In defense of Victor Gideon ('s personal hygiene)...
Ok, so thankfully I haven't seen this often on tumblr, but the opinion that Viktor is unhygienic and gross seems to be pretty popular on tiktok. And as someone who a) often was bullied by people claiming that I was unhygienic (not the case, I have always had health anxiety and was obsessed with hygiene) and b) has a degree on maintaining other people's hygiene I think that its bullshit.
Before I go through the main reasons people mention, I want to say this: bad hygiene is not a moral failing and not something anyone should be bullied for. Me trying to disprove that this character is gross has nothing to do with me having a bad opinion of people who cannot or want not meet my personal standards of hygiene. I just hate it when people can't read character design and end up being fatphobic and ableistic.
I. His teeth. The one that gets mentioned most. And rightfully so, I mean Leon tells him that his breath smells bad, right? Yeah, thing is the ol' ex-twink says and does a lot of shit when the day is long. If I was a villain and Leon S. Kennedy told me that the moon is out, I would check my alarm clock and then prepare for the worst time-based one liner I have ever heard. And mocking people for bad hygiene is pretty popular, no matter if its actually true or not.
Some people also claim that his teeth look 'rotten' and, sorry darling, I don't know on what 144p video you are basing your opinion, but these are not rotten teeth. These are metallic.
"Oh, so he got implants, so he must have bad dental hygiene!" I hear someone diwn the road yell, who got their braces as a fashion statement. Nope. You can get implants for any kind of reason. Genetics. Bad diet. Or, you know, being infected by a virus.
What's even more interesting is, that they seem to be copper-plated. And yes, that is or may soon be a thing. Why? Because of the bactericidal properties of copper. His teeth literally would kill off the number one reason for bad breath - bacteria.
More than once have I heard people call his hair greasy or unkempt. No, you just didn't grow up in the 90s. (Or whenever that particular hairstyle was ok to wear in your country). I could not find the specific name for it in English, but I have heard it referred to (in my language) as 'crushed waves' or 'foam waves'.
My mum had these! Basically you take naturally wavy or curly hair and put in a special foam lotion, that works similar to hair gel but does not disrupt the natural flow/curliness of the hair (I am bad at describing hair styling processes, it seems). Since it is similar to gel, it will make hair look glossy. Especially dark hair. But glossy isn't greasy. To apply the foam you actually have to wash your hair first. And the effect gets lost after two to three days, so Victor would have to wash his hair regularly.
"His skin is bloated and glossy!" Its...supposed to resemble the scales of a snake...
Yes, he is pale and slightly glossy. Neither is a sign of bad hygiene. And guess who else has the complexion of a dry wall that has just started its journey to become moldy and is wet like a naughty little slug?
Zeno. You know, tumblr's newest sweetheart and pathetic little looser extraordinaire.
Look how glossy that guy is. They had to give him an extra texture mat for that, I bet!
When that guy isn't smoking, he is sweating, in a full suit, may I add.
I think I know where this is coming from, though; Skin variances (through illness, skin damage, etc.) sadly still get read as a sign of someone not "taking care of themselves" enough. Which is bullshit. A lot of illnesses that change the skin happen regardless of hygiene. There were people who believed my partner's burn marks would go away if he just washed himself better. Stop being ableist.
Some people genuinely seem to think that Victor is fat. And like, a) no he isn't, it becomes quite apparent when you, I don't know, look at him, and b) fatness is not an indicator of bad hygiene.
Ok, I have to admit, I can understand why some people might read him as fat when glancing at him. Because his clothes are made to make him look like he is bursting at the seams. The collar of his coat, his vest not fully closing over his chest and abdomen, heck, even the metallic "teeth" across his mask not fitting into each other. This is a) an indicator of his snake theme, which can also be found in his pants. They are too big and saggy, like old shedded skin. And b) that he actually is a huge fucking Nemesis-type BOW.
Victor isn't fat, he is average, with low muscle definition.
And again, body fat does not equal unhygienic. I am quite fat (aka the adventure movie sidekick body type) and I am very hygienic, because in my job I have to be (and I love to soak in the bath like the old prune I am).
The dumbest, and thankfully rarest "reason". No, snakes don't smell bad. Their excrements do! Like yours! A snake is nearly odorless, actually.
Now that I adressed the five main points, let me add some more personal opinions! Viktor doesn't strike me as someone who would neglect his personal hygiene. He is a doctor for one and he likes to decorate himself, which both are pretty good indicators for someone enjoying a good hygiene.
If he smells like anything unpleasant (I personally think that he probably doesn't smell at all), it is because of the virus. But then a lot of people the fandom usually finds really, really sexy would smell bad too, wouldn't they?
So, yeah, my two cents. I just wished people would stop seeing bad hygiene as an indicator for bad morality.
