I was reminded of the perfect quote from Sean T. Collins’ review of Breaking Bad in 2012:
By failing to indulge every whim of the the male antiheroes around whom their shows are built, the women become obstacles to those men getting exactly what they want when they want it at all times, which is the core fantasy of antihero fiction. Cold cunning, ruthlessness, rage, self-interest, a propensity for physical violence – we gender these unheroic characteristics as male, and celebrate them; passivity, bitterness, grief, emotional enmeshment, a knack for attacking and deflating egos – we gender these unheroic characteristics as female, and loathe them. Skyler White, Betty Francis, Megan Draper, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Cersei Lannister, Carmela Soprano: On the sole count of “being women,” Fan Court finds you guilty as charged.
OMFG I've never seen that quote before but this put into words exactly what I mean when I say if Cersei had been a man, she would have been praised and adored by everyone. Fandoms always endorse male characters worst behaviors, excuse and brush over their evil deeds and coddle them "uwu meow meow baby" but when it comes to female characters, if she shows any flaw or make a bad decision, she is the "worst bitch ever and deserve to die in the most painful way"...
Also, this lowkey reminds me this post on Justine Larbalestier's blog, I don't know her or her works tbh, but what she says is very true, "the same behaviour from a male character is okay but someone inexcusable in a female" And that post is from 2009 and still stands to this day 12 years after! One day I'll need to read the comments, but I'm lazy 😪 Almost in 2022, and the (internalized) misogyny is still going strong, UGH
Love this quote mentioned Sansa and Cat as well as Cersei tho, because those 3 women were the first female characters I fell for when I started the show and then, you quickly find out they are the top 3 of the most hated female characters by the fandom, like... 💀
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