the views upon jax and both the idolization and animosity towards her is really telling of the media literacy skills of people and it frankly worries me.
yes, Jax did indeed do horrible actions which she deserves to take accountability of, but some people are just treating her like some irredeemable horrible demon who deserved to end her life
its very understandable to be mad at her, but you have to realize, she was incredibly insecure and did not comprehend how to handle trauma. does that make anything that she has done right? absolutely not. it does provide subtext and a motive behind doing those things, however, and allows some people who have struggled with the same problems to empathize and relate.
(i am not implying that jax is the most well-written character at all, but you get the point.)
on the other side of the argument, labeling jax as a “female complex character” and denying she did any wrong is also just plain stupid. she berated half—no, most of the circus and caused abstractions. (side note: she is not perfect trans rep either. she is pretty good at representation, but still has some flaws.)
i see people constantly take it to the extreme; either they treat jax like a goddess or treat jax like putrid filth.
in this instance, gray areas are the best way to go, a healthy balance of recognizing wrong and supporting the character.
but the reason this worries me is because of mental illness representations and the way people react to it in media.
i understand that Jax has no canonic mental disorder (correct me if im wrong im definitely not entirely sure) but he does exhibit behaviors that people with certain disorders would, more specifically cluster b personality disorders.
if we want better representation of these disorders or their behaviors in media, then we must find a way to recognize the fact that yes, the person does absolutely does need help and support but also needs to be self-aware and realize that their actions are not acceptable in the slightest nor normal.
yet, goodness me, people either ignore the actions entirely or pass them off as her being “a complex female character” or just hyperfocus on it saying that she’s absolutely irredeemable and villainous.
and if this is the way Jax is treated—who, again, has no canon disorder as far as i know of—just imagine how accurate representation of disorders such as NPD, ASPD, BPD, HPD, and other illnesses in characters will.
its just something I’ve wanted to rant about as someone who hates jax but believes she’s misinterpreted in the fandom and someone who does active research when it comes to these disorders and the stigmas against them. thank you for reading this far ^^
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