Loyal Vassal · 17d
Thank you miss tithe to hell that was very informative
i actually found it very fascinating both the historical context and what it actually means in the context of batman and i also like the idea of dangerous maidenhod and purity even more now that i understand it (in general i like when more traditional concepts associated with feminity like motherhood or maidenhood are used are weaponized by said maide/mother but not in a cool girlboss way rather in a more insidious fashion if it makes sense at all anyway loved the ramble your brain is really big)
Thank you! I’m glad you could get something out of it. Honestly I think it’s a bit of a tricky thing to talk about sometimes, because ofc in life women and children, etc ARE more vulnerable often to various violence and wrongdoing, etc. But the “danger” of the Purity-Maidenhood thing is one that is based in that patriarchal idea too, since I feel like it’s less about Protecting people so much as it is about protecting an Ideal of Purity (which is often foisted upon women and children etc). And in protecting that Ideal of Purity it requires an enforcing of roles and expulsion, etc like I mentioned before.
In general I guess I’ve had a lot of dislike of the trope but also irl concept I guess that Victimhood = Morality. I guess it just feels too easy of a narrative, that you are good BECAUSE something bad happened or could happen to you….This results in a lot of lazy stories I think…where a story wants a character to be seen as “good” so we only see them as the victim of cruel and wrong actions, but they end up having Only Kind and Good, easy to empathize with internal life. Which, there is a truth to that, in that people who endure lots of hardship can become more empathetic and thoughtful because of their perspective. But also I think, most people are susceptible to biases and suspicion and selfishness even with good intentions, and for most people who end up DOING good in their life, it’s something that by necessity is conscious and intentional, and not just innocently bumbling into it bc of Inherent Nature….maybe this is a bit Calvinist of a take based on formative framing hahaa but yeah I just never want to buy into the idea that there is a state of “being” that is inherently “good”
And I think people don’t always want to acknowledge when they do have some sort of power or influence over others that can be abused, even if it’s just a little. IDK it’s all very complicated and interesting to see play out both in how people depict it in fiction and irl, how people construct “goodness” and sympatheticness and all that. I feel this gets talked about a lot in terms of like, VILLAIN REDEMPTION ARCS DISCOURSE and ppl arguing whether or not Fictional Evil Man #30498402 deserves this or that, but I think it could apply just as well to POV characters and how a story treats them.
I feel this was very rambly but yeah glad I could spawn some thoughts…
