#queer critique

[akirayuri]

If someone studies the Kill Bill movie from a feminist critique stand point, i promise you the issue is not stylized hyper violence.

I think a lot of articles miss the elephant in the room which is granting compassion and mercy to the main male antagonist because beatrix left him ( for good reasons ). And also just normalising the massive fucking age gap they have going on. Like, age gap can be a part of the storytelling and characterization itself. I hate puritine believe that anything that is out of the norm ( sa, age-gap, toxic relationship yada yada. You get the gist. Just be a part of any queer community in the fandom you will realise what I mean ) automatically devalues or makes the piece of media a 'fetish'. They are tools to tell a story. Every story doesn't have to fit the ify censorship criteria. But it matters what you do with said subjects.

The relationship between Bill and Beatrix is the focal point of the entire film franchise, yet the actions of Bill, the circumstances of their relationship, why Beatrix is even in a relationship with an old hat like Bill is never explained. Bill does things that are just fucking unbelievably cruel. He doesn't thinks twice before putting a bullet in that pregnant woman's head. The only time he reconsiders is after finding out that Beatrix is alive somehow. Even then he basically baits a bunch of his own people AND Beatrix herself. And you are telling me we are supposed to forgive him and just think he truly loves her? Not to mention the implications of him having a relationship with Elle and just generally the erotization of a blonde woman. The grooming feeling? Never addressed.

" Just deal with it. Young beautiful women always have relationships with men who could be their father all the time. " That's what it felt like.

Beatrix is furious as she should be throughout the first movie and the second half of VOL.2. but then suddenly she magically is showing such deep rotted grief and guilt and nearly not enough of that rage she should be feeling. Bill is excused in the end. His death is nearly not as brutal as the other people who died in this mess. Somehow he gets to have his dignity despite being the man who started the entire fucking shit in the first place.

And honestly, given Tarantino's comments on the matter thirteen years old being s*x trafficed, I'm not even sure why I'm surprised.

Is it a well made movie? Yes! Absolutely! As an art piece it is iconic. The actors and everyone who worked there has done a fantastic job. But it makes me really think when people are critiquing queer people and queer ships for being problematic as if they are the one who are introducing the entire plethora of dubious topics, are they really looking around and seeing what's actually been normalised and has been there in straight media made for men and straight people the entire time?

[absolutebl]

Hey! I wanted to ask you about the bizarre imposition of "husband/wife" dynamics on BL couples.

This question first came to me when I watched my second ever BL, Bad Buddy (First being SE).

There, I thought the trope was just another way to demonstrate Pat still has some elements of toxic masculinity, but it gets shot down fast enough that I didn't think much of it other than as something that is part of Pat's growth with Pran's influence.

Then I fell down the BL rabbit hole and never looked back...

And I saw the trope EVERYWHERE

Particularly with Thai BL's. What is it with the bizarre need to apply het dynamics over a relationship that EXPLICITLY breaks the very foundations of them?

Why is the uke feminized against his will so often? Why the feminization at all? Not that femininity is bad thing, but rather, why particularly project the husband/wife dynamic?

A dynamic that stereotypically represents some of the bizzare aspects of the enforcement of gender roles with some other aspects of dominance and submission (and not in the kink way).

This became particularly alarming to me with BohnDuen in My Engineer. I'm at Episode 9 right now and the whole awful top/bottom discourse aside, this entire situation with the husband/wife makes me awfully uncomfortable.

Is there any particular reason for this?

Ah, heterosexual dysmorphia and the seme/uke dynamic. I talk about is quite a bit under the queer critique banner, here's some links:

BL Master Post (includes a brief history of the genre and its connection to yaoi, the source of this dynamic, as well as audience expectations)

Husband Wife Language in Thai BL 

Femme Representation in BL 

Sex negativity as part of the seme/uke dynamic

MORE seme/uke discussion including some coaching from P’AbsoluteBL on your sex life.... 

In which I talk a bit about the ubiquity of dubious consent in BL

Tropes that are seme/uke dysmorphic 

Hope this is helpful! 

[absolutebl]

I try not to speculate too much about the actors themselves, but I do wonder, do you think First is queer? I definitely don't get a straight vibe from him, and his performance in leofiat kissing scenes always felt a little more real than Ja's.

Is that BL actor actually queer? 

Oh I don't play this game. It's possible he's just a straight up better actor. Has more empathy for the queer experience. Is slightly kinky so gets masculine submission better. Or he's just good at telegraphing something specific that you personally identify with in body language or facial expression.

In my experience, performance to convey chemistry is largely a matter of social and cultural comfort and body autonomy. The actor has to feel relaxed in his own skin.

It's awkwardness that kills sexual interest on screen.

It's self-consciousness that kills inhabiting a character/alt-personality.

A good actor has to displace selfhood, has to leave their own wants to the wayside, including sexual orientation. However, most actors never have to do that last bit - most of them never have to think about their own straightness because most roles are built around the assumption of it. That fact alone makes the performance of passion particularly challenging in BL.

BL is not easy on these boys.

So let's take the queer out of this and talk about a different actor.

Jung Hae In is a South Korean actor who has played the lead in a number of K-drama het romances (Something in the Rain is my favorite). His chemistry with all his leading ladies is really flipping excellent, better than most leading men in the K-drama world.

Korean het romances can be very stiff around physical chemistry in particular, for socio-cultural reasons. Jung Hae In seems to have figured a way around that conditioning. Now, do we assume he's straight because of that? Or do we assume he was raised in a different culture? Or that he experienced a childhood with more than normal outward shows of affection and physical touch? Or is it just that he's a really good romantic lead actor?

On a different note.

There's a part of me that thinks a closeted gay man is going to have things a lot harder in a BL role than any other actor. He's got to fight to perform well and stay in the closet, that's got to be an identity mind fuck that translates onto screen. Not to mention how hard it would be if he had a partner IRL as well. So being stiff and bad at being gay on screen might be more of an indication of gayness, not less...

And being really good at being gay on screen might actually be a sign of someone who is hella comfortable and confident about being straight. Or comes from a culture where (cough cough Taiwan) it's just less of an insult to one's masculine identity to kiss a dude as if you enjoy it.

Not to play devil (judges) advocate or anything.

I mean there are a few out Thai actors who do BL, we could go back and watch their performances. But honestly I think all we'd learn is it's a matter of how good the actor is, and his sexual orientation is not going to be conveyed in a predictable way on screen.

What you're responding to is the actor's ability to authentically convey character, nothing more.

[absolutebl]

Hi! I love the way you write about BL and your analyses and insights have ended up with me watching 40 BLs so far!

I’m currently watching Sotus/Sotus S and I can really see what you mean by saying Kong/Arthrit are like an asexual romantic couple, especially from Arthrit’s side… but… I also see lots of sexual interest/desire from Kongpob whenever he looks at Arthrit. This led to me thinking, do they actually have a sexual relationship and how does that work given the vibes Arthrit gives off? So, I was watching the kiss under the shooting star scene in Sotus S and it all clicked into place for me! Every time Kong flirts with, touches, tries to kiss Arthrit, he backs away, refuses, makes a joke, and Kong always smiles indulgently at him, like he finds it endearing… but! When Arthrit tries to back away in this scene Kong goes full seme on him, grabs his neck, says ‘I’m not letting you get away from me this time’ and Arthrit instantly goes pliant and let’s Kong kiss him. Now I can see how these two work together, Kong is normally a very gentle seme but I reckon he sometimes goes all in and his uke just melts… What do you think about this?

Sorry for such a ramble, I don’t have anyone in real life who will listen to me and BL has eaten my brain!

SOTUS - Kong/Arthit = tsundere, ace, D/s, or...?

It's certainly one way of looking at it, very D/s.

As though Arthit, being the ultimate tsundere (which is what he is as an archetype), is also kinda the ultimate brat, and what he is really asking for is his caring Dom, Kong, to step out of Kong's comfort zone and be VERY firm with Arthit.

Honestly, I think that line of thought is a way many of us work around discomfort in chemistry in BL (when it's on display from the actors) or even the sex negativity we see on display when it's a gentle soft uke character, like Pharm in Until We Meet Again (kinda the opposite of Arthit) who is showing off the blushing maiden archetype. Both characters are equally flinchy about sex, which always makes me cringe a little.

But if I can get my brains to accept that it's all part of a D/s dynamic, then it'll work out for the psyche of this modern queer person. Or indeed a kinkster and/or ally. Isn't that often what we do with the media we adore, try to imagine away the difficult bits? Isn't that what fanfic is all about? Under those circumstances does the writer, director, or actor's intent for the character really count or matter all that much?

This is the great debate of all entertainment media consumption - where is the line between art and artist? Can and should the two be separated? I would argue that if you write fanfic, draw fanart, create FMV for an IP then you are tacitly buying into the idea that the art has been produced and sent out into the world for the audience (AKA market) and is philosophically independent from the original creator as a result. Our very act of watching this thing, and then churning it back out into the word (like I'm doing right now) has an impact on that thing and how it will be perceived going forward.

The show has a life of its own. It changes as we filter it through this lens of ever changing and evolving consumers, social media, and exhibited imagination.

Sorry, that go very art critical theory deep for a moment.

But honestly, I just personally really prefer it if BOTH actors show that their characters are interested and into sex at some point and in some way.

A counter example to Arthit would be someone like Shu Yi in Taiwan's We Best Love. Also starts out as an extremely angry tsundere uke character, but we watch him relax in all ways, including physically into the relationship as it progresses.

Or like CopyNampu in the recent Thai pulp Top Secret Together. Copy is a total head hazer agro tsundere (like Arthit) although he's the seme, but also soft as butter and totally into his boy. He is just terrible at showing it. They manage to show this about his character even though their couple is very low heat and they have little screen time.

Which is not to criticize SOTUS in particular.

I don't think SOTUS or the actors can necessarily be blamed for this. It is a really early BL for Thailand, and things have changed substantially in this regard just in the last few years.

The gayness is allowed to show through in many Thai BLs now in ways SOTUS really didn't have access to as a concept back in 2016. You can't execute what you don't know is an option, or don't realize is damaging to a community. SOTUS just... didn't know any better. Is what I would say.

Most uke characters in y-novels and mangas, when SOTUS was filming, were written as not wanting sex - because if they did that would be slutty (and, theoretically, make them unappealing as characters). This is similar to how its taken a long time for western heterosexual romcoms etc to embrace women having any kind of sexual agency or, indeed, interest in the physical. (See K-dramas grappling with this right now - arches brow at Nevertheless.)

I think Love Sick is actually a bit more representative of the Thai cultural zeitgeist at its time, because it's more a messy high school soap opera. Noh is much less a uke character than he is a confused bisexual. As a result, despite dead fish kisses and very low heat, we never doubt he and Phun are into each other.

It's taking Thailand a while to get over blushing maiden. But I think they are getting there. And, frankly, a great deal faster than we have any right to expect, (given my experience with queer and feminist cinema).

Do they feel Taiwan nipping at their industry heels? Is it global queer community pressure? Is it internal shifts in Thai society? Who knows. Possibly all of the above.

But in rewatching SOTUS my tactic is just to pretend they're ace. It brings me comfort that way. Your tactic should be whatever helps you enjoy it the most. It's entertainment, after all.

P.S. I am SO GLAD you are up to 40 BLs! Yes! Join the madness!!! 

[absolutebl]

Chinese mf censorship, fight me

Recent Chinese offerings have been very delicate and subversive in their approach to the gay-not-so subtext (Word of Honor or The Untamed) while attempting to avoid censorship. 

I acknowledge this and I do very much enjoy these shows and appreciate what must be a herculean effort on the part of production.

HOWEVER

Since the history of global cinema is plagued by desexualization of queer identity through a refusal to depict gay characters (in particular) engaging in acts of physical intimacy, it is unlikely that I will ever forgive Chinese censorship in this matter, even when they give us something as glorious as WoH. 

Showing gay characters but refusing to depict gay love in its physical form is an act of homophobia, suppression, and disenfranchisement. 

Period. 

Other Asian countries are homophobic, yet still allow their BL characters sexual agency. For sure, this is intended to titillate a het audience, but at least it is there. In its most mercenary form, boys kissing, holding hands, making out, and so forth is acting to desensitize a culturally ingrained, taboo, visceral, disgust reaction in watchers. 

Thus the more gay physical affection is shown positively on screen, the more those watching become comfortable with the idea of (oh I don’t know) two men walking down the street holding hands. 

That is BL’s cultural endgame.  

China’s relationship with BL is particularly egregious because they once did high heat BL. Yeah it mostly killed the gays, but it was there, and they were on a path (like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) towards greater acceptance of BL depicting loving happy gay relationships. 

Until censorship. 

It is my personal choice not to critically plaudit homophobic BLs, even beautiful and subversive ones. Why should I extend China the grace that they do not extend me and my people? Pretty, graceful, charming hate.. is still hate. 

Until they allow gay characters the sexual self actualization and physical affirmation of basic human decency, I will blog about the Chinese BL that I love, I will post funny memes, I will enjoy it, but I will never stop being critical that our boys can’t just kiss. 

Because as flippant as that may sound, 

THE KISSING MEANS SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. 

And the fact that they can’t is an act of disgusting suppression.

This is an addendum rant to my series on top 10 BLs from each country coupled with a history of BL. (Namely, some of the reactions to this one, on China.)  

Japanese BL

Chinese BL

Taiwanese BL

Korean BL

Thai BL

I’ve gone off on censorship quite a bit since this post. 

Here’s more on the subject: 

Mainland China Censorship Be Like… (trying to make it funny) 

Why Are Subs/Captions Censored? Or different? Or inaccurate? 

Bromances Meta - Korea China Japan 

How we feel about supporting iQIYI (parent company = HUGE Baidu) 

Also I recommend this marketplace podcast ep: What’s cooking with the restaurant industry? At the end of the episode, the final segment is about Chinese censorship (specifically of the Big Bang Theory) and what content they tend to cut (LBGTQ+) also discusses entertainment as a soft power and cultural export. 

(source) 

[absolutebl]

Hey I have a question, for your dean and pharm post you said they’re “a touch sex negative” what does that mean?

Oh, thank you for the question. I love questions! 

Sex negativity as part of the seme/uke dynamic 

Dean and Pharm have an absolutely classic seme/uke pairing. 

Dean is older, physically stronger, richer, sterner, and taller. He is also strict, taciturn, and severe. He is the active pursuer social coded masculine. 

Pharm is the opposite, younger, sweeter, gentler, kinder, and more loving. He is the passive pursued, social coded feminine. 

This is, at it’s route, an extreme power differential on every level: age, appearance, economic position, etc... 

Why say this up front? 

Because for all the delights of the seme/uke dynamic and the way it encourages a paternal obligation of care (seme wants to look after the uke as an expression of love) is ALSO encourages a certain amount of sex negativity, here’s how: 

Yaoi Source Code 

BL still draws on yaoi mostly through an over emphasis on seme/uke (especially Thailand) but many of the tropes and visuals that I love so much in BL and blog about all the time are actually sourced in that dynamic (like care and feeding, boyfriend claiming - that’s ownership obvs). 

So how does this relate to sex?

In a lot of original yaoi manga, the seme gets so overcome by his feelings for the uke and is so bad at admitting to them (or coping with how they change his sexual identity) that he lashes out at the source, the uke. 

This can take the form of physical fights (especially in an enemies to lovers trope with a tough or tsundere uke – see Pete and Kao in Kiss Me Again). Or it can take the form stalker behavior, obsession, kidnapping, jealous rages, and rape (or start as rape until the uke submits - sigh). Chinese shows like Addicted, or some of the early Taiwanese and Japanese stuff often portray these graphically on screen. 

This results is an unsafe kink component to most uke/semi sexual interactions, where the uke will be physically held down and taken by the seme (even a sweetheart seme like Ae in Love By Chance), because the uke character is EXPECTED TO RESIST. He is expected to not want sex, because for him sex is coupled to submission: giving in or “giving it up.” 

His participation is assumed as unwilling - sex will hurt him and diminish him. 

Something is being taken away from the uke - if not his will then some component of his masculinity and autonomy because (to put it bluntly) as the one penetrated he is lesser - through the lens of the narrative. 

This is a VERY heterosexual mindset, not to mention ignorant of the realities of gay sexual activity. It has to do with the prevailing BL inclination to heterosexual dysmorphia (only being able to conceive of gay relationships through the lens of het), i.e. one party must “be the girl” or in the case of Thailand “the wife”. 

 There is also a counter assumption that if the uke doesn’t want sex with the seme, as a male, he should just defend himself physically. 

We aren’t going to talk about TharnType, okay, I just... can’t with those characters. 

So, back to my babies: 

How Does this Apply To My Beloved Dean & Pharm? 

The kinder, gentler, and smaller the uke character, the more the onus is on the seme to “be the gentleman in the relationship.” However, this simultaneously justifies the moment when our seme can’t stand it anymore and has to have the uke - because the uke is simply too cute. 

But if the uke shows an active interest in sex, he is rendered impure or dirty by this interest. He will be thought of as a flirt, or as having no morals, the seme may threaten to “punish” him (because having sex is a punishment for the uke). 

The uke is supposed to protest but also his protestations are his only form of flirtation or encouragement (which is a real old romance trope AKA no means yes) and I hope you can see how damaging it is? 

Honestly our poor uke characters can’t catch a break, can they? 

The seme eventually will no longer be able to take no for an answer because his needs are too great and because he is in charge, his needs are paramount. There is a looming future where he will not be able to control himself because he is a “real man” easily overcome by lust and if he can’t resist, in the end, it’s not his fault, the uke was just... too cute. (A show like Addicted goes there, most Thai BL merely threatens to go there.) 

You end up in Dean and Pharm’s situation where Pharm is acting the part of the blushing uke maiden, “I couldn’t possibly” while Dean is forced into a seme roll and that looks like this: 

Seme gets easily overwhelmed by his lust for uke, especially when battling high emotions. (That scene in Pharm’s kitchen where Dean grabs his ass.) 

The seme makes the choice  to have sex for the uke, because that way the uke is not at fault and is still innocent of desire.

The seme must read the uke’s mind and know what the uke really wants.

Sex of any kind diminishes both parties (and cheapens the purity of the romantic love) but particularly the one submitting, so the uke can’t possibly bear the responsibility of wanting sex, so the decision must be made by the seme for both of them. 

Which is what Dean does. 

And that is what I mean by sex negativity. 

Now In, Pharm’s previous self, somehow had none of these issues (one of the reasons In had to die). If Until We Meet Again’s narrative had given Pharm one iota of In’s gumption, it could have avoided all my complaints. If Pharm was shown investigating safe sex, or buying lube/condoms for example. Or if he had simply not winced so much when Dean touched him. I think, as a character, they could have gone there with Pharm, but as an uke archetype I suspect that they felt that they could not. 

Pharm had to be a perfect uke, and a perfect uke doesn’t want sex. 

This absolutely does not stop Until We Meet Again from being my favorite BL of all time. This is really my only complaint with this show, and I actually consider it a minor one for BL. 

More on the blushing maiden trope. 

(source) 

[mdwstmnmx]

biggest critique of barbie is just how....straight it is. Like I understand the point of it is women's empowerment and critiquing patriarchy and I was not silly enough to believe that the Mattel ad movie was going to be all for queer liberation even with all the conservative backlash but like......it was just very disappointing to watch a movie whose core message is "barbie can be anything even just ordinary and the most important thing for anyone is to be yourself authentically because the (cishetero) patriarchy will hate you no matter what" and then not have a single queer presence outside of the subtext.

The worst part is that it is soooooo obvious that Weird Barbie and all the discontinued outcasts (Magic Earring Ken anyone????) and even Alan are so blatantly queer like yes of course the "weird and ugly" ones are immune to the patriarchal brainwashing!!! Literally all of Barbieland is saved because of the weirdos and the uglies and the people who already didn't fit it!!!! But they still weren't allowed to be queer!!!!

I also have Opinions about Sasha's arc because again I recognize the importance of being a little girl rejecting everything you used to love because you don't want the world to hate you (even though it will anyway) and the power of re-embracing pink and barbie but also like.....it would have been so powerful if the reason she was so anti-barbie and anti-being a woman is because she's not actually a woman.

idk it was just incredibly disappointing as a trans viewer to just not feel represented at all and spending the whole film feeling like the message only translates for cis people. again, I'm not delusional enough to think that this movie was going to make some grand queer statement against the gender binary and I know that representation is not liberation but it was still just like....not a single actually explicitly queer character. Maybe I'm just feeling left out of something made for women and this is just validation that I literally would never ever have felt included in things made for women, but as a man (sort of) who was also a weird little girl who loved barbie I was just kind of left wanting something a little bit more.

[anarchistettin]

Against Equality is an online archive, publishing, and arts collective focused on critiquing mainstream gay and lesbian politics.

As queer thinkers, writers and artists, we are committed to dislodging the centrality of equality rhetoric and challenging the demand for inclusion in the institution of marriage, the US military, and the prison industrial complex via hate crimes legislation.

We want to reinvigorate the queer political imagination with fantastic possibility!