#this one wasn't like. feminist. but it was ok at handling things

[bastiantj]

another middle school obsession revisited... i always forget that snow n bigby r ostensibly romantic. 2 me they r coworker besties who would never have spoken 2 each other otherwise

[beifong-brainrot]

I really want to see your post about how Katara is forcefully matured by the fandom, please!

Ok, while I wasn't ready to make that post in earnest, and frankly never might be, here's some of my cursory thoughts on the topic. I'd gladly talk about it in detail more but also ✨️fear✨️

So, let's get the obvious out of the way. Katara is a 14 year old. A child, barely a teen. In fact, the entirety of the gaang is made up of children.

Now, I haven't been fully active in the atla fandom in quite some time, mostly lurking on the peripheries, because the fandom is a shitshow. One of the reasons being the fact that most fans cannot, for the life of them handle the Gaang's inherent childishness.

This isn't just a Katara problem. Other than her, Aang suffers the most for the egregious crime of being a 12 year old survivor of a genocide. Suki is, of course, mainly ignored. The interpretations of Toph can vary wildly, from her being horrifically matured to being dissmissed as a chaotic, rude child. Zuko and Sokka's immature moments are looked at more permissively, being an angsty boi™️ and a goofy goober respectively.

I do find it odd that Aang doesn't get the "boys will be boys" pass, but ok, we'll blame it on him being... bald? a nice boy? not concerned with his own masculinity?

As for Katara, her maturity is treated like... a given. She's the mom of the group, the proverbial love interest, the feminist icon, the badass fighter, the trailblazer filled with feminine rage. The trophy wife to Aang, the (Lore Olympus style) Persephone to Zuko's Hades.

And true, she is, or at least can be, a lot of these things.

However she is, first and foremost, a child. This fact is presented to us on a silver platter in the first episode, when her and Aang are penguin sledding.

Katara : I haven't done this since I was a kid!

Aang: You still are a kid!

Katara is a child forced to mature. Her circumstances forced her to try to fill her mother's place and to fight for those who couldn't do so themselves. The fandom brands her as a mom friend. Sees her purely as an icon of empowerment. Or worse, degrades her character to being a love interest.

(im talking about both sides of the kataang/zutara debate. I have my biases, but I'm sure there are kataangers who treat her like this as well. I simply have encountered very few of them.)

Her story, while yes, has many themes of female empowerment is in huge part, a tragedy. The tragedy of a young girl forced to grow up much too soon.

Sadly, this is rarely spoken about. It's not spoken about directly and therefore a lot of the fandom doesn't see this. (Or simply doesn't want to see it)

This is not to say that Katara's more mature aspects should be dismissed or buried. She displays a lot of maturity for her age, to the point of being able to go toe to toe both intellectually and physically with the (admittedly usually incompetent) adults of the show. Additionally, she evolves as a character through the durtation of the show.

But a huge chunk of her maturity being forced and therefore unhealthy is a key aspect of her character.

I think what upsets me the most is that while the critiquing the idea of Katara being treated as the mom of the group in fanon is becoming more and more common, the treatment of her as something akin to a YA protagonist is on the rise.

Both these interpretations are so insulting to the character of Katara, what is wrong with you people?

I'm currently rewatching atla with a focus on Katara as a character (while also trying to give zutara a chance I am doing my best guys) and her childishness is an integral part of her. It's sad to see her treated as an adult by the fandom. And honestly unsettling, especially with how much of like a child she acts.

I wanna finish my rewatch before I give my full ramble on the topic. I also wanna look more into the many different opinions people in the atla fandom have on Katara's treatment by the show. Though even trying to skim the surfce was like injecting lemon juice directly into my tear ducts. Also I really, really don't wanna get sent death threats again.

I want to give the topic of Katara my full attention. However I don't think I'll ever make this post, actually. The atla fandom is a rabid horrid pack of creatures and I'm not sure if I wanna engage with all that.The post would probably bash a lot of things considered key arguments for Zutara, since, looking at Zutara through a child's doesn't exactly scream 'romance' and do I really want that on my blog?

Katara's role as a child isn't valued as much as her role as a woman and I just don't want to deal with people calling me mean names for talking about a little girl being traumatised.

I'd be glad to have a discussion but I made this blog mainly to have fun and enjoy a piece of media I like. I met some truly amazing people whom I can have really great discussions with, even if we don't agree. I don't want to jeopardise that by being a pretentious dick on a soapbox.

Call this and the last few posts I made on Katara me testing the waters.

[runthepockets]

The craziest thing about transitioning and primarily dating / fucking a lot of trans women is watching them do shit to me that my traumatized high school ex girlfriend did to both boys her age and older men a lot of the time; using me and my sexuality as an easy source of validation. I can count on two hands the amount of times a trans woman has put the moves on me and seen me as an easy lay, only to chicken out or fly off the handle when I reciprocate or try to do anything irl, much like my ex girlfriend did with her male friends. Sex is a power thing in these situations, a source of social capital and control rather than a genuine means of bonding or connecting with another human being, which is why they see it as ok to approach me with shallow intent, but not the inverse. Somewhat like when your mom has a bad day at work and yells at you over trivial shit like having socks on the floor in your room, it's a way to regain that autonomy and time that's stolen and beaten out of you.

And I mean, I get it. Look at how our society treats women and girls and their sexualities. There are several derogatory words and phrases in the English language alone that condemn women for wanting anything, women in tv and film for decades now have had nothing to offer except their breasts hips and asses, femme fatale tropes were pretty much everywhere from the 80s to the mid 2010s, the MeToo movement of the last decade, conflicting ideas in feminist spaces that give little to no consideration of intersectionality, throw being a trans woman in a patriarchal society in the mix and of course you're going to walk away with some screwed up ideas about sexuality. Hell, even as a guy who wasn't the primary target of a lot of that shit, I have some pretty screwed up ideas of it myself. Tbh after years of being a social nobody, it's kinda nice to be that sort of beacon of male authority for somebody that clearly wants approval in a way I can provide by just, existing. I'm a horny, straight, masculine guy, and I like female attention. We're both getting validation of some sort out of it. It's definitely a mutual thing, and it's kinda cool. It's one of those things that's gender affirming, even if it's in a very roundabout and vaguely disrespectful way.

But still, I'm a human being. All institutional and political connotations aside. I have feelings and needs, I very rarely harbor resentment or malice, so while I absolutely sympathize with these women and their traumas and try to be patient, I wish they would grant me the same graces. I really fucking hate that our society has screwed women over so much and continues to do so so often that even in trans spaces this kind of stuff is unavoidable. "Men only want one thing" taken to its logical extreme is kinda the overarching theme in all this. It feels like shit being seen as disposable or an easy quick lay / itch you need to scratch that you never have to think about again when I actually, genuinely am attracted to and care about trans women as friends and lovers, and actually want to build relationships with a lot of them instead of being seen as a walking dildo. Like I said, this mindset isn't entirely new and it's not the fault of any singular woman, nor is it unique to trans people, this has been a recurring pattern in spaces where marginalized men and women date each other since the fucking dawn of time. But damn is it frustrating. I wanna write a case study on shit like this when I'm older and significantly more secure.

[selchwife]

LO's problem btw while i'm here is like

it starts out as some kind of schlocky modern romance. i had no problem with that. kind of heteronormative, kind of like...ok whatever, but it was a good sort of like...idk. popcorn comics are not a thing. i appreciated it for having tolerable enough character writing and kind of enjoyed it for being a light romance.

i don't super like the way the apollo plotline is handled but on my first read through i was just kind of like "ok let's see where they're going with this bc i can relate to some of this stuff and i like seeing characters develop after experiencing stuff like that & i like the idea of the romance having a sort of trauma healing element."

i want to stress that the writing was never like. GREAT. it wasn't groundbreaking. but as time has worn on it's gotten more scattered, felt less organic emotionally, had more annoying breaks for comic relief that do nothing but sap the tension from moments that might otherwise hold some weight, like. idk. it's lost a lot of focus. i think what could have initially been a sort of dumb romance comic that escaped the brunt of my ire or that i even considered a kind of guilty pleasure like i did when i started following it has kind of evolved into like. Jesus christ this is so annoying.

like i'm sick of the therapy-speak. i'm sick of conflicts being created and resolved in the same chapter or back to back from one chapter or another. i'm sick of the like faux-feminist girlbossing shit. idk. it kind of sucks and noticing how badly it's sucked since the stupid trial arc just had me go back and realize like. "oh the rest of this kind of also sucked, just marginally less, and i came in with basically no standards"

[contraspem--spero]

ok im curious what do you think about mizuki akiyama, the character who is heavily implied if not canonically transfeminine/trans female?

not a malicious question

Hi anon! I'm grateful you seem to ask in good faith, so I'll answer even though I don't normally entertain fandom stuff on my blog.

I'll also be using they/them for Mizuki going forward even though I personally don't agree with that but I assume you would be more comfortable this way.

My short answer: I don't really care about them. I like Mizuki's design, some of their cards/focus songs slap, I liked the rooftop friendship storyline, Mizuki&An interactions and their character overall, but I have no personal stake in the The Big Secret storyline. I don't have to morally agree with every media I consume. I can (and do) enjoy things with non-binary or trans characters in them; that fact doesn't make me doubt gender critical or radical feminist ideas.

As of right now, it's only implied* they're transfem; for as long as it's not outright stated in canon I will keep hc-ing Mizuki as a gnc guy who faces isolation and bullying because of it, as did I for dressing in "men's clothing" and not wearing make up. Which might also be canon just as well in the future.

Mizuki never answers the question of why they dress the way they do with anything other than "Because I like it", which actually aligns the gender critical idea of clothes and make-up and nail polish etc having no gender and how both men and women can both dress however they want (whilst simultaneously being aware that some of traditionally female/feminine clothes are purposefully impractical, financially draining, or outright harmful to your body and it's no coincidence; the gc idea of people having the freedom to do whatever doesn't necessarily go against the feminist idea that patriarchy is the reason those roles and practices exist in the first place and are actively harmful to women and girls as a class), and honestly? I like the way that is written.

Maybe the message proseka writers intended to send wasn't "Mizuki is trans because they dress like a girl and being forced into male roles makes them depressed and transphobia is bad", maybe it was "Mizuki is simply a boy who likes pink and dresses and cute things and maybe we should stop bulling people for being different that the rest". Or maybe I'm dead wrong and they will be confirmed as transgender later down the line. Who knows. It makes very little difference to me anyway because they're not one of my favourite characters and that's that.

*whilst they're being referred as they/them in the official English translation, we should be very, very aware that English translation is oftentimes inaccurate and occasionally even harmful/blatantly wrong and is prone to buying into popular fandom headcanons (e.g: calling Nagi An's Aunt officially whereas in canon their relationship get no label and are much more complicated than that; unnecessary Tsukasa Angst in Saki's even where he most likely refers to Saki being lonely and not himself; the whole Spojoy Kanade honorifics blunder, while understandably untranslatable, was handled very poorly). Plus it's the only way to make the entire storyline to work in English as Japanese language has no pronouns and we can't judge based off that. Leaving out the pronoun issue we're left to judge based of... Clothes and song lyrics. *Shrugs*

**I also feel like Mizuki's storyline was done very dirty in general by proseka event format because it feels so. painfully. stretched out over three years. It seriously lacks the pacing, but that's my issue with N25 in general; they're moving a little bit too slow for my taste save for Ena.

[fullmoonfelix]

OK OK as possibly THE promising young woman and emerald defender on twitter let me speak: the movie is absolutely brilliant and the people who hate it literally prove the point every single time. pyw (no spoilers) is commentary on the way our society is set up to protect and dismiss abuse, how normalized misogyny is, and how people who would describe themselves as "a nice guy" or "one of the good ones" are part of the problem. like this is what the director says the point of the film is. and people are so threatened by this idea that rather than reflect and think critically, they...wait for it...aggressively attack a female filmmaker using classically sexist rhetoric. like. IS NO ONE CAPABLE OF SEEING THAT THEY'VE PROVED HER POINT A MILLION TIMES OVER? and emerald is COMPLETELY aware of this problem, and has said many times that being a female filmmaker is viewed as an inherently political act and she is held accountable for her films and her characters in a way no man would be. it's also insane people call the movie anti-feminist when emerald once said all her work is feminist because she's a feminist and lives her life that way.

and then...BECAUSE SHE'S A FUCKING GALAXY BRAINED GENIUS...she made her second movie and exposed this problem even more intentionally AND PEOPLE PROVED HER POINT AGAIN!! she's said about saltburn that it's designed to make people interrogate their own desires. if you hate a certain scene, why? if you love a certain scene, why? the whole movie is about examining a culture you are part of, even if you want to pretend you're on the outside looking in (this is oliver, wanting the level of wealth the cattons have even though he's perfectly comfortable himself). the whole movie is forcing us to reflect on ourselves, to reckon with the stuff that makes us uncomfortable. you know, sort of like people refused to do for pyw. and what did people do? THEY DISMISSED THE MOVIE AS SHALLOW IN AN ACT OF SELF PRESERVATION BECAUSE THEY WERE UNCOMFORTABLE LOOKING AT THEMSELVES.

now. i'm not saying she did this because of the backlash to pyw. i think she did it because she as a filmmaker is most interested in the lies we tell ourselves or how we move through life when we're not being honest or when we want to be good. she's said so many times during saltburn press that she thinks we're all liars, all olivers in some way, and that no one is as nice as they describe themselves. and the fact that this is coming from a feminist female filmmaker is too much for people to handle because our society is still overwhelmingly sexist. so they dismiss and violently harass her. i have yet to see any emerald hate that isn't basically pure misogyny.

ME ON THE OTHER HAND. i would lay down my life for this woman. i would throw myself into traffic for her zero hesitation. she made one of the most brilliant feminist movies i've ever seen, and then she followed it with a CANONICALLY QUEER erotic thriller starring JACOB ELORDI where SHE HERSELF says the scenes are designed to be sexy, gave fans express permission to ship both cattonquick and quickstart despite the fact that this genre is usually homophobic, and went on a press tour where she said some of the most hilarious, honest, and out of pocket things i've ever heard, all the while gushing about the talent of her cast and crew and talking about her love of film and genre. i will literally be obsessed with this woman until the day i die, she's a fucking artist. the fact that she's had to shoulder so much misogyny while making films about the unfair demonization of women would be funny if it wasn't so disturbing.

i was in the TRENCHES on twitter when pyw came out, like the "grown men wanted me dead when i was like 15" trenches. so i am losing my mind happy that people get how incredible emerald is. genius, goddess, loml please keep making movies forever 🙏

so glad to see people still going absolutely bonkers for saltburn like idc fuck film twitter and its hate boner for emerald fennell she gave me period sex, fetishizing the male body, and shakespearian gothic tragedy i owe that woman MY LIFE!!!

YESSSSS EXACTLY listen. listen soldier i am never leaving these trenches ok i have set up CAMP i am staying here forever idc IDC. this movie gave me barry keoghans entire shaft. this movie is my godfather my goncharov my fight club my american psycho my jennifers body my mean girls my everything. she is everything 2 me

[unhinged-transmasc]

i think it says a lot about the people saying these things, that "misandrist sentiment" is usually accompanied by "you're not actually oppressed, you just got your feelings hurt." especially when you consider i've been internalizing that since age 13, when i first identified as a trans boy. that's a hell of a long time to be exposed to "just getting my feelings hurt." even adding more insult to injury that i wasn't even privileged and i'm also marginalized (also. a POC.) like.. do you really think a young teenager is gonna be able to emotionally handle "just getting their feelings hurt" on the basis of their identity. at what point would you consider maybe being kinder and being more compassionate cause that's what gets actual progress. like maybe if i started seeing that bullshit now, i'd be tired of it, but i wouldn't have internalized that i'm irreversibly a terrible person and it wouldn't have had such a lasting mental impact on me, wouldn't have taken me so much frustration to try to unlearn it and work it out.

and from what i've seen, especially for younger generations raised on the internet, this is.. kinda a decently common experience?from transmascs to even anyone who was AMAB, including cis guys -- we want to be progressive and help people but we're exposed to a lot of "lol men suck" even just jokingly, it's pervasive, it gets into our goddamn brains and makes us question everything and hurts us a lot, especially when it starts young. it makes a lot of trans people question if they're even supposed to be in the spaces that are supposed to support them. and hey, maybe that's what you actually want, for us to experience the "same" misogyny cause it will never be "as bad." but it's kind of really sucky cause a good number of us also experience misogyny on top of that so it's not like you're doing anyone any favors really. and even for cis guys it's just generally... not good. of course if you just enjoy making other people suffer out of revenge against misogyny in general, i guess that's your own thing and you can do that; if you genuinely want the power structure flipped on its head than have actual equality. but it is kinda stupid tbh.

and it also sucks that feminist spaces and society at large is not at ALL prepared to fully address all the ways that men suffer under the patriarchy, albeit differently from women it's still suffering. like. there's still a lot of cis men out there who think even the most basic things are gay, unmanly, feminine, not "real men" behavior. having a range of emotions, basic hygiene, the type of clothes you wear, your mannerisms and your lifestyle. and then there's a lot of feminists who think that men have nothing to suffer from and it's just so easy to "undo/unlearn/unpackage" a lot of this shit. and it sucks only trans people discuss this aspect a lot because it has affected all of us and shaped our experiences, but the deeper nuances of trans voices and experiences are not that heard in society.

i just. it's one of my hopes this is a subject that gains more importance in society within my lifetime. liberation for all or liberation for none ok.

[aniy2k]

Riot Grrrl, Kinderwhore, and White Feminism

Riot Grrrl was an underground feminist movement that began in the early 90s. It was tied to the punk music scene, radical politics and DIY. It started originally with a Zine by Tobi Vai named Jigsaw in 1988 that expressed and spread radical politics and feminism. Vail later on decided to start a band by the name Bikini Kill. 

For most ‘Styles’, people don't even bother looking at the history of where it came from originally, so why is it important? 

While part of Alternative culture is Fashion and a way to express yourself that's against societal norms, there is alot of political significance that comes with it. When talking about it, Riot Grrrl tik tok creators, and other Alternative creators, say the political significance is based on what the subcultures are. Without that, you cannot be a part of the subculture. Obviously there are alot of conservatives in the scene (As you can see from the usage of lace code) Some complain and say that it's “gatekeeping”, but in my opinion, it's honestly… not. This isn’t the same as someone taking a popular music artist, then saying “You don't know this song? Ur fake lolz”.. This is separating mindsets that Alternative people strongly believe in and instead protecting a community that is supposed to be a safe place.

The Riot Grrrl movement provided a space where women in punk music tackled the conflict of inequality and sexism, and decided to fight it, united and organized.

Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kills lead singer, ended up writing the “Riot Grrrl Manifesto” in 1991, which is a summary of what Riot Grrrl is and what it means to be a part of it. 

Summary: 

“ BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.

BECAUSE we wanna make it easier for girls to see/hear each other's work so that we can share strategies and criticize-applaud each other.

BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own meanings.

BECAUSE viewing our work as being connected to our girlfriends-politics-real lives is essential if we are gonna figure out how we are doing impacts, reflects, perpetuates, or DISRUPTS the status quo.

BECAUSE we recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming our dreams AND THUS seek to create revolution in our own lives every single day by envisioning and creating alternatives to the bullshit christian capitalist way of doing things.

BECAUSE we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or turned against us via the internalization of sexism as witnessed in girl/girl jealousy and self defeating girltype behaviors.

BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will change the world for real.”

I’m not personally too much of a fan of how Kathleen Hannah ended up seeming like the regular ol’ white feminist that basically put WOC in the shadows within this whole movement. While this piece is about educating about the power that the Riot Grrrl scene had within punk culture, it has many many faults. The diversity within the scene isn’t there. It seemed to be a feminst movement, but only showcased one type of girl. White girls. 

Multiple black punks from that era came out and said that they felt that the riot grrrl scene wasn't for them. Honestly? I don’t blame them. You look up Riot Grrrl on pinterest or on tumblr, you can probably count on your one hand how many POC women are showcased.. This moment for women of color is probably the epitome of White feminism in some cases. Author, Gabby Bess, adds that “The history of Riot Grrrl is inevitably written as "predominately white," glossing over the contributions of black women and other women of color”.

Just like the article from VICE states, 

“In contrast to this ironclad narrative of the white Riot Grrrl, black women did participate in the movement. Few and far between, maybe, but they participated nonetheless, and they deserve more than to be swept under a rug of whiteness--These women carved their own feminist pathways into the hardcore scene, precisely because they were rendered invisible by the Riot Grrrl movement.”

One very powerful punk from that time, Ramdasha Bikceem, made up a whole Zine when they  were 15, that illustrates the conversation of race and gender in Riot Grrrl so perfectly 

This would all result in another black punk from that time, Tamar-Kali Brown, to make her own movement called “Sista Grrrl riot”. Out of all of the information that is circulated about the Riot Grrrl scene, Sista Grrrl Riot was probably one of its least talked about movements. Tamir-Kali Brown and her bandmates brought together a community and showed people a version of themselves on a stage where they weren’t represented.

> Kinderwhore 

Kinderwhore is a very popular style within the RiotGrrrl community. A lot of people Champion Hole lead singer, Courtney Love, for this style's popularity, but actually her bandmate Kat Bjelland introduced the style first. Though, with that being said, Courtney Love definitely made Kinderwhore one of many staple styles for the Riot Grrrl Subculture. 

What is Kinderwhore exactly? One thing about styles like this one is, there isn’t a specific definition to what it is. It was a bold, punk and sophisticated subversion of the classic "girl" stereotype, with a mini-feminine dress and bold makeup. The great part of the Kinderwhore Style is that it was about power. The power of femininity. It was so much more than just a style that included small dresses and mary janes. It was taking the most “fragile” feminine image and making it into something that is punk, and that takes all of the power back. 

Another part of Riot Grrrl fashion is just a subversion of regular punk fashion. DIY, big boots, Plaid, Skirts, Spikes. 

The idea of taking every inch of femininity that men manipulate and instead using it to make them realize that they can't handle what we are, is such a powerful thing to me as a fashion lover, but also as an aspiring social activist. As the rise of social media attention of Alternative Subcultures continues, I believe the next generation of Riot Grrls are going to kick butt and be more inclusive than the 90s scene was.

ani ok.

pls give me feedback and for those who obv have more education abt this pls give me feedback as well!! i think this is super interesting and enjoyed researching this <3

[papirouge]

It's the whole thing but particularly the white side of femininity "movement"is a TRIP that I lowkey believe is a trans agenda psyop... I knew some girls irl and online who love to post how to feminine by wearing dresses, makeup and styling your hair. Ok cute. But then they've come at me for being too masculine because I like working with my hands (i sculpt and paint ALOT), shorts and my natural hair. and when I told them that I was born a woman, i can look and be as "masculine" as possible and still be 100% feminine because of this fact, they. flip. their. shit? Lmao ok.

So you do manual hobbies, paint, sculpt AND have short hair? ...my reply might be a bit biased because I think I'm already in love with you, anon🥴💘

I agree some part of the tradfemininity scene is getting a tad "elitist" about performing feminitity. It's like, I get that you dislike feminism for what it did to femalehood and women as a social class but there's no need to act superior just because you wear dresses, want to marry young, get a dozen of babies before you hit 30 and that you entertain dainty feminine interests unlike these heathens who..*ew*..work and do the "man's job" 🤢

I look up tradfem for a lot of things but it's embarassing to see them act like feminism was the worst thing to happen to women ever when they TOO are a byproduct of feminism. Sorry but these awful feminists are the reason we can collectively have our own bank account, access education, work (which is useful bc not everyone can afford being a SAHW/M after graduating), that we are granted LEGAL protection against sexual abuse, get a fair access to heritage, etc etc. It's ludicrous to act like these weren't objective improvement for women's life.

The life of most women centuries ago was not like romance novel such as "Pride and Prejudice" lol... Real life isn't like in books, never was never will. Feminism happened for a reason ; it wasn't a whim of privileged women.... It's unfair to take the rights they hardly fought for for granted and then bitch just bc you have to *gasp* work to provide for yourself 💀 sorry but I'm better off having to deal with a shitty job that I can quit anytime than being pushed into marriage I won't be able to escape bc there are no other way for emancipation available for me.

Queen you right, you ARE a woman, so you don't need to perform feminitity to be one. Tradfem culture is nice for what it's worth but it's important to remain critical and handling such cultures entertaining vanity and frivolousness with a grain of salt. You're good with your pantings and sculptures. Babe, I wanna be you now 😩💓

[sofipitch]

Review of A Thousand Ships

I was going to wait a read a collection of greek mythology book adaptations and make another post with multiple books, but I just felt so strongly about this one I'm making it's own post.

My review under the cut:

I was really looking forward to reading this book and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. I loved Circe and Ariadne so I thought this would be similar. I couldn't have been more wrong.

This book covers so many characters in a desire to give a voice to all the women in the Trojan War that you can only meet them shallowly. And because this book covers more of the Trojan War than even the Iliad does, it spend A LOT of time retelling/summarizing the surrounding myth. Like 80-90 of this book is just retelling what happened in the Trojan war. It's not even a good retelling, where you get a sense of the feelings of the characters, it's boringly factual, as entertaining and emotionally moving as reading a summary off wikipedia. It might be interesting if you don't know the story, but I know the Trojan war like the back of my hand. The same goes for most greek mythology. Yet I love myth adaptations, but a good adaptation depends on the skills of prose. And Hayes just doesn't have that.

So even with a "feminist retelling" a lot of time is spent going over the actions of the men in the war. Even Penelope's chapters are 90% her retelling the Odyssey with a few sassy remarks thrown in. How is that fair to Penelope? It's still the equivalent of saying she did nothing but sit back and have shit happen to her. It would have been smarter to focus on one character, so you could spend time looking at their contributions specifically. Because of the framing Hayes choose, we are still only seeing the women superficially. And it doesn't feel like they do anything, but are simply having things done to them. Like is it really feminist if your characters have no agency?

For a feminist retelling I'm really disappointed by how this book handles Helen. The characters all distinctly her and she isn't included in this book. The Iliad explicitly shows over and over that the war wasn't her or anyone's fault, everyone is a pawn in the god's game of chess. And yet her perspective isn't included because the author wants to take the easy route and blame the war on Helen and make her out to be a selfish bitch? Ok 🙄

The men almost are all depicted as selfish and evil, which gets rid of any nuance. They all either outright hate or disrespect women. Like, Hayes, buddy, I'm reading this bc I like the characters of the Iliad. If I'm the target audience, shitting on all the characters I like may not be the way to go. Also "all men treat women poorly" is so derivative and weak of a take for feminism. It's just not true. It's also the kind of thing that is a Terf red flag, and considering the author is a white woman from TERF island...

1/5 I hated it. I personally think if you are interested you should save your money, there are plenty of other good greek myth adaptations (and actual good feminist ones) that are more worthy of your time.