okay fuck it I'm semi-transcribing my prev tags here but in wayyyyy more detail bc people seem to agree and I've been thinking ab this a lot (so much so I might make my first video essay about this and yes it's that serious lmfao), so super long essay under the cut. Please bare with me bc this is a very difficult subject to articulate, and here we go:
I feel like I would fucking kill anyone saying this about any other male character so Iām kinda sick writing this but idk guys maybe Iām not so insane bare with me.
I feel like in a (attempt of) subversion of gender roles, theyāve put Adrien in the 'feminine' role of the show's main m/f dynamic, which like. We know has become more explicitly canon lately based on the princess parallels they draw with him (which I was a HUGE fan of at first don't get me wrong):
This is also supported by the fact he's always been associated with more traditionally feminine traits, such as the fact that he's a model (obvs I know male models exist but it is usually seen as more of a feminine job!), his overly empathetic/kind nature, and, as goofy as it sounds, the fact that he has a flirty cat superhero persona lmfao, something that usually falls on women (not to mention the fact that cats in general are associated with feminine energy, and the power of destruction he carries falls on the side of yin within the yin/yang symbolism which, you guessed it, is also the feminine side). I think a good example of a female character that Adrien's traits are remincisnt of is Mary Jane Watson, which of course goes hand in hand with Mari's Spider-Man and on its own is very cute!
Now there is nothing wrong with this innately, and actually these subversions is one of my favorite things about the show! I love the fact the show isn't afraid to make Adrien softer/more feminine, and it's part of why he became one of my favorite characters/male protags ever, especially since he originally was meant to be the opposite which would've sucked (sorry pv Felix fans š).
.....HOWEVER !!! Knowing all thisā that they (the showrunners) have purposefully been labeling Adrien as the "feminine" one (at first subtly, now almost explicitly)ā it's kinda crazy when you see that they have played into it a little too much and given him COMPLETE lack of agency as they would the usual female love interest š Like it feels like the second the show started overtly classifying Adrien as the princess in the tower, he started losing so much of his autonomy/character traits from the earlier seasons and is also being infantilized/portrayed as the completely helpless one which..... WHY DO THOSE THINGS GO TOGETHER IN YOUR EYES WONDER????????
And before y'all start putting words in my mouth, NO there is nothing wrong with male characters being the helpless ones, or accessories, or love interests, or playing a supporting role for a change (as is the case for a lot of magical girl shows that I love!). No, I don't think Adrien should lose his POSITIVE feminine traits, or that these make him weaker- they literally make up who he is! And no, of course I don't think any larger role he deserves to play should overshadow Marinette, as the show was rightly built around her first at the end of the day, nor in sparking this conversation am I trying to undermine the actual misogynistic writing Marinette suffers from. But it is undeniable fact that Adrien was once marketed as the other protagonist of the show, and hell, even if you want to classify him as a deuteragonist instead (which is honestly what he's fallen into these days), there has been an UNDENIABLE shift in his characterās presence that I really feel comes from the show runners thinking the princess cannot save herself, and in subverting gender roles, Adrien is now that princess, and therefore must be stripped of his nuance. Also.... ADRIEN IS A VICTIM OF ABUSE! What does it say that they are spinning this narrative he can't save himself, that he needs to be shielded and protected, rather than him be able to take control of his life again? Yes Mari can help pull him out of that, thus āsavingā him to some extent, but it feels like he had so little skin in the game at this point, which isā¦pretty bad. It's like they have been frog in boiling water us the "making a female character stronger than a male character means making her masculine and him feminine" trope, which is misogyny disguised as feminism and I'm gonna rip!! my!! fucking !! hair!! out!! because!! it!! didn't!! used!! to!! be!! like!! this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In conclusion, I think what I'm trying to say is Miraculous suffers from thinking subverting gender roles is the same as dismantling them, and not only is that very not true/harmful, Adrien's writing in recent seasons is a result. In fact, the reason I brought this all up in the first place was bc I saw a post that said itās crazy how we are somehow exclusively seeing Adrien's trauma explored through Marinette, and it just reminded me of so much media where female trauma is told through a man, and I was like shit man why is this even happening? And while again, it's not the same thing, I think there's a reason I keep seeing so many women (including myself obvs) SO bothered in how they handle Adrienās writing, as itās reminiscent of misogynistic tropes, and it literally gets brushed off by the creator himself as "oh you just hate to see a female character be stronger", which is so infuriatingly patronizing and aggravating:
Not to mention, this hurts Marinette, the actual female protagonist, because her entire fucking character this season has revolved around Adrien, which is TRULY misogynistic and could be solved if we let Adrien deal with his family and autonomy arc and the fallout of Gabriel dying and gave Marinette something else to do unique to her! And yes yessss I know Astruc said we will see more of Adrien's personal arc and that it's "just beginning", but I don't think what we've actually seen shouldn't be talked about just cuz it might get better.
I feel like I'm still not articulating this correctly even tho I tried to go more in detail (and even then I lowkey have so much more to say), but that's that for right now cuz i've yapped enough. Maybe I will do a part 2 if y'all want it (and dive more into the nuance behind the yin yang imagery cuz its kinda interesting), maybe I'll actually do that video essay, or maybe I'll never ever touch this subject again lmao, but hope y'all enjoyed and don't hate me and peace!
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