it’s too damn early for me to be awake let alone rambling about this but it lowkey bothers me that so many interpretations of Alastor, esp in the reader insert fanfic space, are that he prefers when women, friends or otherwise, are old fashioned and polite and dress modestly etc etc etc
yes he values general politeness and time-period-appropriate things, but y’all do realize that he’s friends with Mimzy and hung out with other flappers and nightlife folks, right? he surrounded himself with people who defy normal standards of social acceptance, both in life and death. hell, take Rosie, even. she’s literally remarried and divorced like a billion times and kills her husbands. it’s implied Rosie’s from the early 1900s/1910s, so that’s definitely not a normal thing to see (the divorcing and remarrying, not the killing. though that too). he’s polite but likely thinks very lowly of “polite society”, especially given the time period where he’s from and some of the implications in the show about the racism he faced. combine that with the fact that, in the south, politeness is so often a mask for passive aggressiveness, rudeness, and gossip (I’m a southerner so i know this kinda talk VERY well and it infuriates me).
to put it frankly, he was a mixed Creole man in the 1920s and 30s who was a mama’s boy, a frequent visitor of speakeasies, and was trying to make a name for himself in an industry that had systematically shut out non-white folks and women for years. yeah he fucking hates polite society, it’s all a mask, and would not insist women be quiet and obedient as a WHOLE just because they’re WOMEN. if he did, he’d do it because they owe him something. like how Charlie owed him a favor and was forced to say Vox was the strongest sinner. he’d have no issue with a woman being whatever she wants to be so long as it didn’t get in the way of his plans somehow.
because THAT’S what he cares about. his politeness is his way of getting what he wants and if a woman wearing a short skirt doesn’t get in the way of him getting more power, or whatever the hell him and Rosie are scheming, then why would he give a fuck?
we never see him comment on what women do or wear or act like in the show. he never tries to somehow put charlie or vaggi or velvette or mimzy “in their place” in any way that’s explicitly sexist, never comments sexist-ly on their outfits, nothing along those lines. he expresses dislike of Angel Dust, but I think this is far less of him being a prude and old fashioned and more just because Angel has a habit of coming onto people even when they don’t really want it or are comfortable with it (which I may do a full analysis of sometime later, but this is definitely a behavior encouraged by Valentino’s influence, and we see how that plays out with Husk in season one and how Angel starts to drop those behaviors).
Alastor is canonically asexual and whether you interpret him as being sex repulsed or not, he probably doesn’t really like the idea of a porn star coming onto him so hard. I know the pilot is only “spiritually canon”, but when Angel does the famous “I can suck your dick” line, Alastor looks more surprised than disgusted. He does look kinda grossed out and uncomfortable later in season one when Angel talks about the two of them “going at it” for a commercial, but once again that looks more like general disgust at the notion of Alastor having sex rather than disgust at the general act. Angel makes plenty of sexual comments and Alastor doesn’t react. he doesn’t appear to have an issue with angel, a gay man who is a porn star and sex worker and a drag queen, BECAUSE he’s a gay man and a porn star and a sex worker and a drag queen. he’s got mild irritation towards him because of him coming onto him. he doesn’t even really make negative comments towards him? if he was sexist or had a thing about women needing to be some certain type of way, he’d definitely have problems with Angel, one of the most gender fucky characters in the show.
anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk about alastor not being a sexist prude dickhead. he’s just a regular dickhead. good night tumblr
