@wiidowed // lowkey just wanted to assert how much i appreciate this meta because i think a lot of people get lost in measuring female characters by their ‘ inherently feminine ( read : prescribed maternal ) ’ traits , like being verbal & communicative & emotive & effusive & nurturing , and when female characters don’t align to these traits as they’re socioculturally expected to , the female characters are so often discarded , because they’re not ornamental. & i love this idea that........she’s a parallel to the entire concept of femininity as manipulative ; that is , it’s not in her nature to ascribe to these generally feminine associated traits , especially because female coded traits are only so to perpetuate myths about women serving men / attracting male attention in order to enable the societal - wide sexualization of women & natasha’s entire being has been manipulated & weaponized on this exact foundation ?? & like...........this gendered divide of traits is meant to make women feel like their worth is inexorably tied to being performative for men , & it’s........important to me , how she , of her own work , doesn’t fall on these deep - carved expectations , and that she , inherently & even subconsciously dismisses the idea of gender prescribed traits to fill the same rolls & define her own femininity , & uses the societal feminine as a tool. & just because she’s not necessarily emotionally explicit doesn’t mean she’s not putting in the emotional labor , but people dismiss her self preservation because it doesn’t fill a need. what i mean is , i think a lot of people fail natasha’s character because they don’t understand , necessarily , how to divorce femininity from the maternal , when realistically the two aren’t necessarily synonymous at all , & so she’s either absolutely emotionless , or they overshoot her emotion by a mile trying to fold her into a more acceptable box.
