also thinking about how powerful it is to give more light to lestat being genderfluid/transfem than actually solidifying gabrielle being trans unlike what people wanted and expected.
gabrielle’s storyline, as a transmasc individual interpreting the book lore, reads more like a woman escaping her roles and duties in the late 1700s-1800s and transforming into a masculine figure to be taken seriously and to have the same equal rights (very joan of arc) who’s grooming of her son feeds off her jealousy of him being a man with more power than she could have objectively more than her being transmasculine in any way shape or form. book gabrielle is definitely gnc as she dresses like a man and engages in “masculine” roles, hobbies, etc, but she’s not trans and i really didn’t want her to be trans because we didn’t need that kind of trans representation on television and perpetuating a stereotype that transgender people groom their children. i think it was dense to assume they would’ve done such OR portrayed her in any kind of positive light because while she is less of a villain in the novel she is definitely not a positive figure if you read the damn subtext of the book. i think the instagram book fans are reading an entirely different book from me atp T_T….
making more nods and understandings to lestat’s gender-nonconformity and kind of giving some leeway into the notion he might be trans or genderfluid gives so much power back to himself in redefining who he is without his mother and groomer and totally flips expectations around from what book fans wanted in a good and refreshing way. i’m so sorry, but i’m a gabrielle de lioncourt hater until i fucking die (even as someone who has read the books) and it works so well in giving true clarity to lestats relationship to his own identity in such a refreshing way. and people saying “it’s not confirmation” cannot tell me the multiple items of women’s clothing he wears throughout s3, the constant reference to she/her pronouns throughout the show, using words to describe his body parts as feminine, calling himself “showgirl” and “princess”, and the paul scene INCLUDED doesn’t insinuate a thing or two. are we fr?
ultimately it’s a beautiful spin and i could never hate this season for doing my babygirl lestat de lioncourt so well…..
