A Long-Ass Analysis/Discussion of Vox's Internalized Homophobia
(note: I have already made a couple other posts about Vox's sexuality, so my points from those posts will be repeated here)
Firstly, I want to make one thing clear: Vivzie did not DIRECTLY confirm that Vox had/has internalized homophobia. I've seen a lot of people making posts saying/implying that she did when this just isn't true. What actually happened is that Vivzie talked about the flashback between Vox and Alastor in s2e4 in this interview:
And she said at 34:02 - "But in that moment with Alastor, he [Vox] was being vulnerable in a way that, especially for the time period he's from, was not easy. And I think that's the element of it that I don't think people realize, like that was real. His moment there with Alastor was like him letting down a guard that even existed when he was alive and Alastor shit all over it".
That's literally it. And imo all that Vivzie does here is imply that Vox dealt with toxic masculinity when he was alive (hence it not being easy for him to be emotionally vulnerable, especially to/around another man). There isn't anything about internalized homophobia here.
However, IT IS very obvious in the SHOW itself that Vox has internalized homophobia.
As we all know, Vox is in a relationship with Valentino. But Vox seems to be embarrassed when others are present/privy to it:
Vox and Val have a moment at the end of Poison in s1e4 (hell they might've been kissing judging by the drool from Vox's mouth). But Vox immediately leaves once he notices Angel is watching.
Vox and Val flirt in s2e5 before the rally and Vox immediately gets embarrassed once Alastor shows up.
Vox and Val almost have sex in s2e6. But once Velvette reveals herself, Vox pushes Val away and tries to say that they were "just talking". And then once Alastor reveals himself, Vox becomes even more visibly embarrassed.
Vox and Val are surprisingly domestic/wholesome in Valentino's drawing tutorial. But Vox gets embarrassed right at the end once he realizes that Val's been recording their conversation the whole time.
So it seems like Vox is actively trying to keep his relationship with Val a secret. Hell I bet barely anyone outside of the Vees even knows about their relationship. Considering Katie Killjoy is aware that Charlie is queer but seems to be completely unaware that Vox is queer as well (as evidenced by her flirting with him and you know.... Not being a homophobic dick to him).
And you can see that Vox's insecurity about their relationship has been a long time frustration for Val.
In s2e6, Vox calls him and Valentino "partners", causing Valentino to give him this expression:
As if to say "are you going to call us that? because you've never done that before. and if you are, are you really gonna do it now? just to win me over? because it's not gonna work".
Which then prompted Vox to slip into calling them "partners... In-in business!".
So, yeah. Pretty clear that Vox has internalized homophobia. Hell, you can tell that just by looking at the pride merch.
In the first image, Vox looks disinterested, in stark contrast to Velvette and Valentino. Plus, Vel and Val are wearing new outfits meanwhile Vox is just wearing his normal suit but with a rainbow bow tie (I'm guessing that's the only pride thing Vel and Val could convince him to wear). Also, you can see Val is holding up Vox's hand with the bi flag in it. And in the second image, Vox looks even more irritated (probably because Vel and Val managed to force him into wearing that bi-colored outfit).
Overall, it's abundantly clear that Vox still has that 1950s mentality that if you want to be successful and be respected by society you have to present yourself as this ultra-masculine heterosexual man.
And I believe this has contributed to Vox's hatred of Angel Dust. Obviously Vox hates Angel because he's jealous that Val is so obsessed with Angel. But I feel like Vox also hates Angel because of how visibly/openly queer he is.
After all, Angel sort of shatters Vox's worldview. Vox represses his queerness because he believes it's the only way he'll ever succeed and obtain respect. Meanwhile Angel is a celebrity, he's beloved by all of hell essentially because he's openly queer. I bet Vox feels insulted that despite all of his hard work, everyone, even his own partner, is more captivated by this "weak" feminine twink. And obviously, Vox isn't willing to confront his issues and change this worldview he's had for literal decades at this point. So, he reinforces his worldview by making Angel into even more of a victim than he already is. Through his treatment of Angel, Vox is essentially telling himself, "remember, this is what will happen to you if you're openly queer".
Okay. Now let's talk about Brighter. (I will admit what I say here is leaning into more fan theory esque territory but please hear me out).
So, we saw all throughout Brighter that Vox would go through this constant cycle when he was alive of seeing someone getting more attention than him, getting obsessed with that person, killing that person, adopting that person's traits (most notably the suits of his first two victims), soaking up the praise, and then quickly moving on to the next person.
But obviously all of this changed when Vox died because:
1)To put it simply, Overlords aren't exactly easy to kill. So, Vox can't just murder people to get what he wants anymore, he instead has to manipulate people by forming connections.
2)Vox is surrounded by individuals who are just as if not more powerful than he is. So unlike his tv costars, Vox likely views his fellow Overlords as equals and is therefore more willing to form genuine connections with them. Hence his friendship with Alastor.
And oh boy Vox and Alastor.... Okay so we know Vox often copies Alastor, as shown by the similar suits.
We saw Vox pull this same shit with his first two victims when he was alive. And it seems that Alastor is no different.
But guys.... Vox also canonically had/has a crush on Alastor.
So that has me wondering....
Hey Vox, are you sure what you felt for these two guys was JUST jealousy?
Because I know many queer people have confused their romantic feelings for the same gender with feelings of envy. And that could be the case of with Vox. Or hell, maybe it's a genuine mix of both love and envy for him.
Like I'm reminded of the film, "The Talented Mr. Ripley", in which the main character Tom Ripley is both in love with and wants to be Dickie Greenleaf. Tom wants to be in a relationship with Dickie but also wants Dickie's lavish heteronormative lifestyle aka a lifestyle that is accepted and respected by larger society.
I'm also getting reminded of queer analyses of American Psycho I've seen, which interpret Patrick Bateman's violent acts as attempts to repress his queerness by asserting himself as a powerful ultra-masculine heterosexual man.
Hell, Vox's second victim kind of looks like the character Luis from American Psycho.
And if you haven't seen this movie, there's a scene where Patrick Bateman plans to strangle Luis in a public bathroom. But his plans are thwarted because Luis ends up thinking that Patrick is flirting with him and Luis is absolutely down bad. And Patrick ends up being so disgusted by this that he just leaves.
Anyway, it seems possible to me that Vox murdered these two guys:
1)As a way to quickly get over his sexual and/or romantic feelings for them and continue to ignore his queerness.
2)Out of jealousy/hatred for the lifestyles they live. Vox might've been envious of his first victim for being more masculine and being desired by women and therefore being able to be accepted and successful in a heteronormative society.
Vox might've resented his second victim similar to how he now resents Angel Dust, considering this guy does look a bit feminine and seems to have been a singer/performer (evidenced by Vox singing into a mic after stealing his job) which could be seen as a more queer/feminine occupation by heteronormative society.
Now going back to that flashback of Vox and Alastor in s2e4?
It seems like Alastor was Vox's queer awakening. Vox can't just easily kill Overlords; he can't just murder his crush and move on anymore. So, Vox was forced to just sit with his feelings and realize that they were feelings of love. And considering it's Hell and nobody really gives a shit, Vox probably came close to accept his queerness, and more specifically his feelings for Alastor. But that of course went to shit when Alastor rejected his friendship and team-up proposal. The one time that Vox was finally being honest and genuine, he was met with humiliation. So, he went back to his old ways. To the imitation and the envy and the displays of violence/power in his seek for validation from larger society.
Ahem. Okay so this might seem a bit random at first, but you know that moment where Vox dances with the corpse of his first victim?
Well, you want to know who else we've seen Vox pull this move with?
Valentino and Alastor... aka the two people that we know Vox is in love with. So yeah, I feel like this further points to my theory that Vox had feelings for this guy.
But also, Vox positioning himself as the leader in this dance aka the role that's usually associated with men and positioning the person he's dancing with as the follower aka the role that's usually associated with women.... I think points to this need for Vox to filter his queerness through this heteronormative lens.
Vox very much reminds me of Marvin from Falsettos. Basically, Falsettos is a musical about a man named Marvin who left his wife and child so he could be with another man named Whizzer. However, Marvin wants to essentially have his cake and eat it too. He wants to be in a relationship with Whizzer but also wants to be accepted by heteronormative society. So, he tries to force Whizzer into this role of a wife. Of course, this is framed as ridiculous, especially since Whizzer is not in any way feminine. Hell, Whizzer is arguably more masculine than Marvin since he's taller and more muscular and interested in sports. In fact, this is part of why Marvin does what he does. Marvin feels insecure about his own masculinity and so he tries to force Whizzer into this feminine role in order to hype himself up.
And I see this in Vox's relationships with Valentino and Alastor.
Vox and Valentino? Val is obviously more feminine than Vox is. And I doubt that Vox would be with Val if Val wasn't feminine. Because then Vox would have a harder time viewing himself and his relationship as "basically heterosexual". Also, from what little content we get of their sex-life, it seems that Vox is always on top as evidenced by:
1)When Vox shows up in s2e4 to fight Alastor, Val shows up soon after an says "Voxxy, you can't get all up in this and then zip out like that".
2)That s2e4 scene showing that Vox and Val just had sex, where you can see that Val's upper arms were tied up.
3)Vox being on top when they're about to hook up in s2e6.
And I'm sure we can all guess why Vox would insist being on top.
Now, Vox and Alastor? Remember, Vox looked up to Alastor because of how powerful he was. Vox could see that Alastor was on another level than him, but Vox was fine with that. Just being in close proximity to that power was enough for him. But that all changed when Alastor rejected him, when Alastor called him "weak" and "pathetic". That moment essentially revitalized all the insecurities that Vox had throughout his life on earth. This is why Vox is obsessed with overpowering Alastor. Vox wants to be the peak of heteronormative masculinity, and he sees Alastor as that peak. Vox wants Alastor to be emasculated just like how Vox felt emasculated in that moment of rejection.
Him doing all of that shit in s2e4 like calling Alastor a twink at the start of their fight, calling Alastor his "bottomest bitch" in Don't You Forget (Reprise), and putting Alastor into the fucking cuck chair? It's all a part of Vox's quest to demean Alastor as much as possible.
But Vox doesn't just want revenge, absolutely not. If that was all he wanted, then he could've just killed Alastor or at least lock him away to never be seen again. But no, Alastor is allowed to go basically wherever he wants as long he stays with the Vees and Vox constantly tries to prove his self-worth to him. Vox is so desperate for validation from Alastor and this is because his shit with Alastor goes FAR deeper than any of his other victims.
Again, Vox was going through a constant murder cycle when he was alive. He moved quickly from one victim to the next, never having a moment to breathe. But Alastor? They were friends for years and have been rivals for decades. Vox never had a chance to move on so throughout all that time he developed an ADDICTION to Alastor, one that he definitely can't quit all on his own.
Okay, one final thing I want to discuss about Vox is his violence. The show has made it clear that Vox is a sadist as evidenced by:
1)Valentino saying to Vox, "killing Alastor is your kink", in s1e2.
2)Pretty much all of Vox's scenes in s1e8. We see him getting giddy and drooling at the idea of Alastor getting beaten up. He says "I'm so hard right now!" when the fight with the angels is about to start. And he says "this is better than sex!" when Alastor gets the shit beaten out of him by Adam.
3)Angel Dust saying that Vox "gets off to watching people suffer" in s2e3.
So yeah, Vox takes sexual pleasure out of violence. And I think this might be similar to him filtering his queerness through this heteronormative lens. He feels he can only express his sexuality in a way that demeans someone else and makes him the powerful one in the situation.
In conclusion, Vox has some DEEP issues. But since Viv said he's going to be present all throughout the series, I'm guessing we'll eventually see him working on them. With Vox not having a body and Val taking over as head of VoxTek, it seems like Vox will be more isolated in s3. And because of that it's likely he'll be faced with two choices: get over his need for validation from others or be permanently miserable due to his physical inability to obtain that validation.
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