardly, almost like the real Rhyse is wondering why she feels so jealous and angry with Edith for stealing the spotlight. She's incredibly ominous too when that purple mist surrounds her to force the other characters back into place. All while she's making friends with Edith in a possibly geninue friendship.

#9: Isis Frederick- the villainess reverses the hourglass

I'm pretty sure most of us can agree she's the real villain of TVRTHG since she basically started and encouraged the whole operation to begin with from afar, the puppeteer if you will. Killer design, a great fear factor and an evil sister done better. Wish she had more time to shine.

#8: Diane Poitier- I abdicate my title as empress

What already sets her apart from other evil concubines is that she was there before Adelaide so her reasons for being upset that another woman is showing up to marry the Emperor is reasonable, obviously her actions aren't but I still felt bad for her since no one in that palace gave a damn about her, Diane got ruthlessly belittled and ignored for not being useful to their liking or simply being too desperate and when Adelaide tries to not make an enemy out of her, Diane is looking for anyone to direct her anger on but the redemption arc as short as it is, makes up for it.

#7: Leila- villains are destined to die

My favorite ogfl turned villain. Leila is pure evil no questions asked. She steals the body of Yvonne which played a part in taking the latters reputation to a degree in the fandom and starts brainwashing everyone around her. That's what makes her so terrifying, one minute you could be at your highest and you feel like you rule the world, and next minute it all comes crashing down when the face of your long lost sibling arrives with fake tears in her eyes, ready to destroy everything you hold dear.

#6: Soleia Elard- seducing the villains father

I can't believe I'm saying this but a classic black magic witch is a unique villain in the manhwa world. During her introduction she's already causing mayhem by trying to kill Yerenica with black magic, and at first you'd think she's another "I want my hubbies affection!" Chick but no, she just wants to marry Erudian to have his child and use said child to avenge her family and destroy everything, characters are all frightened by her because she actually gets shit done instead of failing every minute of the day, and even after all that, she's allowed the privilege of life by getting a redemption arc.

#5: Cosette Weinberg- I was the real one.

She deserved so much better!! 😭 Cosette, my baby, you were set up to be such an amazing villain with high intelligence and well thought out plans, why did they have to give you the good old plot induced lobotomy! Girly wasn't just smart but there were actually times I could get behind Cosette. When Keira gave a maid 100 lashes after she insulted and wished death on Keira, it was Cosette who took advantage of an actual truth with only a little bit of exaggeration, they were both evil but only one of them was rightfully called out for it. Honestly just read the novel, the manhwa did it dirty.

#4: Marianne Edenverre- into the light again.

Nah someone get this baby to a church and give her the aggressive baptism 10 times over, I'll always be wondering how the hell did that 10 year old get her hands on a demon in the first place, the fact that the family never found her hiding behind a door or closet staring into their soul like a paralysis demon is surprising cause I imagine she would do that and be like "it's just me sillies, I would never mean to scare you 😛" she's a well written villainess who I wish would have a little bit more screentime but her powers and what she can do honestly confuses me (like that whole body-swap thing)

Final 3 everybody, you ready for this?

#🥉: the 3rd place medal goes to Dodolea Castor from My in laws are obsessed with me

Another real villainess, putting everyone off guard with her initial gacha life brat persona only to be hit in the face with disturbing levels of cruelty that can only match a psychopath, she looks straight out of an uncanny mr incredible meme with that light skin stare shes got. Straight up laughs at Therdeos trauma while being well aware that she tried to SA him and how it affected the poor guy and later proceeds to attempt to kill and later kidnaps his wife. There's no remorse, no regrets, just the souls of innocents behind those huge eyes.

#🥈 : the second place medal goes to Verta Alberhart from depths of malice.

She isn't even the antagonist, no that's the protagonist! And honestly, the only white lotus in the main lead spot I've ever read so far. And while she has a messed up backstory that explains why she's so bitter, she still full on embraces it. Vertas way of being granted a second chance isn't even because of some goddess or divine power, she just snatches the body of a suicidal noblewoman and wreaks havoc on all of the disgusting noblemen in her path. She cries on the court trial of her fiances murder while secretly laughing knowing she set the whole thing up and slowly ruins the life of anyone who fucked around and found out.

At long last, we reached #🏅, and the crown goes to none other than...

Rashta Ishka from the remarried empress!

Hear me out now, this isn't just me being biased. Rashta earns first place because even though she is rendered an idiot who's only use is being worse so everyone else can look good, she still managed to do something unfathomable. She earned the respect of a fandom that initially hated her with all the fiber of their being and now she has a growing fanbase of real people, not fictional characters, actual fans. People are literally turning on one of the most popular manhwas that started it all for its treatment of Rashta (because who would guess that people are uncomfortable with the fact that a former slave is the ultimate evil and not the guy who tortures people just for shit talking the FL) and even though there is still a big part of the fandom who despises her, she still lives in everyone's head rent free. The trashta meme is more well known than Navier as a character and her character arc will always be superior and far more interesting than everything else in the story, after all remarried empress did start to decline after her death.

Jesus christ this took so long, I had to do so much rereading and fact checking but it was worth it.

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pruneunfair · 10 days

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different medias ways to promote internalized misogyny: an essay.

Do you remember any of those "Me vs other girls" templates that people nowadays use for yuri art? the type that are so painfully cringey that you think whoever made it is just messing around. We think that it just died down when everyone matured but that's not the case, internalized misogyny is still rampant in media that promote it in a subtler way. One of them is of course Otome isekai, the genre of isekai taking place in a fantasy/historical romance book/video game within the stories universe.

everyone knows the good old classic shojo tropes that haven't been popular in years. A female lead who is pure and sweet, a handsome and powerful male lead who will save her with marriage, at least one other guy who will fawn over said female lead, the best friend with the personality of 2016 quirky memes, and of course the evil villainess with a design that is very obviously designed look evil, villains with a Ursula or the evil queen from snow white vibe if you will.

for a long time now in the manhwa community, one of the most popular tropes is an isekai/regression of a villainess who is hated by all. This likely isn't the very first one with this idea but villains are destined to die is one of the most popular with this trope, and it worked. Penelope still retains a level of evilness even with a new soul to keep up with the fact that the OG Penelope was the villain. The og fl Ivonne isn't exactly demonized either, her body is being possessed by a demon named Leila and her soul is stuck in a mirror so no woman is one archetype. VADTD was a phenomenon and it got people into the idea that a villain could be as best a protagonist as a heroine. The community however, had a problem. Even though it was made explicitly clear that Ivonne was not at fault, there were tens of hundreds of the novel readers who still blamed Ivonne instead of Leila. This is not the fault of the author of course but it would be a warning for what would come.

ever since that trope has become very popular due to the nuance it could give. Eventually someone came up with the idea that the typical pure and sweet fl would be the evil one instead, it worked for Cozy Glow so why not here? these fl's ended becoming ogfl's who were pick me's, cruel, crybabies, and most of all: incredibly stupid., this even went to stories that aren't within a novel by using characters who had that sweet angel vibe. They could never hold a candle to the new badass girl bosses because they're old school and like all the other vabid rich ladies. This idea alone wasn't bad but it has been watered down to the point of unoriginality and even writing a mess of a story. They want people to actually hate the ogfl for hurting the misunderstood former villainess and to do that, you'd think they would write them as these calculating manipulators who were not to be fucked with. At the same time though they want to prove how awesome and perfect their new protagonist is and there is a misconception that flaws/mistakes=weak female lead. This results in not just Mary-sues your expected to take seriously but also pathetic villainesses you can't even consider a real threat.

Here's an example of the watered down white lotus trope: Cosette Weinberg from Actually I was the real one. (the manhwa, AIWTRO novel is not as bad)

While not being an isekai but a regression story, Cosette defiantly is meant to resemble the sort of long lost royal daughter who shows up, gets bullied by the "fake" daughter and unlocks her own super epic power to become the best in all the land. In reality Cosette is dead and a demon is controlling her body and being able to use her elemental power is a mere bonus in controlling her body. Since she is a demon you'd think Cosette (or Ragibach) would be a terrifying menace which.. she was portrayed as at first. But she's the basic bitch pick me! so she should never be allowed to win even a small argument, because how else is Keira gonna be a girl boss? it'd be too bothersome to just let Cosette grow even more secretive and calculating so the suspense can actually be felt. The story was so obsessed with Keira being the perfect feminist power girl boss that they forgot that Cosette destroyed the world in the first timeline with ease and grace when they portray her as a screaming idiot who can't make smart decisions. It does the exact same thing that the old style did by inserting a woman to be a foil to the woman your supposed to like. This escalates to even women who support Cosette being villainized even if they don't know what she's like. Such as a maid named Mina, a poor girl picked up off the streets and essentially being used as a tool for Cosette. She commits all these evil henchman crimes for her master with her younger brothers safety and comfort being used as a hostage. Mina ends up getting deported and even suggested to be lashed 50 times for obeying someone who gave her no choice and instead of it being part of the cruel truth of the era, it's just supposed to be karma. Something similar happens to the antagonist of the villainess turns the hourglass Mielle, where she is effectively rendered too stupid to be a threat

This however doesn't stop at the villainesses being dumbed down, the fl Keira suffers the same flaws that the stereotypical shojo fl suffered from. In the novel Keira has no love interest, in the manhwa she has 2 guys, Joseph and Erez, who are into her and she can't decide who she likes more (it's probably gonna end up being Erez). her family was actively shoved to the side for more romance scenes where Keira becomes a crumbling mess. In the novel Zeke had a bigger role. So in the manhwas attempt to emulate the novel they just backpaddled on their efforts to fanfic write it with feminism even though the original was already pretty progressive for Keira.

Now Cosette is a product of the bad writing of a adaptation that feels more like a fanfic given how severe the changes are but at least for the most part, Actually I was the real one was mediocre

There is much worse. If you know me or my account you probably already know who is next. The Infamous Rashta from the remarried empress

Even if you haven't read remarried empress, the trashta nickname became incredibly famous for the white lotus villains of other manhwa. Rashta is a twisted version of the cinderella trope: the poor abused but also very gentle looking girl who finds her prince charming and becomes a queen.

This girl was a slave sold in childhood, and while her backstory is purposely kept in the dark because they don't want you sympathizing with someone they consider a whore who deserves everything that happens to her. It doesn't take much rocket science together to piece what happened. Rashta had been SA by one of her masters and got pregnant with her first child, she gave birth alone and her newborn baby was taken and replaced with a dead baby to emotionally scar her even further, It is implied that she was assaulted again before she runs away and she meets the emperor who makes her his concubine. For the rest of the manhwa her whole story feels like torture porn. Another one of her masters comes back to blackmail her using her child, her value being based on how many babies she can make, everyone basically hates her, her only friend is actively arranging her downfall, her final master becomes known as a sweet little sister of the empress Rashta used to idolize, her daughter is taken away from her the moment she was born, and at long last, she dies alone known as the most evil empress in history. This isn't even mentioning her age. It's never confirmed other than she is an adult but in the eastern empire it's time to debut as an adult at around 17 and given her design with the big eyes which are usually given to the younger characters. So this really sets up even sadder connotations knowing that Rashta could be as young as 17.

Now, how does this story get away with having a punching bag with THIS many tragic elements like this to make the fl Navier look better? well by making her egregiously evil, she can never make smart decisions in street smarts despite it contradicting her rough and tumble backstory, if there's a character your supposed to like getting away with terrible acts, just have Rashta rip out a tongue or betray a friend to entertain the masses! It'd be hard to feel bad when the character in question is going around looking to kill/ ruin the lives of innocents. While the novel did a better job giving Rashta more traits than just "haha I'm a slutty hypocrite" it's still like the manhwa.

I already made a post that goes more into detail about Remarried empresses internalized misogyny that you can check out below, or you could go onto my archive, there's a lot of remarried empress centered posts there too.

Like Keira, Navier isn't as revolutionary as the story wants you to think.

In season 1, Navier wasn't the worst fl ever. She worked hard as empress and while her personality was still a tad dull she seemed to have more character traits then she does now. After that she's just there, she's barely doing anything outside of sitting there looking pretty and getting pregnant with twins. We barley if ever see Navier even doing anything to deliver moments that make her interesting. She doesn't even do anything for her problems even after getting ice powers. It's all her husband and brother that just kill or threaten everyone who criticizes her, Navier barely feels like a main character at this point, she's a side character in her own story. She isn't the badass empress the characters tell you she is, Navier is just another empress who is basically the dream wife for a man in the 50s since she doesn't even need to love the man if she happens not to, she just wanted an empress title so she can feel like she has a purpose. Once again an example of a backpaddling of an attempt at a woman with more than 2 character traits.

The attempts to make you hate a specific character for not being "unique" even come across as embarrassing and even downright childish. Such as the case with her. The trope of the saintess sent as a commoner turned ugly

Diana's case is similar to Rashta's, as in they try REALLY hard to make her hateable even when it starts to lose logic. At first it made sense to call her out on abandoning the common folk when she became crown princess but when you actually read this piece, the hatred for her is centered around the fact that she was upset that a guy who loved her killed for her and she cut him off. Sounds straight out of an incels revenge fantasy. Most of the time Diana isn't even that evil, she has a lot of flaws and certainly isn't the greatest person but she's also not the devil incarnate, yet every time the story tries very hard to make her awful for rejecting a man. She has pink hair, she's angelic looking, she comes across as sweet and dainty yet she won't date the first guy who kills for her? well then that makes her a cruel bitch for not validating the impression she gave off to everyone.

but if you look like the worst gender bent of Therdeo possible with a lot of money to obnoxiously throw around then your super cool and not like the other gold digging bitches! 💅

Hestia is literally what these og fl have been reduced to except she's put in the protagonist position making her 10x insufferable to follow as the leading lady. She purposely provokes Diana hoping to get a reaction out of her so she can humiliate her as revenge in Cael's name without the plot even trying to say that Hestia is not in the right for attacking her husbands ex. The entire point of my derelict favorite is criticizing protagonist centered morality which I would be all here for if they didn't forget all about when writing the supposed feminist icon Hestia who literally attacks a woman and acting like said woman was at fault for her favorite character killing himself, she is literally the pick me girl that everyone claims to hate until she looks like she is a badass when she's not, she's just another case of a poorly made attempt at something "new". Thus Hestia was doomed to teach little girls attacking other women for petty reasons was okay as long as they were basic enough and not into the same boy band as you.

This one isn't as terrible as the last 3 but I'm the queen in this life is a subtler but still an example. Isabella is the deconstructed trope of the favorite child rich girl beginning her new exciting life with handsome men and easily the best into turning into a villainess thanks to the spoiled upbringing and at first... It worked until it flopped just two chapters later.

Like Cosette and Mielle, Isabella is supposed to be this really smart white lotus who manipulated her way into the top but now.. she's just a spoiled brat who cries whenever she can't get her way. She isn't even utilized. While Isabella is pure evil it's the fact that OTHER characters are condoned or given proper moments to shine as smart villains who can get the job done or even be seen as sympathetic and shippable. Ceasre is a good example too because even though he teamed up with Isabella in the last timeline, the later chapters are implying that it was only Isabella and Ceasre was just manipulated. They even give me daddy and mommy issues at the same time so now the commenters think he deserves a second chance even after he SA Ariadne. In fact... I don't there are any other female characters in this comic who are complex, stay alive and are not Ariadne. There was Arabella and Margarete but they got killed off, Sancha isn't so bad but she's still just a follower with nothing much left to her, Lariessa is just there to be the stereotypical crazy ex to make Ariadne look better for not being desperate for a man, Malleta is just a plot device to make things happen and eventually die herself and Lucrezia is basically just Lady Tremaine but worse.

What I meant by not as bad as the last 3, I meant that here in I'm the queen in this life, Ariadne is actually written decently. She actually makes her own decisions, she has a life outside of Alfonso, and she isn't totally insufferable. With her it's more centered around the Narrative trying to say she is ugly to be relatable when it's clear she's not.

quite a few times characters will point out how big her boobs are and how "scandalous" it is. Isabella says they hang like a cows udders, they become a prominent point of scandal when her dress tears at a ball and for some damn reason Isabella gropes her own sister.. So why is all that weird attention to detail even there? Because they want more ways for Ariadne to be sympathetic but they still want her to be conventionally beautiful so there goes any chance at actual relatability when it can easily be interpreted as Isabella just being jealous that she is flat chested.

The only other female characters that aren't leads or pathetic villainesses in this genre are typically the maids whos only personality is being a perfect yes-man that validates jumping on women they don't like either by yelling at them for not going head over heels for their boss or by assisting in ruining their lives.

and if the maid isn't a bland character with blind trust, they're written to be comically evil because once again, their jealous women who only want what the lead has.. and well. This ends up being justified

So is manhwa the only forms of media Internalized misogyny and double standards that runs rampant?

Personally, I am a firm believer that Miraculous ladybug played a role in instilling young girls with this kind of mindset that any girl who isn't a yes-man to you is lying, bratty and general evil bitch thanks to Thomas Astruc's gross views on what feminism is. He's the kind of guy who thinks that if you put a woman in pants and write her as the best hero of all time then that's feminism. First of all, Marinette's entire personality devolves into a rabid stalker for Adrien which is justified with ass pulled trauma in season 5 yet Chloe, who is a terrible person with trauma and chances to grow is somehow worse than a god damn domestic terrorist. 2nd of all, any woman who is also into Adrien is basically hunted down by Marinette like a PG-13 yandere, Kagami is targeted by Chloe and Marinette for being with Adrien and her relationship with him dies almost immediately not to mention that the fandom called her cacagami for months after season 3's release, hell they even pair her up with "I'm just a misunderstood boy with a dead father" Felix who looks identical to adrien.

Lila wasn't even doing anything worthy of Ladybug humiliating her. She lied about being related to a superhero and being besties with Ladybug, got close to Adrien and talked smack about Ladybug. Shitty but not worth Marinette transforming for the sole purpose of embarrassing Lila for daring to try and take Adrien from her as if he's a object. They can't even utilize the girl later despite being allies with Gabriel. Zoe isn't even a damn person, She's just someone's wattpad self insert to show up, be the perfect new girl and replace Chloe using the power of kindness.

but the men? Gabriel is destroying Paris as Hawkmoth and abusing Adrien as a dad? Oh it was just for his wife, remember him as a tragic villain who was trying to be a good dad. Felix tries to forcefully kiss Marinette and gives all the miraculous to Gabe? He's got daddy issues let him live happily with Kagami. Andre is a pos father and abuses his power for either his or his daughters gain? He wouldn't be like that if Audrey didn't use her womanly charms to force him to give up his dreams to be a Politian. See all the damn excuses put up. Not to mention Ladybug rejecting Cat noirs advances is considered her being harsh and mean thanks to the proof of sad music playing and the constant shipping of the two by other characters.

One of the most popular webtoons that is universally hated now as well

Leuce was the first wife of Hades in Greek mythology whom he loved until her death and she became a poplar tree in Elysium. In Lo, Leuce is bastardized as this gold digging nymph who wants to ruin a relationship. She exists for the purpose of making Persephone look better because she home wrecked for superficial reasons therefore Hades grooming Persephone is fine because at least it is for "love"

Persephone's kidnapping was the literal center of Demeter's Hymn on the pain mothers at the time felt when their daughters were kidnapped and sold to marry powerful men and while it is often rewritten in a way where Demeter is over-protective and Persephone just wants freedom, LO does it the worst. The worse part is that it is pretty well known that the relationship between Hades and Persephone is inspired by Humbert and Dolores from Lolita given that some panels are eerily similar to the Lolita movie. Somehow Demeter is still the most evil one since she isn't making it easy for Blue Humbert to get with her 19 year old daughter. To give you an idea how big the age gap is, Hades was already thousands of years old when he gave Demeter a gift for her baby shower...

And Minthe, who in Greek myth was a mistress of Hades that got too cocky and was turned into a mint plant by Persephone, was the first girlfriend of Hades who got treated like shit by his family members for being a nymph. She gets emotionally cheated on and is considered crazy when she gets upset about it. Everyone rubs it in her face that Persephone is with her boyfriend even after she stopped getting it on with Thanatos the moment they became official. She still gets turned into a mint plant and the trauma Persephone caused her had no consequences.

all 3 women pit against eachother, 2 demonized for not being the "good" kind of woman and 1 being actively groomed and taken away from her mother and it's supposed to be a positive moment.

Its all this and more that has damaged the thinking of hundreds of thousands of girls and women into suspecting that any other woman is out to get them if they feel inconvenienced, it encourages the pick me girl mindset that pits women against eachother while the men who encourage it sit back and watch and it downplays the shitty actions of abusive men while blowing womens flaws out of proportion. Nowadays if a female character is introduced that isn't the lead or a loyal maid, readers are already out to call her a bitch and wish for her downfall. Helena from kill the villainess is an unfortunate victim of these consequences.

We could all do so much better if we realized how stupid it is to constantly pit women against eachother for no reason.

Thank you for sticking around for my little essay.

#webtoon #manhwa #webcomic #Tapas #the remarried empress #sister i am the queen in this life #kill the villainess #for my derelict favorite #actually i was the real one #the villainess reverses the hourglass #anti lore olympus #anti lo #miraculous ladybug #50 tea recipes of the duchess #personal essay

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