#the patriarchy is important to the story??

[redishsunflowers]

as a queer girl, throughout my obsession with arcane I've felt a much bigger pull towards the not cannon yaoi ship that is jayvik rather than the canon yuri ship that is caitvi, and this has made me feel kind of icky about myself lol.

i felt that i was being pulled into the grasp of patriarchy because i felt more compelled towards the shipping of two men than the relationship of two women. i also was nervous that im just a mlm fetishizer bc i like a lot of mlm media but that another story of wlw having so much less media than mlm. all of these fears are here bc im mentally ill and have problems i probably need to be medicated for but it wasnt until i saw someone's post abt why they feel ppl are more obsessed with jayvik than caitvi that i stopped feeling so icky abt myself lol.

they basically said that jayvik was written better than caitvi and basically the whole of act 2 had absolutely nothing to do with caitvi and everything to do with jayvik.

think when it comes to canon queer relationships sometimes writers forget to bring the depth and just bank on the fact that its a canon queer relationship and thats not the most common thing, but when it comes to two characters being shipped usually theyre being shipped bc of the obv closeness their relationship has and the depth in their relationship is just too hard to ignore so ppl ship them.

theres a reason jayvik are shipped and thats bc the writers wrote a duo that care more for eachother than anything else and are basically the cause and the saving grace of the whole show, while caitvi are canon and are complex and beautiful in so many ways but are kinda just put on the back burner especially in season 2. caitvi had other things they were doing other than developing their romantic relationship while jayce and viktor's whol existence at this point revolved around eachother in one way or another. im not saying caitvi shouldve been the point of the show bc its not supposed to be a romance, i just think, again, they balanced things rlly badly this season. first season their relationship was obviously there but their mission was the most important part of the show and season 2, they just kinda got back together without even talking abt their issues, and that just felt so wrong. jayvik talked things out, we saw them make up and it made sense. caitvi made up by going on a mission together then not even talking abt the biggest problems in their relationship and the writers just expect us to feel like theyre back to normal? noooooo. give us more. man this sucks. luv em to death (caitvi) but i miss them deeply.

[rebdot]

i straight up do not want to hear people's takes or theories on mouthwashing if they don't take into account or even consider mentioning the themes of capitalism that are extremely prevalent throughout the story.

i find that a lot of people hear anya's story and it's commentary on rape culture and toxic masculinity and think that that's All the game is about, and while those themes are incredibly important, i also think that pony express and what it represents (the absolute disregard for workers' rights from corporations in late stage capitalism) is so important to understanding the game's story.

yes, mouthwashing is about rape culture and patriarchy and the way it fails women, but it's also about five people who are absolutely failed by the world they live in and the powers they live under (yes, even jimmy) both culturally, with regard to the toxic masculinity, but also economically. pony express firing the crew abruptly and with little to no alternative is one of the main catalysts, and the first time in-game (aside from the intro obviously) where we see jimmy becoming volatile - while anya's pregnancy is the straw that breaks the camel's back, the first straws are placed at this point in the game.

plus, these themes aren't mutually exclusive! while a lot of people seem to blame curly specifically for anya's lack of safety on board the tulpar, it's not only him - he is just one cog in a machine that does not value the life or wellbeing of its workers in the slightest. it's stated pretty clearly, too - WHY didn't pony express put locks on the sleeping quarters doors? WHY is curly the only one with access to SWEETENER, of all things? WHY did pony express allow an extra crew member on a ship that only has four emergency cryogenic pods? it's because pony express doesn't give a fuck about any of its crew - curly is the one with the most power in the ship, but at the end of the day he is just as disposable as the rest of the crew in the eyes of pony express, even if the others don't see it.

[whetstonefires]

#YEAH #especially since i think the fact this story takes place in an incredibly patriarchal heterosexual society. is actually really important #like. thematically #and it detracts from that to turn all the female characters into Strong Independent Lesbians Who Don't Need Men #instead of. women. who are trying to live in a world that is not made for them.

#not to mention it's boring. yeah i know there's only like 4 women in this story and it kinda sucks #but turning them all into action figures instead of letting them be unique 3 dimensional people isn't making the problem BETTER #it's just creating a different flavour of cookie cutter caricature of women (via @arcelian)

IDK but I really am irritated by the 'baddassification' of Yanli in fanon. Moments of ruthlessness in service of protecting her loved ones? I can see that. He being this post NMJ death NHS esque schemer who also slept with Wen Qing and pegs Zixuan? Not so much.

Right There With You, my bro (gender neutral)

i am Extremely Ancient but it makes me really sad when it sometimes feels like fandom's views of what makes a 'good' female character haven't significantly advanced since the days when I thought the female characters in Firefly were the pinnacle of feminist representation (spoiler: they're not)

on a meta level, you can be annoyed by Yanli's born-to-be-fridged role as the delicate and sweet and perfect and passive sister and want to reimagine her... but just like that characterisation is annoying because it's part of a broader pattern, the idea that Yanli only becomes a 'good' character if she's smarter, stronger, or meaner (or queerer) is annoying because of how ubiquitous it has become.

also-- and i feel this way about mianmian too-- isn't that moment with jin zixun better narratively and dramatically if it's this incredibly rare moment of asserting herself? something no one has ever seen her do before, and even she wasn't sure she'd be capable of until it was happening?

[thelindenpapers]

"Yelling"

So I live in New York, you know.

New York is pretty interesting, lot of the time. You meet all kinds of people in New York.

The evidence is there, lining up to immerse your senses.

Any one street, you’re hearing Japanese accents, Pakistani accents, smatterings of Tamil.

You’re smellin’ veal parmesan one block, and griot another.

There’s Björk, there’s Otis Redding, and there’s Pedro Infante in your ears.

If I could tell you, I’d say you meet everyone in New York.

But that’s what’s sad about it, too, sometimes.

Sometimes you meet people, and they’re broken. Broken people, you know, and you don’t know how they’d fix it.

I’m walking down the street coming back from my job.

I can’t wait to get to the train: ‘cause I got off early, and I know that the train will probably be nice and quiet. There’s always plenty of room, IF you ride in the off-peak hours.

I’m looking forward to my book, or to staring out of the window; thinking.

The sky is that cloudy that it gets when everything is tinged blue. Real peaceful and calm.

And I go past a wall, and it’s got these ‘Missing’ posters plastered all over it...

Idly, I take a look.

...Shame.

Real pretty girl. Dark hair, dark eyes…that ‘natural’ kind of pretty.

Clean and neat. Dressed, almost, like a doll.

The accompanying message pleads for her return in neatly printed type, but then I notice:

On about half of ‘em, the ‘Missing’ part is crossed out.

In frantic black marker, a different message is scrawled:

‘No, not missing!!! ‘Please, not look for her, leave her in peace! She’s dead.’

Soooo…. That's creepy.

I’m gettin’ off topic.

Like always, I’m walking down the street, and there are lots of other people walking...going my way, coming towards me, going past me…

You don’t really look at other people in New York.

Everybody’s got their minds on where they gotta go.

Now and again, though, I’ll look.

Because I like to think and write and do portraits when I’ve got free time.

Sometimes, I’ll see someone I want to draw when I get home, you know? There’s all kinds of people in New York.

But there’s this one woman, coming towards me to go past me, and I just know.

This woman is broken. She’s broken real good.

And then, I think maybe she’s not gonna go past me, you know, because she’s not like everyone else:

She’s looking around at everybody, like I am.

She spots me before I can look away.

She sees me lookin’; so she starts heading towards me and now I know she’s not gonna go past.

This woman.

She got some kind of accent on her I can’t place.

I know, because before she even gets to me, she’s talking really loud.

The other people, they weren’t looking in the first place, and they’re sure as shit not looking now!

I try to evade her, but they make a constantly walking bubble around us; making room for us like we was a floor show.

And she says, as she comes towards me:

“He’s a good man, you know? He’s a real good man. But he don’t think, you get it? He tries his best not to think. See, if no think, there no understand! That’s what cause everything!”

I try not to be rude.

I say, “Oh, lady, look. I’m sorry. I got a train to catch.”

I try backing off. But she catches my arm.

She’s not trying to hurt me or nothin’. She’s not hurting me with her hand on my arm, but I look at her…and I can’t.

I can’t pull away.

She’s hanging on like she needs so, so bad to be heard.

And I can’t help but stand there, and now people are looking at us as they go past: because I’m not complaining, and they think that I should.

They think I’m crazy, now. Maybe I am.

So while this lady is talking, I figure, well. I better go ahead and look real hard at ‘er...

Yeah, she’s broken.

But I might want to draw her.

She’s real interesting.

It strikes me, that she doesn’t dress like she’s broken.

It’s a little like she’s white collar, a little like she’s come from a costume party.

No rags, no dirt. Skin nice, taken care of….even though she has this zombie look in the lines of her face…like she’s been dead inside a long time.

She’s got this smart, smart, short dress on that would be real risque if she weren’t wearing anything underneath it. So silky and smooth: a dark-wine-red with a purple sheen to it. DARK purple sheen. Like a bruise, and the red silk color underneath is blood.

She got cleavage hanging out, but not like she put it there to be stared at. More like that’s just who she is. She’s sexy, but I can’t imagine anyone objectifying her, less they were a fool. You could take her all you want if she lets you, but she’s herself and you had better show respect.

It’s the way she stands, maybe.

She got on this black blazer, but with silver buckles, like the goths wear, and freshly pressed black suit pants underneath the dress.

Her lipstick is dark, and her hair and her eyes: dark. She’s got a black eyepatch made of damask silk and a freakin’ crow on her shoulder--

I flinch a little when I realize that that crow is really real: sitting there lookin' at me calm as fuck.

And her eyeshadow is that same purple sheen that’s like bruises over her eyes.

Bruises on purpose, bruises real particular. Chosen bruises, like.

What she’s saying finally gets through to me:

“--but I was so careful, you know???

"I spend seven years, dating him, talking to him. Trying to make sure he’s right.

"And he is right! I spend seven years, I give him seven years….the last years of my youth! But he’s nice and he’s smart and he’s sexy and he says he’ll take care of me. And he loves me so much, and back then, I love him like Romeo and Juliet.

"And he proposes! "He propose all elaborate; everyone, they think like it fairy tale! They joke how I so lucky, an older woman courted for so long by a younger man, they amazed, so good of him! "My young, handsome, kind, genius of a man, he says, ‘Let’s marry!’

"So we do! "We do get married, you know, and he’s a good man! He says he’s a good man, and he is a good man.

"We both of us immigrants. And our parents so proud. We both virgins, you know?”

She gestures with her hands and leans in as she talks. Staring hard, trying to keep my gaze.

And she’s saying, “I did everything I could. I tried to be the best wife ever, you know? Because he was best husband ever.

"I cook and I clean and I make these beautiful lunches for him. And I laugh with him and talk with him and massage his back every night and I dress nice all time, you know, even when we don’t go anywhere. I work hard on dinners and I present them just so, you see?

"All the time, I looking at him.

"Heh. He complain about it, that’s how much. He say, loving looks from across the room, they're creepy.

"But I can’t help it. I so in love. And he, I can tell, he’s so in love.

"But he won’t…he won’t take me, you know? There’s no whatcha’ call it. No make love.

"I don’t understand, ‘cause he like to tease me all the time before, you know? Make me swoon so I can’t stand.

"He so proud, that I have this high libido. Say he gonna take me all different ways, once we’re married. But my man, still, he won’t make love to me, and I don’t know why.”

I look her in the eye. I can see, oh, she is beyond broken.

And I don’t know how to pull away, even though her hand on my arm is gentle, I could pull away, you see.

But I don’t know how.

“I think it all my fault!

"I do something wrong, I dunno what.

"So I try even harder, you understand?

"I dress even nicer. And I look up all these articles and books about sex and marriage and everything.

"And they tell me what I already know:

"Something wrong?

"Then wife is wrong.

"Wife need to fix.

"So I try the solutions they say. But there’s nothing doing, you understand?

"And it gets so I’m going mad.

"So I keep my voice down, nice, quiet, like wife is supposed to -- but I ask him, "‘Is there maybe pressures at your job?’ "And he says, ‘No, honey, I love my job.’

"And I say, ‘Are you not attracted me?’ "And he says, ‘No, honey, I am, very so! I love you more than anyone in my whole life. You make me feel everything! You’re beautiful.’

"And one day, you know, he finds me crying alone, because I need so bad, and yet, who, who I going to go to?

"There only him for me.

"I’m wracking my brain, my brain to pieces, and I can’t understand why he won’t take me. I ask him, ‘Why won’t you make me your own? You always said you were looking forward to it. Did I do something wrong?’

"And he says, ‘Don’t worry, honey. We will one day, I promise.’

"So I wait, you know?

"I keep quieter now. I no want to nag. But I trying to dress even better. "I get all these lovely frilly things, you know, the nice dresses -- simple and fresh and alive, like doll.

"I’m not young anymore, you know, I’m almost forty. But I look young. He always say, I’m ‘his girl’. So I dress like a girl.

"I dress like I feel, like I’m young, and in love…because I am in love, and if my young man says I’m young, then I’m young.

"Still, I’m desperate. I want him so bad.

"But you know, I reason with him and I talk to him and I love him hard as I can, and I flirt, and I cry sometimes and I try to not cry in front of him and I keep asking him, maybe only once, twice a month now, you know? ‘Cause he work hard, and I don’t want to bother him too much.

"But now and again, I say calmly as I can, ‘Love, when will you make me your own?’ And he calms me and hugs me and says, ‘Have patience. It will happen.’

"Each time there opportunity, he have all kind excuses.

"He tired.

"He not feel well.

"He already touch himself today.

"I not give him enough protein.

"One day, he says that kind of passion that I ask for, yes?, ‘No exist’.

"….I think maybe he lost it.

"I KNOW it exist!

"One day, he says to me, 'Maybe if you need sex so much, you should just have fantasy lover!'

"….If that’s what I want, hey, why I get married?!?!!”

She giggles in this strangled voice, in disbelief….like someone about to die by the hand of something stupid and all wrong,

“WHAT? Why, why I no get my own place, live with my imaginary husband somewhere, if that what I wanted from this life?!’

"...But I think, 'Maybe, maybe is something I don’t know about, hey?

"He always smarter than me. "‘I be patient. I wait. I just trust him. "‘Woman supposed to trust her man, hey? If you're a good woman, you do. If you trust God, you do.'

"...And our first Anniversary pass.

"And I say to him, with last, last scrap of dignity in me, I say, ‘Honey, you know, maybe you let us have whatcha’ call it. ‘Open’ marriage, yes?

"'I stay with you, you no worry. I always stay. Always you and me. Always, I come home to you, I take care of you, cook, clean, sit, listen, all good.

"'But maybe I go once in a while and find someone take care my need?'

"But he refuse. "He no share me, he say.

"I all his, he love me too much.

"He wouldn’t be able to take it. He would be too sad.

"He will kill himself.

"So I try. "I still try wait, I tell him, I wait for him, I be patient...

"Months pass, and I think I can still go on, and I must go on, I promised to go on–

"But I can’t.

"I go on, but I don’t, you know?

"Because I-I can’t. I’m just not that strong, though I thought I could be if I tried hard enough, like a good christian girl.

"If I was good enough, if I pray enough, pray hard enough, then I make it!

"God will show me I’m loved.

"My husband, he will show me romance and care and concern and consideration and lust.

"True love will win!

"...But is no good.

"I wake up on the floor.

"I get up.

"But there I am, still there, lying on floor.”

I stare real hard at the woman.

I don’t know what she wants me to say.

Maybe she doesn’t want me to say anything.

She doesn’t seem upset that I’m not sayin' nothing, and that’s real good, ‘cause I tell you, I don’t know what to say. I don’t say shit. I just stare back. She and the crow staring at me.

“Do you see?!”, she whispers savagely.

“Do you know what I mean?: I wake up on the floor; but there I am!

"In front of me, with real flesh.

"A young girl, a young girl in love, smiling, in a really cute dress, with frills, with pretty pink perfect make-up, and a recipe in her hand for good, thick steaks that night.

"Lying on floor.

"She dead.

"I can see my face, and it look like always, with her beautiful two eyes, and I close them careful.

"I think maybe I imagine her.

"But when I bend; touch her side, she real.

"Cold.

"And there no breath.

"I feel her ribcage is sticking out under her skin like winter branch…

"…..She was like in dungeon…you understand?

"That’s me. Died. Craved and worried and pined away in pain, all alone.

"I died. I died.

"I couldn’t help it.

"I tried. But, I… Froze to death, or. "What word? "‘Starved’, like.”

Now you know that’s crazy. I don’t believe her for one minute...

But I look in her one eye, and I know she’s not lying.

And just like that, I get vertigo, you know?

Like someone took the pavement while I was still standing on it and shook it out.

I quickly widen my stance so I don’t fall.

I don’t know what to say. I wish she’d shut up.

But I'm the one who shuts up.

She keeps talking:

“What am I going to do??

"Stuff around house always needs taking care of, constantly.

"I lying on floor, I gotta take care of it.

"So I take the shovel, you know, and I go to the undertaker and I buy me a plot with my housewife allowance--

"I don’t know what else to do.

"I know she’s dead. "And I know she’s me. "And I know, I know I’m dead.

"And I know, if his parents knew, or if my parents knew, she would be so ashame.

"And he’d be so angry. Or so sad, that he kill himself.

"I can’t tell anyone. "I can’t.

"But she was a good girl, you know? "She was such a good girl.

"Giving. God-fearing.

"So it’s not good, to just have her lying on the floor, with her last thoughts of steak.

"And I can’t do the vacuuming later that way, with her lying on floor.

"So I burn the recipe in the oven real good, you know, and I take me and I bury me in the plot, with prayers and everything.

"Dead.

"She was a good girl. I made sure she had a proper, respectful burial, with hymns, you know? She tried real hard.

"It was sad, I felt sorry. "It shouldn’t have gone that way, she did what she was supposed to do; she tried to be good!

"She didn’t have to, didn’t have to break.

"To die.

"I did everything I could.

"And my husband comes home, and I don’t ask him about nothing no more, but I tell him I died and he thinks I’m joking.

"He laugh.

"So I shrug and I serve the dinner and it’s delicious.

"But in months to follow, maybe I don’t bother so much about the gravy coming out just so anymore.

"And you know, maybe I don’t bother about dressing up just so anymore.

"Or rather, I dress different: to please me, to express who I am, rather than to please him and to impress he friends.

"And maybe sometime, we have hot dog. Take-out.

"I wear my jeans now, and my t-shirts when we’re home, and I watch things all by myself now, I watch the stuff that I like to watch, and go to sleep whenever is good. I don’t wait for him no more.

"And maybe I’m slower when filling up the dishwasher, and now I only have one eye, and I even put my ring away, but you know what?

"He doesn’t notice.

"Doesn’t notice a thing to change.

"And I’m like a zombie, but what am I going to do?

"I could walk down the street naked and walk and walk far as I can, until I can’t walk one step more.

"What’s going to change?

"I have no income myself. Not a lot of education.

"I give up a good job, WITH benefits, WITH pension – I give up family and friends and my home for come to live with him.

"I have nowhere to go…I don’t want to go, go back to my own country.

"And I’m dead. "The dead don’t… "They don’t go back. "And they don’t come back.

"So I say to myself one day when he’s at work, ‘Well, if I’m dead I’m dead, but I can still think.

"'So if I can still think, I can still dream, can’t I?

"'So maybe I’ll have that fantasy lover now.'

"What else I do?

"So in my mind, I think up someone.

"I make him someone who turn me on.

"Someone good, but maybe more ‘there’.

"Someone as old as me -- no!! A little bit older!!!

"And I tell him who I am, I open up my soul so he can see it.

"I tell him everything that happened, and I tell him what I need, like it job interview.

"And I ask him if he consent.

"And he says, ‘Yeah, I consent.’ With smile real big.

"So in my mind we spend time together.

"And I’m dead, and he’s imaginary, so who cares, right?

"Only living people go crazy. Only living people hallucinate--”

I…

Feel kinda’ like I’m going to go to sleep, listening to her, and I don’t know why.

The peaceful blue.

It’s as if the air is a sponge, and the cloud blue daylight is silk that is soaked into the sponge, and it keeps pressing in, on my skin, on my mind.

I feel so still.

What is it about today?

Everything’s silk, and each moment, everything except her gets more silent.

But I still stand there, ‘cause I got offa’ work early anyway.

I don’t have nowhere I need to be right now.

But God is she broken, and she’s gotta get heard and no one else will do it.

And it feels urgent, you know?

And I was already standing there for that long anyway, right?

So what does it hurt if I stand there a little more?

Besides, I need to draw her later.

I can at least do this for her.

“So you know what?”, she says. “After a little while, my imaginary man, he helps me take me.

"One day, when my widower husband’s at work, we watch something nice…whatcha’ call it.

"Sophisticated. Cultured. And we talk and listen to good jazz and dance together and have some wine.

"Even have candles. So many things that I like, that I hadn't enjoy ever since I marry...

"It so funny.

"I feel my whole age, and it feel…

"It feel nice. It feel okay.

"And I had bought something hygienic for me from sex shop, with my tax refund from my last job.

"And I lay down, and I take me, okay?

"You know, I shoulda’ done it sooner.

"It’s like something crazy, ‘cause I still a believer, you know?

"I still think I have a soul. Still there creative force.

"But that force creates with us, with beings who create ourselves.

"And now I’ve abandoned it: idea other believers dragged up from the sand so long ago:

"About women, being owned -- always, they gotta be owned by someone -- that women be owned by their fathers until he give her to some man who will take her and make her their own.

"That good women never take for themselves -- they always too busy giving to everyone else, and then, MAYBE, someone nice to them who appreciate give to them in return.

"But no.

"No, I do it.

"I claim me, I make me my own, and this imaginary guy, he helps me do it, helps me, cause I so scared to do it.

"He help me, to get over the fear and indignity and embarrassment and shame and regret.

"I do it, but he make it all romantic and sexy, ‘cause he there.

"And you know what?

"That imaginary man, in the weeks that follow, he love me.

"He love me like I don’t know what. Even though I’m dead.

"I’ve never been loved like that before.

"I never allowed anyone, because I tried so hard to be good girl: for parents, and for whoever my husband would be.

"My imaginary man and I…we two people, not one, like they say in movies.

"We are ourselves. "We meet as equal.

"He like many things that I like.

"We spend time together, cook together. He make me laugh when I alone doing laundry. He walk out into the sun with me, holding hands.

"He like kiss, cuddle. Stroke. Sex -- sex simple; sex varied -- plenty of it!

"He gaze into my eye, unflinching.

"He talks to me, like he knows I’m THERE.

"He never look through me.

"He likes it, when I look at him all sparkly eye: he give me this proud smirk.

"He know I with him, and he CARE that I with him.

"He LIKES me!

"And he doesn’t let me to slow down; to stop, like the dead are supposed to.

"He encourage me, ‘GO. Go ahead, do this and do that which you thinking about, because you can do it. Because life is to be lived’, so I no sit around complacent and dazed; I would have otherwise.

"‘Death for later.’, he say, ‘Life now.’

"I do good things for myself…I do what?

"‘Self-care’, I think they call it. I try study all kinds of things, try and figure out if there another way for me to be.

"And I get happier, you know?

"Being with my imaginary man, he so good, so sexy and so sweet, and so strong.

"And he so, SO happy and proud when I am strong; when I learn things and when I do things, he is not frightened -- it no bother him, for me to succeed.

"I get happier and I get to where I don’t care.

"And I don’t care so much; that I’m alive again.

"But I’m not me, not who I was, not a girl.

"I’m still buried.

"The girl is buried.

"I’m something different.

"I’m a woman, but not because I took myself, you know?

"I’m a woman because I decided.

"I decided something, for me…and that something was to take myself, but you know, it could have been anything.

"Anything at all.

"It didn’t have to be the sex.

"But my husband, he finally realize I’m not me, because to him I look so sad when he’s around.

"Because when he around, I can’t be all new, always growing, like the living should be. He has expectations, assumptions, you know?

"And the assumptions, is like cage.

"I tell him, ‘I’m not sad, but I’m a woman now, you know.

"'Things are different for me. Did you no notice? I dress different now, I don’t dress like a girl anymore.

"'And maybe you don’t get a massage every night, did you no notice?

"'And I don’t cry no more and I don’t want you in that way no more.

"'I’m tired of wanting so much, wanting for almost ten years wanting you.’

"But he doesn’t believe me and he cries and he begs me not to leave him, even though I want to, even though he knows I can't.

"I want to go out there, you know?

"I…I not so good girl anymore.

"There a lot of men. Some of them won’t want me, like people told me, because my age. But I’ve looked now, when I walking. I know now, some of the men will.

"It would be fun. We would meet as equal, too: I give, they give.

"And, maybe I find one of them understand more. Not as deep as imaginary man understands…he’s not corporeal, it like he have cheat sheet!

"But another man might understand more than husband does, at least.

"I stay, because I can't leave.

"Husband, and husband's parents, they set everything up that way.

"But at least I got my imaginary lover.

"I start go to bars, you know? I get drink, to forget sometimes.

"I think to myself, ‘What has he done to me? I was so in love. He only had to take me and see me and treat me right.'

"I want to leave. Right now, start my life over cleanly. Or at least to cheat. To find someone nice, and love and be loved.

"To get it all back…the adoration, the touch of other men that I was offered, but that I rejected…because I was told that ‘they didn’t mean it’, that they offered ‘in order to hurt me’, and because I was ‘saving it up for my future husband’.

"I want to flirt. "To banter. "Maybe show off, do a portrait like I used to. Men used to say, I ‘have charm’, hey? "And 'wit'.

"…I used to fidget or hide my gaze when they said that.

"Hang my hair in my face.

"No more.

"I want to hear them say that, and smile at them.

"Turn charm up.

"Hear them sigh with their friends when they think I not notice.

"See their eyes, the desire in them.

"Choose one, if there’s one I want, and share me with them.

"To know what it’s like, to get flowers.

"Maybe I even find immigrant from my own country…modern man, but one who know my culture, understand my struggle.

"I want to experience it all, everything that I denied myself.

"But my husband, make me second guess, all time.

"My husband, you know, he say, he no believe I say these things! He say it -- quietly, kindly -- but he make me feel bad, saying, ‘We make vow. We promised, before God. We make commitment.’

"He say he will honor his commitment, even if I decide I no want to anymore, to be married. Even if I leave, he keep commitment.

"It drive me up wall!

"I look at him, I think to myself,

"‘Why? Why do you do this to me? You, you did this first, not me!

"'You leave me first!

"'Is your neglect no break of commitment?

"'Is you lie, you sabotage my goals, and push and push me away no break of commitment? Is my crying alone while he at work, feeling so lonely that I should die, that I did die, of no consequence?

"'I tried talk, I tried warn him, I stop wearing ring -- and he pat me on head, or say talking make him too sad -- all that no matter? Was that not break his commitment?'

"So, you understand, I go drinking, everybody drink, people will listen, even if they would not listen sober.

"And I ask them, I tell them what happen, I ask, ‘Am I being bad? He give me so much. Did I ask too much from him?’

"And they look at me, like I crazy.

"Some women, they say, ‘I would have leave after first THREE weeks, never mind fifteen months or years!’

"Some men, they say, ‘Is he really serious??? That’s--’ --what they say?

"There a word for it.

"‘Spousal neglect.’

"They say I could get annulment, it be like neither of us were ever married because…’consummated’.

"Marriage not consummated.

"They also laugh, think I a crazy woman -- a wife who wants sex, hey? They ‘never heard of it before’.

"The women, they no laugh.

"There are more wives like me, hurting also, everyone think they crazy because they want sex.

"Only a man supposed to want sex, right? Lots of it.

"Or, if you a woman and you want sex, it because you harlot.

"Some look down on me.

"Understand?

"Before I died, I would have look down on me, too.

"I would have hated me.

"I would have said, ‘She evil.’

"But the other women and I, we talk a long time.

"And those women, they know:

"Men who want sex. Men who don’t want sex. Men who only want a little.

"Women who don’t want sex. Women who only want a little. Some women, they want lots, just like some men.

"We agree: it not so simple.

"Whether or not you want sex, and how much sex, and from whom, and what kind, is not about whether man or wife.

"It ridiculous—is no prude, is no slut! "It depends on individual.

"It’s wired in. Into flesh and into your bones…

"...It make me glad I no ever guilt husband into take me.

"...He’s one of those, isn’t he?

"Probably couldn’t tell anybody…because, just like I ‘crazy woman’, maybe they call him ‘crazy man’, right?

"Man no want sex, no want romance, they never heard of it before, right?

"These assumptions. "They kill everyone.

"Anyway.

"Some of the women who hurt, they hurt long, long time. Years…decades!

"Others, they surprise I last so long! They think I made of steel!

"But I still die, huh? "Even steel breaks.

"But you know, I yell at him now, my widower husband.

"And sometime he laughs, and sometime he stares, and sometime he ignores. And I feel so bad for yelling at him.

"But I still do it, now and again, and he tries to touch me and I tell him to go away and he laughs some more and waits till later.

"He want now, now he want to take me!

"He say he understand now, that I need and that he should give to me.

"He talk more and more about kids now. Kids!

"But he doesn’t understand. Not at all.

"It so hard. When I was alive, I wanted him to touch me, so so so much.

"I would have kill for him to take me.

"But now that I’m dead, there’s too much memory, you know?

"Too much resentment.

"I think about it now, and when I think of him trying to take me I cry…because when I think of him taking me, I re-live the wondering and the questioning and the waiting and the wanting and the rejection and the need and the pain and the pain and the so-much confusion and so-much shame.

"I re-live it and I don’t want him no more…not like that.

"How wonderful it would have been, if we had just stayed friends!

"And then I help him maybe, find a nice girl with low libido, too, who no mind if he don’t take her. A girl who don’t remember no pain from him, who want same kind of life he want: of just stay still, of no do things, and no go anywhere, of no look at each other, of live only because your parents want you alive and married – not because you're alive, and in love.

"He deserves wonderful, sweet girl who in love with him deep and is satisfied with all he can give.

"Anyone deserves that.

"He have a lot to give, yes? "Like anyone.

"But don’t, don’t give me his pity touches after the fact.

"After the death.

"Don’t give me because I say I have to leave one day.

"My imaginary man…he gives me because it’s something to share, to savor, wanting me like I want him, glad to want me, relaxed, confident in it, ravenous for it and I give it and I receive it, too, easy and natural as raindrops.

"Because he wants to. "Not because he’s afraid I’ll leave.

"Hell, why would he be afraid?

"He understands that I’m dead and that he’s imaginary.

"There isn’t any ‘there’, so there isn’t any ‘leave’.

"I feel so, so whole, when with him.

"I understand, it not my fault.

"And it’s okay, to be woman and feel this way, to crave so much.

"I was born to love. I was built to be loved.

"It’s in my blood, it part of me, and it’s okay.

"And I can be all of me with a man, not just pieces, only the pieces they like.

"It better, it healthier, when I get to be all of me.

"So yeah.

"I yell at him now, my smart-stupid husband.

"Because now, a couple times a week, I see him get the shovel.

"And I know where he’s going.

"He goes to the grave I bought, and I tell him, ‘Don’t you do it! Don’t you do it, she tried everything!!!

"'She was good girl, she deserves peace, she should have respect. Let her rest! Don’t you know she’s dead?’

"But he doesn’t believe me.

"He doesn’t want to believe she’s dead, the girl.

"He wants to believe she’s shining and buried alive and that he can save her.

"So he digs and I yell at him!

"He wants to dig up the corpse of the dead girl to love him again.

"And he shovel, and the dirt comes back to hit me in the face: the live woman!

"He’d bury me if he could. If he could admit to himself clearly that he prefers things that way: me, the live woman, dead, breathing and buried, and the dead girl exposed, ashamed and aching in the too-bright air with not a breath in her--”

I gasp inwards, desperate, as if drowning.

That’s it. The last straw.

And I let the gasp out in a sudden scream:

“Alright!!! Alright, lady, alright already!”

Her eye goes wide, and she flinches, the crow fidgeting and flapping on her shoulder.

I pant, “I get you. I heard you. Okay? Understand? It’s alright. You’ve been heard!

"I’m gonna go now!”

And I don’t have to pull to get my arm back: her hand drops.

And I woulda’ run the rest of the way to the train.

But I’m too dazed to do it.

...I walk away as if I’m never gonna stop walking.

As if I’m gonna walk until I can’t walk anymore.

But slowly the sound comes back to the world. Even if everything is still blue.

So I keep going.

So I finally get to the train station, you know.

And it’s started to rain a little….the scattered, warm, heavy drops that’s real slow and don’t really wet you. Just makes dark dots all over the pavement.

And I’m right: the train that arrives is mostly empty, and that makes me feel real good, because my dogs are barking and so is my head.

...There’s no way I’ll be able to read my book.

Was looking forward to it, too…something about a steamy romance, high fantasy and adventure.

But there’s just no way.

Somehow, romance is not alive in my head right now.

It’s dead.

Like the Woman.

…No.

Like the Girl.

...I feel tired.

But you know….the train takes off like always.

It’ll be good, to get home.

I’m thinking I’ll cook curry tonight.

…But…I shit you not, I can’t even.

I can’t even, cause you know…ten minutes into the trip, there’s always this cemetery we pass by.

And it’s usually empty unless there’s a funeral, all the stones at peace.

Except not today.

There’s one stone that’s not at peace,

I SHIT YOU NOT,

this guy is there, and has this huge poster on display next to the gravestone, of a young girl: dark-haired, dark-eyed, glowing, she looks like she’s not quite from here.

And she’s got on this frilly cute dress, on the poster.

And on the poster, the sun is shining brightly, not one cloud in the sky.

And the girl on the poster’s smiling so hard she looks like she’ll break.

And he’s got flowers circled all around the poster, and he’s smiling so hard it looks like he’ll break.

And there’s banners in the trees, saying, ‘Welcome Back! Welcome Home!’

And he’s got a shovel, you know, and I can see it: his mouth moving, giving all these assurances and placations to the cold, cold ground, and he’s digging like mad.

To get at the poor girl’s dead corpse.

And there’s the smart-dressed woman with the crow on her shoulder and her one remaining eye, and she’s yelling at him.

[marklikely]

misogyny has people in a death grip because how the hell did we end up in a world where people think billy is the most important defining characteristic of a black christmas movie

[llamasgotoheaven]

Especially upsetting now that there’s literally at least one study demonstrating how our brain capacity and ability to be productive caps at about six hours, and the rest of what we do at work is actually a sort of fruitless waste of time

I think it was in scandinavia somewhere that we tried introducing six hr workdays and it didn’t worsen productivity. What it did do was raise people’s life satisfaction and their wellbeing. Preventing mf burnout

I know I don't shut up about this but frankly not enough people are angry about the 5-day/40 hour workweek (and I am AWARE a lot of people work even more than that). I feel like a lot more people should be absolutely furious that we only really have two days a week and some occasional hours in the evening to socialise, run errands, do chores, or relax.

It's no wonder so many people are profoundly lonely and disconnected from their communities when maintaining a social life in what little free time we have is incredibly difficult. If you have kids, a second job, a very long commute, or other responsibilities, it's nearly impossible.

We literally aren't meant to live like this and I'll never stop being shocked how many people just take it as the natural state of things and don't want to throw a brick through a billionaire's window every time they think of it.

[squishy-min-mochi]

It’s important to recognise that Barbie (2023) criticises both the patriarchy AND the matriarchy. Yes, the Ken’s are just accessories to the Barbies. Yes, they don’t have any say in the government they live under. That’s the point, you’re supposed to feel awful, you’re supposed to want the Kens to have their own agency, you’re supposed to want equality. The Barbie movie explicitly states that the way Barbie treats Ken is wrong, so much so that once he finds a safe space for his masculinity and individual identity he’s so excited to share it with the other Kens.

But they go overboard and replace a matriarchy with a patriarchy and now the same issue exists but in reverse. That’s the POINT!! THATS THE POINT!!! Barbie is not anti-men it’s pro equality PLEASE understand this

13th Aug 2023 UPDATE:

Heeeeey howdy!!

Due to the IMMENSE comments and discussion on this post (thanks ya’ll!!) I’ve decided to update my post with my recent opinions and hopefully clearer explanations!!

First, my original post only considers a very small and very vague analysis of the film!!

Since making this I've read all your comments and learned quite a bit about the matriarchy as it appears in human civilisation. Originally, I was pitting the patriarchy and the matriarchy against each other as though the results of their implementation were equal in the film.

They were not!! Below is the definition of matriarchy I’ll be working off of.

Matriarchy Simple Definition;

Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.

There's a lot to talk about in the Barbie film that would fit better in an essay, so I'll try and condense it into this;

To me, Barbie (2023) is a film about the female experience and the shared connection between women that persists through childhood and adulthood, support and harassment, suffering and joy, mother and daughter.

It uses Barbie as its figurehead because of the immense societal and political impact the doll has had on women, both good and bad (as explained in the film).

The male experience as seen in Barbie (2023) is not the sole focus of the film- rather, it's an accessory (as the Kens are) to Barbie's story, and a necessary aspect of exploration to truly highlight the importance of individualism and healthy personal exploration.

I want to make clear that I in no way think the treatment of the Kens was just as bad as the treatment of the Barbies. I also still agree that the matriarchy fostered by the Barbies wasn’t good for the Kens.

Additionally, I’m aware that this take on Barbie (2023) works strictly within the assumed heteronormative boundaries of gender. There is a lot of nuance in the Barbie film and I don’t think everything can be covered or explained in on Tumblr post— but I hope this clarification helps!!

I hope you're all coming to your own conclusions and analysis of the film in a way that makes sense to you. And for those of you engaging in online conversations and discourse about it, I hope you're keeping yourself and others happy and safe!!!

Much love to you all!! < 3

[kataraslove]

there’s a reason why the entire story of avatar the last airbender begins and ends with katara. there’s a reason why we are introduced to katara first before we are introduced to any other character. there’s a reason why katara is the narrator. there’s a reason why the creators have emphasized over and over again that katara is just as titular to the story as aang - she’s the other main character.

when you water down katara - remove her compassion, her ability to connect with others, her nurturing role, her ANGER and RAGE and DRIVE - you water down the very fundamentals of the story. you drastically and severely alter the core dynamics of the gaang, because katara was so important to the development of every single one of them. she was the rock and glue that held team avatar together.

katara was unlike any other character to ever appear on television; she was a young brown girl who took no shit from anyone, yet at the same time remained kind and compassionate and nurturing. katara was a force of nature; proud of her heritage and culture, burdened by the responsibility of being the last southern water bender of the water tribe, angered over the death of her mother and everything that the fire nation took from her, determined to help every single person in need, determined to change the world, angry and resentful because old men and rules and laws kept telling her what she could or could not do, thus, she was determined to restructure thousands of years of patriarchy that stood against her from accomplishing her goals and dreams.

watering down katara into at most 2-3 tangible characteristics, stripping her away of all her motivation and agency and nuance, telling the audience that she wants to help and change the world only to have her stand in the background with an air of grief, demonstrates that the writers of the live action fundamentally misunderstand the spirit of avatar. and that’s something so unforgivable. no matter how many changes they decide to make, or how much they decide to stay true to the original story in other areas, no matter how many flashy VFX fight scenes we get - if you fail to properly understand katara, you fail to understand the heart and soul of avatar the last airbender, everything that makes avatar such a timeless classic.

[theskyexists]

Anyway that's enough terf shit. If you read too much about the patriarchy you drown in it

[shupadoop]

I don't care at all what pronouns you use for me (except not he/him; fuck the patriarchy and its history of ignoring non-men (but I 10000% respect your choice to use he/him, you are not personally responsible for the entire patriarchy, you don't have to justify your pronouns to me, and I will always make the effort to get your gender identity right cuz it's really a bare fucking minimum in this day and age)). And I get that not caring about pronouns is often a cis privilege, like of course it's easier for me to say that because I was never misgenered, so it's not a sore spot for me and it's completely fair for it to be for someone else. But like, hit me with all those great neo and non-binary and inclusive pronouns. Point me out to someone and use it as an opportunty to make thon happen. If you're telling a story involving me, have at it, pick your favourite pronouns! Change them every time if you want, make me an enigma!

[a-commas-a-pause]

@listen-to-the-inner-walrus i like your tags

No, but the "Jon and Catelyn" discourse in this fandom is absolutely nuts.

Like listen matey, I will be the first to roll my eyes when someone goes "They are privileged nobility so they should keep their mouth shut about having any other problems ever!!" about female characters in this story, but CATELYN?? Within the 15 years timeframe in which she's harbouring this bitterness against a mere boy specifically??

She's had hard times before that, she would have hard times ahead, but aside from the whole "literally at the top of the world, rich and privileged and if anyone in her family is kind of sad about something at any point then every man (or old enough boy) bellow her has to leave their own wives and kids and elders and go die for them, no choice about it", she doesn't even have any other problems that we might still pity women in her position for, still.

- Her husband loves her and she loves him back.

- He is a good man, too. She is respected, she has a voice in the house. She speaks over him when she thinks herself more in the right, at this stage in their marriage. She literally has the last word in the matter of "Jon and the Wall" for one.

- She is healthy and beautiful and thriving in her 30s. Hardships such as fertility issues, miscarriages or other typically female struggles others of her peers go through have evaded her.

- Her children are healthy and beautiful. No infant death, no grief until the Bad Things TM start happening because the story needs to start. If things kept being normal, it would never have been an issue.

But, hear me out, Jon being there means her life is not perfect-perfect and people should cry themselves to sleep over the hardship of (guiltily though!!) kind of wishing a child were dead or disappear through some other means idk rather than the (controversial!!!) "this is not the best thing ever and a character flaw I think :/?"

For real???

[justalittlesolarpunk]

Happy International Women’s Day. Reminder that this day emerged out of labour organising and it’s not about celebrating girlbosses or any whitewashed corporate feminism. It’s about equal pay for equal work, full bodily autonomy, the liberation of queer and trans women, sex work decrim, fairly shared domestic labour, global decolonisation, fighting misogynoir, an end to sexual harassment and rape culture, a society that actually supports those trying to raise children, fair representation of women across all sectors and positions in society, media and stories that don’t cast women as passive and useless. Reminder that patriarchy is inextricably linked with the forces currently wreaking such destruction on nature and the environment, that a green future is a feminist future and a feminist future is a green future. From Greta Thunberg to Leah Namugerwa to Christiana Figueres, Mikaela Loach, Xiye Bastida and Nemonte Nenquimo, women are powerful and important voices across our movement, leading the way and demanding the change we need because they understand that it’s all connected.

[nalyra-dreaming]

PSA

In light of season one of IWTV hitting Netflix soon, here’s just a few things I want to (re)state wrt the show itself and asks in general:

The Vampire Chronicles IWTV is built on has 13 books

The first two seasons are only the first book with some inclusions of later ones

There is a big shift in tone between IWTV and later books, as the rockstar teaser already makes clear

Season 3 will be built on the second book, called “The Vampire Lestat“

Lestat is and will be the main (anti) hero of the show. Louis is the main narrator for the first book, Lestat is for the upcoming four. That does not mean that Louis will disappear, but it does mean the focus will shift a bit

I have been a fan of the VC for decades. I love the movie and the show. I had not dared to hope for a show like this. If you ask me something I will answer with that background knowledge, which might contradict show-only-current knowledge since this show (and the books) only offers very flawed POVs and no absolute truths. Any hate bc of that will lead to a block (and yes blocking anon is possible).

The show gives a brilliant social commentary on a variety of issues, not the least patriarchy or racial discrimination, cycles of abuse and so on. However, it is important to differentiate the in-universe story level and that added social commentary level in discussion. And to differentiate the actors from the characters AND to realize you (we all) might not know all after season one. Don’t come to me if you cannot do that.

[radfemsiren]

🤍A basic rundown of my beliefs as a radical feminist 🤍

(I don’t represent every radical feminist, but these are usually the standard opinions you’ll find of many radfems. Hate or disagree with them, that’s fine! But know the truth of who I am and what I stand for beforehand)

- there are 2 sexes, the male sex is oppressing the female sex

- femicide, rape, child sex abuse, hijab laws, female genital mutilation, domestic labor, trafficking, war crimes, revenge porn, prostitution… women and girls around the world are being exploited, tortured, and killed because of this oppression, and it must end.

- female oppression is sex based oppression, meaning a woman can’t just identify out of her oppression (for example hijab laws)

- sex is biological and an immutable truth, gender is a social construct

- gender should be done away with because gender roles are male supremacist and result in women and girls being stereotyped, dehumanized, barred from education, safety, bodily autonomy, etc.

- defining women with anything other than biology is misogynistic and relies on stereotypes

- the biological differences between men and women must be acknowledged in order to effectively end patriarchal oppression

- radical feminism is getting to the root of female oppression (radical -> root)

- misandry is not real and is just an extension of misogyny (for example, “men are told not to cry!” Yes because women are seen as inferior and any trait associated with us is seen as degrading/emasculating for men. This is why there is no female equivalent to emasculation.)

- all current religions are patriarchal and made by men to exploit and control women

- access to abortion is a human right and should never be threatened, women are the creators of life and deserve to gatekeep it, as well as exercise full autonomy over our own bodies

- Using sexist gender roles to define yourself is giving these misogynistic stereotypes power (wearing makeup or dresses doesn’t make anyone less or more of a woman, this is misogyny)

- the beauty industry is patriarchal and exploits women, our bodies and our money

- sex work is not work, it’s always exploitation (consent can not be bought)

- the porn industry is patriarchal and relies on trafficking, coercion, and rape to function. It also conditions its watchers to be aroused by violence against women, and results in more real life consequences for women and girls

- women’s spaces and institutions must be protected. Women’s safety is more important than catering to male feelings

- marriage is a patriarchal institution made to exploit the domestic labor of women for her entire life

- BDSM/kink are patriarchal and only center the pleasure and well being of men.

- hookup culture is patriarchal and the risk to reward is not worth it for women to engage in it

- gender ideology is patriarchal and is a direct hindrance to female liberation (we can’t define ourselves or our oppressors, we can’t create spaces away from our oppressors, we can’t create laws and policy based on these definitions, people who are gender non conforming are pressured to alter their bodies to conform to a rigid standard and become lifelong medical patients, etc)

- choice feminism and liberal feminism caters to conforming to patriarchal standards and institutions, and refuses to examine why women make choices under patriarchy

- women of color face oppression on the axis of our sex and race, men of color only face oppression on the axis of their race

- non white patriarchal institutions must be criticized: a mullah is just as dangerous to the liberation of women as a pastor is

- women should decenter the men in their lives just as men have done with women. That means prioritizing us! Engaging in women’s media, art, stories, fostering female communities and support networks, uplifting and empowering their sisters around the world

- being a radical feminist means consistently taking radical action, big or small, we all can do it! Go support a female artist, go donate menstrual products to a shelter, go tell off a man when you see him making a woman uncomfortable. We all can make a difference!

…My feminism focuses on criticism of Islam and middle eastern patriarchy, but there are radfems with many focuses/passions… some in eco feminism, some on uplifting Romani women, black women, neurodivergent women, women with disabilities, prostituted women… some are passionate about women’s sports, women’s art, women’s writing, women’s history, lesbian and bisexual women’s stories… everyone has their passion on here, so before you come to attack, just check out my blog and click around at the different profiles on this corner of the internet…. maybe we might not be the terrible witches you thought us to be. Or maybe we are, but witches are awesome so who cares lol

[golvio]

Fridging is also a fairly gendered phenomenon. The original name of this trope was “Women In Refrigerators,” coined by writer Gail Simone in criticism of an incident from the Green Lantern comic book series, which she and a lot of fans saw as part of a larger misogynistic trend of writers killing off female characters, typically love interests, who they didn’t know what to do with but wanted to insert some kind of shock value to raise the stakes for the (implicitly more important, more developed, more humanized, and therefore less disposable) male heroes. This term eventually came to apply to other media outside of comics, as it’s a trope that was fairly common in other genres (and still kind of is, depending on where you look).

me tryna explain the difference between "fridging" and "death by origin story" and "character dies and that impacts other characters and that's not a bad writing decision"

[wellofdean]

I read your post about Supernatural being queer somehow from season 1 and I have two questions.

1. Don't you think it straight-appropriates the word "queer" to say it just means "not normal"? That argument seems disingenuous to me, and a lot of us want representation, and to see that word applied to explicit depiction of queer sexuality, and it's a cheat that they don't. Queer studies did start as the study of queer sexualities and the experience of queer people.

2. Are you saying that the makers of Supernatural intended for it to be "flesh on queer bones"? Do you think they intentionally sat down to tell a queer story?

Those are good questions my anonymous friend. Thank you for asking. Here are my thoughts:

To answer your first question: no, I don't think it appropriates anything. Here's why: firstly, if we're talking about sexuality and gender, it's queer 101 that no one owes anyone a justification of their queerness, and not everyone who is queer is interested in labeling it or making it legible to you, and they have no obligation to do so, and not doing so doesn't make them any less queer. Furthermore, some people who are queer are not interested in sex, so what about them?

All of that together is why, for me, the entire queer project is much more deeply about non-compliance with hegemony, and specifically with hegemony around gender roles, sexuality and to put it under a big umbrella, patriarchy, than it is about who you fuck. Those things extend into so many other aspects of life that I think you can easily talk about "queering" a very wide range of topics, and possibly? ANY TOPIC.

You are responding to this post, I think, and in it, I made a choice to talk about family and hunting, and our heroes roles and characterizations in that, and did not talk about gender shenanigans or sexuality, because my point was that even before we get to anything to do with it, Sam and Dean are immersed in a queered world in a fundamental, structural way. That said, I assure you that if you go back into season 1 of Supernatural, you will find LOADS that could be said about gender and sexuality, too. As well as other things, and a particularly important area, as @ironworked pointed out in the tags, is blue collar/white collar class issues.

As I said, the depth of queerness in Supernatural is actually dizzying just in terms of the story's BONES to say nothing of how they flesh it out. Queerness is about deviation from the norm. It's about rebellion and disobedience against hegemonic systems for the sake of personal authenticity and love.

Think about Cas for a minute. Cas's whole story is that he rejects his role in a hegemonic heaven. He rebels for love, and that is pretty explicit as early as season 4 when he tells Dean "We're making it up as we go". Fellas, that is THE QUEEREST SHIT EVER even if he didn't do it for Dean, and like... HE DID IT FOR DEAN. Cas did not have to tell Dean he loved him for me to know it, and for Cas to be a deeply queered character. When he DID say it, I wasn't the least bit surprised he was in love with Dean, because seriously, we been knew. I was only surprised I got to have the immense pleasure of hearing him say it and looking at Dean's face while he took it in. Jesus. I will NEVER RECOVER.

This is my perspective on representation in Supernatural: It's excellent, and I relate to, and feel seen by it as a queer person. Nobody needs to get fucked on the maps table for me to do the math that this is a queer story. It is very, very, very thoroughgoingly canonically queer in so many ways, and not all of them are to do with sex. I think some fans will only allow it to be called queer if dudes make out in it. I am not one of those fans.

As to your second question, I think there is a wealth of evidence in the filmic oeuvre of Eric Kripke to suggest that as an artist and a writer, he is concerned or maybe even preoccupied with masculinity issues and issues around family, and around the way patriarchy fucks men up. So, yes. I think he knew what he was doing and he knew that queerness was part of the mix. For fucks sake, it's a family of men who hunt monsters. That is very fucking on the nose. Do I think he kicked off Supernatural in 2005 planning a 15 year operatic queer romance between Cas and Dean? No. I don't think anyone planned for it to go as long as it did, and it's a matter of record that some things were influenced by fan response, actors' chemistry, different writers and showrunners' preferences and etc. What I will say is that when they had a choice to "straighten shit out" or lean into the queerness, they fucking leaned in, nearly EVERY TIME. Like, it's pretty amazing how consistently they lean the fuck in.

I'll admit -- I wasn't watching it with those eyes the first time, and I didn't give it much real estate in my mind when I watched it as it aired from 2006 to the end, but the last three episodes reshaped it for me and made me angry, and also made me need to watch it all again, this time with an explicitly queer lens, and BOY HOWDY let me tell you this: the Supernatch rewatch journey is a wild and wonderful trip to Queertown. It is legit more difficult to argue that Dean is straight than it is to argue that he is queer. There is a full on CORNUCOPIA of story evidence to support that read and relatively little that convincingly counters it on the straight side, and that starts right at the beginning, when they bend pretty baby Dean over a police car in episode one, and he smirks insouciantly in his lip gloss. Do I think everyone involved knew how that looked? Sexy, submissive and a bit gay?

YES I DO.