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Why so much patriarchy and misogyny in fantasy worlds???

If I was writing a fantasy book, I would make my world equal in the most fundamental sense. No racism, no sexism and misogyny, no homophobia, no transphobia, just nothing of that sort. You can make conflicts of other sorts. I understand the book is inspired from western history but this is overdoing it a little??

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I just finished watching fleabag.

Why was I constantly reminded of Nesta?

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This got me thinking about Amarantha and Ianthe, so let’s talk.

I don't know what her obsession with female villains having sex slaves is but it was already tired the first time she did it. A woman can and should be taken seriously as a villain without being a serial r**ist.

@lady-tragedy on violence in SJM's books.

Outside of her romances, sex is still a core part of SJM’s books. As an ace reader, for me, these scenes are nothing more than an insight to the characters’ beliefs and behaviours. When I read about the sexual crimes committed by Amarantha and Ianthe, it felt like a desperate and unnecessary attempt to make them villains.

Amarantha is a ruthless warrior of Hybern who comes to Prythian as a courtier. Once she settles in, she tricks the High Lords, steals their powers, keeps them captive so they can’t topple her dictatorship. Her cruelty is already established with Lucien’s mutilation, Jurian’s fate, and her relentless pursuit of Tamlin since he was a boy. She’s highly prejudiced, creatively cunning, and sadistic. Knowing Tamlin’s loyalty to the lands, she forces him to be the cause of his friends’ deaths. She sets impossible challenges for Feyre knowing her mortal body might give out before she completes even one.

She comes off a bit cartoonish with her grand monologues and threats while not doing much (until that last chapter) than being a puppeteer. But her drive is interesting and gives her that sense of evil in her nature. Her sister dies at the hands of her mortal lover after being tortured. This reinforces her goals to enslave the humans again. Since the faeries were divided during the last war, she unites Prythian to eliminate any opposition. Even her hatred for Feyre is driven by this. She wants to prove that every one of the mortals is like Jurian—unfaithful and merciless.

Amarantha is a true villain and there’s more than enough proof of her villainy without Rhysand’s sexual abuse. If we remove that from the plot, her potential isn’t weakened. With it, her actions are out of character and pointless and raises a lot of questions. There are no other hints that she’s sexually sadistic. If she was, who are her other victims UtM? Why does she hurt the most evil High Lord who doesn’t shy away from putting on such shows in this way? If this is to humiliate him, why continue when he pretends to enjoy it? And if this is about dominance, why doesn’t she go after the other High Lords?

Moreover, it undermines her core reasons. Amarantha wants to rule. She’s obsessive and ambitious. In the fifty years, she grows comfortable being Queen of Prythian but her tyranny is not an elaborate plan to trap Tamlin. He’s a game which she improvised to achieve everything she wants in one move. Tamlin offering himself wouldn’t have saved Rhysand or the others UtM. Her refusal to release Prythian when Feyre completes the tasks proves it. But because of the last minute addition of Rhysand’s abuse, all of Amarantha’s real causes and crimes are shadowed and she becomes a woman driven by lust for two men.

Ianthe is a priestess who associates herself with influential men for her means. Since she has no magical abilities or a high position in the society except for the priestess title, she uses her body to get what she wants. Her motivations are not as clear (iirc) but the time she’s in hiding with her family could be concurred as a driving factor, or the lack of influence in a patriarchal world, or like Amarantha, she wants power, plain and simple.

There are many moments that show her evil side. She actively encourages the separation between Tamlin and Feyre by manipulating them. She betrays Nesta and Elain’s location to win favour from Hybern. She pushes Tamlin to carry out barbaric acts in the name of upholding traditions which is underscored by her desire for power. Despite this, the only ones remembered are the sexual crimes she committed which leads to many questions.

Ianthe’s exceptionally beautiful known to win any man she wants. She’s a childhood friend of Tamlin and when she returns, his relationship with Feyre is already beginning to crack. Instead of targeting him, she goes for Lucien who neither trusts her nor shows interest in her. If she wants power, why choose the one who wouldn’t play by her rules and won’t ever be a High Lord? Why doesn’t she target one of the others recently crowned UtM?

Pursuing Rhysand makes sense as he’s the ‘most powerful High Lord’. But he has a reputation to have whores as he pleases and his response to her isn’t in line with the mask he wears. He doesn’t have his evil attitude nor does he behave like the manipulative mastermind he’s claimed to be. Considering this, the memory of Ianthe harassing him serves to drive Feyre’s hatred towards the only support left in Spring other than Tamlin and Lucien.

Duality of sex and abuse in the series

I’m not denying that these two women sexually abused men. Plotwise, it doesn’t conform to Amarantha’s character or support Ianthe’s cause. Let’s say it’s a random incident because characters can be unpredictable sometimes. But then, the only two notable villainesses in the series turn out to be sexual predators.

On the other hand, sex is a rite of passage for the ‘good’ female leads—Feyre accepting the role of Rhysand’s whore, Morrigan becoming sexually hyperactive and Nesta having multiple partners. And they use seduction as a weapon which becomes part of their strength and identity. Even before Ianthe assaults Lucien, Feyre disapproves her acts of pursuing men. But when she takes charge of her life, she does the same with Tarquin. She also exploits Lucien’s friendship and ruins his reputation across courts. These are considered her accomplishments. (And, it’s hard to say how far she’d have gone in her vengeance if things hadn’t turned out her way. She isn’t abusive but her inner thoughts in Lucien’s bedroom felt more than suspicious.)

Also, none of the victims are equally sympathised in the narrative. Female victims don’t talk about their abuse or heal from it on page. Among the men, only Rhysand earns compassion from the characters and the readers while Lucien’s is forgotten and Tamlin’s is ignored. I’m not entirely convinced either of these women would be hated as much had Rhysand not been their prey because it’s become the highlight of their crimes, and Tamlin is still heavily criticised for not sacrificing himself and blamed for the sisters’ deaths.

What truly stands out is that Ianthe parallels Rhysand while Amarantha, Cassian. Ianthe has a goal and goes as far as to assault someone for it—similar to what Rhysand did to Feyre. Amarantha's control and punishment of Rhysand reflects Cassian’s behaviour towards Nesta. He also mirrors Ianthe if we consider his stalking. In SJM's world, while the men are forgiven and their acts are fetishised even, the women are considered a disgrace and fated to die. They are reduced to mere temptresses, erasing any ingenuity in their characters. This double standard reinforces the idea that the gravest crime a woman can commit is abuse against a man. She’s only a villain when she acts like a man, pursues like a man, aspires like a man.

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Happy diwali 🎇🪔

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“She had attracted a grand total of four customers to her little tent so far, mostly young men looking to know which of the village girls fancied them, barely noticing that Elide—beneath the makeup pasted thick as cream on her face—was no older than they were. They’d scampered off when their friends had rushed by, whispering through the star-painted flaps that a swordsman was putting on the show of a lifetime, and his arms were nearly the size of tree trunks”

Chapter 40, Empire of Storms

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relatives are fucking snakes

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Welcome to another one of my long rants!

Media has been violence porn for men since forever with female characters reduced to no more than an object to project their fantasies onto. So, when I read a book written by a so-called feminist woman who writes about badass female leads and feminist characters, and uses major societal issues to push her narratives, I’m expecting her to treat them for what they are and not brownie points for her creativity and aesthetics for her characters.

I'm glossing over every abuse mentioned in the ACOTAR books. I won't be taking responsibility for your reactions if you choose to read.

SJM loves trauma dumping, especially on her FCs. Whether a lead or a supporting role, every one of them undergoes a form of abuse.

Feyre is sexually abused by Rhysand for two months on top of being starved and imprisoned and made to participate in life-threatening games. After this, she becomes a victim of domestic violence at Tamlin’s mansion. But in her apparent safer life with Rhysand, she’s thrown into the house of the Weaver, a death god whom even the ‘most powerful HL’ himself is afraid of. From there, the amount of physical violence she suffers is lessened though she becomes a perpetrator herself. And then, there is the impossible pregnancy (because even in a book about her sister, Feyre can’t take a fucking backseat) that even the best minds in the Prythian can’t save her from (since apparently these two bigger-than-thou are the only ones to ever mate or crossbreed).

Nesta is abused at the hands of her mother and grandmother, and neglected by her father. She’s sexually abused by the man she intended to marry. She’s thrown into the Cauldron against her will and killed—which is equivalent to SA. She’s exploited in a war when she has no experience or training. She’s verbally abused by her sister’s family and disrespected. She’s imprisoned, tortured and tamed like an animal by the man she’s meant to end up with. She’s emotionally manipulated and psychologically abused by Cassian in the entirety of SF. She’s sexually abused by a Kelpie and to some extent by Lanthys. She’s kidnapped again and thrown into a game where she’s hunted and expected to kill.

Elain suffers the same fate as Nesta during the transformation. She’s again kidnapped by Hybern and the Cauldron. (And in her book, I will bet anything that either some heinous abuse she suffered in the past from Graysen/his father or before her rescue from Hybern’s camp will come up, or she will be abused somehow by at least one man. Given how Rhysand abused Feyre and Cassian abused Nesta, I won’t be surprised if SJM drags Lucien down the same path as well because that woman’s idea of romance is hurting someone and apologising which is the equivalence of vulnerability in her stories. She would even use the ‘fire in his veins’ to push this, something he couldn’t control or whatever.)

Morrigan is brutalised by her father and dumped naked in unknown lands. Her abuse is so grotesquely described and too twisted for her crime of sleeping with a man out of wedlock.

Emerie loses her wings to wing-clipping, an improper method no less. Later on, she is abused by her father after he killed his wife in the same way. She even digs her own mother’s grave on his orders. She’s kidnapped and forced into Blood Rite for being a woman and wanting to never be abused by men again.

Gwyneth is r*ped by Hybern men. And she suffers the same as Nesta and Emerie for wanting to grow stronger and defend herself in the future.

Lady Autumn is abused by her husband.

Cressida suffers under Amarantha’s rule. (I don’t remember how exactly but I know it was mentioned somewhere. Remind me if you know.)

Clotho, other priestesses—all of them end up in the library after they suffered at the hands of men. They are too afraid of the world and broken by their trauma that they are content to spend the rest of their years never once leaving the library even for daily lives.

Almost every woman in SJM’s books is tormented in so many ways and it’s always the men who perpetuate it. And this is a theme that spans over all of her books, not just this series. Micah abuses Bryce. Pollux SA’s Lydia. I haven’t read TOG nor am I planning to, but I know there’s something in there to pick about.

I don’t mind a little violence and I don’t mind representation of such issues in a female oriented books, what I can’t tolerate is the idea is that a woman has to endure such things and rise above it all and only then she can be labelled ‘strong’. Elain is the only soft character so far as SJM wants to keep that ‘inclusive writer’ status, and this pattern is also seen in the CC series where June is the only soft-spoken female and every other woman is either rageful or a fighter.

These characters are introduced with violence, their whole identity revolves around this. Their emotional intelligence, capacity and growth all stem from the violence and how they heal from it. Feyre’s MO is her hunting and her trauma. But there’s no self-reflection to drive her growth. It’s her relationship with Rhysand that takes precedence and even then the SA is swept under the rug. Same with Nesta. Her trauma is on the forefront while her healing is so vague and none of her real issues are ever addressed. In fact, violence is a core part of her healing. During majority of her screen time, Elain cries, suffers and gets rescued. Morrigan is all hatred and trauma and wine. Emerie and Gwyneth have depth but the first thing anyone recognises in either of them is their trauma—Emerie’s wings and Gwyneth’s indefinite abode in the library.

Clotho’s trauma alone is enough to prove SJM’s obsession with women’s pain. Clotho is not a major character and she has little screen time and yet her abuse is described in such detail for pages and often. Even a fleeting character like Lady of Autumn suffers the same fate. Her idea of cruelty in men is perpetuating physical violence against women.

Moreover, all of these characters have the sense of justice and power which are strongly rooted in these abuses. None of them see the cruelty in the world and choose to stand up to it or fight it unless they have suffered too. As if one can have strength and courage only if they have been broken down by a man first. Like their fight can’t be driven by kindness and compassion for the people around them.

See, my female hero doesn’t have to be abused by every man as a trial for her to overcome. She doesn’t have to be a siren 24x7 seducing men left and right. She doesn’t have to sleep around with different men every night to let me know she’s likeable. She doesn’t have to kill in every chapter to be strong or brave. She doesn’t have to be sex on stick to be beautiful. She doesn’t have to have big boobs or ass in leathers to be beautiful. She doesn’t have to be thin and fair to desirably moderately tanned or dressed in skimpy dresses to nothing at all times. And she doesn’t have to have miracle sex with her abuser partner to heal every one of her traumas.

It’s infuriating how criticising these books calls for such hatred when these topics are exposed to young audience without proper warnings or sensitive measures. These are defended as written for and marketed to NA as if the brains of the 17 year olds level up to the full functioning adult brain overnight when they turn 18. The first book is still sold as YA and there is no warning in it either for the amount of violence, gore, SA in it. Even if the latter books are NA, someone who reads the first one in a series is bound to pick up the next ones too.

SJM hides behind these technicalities and refuses to educate herself or take accountability for all these toxic narratives she’s passing off as feminism and ideal romantic relationships. She shouldn’t be writing about these topics as she herself has a warped concept of violence and she can’t recognise the different kinds of SA and uses it freely to pass them as sexual tension like in case of Feyre and Nesta.

She’s not the best fantasy writer out there. She’s not a progressive, feminist writer. She doesn't even respect her own female characters. She uses them instead for playing out her fantasies with these 'ideal' men she created in her head.

In truth, SJM writes like a man who hates women.

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Indian Slytherin Aesthetic

And power-hungry Slytherin loved those of great Ambition

Other aesthetics: Gryffindor | Hufflepuff | Ravenclaw

@padfootastic @narcissa-black-supermacy @gracelesslady23 @in-flvx @fiendishfyre @mycupofrum @mmavverickk @the-chaosbringer @remen-nyoodles @ji-jii-visha

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I can't believe this is even a discussion. How is calling rhysand a sex worker or prostitute somehow a defence for such a tone-deaf and insensitive argument? Do they not realise that way too many people are stuck in situations where they feel like they can't say no? I always looked at rhysand and his experience in utm like that. That doesn't make it okay. I am all for hating rhysand but please that's not an argument.

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

Rape is both emotional and physical abuse and anything that is not 100% consent is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone out of fear is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone for “benefits” such as going outside is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone to prove your loyalty to them is rape.

If you’re put in any sexual situation where you are forced to do things and not because you genuinely want to, that is rape. Rhys did not 100% consent to his “relationship” (if you could even call it that) with Amarantha. He literally talks about how he was suicidal for a while because of what was happening to him Under The Mountain but it was all consensual? He was just a sex worker?

Two of the most ridiculous points this person makes is one, saying rape isn’t emotional abuse. And two, insinuating that being a “sex worker” made everything that happened to Rhys completely fine.

Sex workers are taken advantage of all the time. That’s one of the most dangerous parts of it. Being a sex worker does not always equal to consenting to everything you do. It’s not this glamorous job where you’re just consenting to everything and having sex for the fun of it. Therefore slapping the term “sex worker” onto Rhys as a way to invalidate his decades of sexual abuse is nothing short of demented.

And rape is most definitely emotions abuse. A lot of the time rape is used to control someone as seen with Amarantha and Rhys. She wanted to punish him because his father killed her friend and she wanted to prove his loyalty to her. It was literally about breaking him down and that’s why he still has trauma from it. You can’t look at the mental scars Rhys has because of Amarantha and boldly claim that wasn’t rape. You can’t read him clearly saying “she made me fuck her” and boldly claim that it wasn’t rape.

This person is not a child so there’s no valid excuse for this mentality. It’s just blatant vile ignorance and a nasty soul.

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haha... FUCK CALEB

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My Eng. Prof. has now said for the fifth or sixth time that women are the root of fights and drama. She is a woman. I admire that lady. She is incredibly smart and is a feminist herself but says that she has observed around her that women, especially above middle-age and old women are very problematic and are always engaged in petty squabbles. She says that it's a fact based on her seeing the behaviour of women around. It's an all girls college mind you.

I don't agree with her at all. I mean I know that women also have the tendency to be nasty to each other but saying that they only cause fights and drama is wrong. Maybe she has the misfortune of being surrounded by terrible women but i only know one woman who is genuinely deranged and a horrible person. I believe men have if not more than just as much tendency of being completely terrible. They have just become more covert in doing so. I mean I see my older male relatives who talk so much bullshit but always put it off by saying they are just joking, doesn't matter what utterly vile things comes out their mouth, the men laugh heartily and women uncomfortably, I mean I wouldn't blame their wives for snapping at them. Most older women with husbands have the same experiences. They have bad in-laws. Unsupportive husbands who enjoy mocking and demeaning them, their children don't care much for them, of course, they become unpleasant. I understand there are many people who are the exception. Many women have good families but are still insufferable to be around. But this is my experience. People with bad relationships after a while become unhappy to be around. Understandably so.

Also, she is teaching at an all women college, of course, she sees more concentration of female conflicts. She has bad in-laws so obviously the women their aren't good. She taught for three months at a co-ed college and that's not enough to proclaim men are just easier to work with. Both fight just as much. Again, I cherish that teacher but this pisses me off on so many levels. Just my opinion.

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I swear if they further villainize Tamlin(a character I don't even like) and romanticise and justify Rhysand, I'm going to roit. Rhysand has red flags throughout the books. In fact he is the only consistent character from the beginning to the end. He started as an awful person, he ended as an awful person. If you aren't going to address that then your opinion isn't trustworthy to me. It isn't a competition of who was worse. I genuinely have no faith in sjm's writing or her characters but fuck, I hate the selectivity the fandom shows when talking about themes that have not just heavy sway in the books but possess real life implications. Grow a brain!

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It's like when I need someone to say "I understand. It's a sucky emotion. You're not alone in feeling this" they say "oh it'll be fine. Just stop thinking so much" and when I need reassurance that everything will indeed be fine, I'm brushed off and not paid attention to. And then of course, it's why don't you share what you feel. I do! You don't want to listen because you have no answer so you don't want to be inconvenienced. You don't even bother to try to understand.