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Radfem - Blog Posts
Oklahoma is attempting to pass a bill that would ban explicit romance novels. Authors, narrators, and sellers could all face fines of up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in jail for each instance.
If you live in OK, call your representative and tell them this bill should not be allowed to pass.
This is likely a test case. Republicans will try to pass it in OK and if it passes other states will likely try to pass similar laws.
In the meantime, get physical copies of books you like. Download those pdfs. Archive your AO3 stories and keep them on a physical hard drive. (Storing those files in the cloud could be problematic in the future as the company managing the cloud service can see what your files are)
German anti-prostitution-sticker reading "Johns (as in clients of prostitutes) aren't comrades, Pimps deserve to be shot"
my ex- genderist friend group
its funny that i used to be in a gendie friend group. Even if i didnt believe in what they wanted i genuinely didnt care because i just wanted to talk about the hobbies we shared and that. but i SWEAR that they filled my head until it exploded
my limit was when at one point they randomly started to talk about how evil ''cis'' women are (specifically '''cis'' lesbians) saying super misogynistic things and even calling themselves misogynists (''''as a ''joke'''''')
thats the moment i saw their true faces behind that mask of ''tolerance and social justice''
Hi radfem tumbrl
Hello! im new on tumbrl (not really) Im going to be direct, im here to read and express myself about radical feminism. I always were a feminist but sometimes I feel a little alone about that and and never really expressed it because of my shyness. Thats why I made this space. to talk about radfem and meet radfems like me. Dont be shy to add me!
things to add about me: nothing really surprising, i am a nerd who loves random shit but in special: art books, anime, drawing and diverses ways to make art in general, feminism (duh), animals, cute things, natural spaces, biology, humand and above all female anatomy, languages and linguistic. Im a minor but i will no longer be one in a few months (yeah im kinda in crisis about that).
aaand something important to add. I am not a native english speaker, Im hispanic actually, so the way I write can be weird/very reduced so keep that in mind. XOXO.
I hate how people treat bisexual people (women especially) like we're just... sex receptacles, that have to put up with whatever in their sex partners want and who can't have any sexual boundaries. Bisexuals are still allowed to say no, to anyone, and anything, for any reason. No, we do not have to be your unicorns, we do not have to put up with "kinky" sex, and we can choose not to date men, even the one's who say they aren't men.
Why is it always "kink can be non-sexual" but never "grooming can be non-sexual"?
“i say mostly cis because, while i am largely gender non conforming…. i still am a woman?”
how sad is it that gnc women truly believe womanhood is about femininity
someone argued with me once that TIMs are 'the biggest threat to western women' right now and... no. males in general are. and regular masculine straight men are using TIMs as scapegoats to make themselves look innocent but in reality every type of man has been raping and murdering every type of woman since the beginning of civilisation. yes this is a unique situation because TIMs are able to invade women's spaces but any male can become a TIM which is why the whole thing should be gatekept if the trans community doesn't want sexual predators affiliated with them. self-id needs to stop right now.
many women, even radfems, give gender conforming males the pass to be sexist and abusive and only call out tims for being misogynistic perverts
your movement will not go anywhere if you solely focus on the minority of effeminate males but refuse to talk about and fight against the average males that regularly hurt women and girls. if tims just vanished, we'd still have all the depraved, rotten, subhuman males that have also invaded women's spaces. this isn't a trans issue, it's a male issue
The most telling part is that trans people can’t even defend their ideology without resorting to repetitive slogans. I mean, come on—this is the identity you claim you'd die for, remember? “Death before detransition,” and all that. But then again, it’s probably easier to die for it than to actually defend it, because—newsflash—trans ideology doesn’t really hold up under debate or scientific scrutiny.
Idv Fandom, Flags, and Fragile Egos
So, a moot of mine was posting art on Twitter, and then some obsessed brat came along asking, "How can you be a radfem and an IDV player?" Now all their little cronies are going on about how all the IDV characters are supposedly trans, and how gender-critical people apparently can’t enjoy games because—checks notes—trans people are "the majority" in fandom spaces.
Like, honestly, are you that upset that radfems can enjoy media without needing to centre their entire identity around it? It’s quite sad, really. The most telling part is that they can’t even defend their ideology without resorting to repetitive slogans. I mean, come on—this is the identity you claim you'd die for, remember? “Death before detransition,” and all that. But then again, it’s probably easier to die for it than to actually defend it, because—newsflash—trans ideology doesn’t really hold up under debate or scientific scrutiny.
Biological women face greater oppression than tims ever will
opinion?
https://www.tumblr.com/radfemsiren/764254887692353536/hi-i-love-your-content-i-just-wanted-to-ask?source=share
A woman who harms still exists within the same oppressive systems that radical feminism is working to dismantle — patriarchy, misogyny, generational trauma. She is still a woman, and her liberation as a woman is something radical feminism fights for.
But that doesn’t mean her harmful actions are erased or excused. The abuse of a child is its own distinct harm — and that child deserves justice, protection, and healing. So while radical feminism stands for the liberation of all women, it also demands accountability and transformation, especially where harm has been done.
It’s not either/or — liberation and accountability can, and must, coexist.
The Myth of the White-Only Radfem
What is up with these anti-radfem/TERF people acting like only white women are radfems/TERFs? Because last time I checked, most of the radfems I’ve met are women of colour and such. I mean, there is a huge radfem movement in South America, and parts of Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. It’s seemingly only in the West where feminism is more liberal.
So why is it that they are making up such lies??
So let me get this straight: A male author who wrote Ethical Porn for Dicks wants us to believe that porn addiction doesn’t exist—because people just feel guilty about watching it? Please. The gaslighting is unreal.
Ugh what is your opinion on this article? I would love to hear it
the guy next to me on my 8 hour plane ride was reading Jordan Peterson while i read Dworkin and it felt like the first death note opening
i love my misandrist phd ap computer science teacher 🥰
Everytime I find out a famous radfem is married to a man I kinda die a little
a little about me
hi, i’m kesair! (KESS-eer)
basic stuff:
🌎 USA
🕓 21
♀ TRA -> radfem pipeline as of discovering radblr a few months ago
💕 biromantic, asexual, febfem
yeses and nos:
❌ pornography
❌ sex industry
❌ beauty industry
❌ religion
❌ kink/bdsm
✅ female separatism
✅ gender abolition
✅ pro choice
hobbies and personal stuff:
🌱 ecology major
🎮 video games (skyrim, TOTK, BG3, and more)
📕 reading + creative writing
🎲 dungeons and dragons
🌷 gardening (currently starting a garden on my apt balcony)
🎶 music (the neighbourhood, chase atlantic, susannah joffe, set it off)
“template” very much stolen from @lorynna
Something that helped me deconstruct the issues I had with my body was realizing that society wants women to hate their bodies because it makes them easier to control and manipulate. Tens of multi-billion-dollar industries depend on women’s self-hatred, telling women something new is wrong with them every week and selling them the solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. It’s an act of radical rebellion against capitalism to like or at least have a neutral relationship with your body no matter how much anyone else tries to tell you there’s something wrong with it. Your body literally does not need to be anything— not beautiful, not sexy— except for healthy, and keeping you alive.
It's so upsetting to see post after post about girls and women being unhappy with their appearances, mostly after facing judgement.
I'd like to remind you that your physical beauty, your appearance, is the least interesting, most boring thing about you.
How is your appearance going to help you get good grades? It won't, your knowledge will.
How is your appearance going to save the life of the victim of drowning? It won't, your knowledge will.
How is your appearance going to keep the conversation going? It won't. Your knowledge, interests, and personality will.
Saying you don't like yourself because your ugly is like saying you hate your birthday present because it got wrapped in ugly wrapping paper. It's on the inside that counts, that actually matters.
It's more than okay to be "ugly" or what society deems unattractive. Beauty is subjective anyway. You'll never win if you tried.
My old blog got t worded so I’m back now!!! I used to be raybugthe-radfem so if any of my mooties find me that’d be lovely!!! Here’s a redone intro:
I’m a minor and a lesbian
Im black and Indo Caribbean
I’m Canadian
I am anti SW, anti surrogacy, anti capitalist, pro-choice and gender critical
I love riot grrrl stuff, musical theatre, reading and writing and have recently taken an interest in pottery.
DNI:
Males, 13>, TRAs/gender culties
How are trans people supposedly 1% or less of the population, and yet "everyone" knows someone who's trans at the same time?
Solving violence against trans people seems to include the same solutions as solving violence against most other people: housing, safe spaces to go in uncertain times, gun regulations.
Okay I answered my own question:
I couldn’t find the link that goes with the above image, I reverse image searched and only found twitter posts, not the article it supposedly comes from. Advocate.com does have an article (link below) which lists the transgender people killed in 2024, but has nothing about the trans-identified males currently serving a prison sentence.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation also has a report on the above (https://reports.hrc.org/an-epidemic-of-violence-2024) of the 30 reported deaths, 3 were trans men (female) and 1 was a nonbinary afab person (female).
So, really the statistic is more like
Trans-identified males killed in 2024: 26
Trans-identified males serving a prison sentence for a sexual offence: 609
The human brain is always open to change. Even if it takes baby steps, acknowledging how porn has affected you can be the first step. Society has uplifted it for so long and many have fallen victim to it. Now is the time to seek help and improve our mental health💞.
taking back your mind: a radical feminist approach to recovering from porn use
as radical feminists, we know we live in a society poisoned by porn on a global scale. if you are one of the many women who has fallen prey to the porn industry and are trapped in the cycle of degrading participation in viewing porn, no matter the origins of your usage, just know that you are not alone and that there’s hope for you. read this essay with an open mind - take what works for you and leave the rest.
BE AWARE OF NEUROPLASTICITY first off - your brain is not in stasis (like scientists used to believe!). discovering and understanding the concept of neuroplasticity was a first step in my healing process. neuroplasticity is defined as the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment. neural pathways are simply connections between parts of your nervous system that have formed from patterns of thinking. i’d suggest taking some time to learn about neuroplasticity - there’s some very good articles & videos online!
so what does neuroplasticity mean in relation to porn use? we know that your brain is affected by porn, but you are not permanently pornsick. you are not doomed! here’s what happened: every time you had an orgasm to porn, the neural pathway between groinal response/arousal/orgasm and the stimuli of porn use was strengthened. the neural pathway for groinal responses/arousal/orgasm from stimuli that ISN’T porn is weaker and not in use. that’s why it can feel like porn is the only thing that turns you on or that gets you off, or you can lose groinal response to situations (like consensual & healthy sexual interaction with people you’re actually attracted to) that you feel like you should be turned on by.
if you’ve been using porn since a really young age and/or extremely heavily, your brain will be more affected, because the effects on your brain are culumative and neuroplasticity is more intense before adulthood. even still: you are not doomed. it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort to rewire your brain by avoiding the old neural pathways and using and establishing the new and healthy ones, but with that time and effort there will be progress. a healthy, loving sexuality is worth fighting for.
DON’T HAVE ORGASMS TO PORN so now that we know about neuroplasticity and neural pathways, we know they can be tackled. not having any orgasms to thoughts about porn or porn is the way to do this, combined with working on having orgasms to thoughts of healthy sex! i’m going to share how i did this on a personal level. again, feel free to take what works for you and leave the rest.
when i was having sex or masturbating, if i had any intrusive thoughts about porn or violent/pornagraphic sex, i had a process for stopping those neural pathways from activating. when trying to have an orgasm, if i was thinking about porn/violence, i would physically stop trying to orgasm and then try to clear my mind. when i wasn’t thinking about the porn imagery any more, i would continue. if this was happening over and over again, i would stop all the way and decide i would try again later.
i’ve been asked what to think about instead and it really varies person to person. if you’re not ready to fantasize, try to just focus on the physical sensations and keep your mind clear of thoughts of sex. when you’re feeling ready and less in danger of fantasizing about porn or violent sex, using healthy & loving sexual fantasies is great too, especially if you use them while you orgasm. it is normal to not have the same intense groinal response to these fantasies as you do to porn and doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong or that you’ll never have normal arousal responses. it just takes time.
an important detail: if you have sexual partners, it’s very important to be aware of how your reliance on porn affects the sex you have with them. if you are unable to orgasm with another partner without thoughts of porn, it will most likely be necessary to stop having sex while you work on healing your sexuality, which brings us to the next section. SUPPORT FROM LOVED ONES when you are struggling with porn, you need people on your side. if you have a sexual partner(s), you especially need them on your side. this is an intense journey and involves a lot of shame, especially if you’re a woman with radical politics. shame and isolation are huge barriers to recovery for any person struggling with any kind of addiction. if people don’t know what you’re going through and how you’re trying to fix it, how can they help you?
if your sexual partner is not understanding of this situation, i would urge you to examine that relationship. if you don’t seem to be able to make them understand the seriousness of this situation or if you struggling with this causes serious sexual incompatibility, it may not be the right relationship for you.
dependency on porn for sexual arousal is a very painful and frightening thing to combat, especially when so much of it is accompanied by sexual abuse and trauma. finding friends who are struggling the way you are and having a plan of action together can be really helpful. for example, having a friend who has the information to some sort of parental lock or filter on your phone or computer can be a good barrier. yes, pretty much any filter is by-passable, but that extra step can sometimes be all you need to say wait, i don’t want to do this, and reach out to a friend for help. that help can be serious talk about how porn has affected you or doing something fun and distracting until the urge has passed. feel it out.
KNOW THAT POLITICAL AWARENESS MAY NOT BE A FIX i’ve had multiple women confess miserably that understanding what the women in porn are going through didn’t stop their porn use, and the continued use after that knowledge made them feel even more ashamed and isolated than before. being a female person that uses porn doesn’t make you immune to the effects of it - it causes us to see women as objects. i’ve found that often the lack of empathy for the women we are watching mirrors the lack of empathy we feel for ourselves. many women consume porn that mirrors the kind of sexual abuse they’ve experienced or fetishizes specific oppressions that they face. i don’t think this is a coincidence.
it is frightening and disturbing when your eyes are open to the horror that is the porn industry, the physical and mental toll performing in pornography takes, the sex trafficking involved, and all the other details, and still once that video is on, it doesn’t make a difference. that is what porn does to your brain. it’s an awful truth that you cannot rely on your sense of empathy to help you stop watching porn, because the porn itself has attacked that empathy so wholly. but that brings us to our next tip
MOTIVATE YOURSELF THROUGH RAGE righteous female anger and spite are an excellent motivators. framing your actions to yourself as actions of defiance is helpful in a lot of situations, but i think especially helpful in this one.
on a political level: learning about what women go through in the sex industry isn’t enough - but learning about the men who have created this, fostered this, and prospered from this is a whole new ball game. pimps, pornographers, and sex traffickers want you to watch porn. pornography corporations and pornography CEOs want you to watch porn. they want the ad revenue. they want you to be pornsick so you come back for more. they don’t care how much harm they do to performers or porn consumers, all they care about is the money. on this level, not watching porn is an act of resistance against a violent industry, a capitalist venture that has left nothing but ruin on an unimaginable scale in its wake. they don’t care about rapes or serial murders committed by porn addicts. they don’t care about the new rise of child on child sexual abuse where little kids are molesting and violently raping each other. they don’t care about the suicides and the drug addiction and the trafficking. they just want your mind so they can have your money. are you going to give it to them?
on a personal level, if you were exposed to porn by someone who sexually abused you and/or someone who was sexually abused and just passing it on, i am so fucking angry for you, and i hope you can get angry too. that never should have happened. if someone wanted you to act out porn, or wanted you to think porn was normal, i’m angry at them, and i’m angry at whoever taught them that, and back into that lineage of rape culture forever. porn wants you to feel like a fuckhole. porn wants you to feel like your worth is what a man wants to do to you. porn wants you to feel like an object. and not just you - all your female friends, your female relatives, little tiny girls. do you want us all to feel like fuckholes? no. that’s NOT what we are. get angry. grief comes in many forms and righteous female rage is one of them.
if you get the urge to look up porn - turn to these emotions instead. be angry at who did this to you on a personal or political level. say fuck you, i’m not going to do what you told me i should do, i’m not who you told me i was.
MAINTENANCE ORGASMS your mileage may vary wildly on this point but i’ve known many people who have a lot of trouble falling asleep without having an orgasm, or have their mood affected negatively from not having regular orgasms. but when you’re trying to stop being pornsick, reaching orgasm without porn can become extremely frustrating, causing relapses because you feel like you can’t have an orgasm without porn.
my suggestion is an powerful vibrator and/or lube. i regularly recommend the hitachi magic wand for this purpose. i used it a lot in recovery and when i’m struggling because you can simply induce an orgasm in a really small amount of time, giving you less time to struggle with not using old neural pathways as possible. i know there are debatable downsides of heavy vibrator use so i don’t want to say this is the most awesome solution ever, but if you need regular orgasms to keep an even keel, this can be a solution to that.
IT’S TIME TO STOP USING PORN
you can do this. we can do this! about 3 years after quitting porn (after being introduced to it at a very young age) i started to have normal sexual arousal come back. i still struggle with relapse, especially when re-traumatized or when trauma is coming up hard. this is a journey we’re undertaking, a reclamation of our brains from a sexually violent industry that seeks to destroy us. you can heal your sexuality from porn with time and energy, and it is absolutely worth it.
this year, get angry, get real, and get clean of porn. much love to you all.
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
— Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
https://www.out.com/celebs/2022/3/14/emma-watson-threw-shade-jk-rowling-while-presenting-baftas
“I’m here for ALL the witches by the way.”
All the witches, except J.K. Rowling, who is the main one responsible for your presence in that stage.
It’s bad enough the Harry Potter actors lack talent. No, no, no. They also had to be a bunch of disrespectful, hasty brats who refuse to show even a sliver of gratitude to the woman who made them who they are. They could have plucked any child actor off the street to play those three. Of course, Daniel Radcliffe was picked because he shared a likeness to the character that Rowling fancied. I don’t even know how Hermione and Ron got snagged. Again, they could have been played by anyone. Either way, I guess we could say that their acting has improved slightly throughout the years. They’ve convinced everyone that they are hefty supporters of the gender cult and will spite anyone who says otherwise. As we’ve seen in these recent years, it seems that the stake at which any opposers are burned is solely reserved for women. Rowling is far too influential, leading into every bit of the gender cult’s lives. They read her stories and loved every page of them. They related to them. I’m sure the actors related to them as well. What the heck happened?
“Transgender women are women,” said Radcliffe, like every other "scientist" on the bird app.
Ron, played by Rubert Grint. has also expressed concern over Rowling’s own tweets, alongside the other dogs in the cast willing to roll over and beg for forgiveness from the gender gods. I expected less from the males who will receive little if any consequence from women losing not only their status, but also the very name to describe themselves. That is why I find Emma Watson, who has decided to be the most vocal about it, all the more disappointing. She is a woman, but she believes a man, regardless of his history of abusing or opposing women, or basic biology, can claim female one day and be validated accordingly. She brought this belief to the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards of 2022, where she expressed her subliminal yet pivotal comment that she’s here for “all the witches”. This was after Rebel Wilson, who has also taken shots at Rowling (join the club!) introduced her as not as feminist, but a “witch”. Arguably, feminism and witchcraft go hand in hand. Using your inner power to effect the world is about as feminist as it gets.
There is a power in realizing one’s sense of self, which women have been stripped of. If she channels that power by waving a wand or meditating to positive mantras every single day, go for it, girl. It means nothing, however, when you use that “power” as a means to verbally put down another woman in her show of power. Especially when many of us with common sense know that prioritizing ourselves in the midst of gender ideology is the only true power. Giving in to the social contagion does not make you brave, Watson, et al. It just means that you are more than willing to lay down and take whatever these abusive jerks have to give you. I don’t even know which celebrities are worse: the ones who go out of their way to appease the gender cult, or the ones who stay silent. They have all that power and influence, but they would rather push or ignore this dangerous ideology than lose their status. They will chant “transwomen are women” and effectively leave trans men—->biological women<——in the dust. Why? Because they are still women, and they will always be oppressed by the dominate male society, regardless of what they call themselves.
It would be foolish to say that women have no solidarity. We are allowed to believe and act separately of each other while loving one another. However, that can not be at the expense of our own rights. A woman should be able to state clearly what a woman is. Not the IDEA of a women, but the basic science of one. A woman is an adult human female. A girl is an infant, adolescent or teenage human female. Women with DSDs, who the gender cult loves to throw under the bus due to how they've developed, are still adult human females.
A male’s delusions should not be our conclusion.
If Emma Watson is here for all the witches, those witches certainly don’t consist of women. From this incident, most of us women are wondering how Hermione would behave. Arguably, Hermione is the true feminist AND witch of the two, fictional or not. Hermione never backed down, especially if it meant another person being bullied. Heck, if it was HER getting bullied. None of us non-celebrities can truly describe what goes on behind closed doors with most people in the entertainment industry, but it doesn’t appear to be good. J.K. Rowling, due to her status as a writer, may have more freedom with her words. As with anything, people are free to critique those words. More celebrities are subjected to slander. What is not okay, however, is the threats of violence that have been made toward her. Men and women alike, threatening to have revolting things done to her, and all because she acknowledge biology. What would all of them do with those special little labels they put on themselves if biology wasn’t real? It seems real enough if you want to change it, medically or by name. Their idea of gender is no more real than the Harry Potter characters, but their minds have not grasped that because these people are experiencing a strange case of Peter Pan Syndrome. The rest of us have to coddle them like Wendy Darling as they scream and kick up a fuss over something people have known for ions but now seem to have forgotten.
Even more interesting (and again, I don’t expect a single valuable word out of her male co-stars), while Watson claims to be a feminist, she seems more than willing to ignore the violence being spewed toward Rowling in particular. While she says nothing, this action reveals everything. Acts of violence against women are fine, especially if we disagree with her.
Hermione, fellow savior of Hogwarts and founder of SPEW (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare), does not approve.
P.S., SPEW was also adapted from the real life organization, Society for Promoting the Employment of Women. As more proof of her witchiness, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she states, "The truth is, you don't think a girl would ever been clever enough." Hermione knows the game of the wicked world we live in.
And J.K. Rowling got into this whole disaster for speaking out FOR another woman. Not against her. She knows a woman shouldn't be fired over a non-violent opinion, nor should we ignore the dangers that gender ideology poses.
Emma Watson thinks everyone can be a woman, if they wish. Even the males that have harassed her and other women, both on and off stage. She has been brainwashed.
But she's the feminist.... Okay….
“In one scene, a scientist reports finding traces of asbestos in samples of products, while other experts report a catalogue of shocking issues on the rise such as changes in brain development, birth defects, ovarian failure and infant mortality.
We also see Palmer meet with individuals who have exhibited severe reactions to certain beauty products and hear their emotional accounts of devastating medical issues such as hair loss, speech problems and infertility. The scale of the issue, one commentator gravely declares, is an “overlooked epidemic”.”
My gripe with Euphoria.
Cultists Presenting Our Choice of Embracing Womanhood As Acceptance of Oppression
Their idea of "gender" is still binary and ignores women's complexities. ♀️
I've made it known that I've watched Euphoria in full. Both seasons were a mixed bag of unnecessary plots, weird lines, faux feminism, and depressing messages. I decided I would not continue watchin aftee season 2 as I felt ill with myself. The show tries so hard to be deep, but refuses to actual rely on more than its award winning actors. The underage sex was also a major issue. I found myself skipping any scene presenting these acts, but I knew that was not enough. With or without the sex, this show continues to exploit its female characters while shedding some humanity on its male ones. One could argue that some female characters did receive humanity. That list consists of Rue, Lexi, and Jules. Immediately, this list has a problem. Starting with Lexi, she is barely afforded screen time. Her development is about as rushed and undercooked as a fast food meal. She was only afforded more screen time when it came time for a male character, Fezco, to find romance as well as push the plot. Both of these acts ignored vital aspects of her character. As for Jules, he is male. He is afforded the same humanity as his other male peers because they have that in common. Jules is, of course, a part of the hyper-feminine and hyper-sexual crowd, but on him, these qualities are presented as quirky and cute. His female counterparts are still seen as shallow eye candy at the threat of being disposed of and mocked when they can't straighten up by themselves.
And then there's Rue....
She is a special case, being the lead for the show and ultimately earning more nuance accordingly. She is contrasted from the hyper-feminine, presenting as "tom-boyish". I feel I should note that these are inherently loose terms to use. No one is feminine or masculine as both of these ideas are constructed, mostly to place femaleness as submissive, unstable, and something to dominate, while men retain the supposedly masculine qualities of productivity, strength, and power. We are all a blend of unique and fanciful qualities that do not need a name. Anyhow, Rue is reserved to being the gender neutral girl of the show. We don't see her in a skirt or high heels, and make-up is the last thing on her mind. This shouldn't present her as superior to the other girls on the show, and one could state that it doesn't. We see the other female characters gain recognition and what we could loosely call "life experience" from their pretty auras and ability to social network. We don't see Rue reach out to anyone. Her place seems more firm beside her sister and mother, who love her and fear the path she has taken. Only Jules becomes a pivotal outside figure in her life. This other figure becomes a strong point of interest, so strong it leaves her vulnerable. On the other hand, Rue is occasionally shown conversing with the other girls, but the vibe is different. Even with the girls amongst eachother, their tolerance of eachother feels narrow. Despite a mostly female cast, the show does not attempt to show female solidarity in a way that feels consistent. They are shown being friends one moment, then disregarding eachother the next. Maddy is quick to fight other girls, Cassie carelessly betrays Maddy's trust, and Kat has been written so hollow at this point that she'll swing wherever the plot calls her to. Rue is a non-factor in their group as her plot simply does not mesh with theirs. She is essentially, and I hate to say it...
Not like the other girls.
If we start to question why in this misogynistic dumpsterfire, we will start to see. It is not a matter how she was written, but rather who it she was written for.
In my search for meaning behind certain characters and motivations, it was inevitable that I would come across certain articles about behind the scenes drama. Anyone familiar with Hollywood and the media knows that "drama" usually happens when an actress states her disconfort in hiw she's being handled. This is far from new. So, for this post, I am mostly addressing the words and actions of Zendaya Coleman, the executive producer of the show "Euphoria" and the actress who plays Rue Bennett. I am addressing to lead up to my conclusion on why her character has been identified in the way that she was. Evidently, Zendaya was heard in an interview insisting that Rue was a non-binary lesbian.
Non-binary. Lesbian. I have already spotted two issues. For the sake of time, I'll go ahead and explain why she can't be a lesbian, at least in practice. Of course, the show does not allow the viewer to linger affectively on her sexuality, so I am making huge guesses here.
She is shown to have had past sexual encounters with males and is currently in a relationship with one (even if he presents as female). It is clear that she exhibits distaste with those last experiences, although she tries to sound flippant. Obviously, I can't speak for lesbians on how they're sexuality works, but Rue's current (specifically the early stages of season two, as they seperate later) relationship status deems her, speaking simplistically, attracted to the opposite sex. Then again, it is hard to see her sexuality as being stable to begin with due to her addiction and mental disorders. She could fall victim to idolizing anyone that fits a current need. She could have a low sex drive as well, but that may also be the addiction messing with her libido. She is shown getting physical with Jules in season 2. However, these instances never involve intercourse, and she is shown to indeed lack the ability to enjoy any sexual act due to her harsh relapse. In a sense, we don't know what's up with her.
Long story short, Rue is not a lesbian in any meaningful sense of the term. Zendaya, that is strike one. ❌
Onto this non-binary business, I would like to ask if any of the male characters on this show are said to be binary. We could point to male characters that feel gender non-conforming, like Ethan, or characters that suffer to uphold their "masculinity", like Nate and Cal. Although, we are not told they are non-binary. Non-binary is reserved for girls, something to add an edge to them when they feel all hope is lost. It appears to girls as a form of escape, even as they dice their perfectly healthy bodies and are told to ignore the pain. Where is Rue's pain? She is still referred to as a she and doesn't seem to give a whoomp about it. So why would Zendaya claim she was a non-binary character when she is merely a girl in neutral attire? Does being non-binary suddenly afford her more empathy than the other girls? Does it help them mute any questions about Rue's sexuality? Why is it that her wardrobe depicts her as anything but female?
Well, it's because Rue wasn't meant to be a biracial female.
To explain further, I feel that I must state the obvious. Sam Levinson is white and male. Rue's story is borrowed from bits and pieces of HIS life and HIS struggles. This is not the viewpoint of a biracial girl struggling with addiction. This is a white man struggling with addiction, thus her presence as non-white and female in a largely white and male point of view is almost contradictory. Race is hardly if at all touched upon in this show, and that's not even addressing the lack of non-white leads to begin with. I don't mean to group Maddy and Kat, as they are presented as having latina origins, but those aspects of their identity are hardly given any light. I could almost say that Maddy presents as yet another "spicy latina" in its neverending and damaging occurence. Kat's ethnicity is not even touched upon enough to give it meaning. As always, there is not an asian character in sight. The black characters are presented fleetingly or as throw aways. Mckay left the story in the speed it took to say his name, and this was after his assault. No resolution. Lexi receives help for her play from a black girl who gets screen time so minimal that I don't remember her as anything but "Squeak". She simply exists. When we observe Rue's biracial identity within the story, it is never given prudence. Obviously, Sam would not be so knowledgeable of this, but where was Zendaya's input? So worried about her clothes that you forgot her skin color made an impact, it seems. Ali, her sponsor, giving a snippet of dialogue does little to justify the lack exploring identity outside of false beliefs. You can not automaticy suffer oppression by switching your pronouns. Rue somehow being a they/them, despite retaining her she-ness, proves the shallowness of the writing room. Somehow, she is not allowed to identify as a girl because that would be too hard. She cannot identify as a girl because girls can not somehow be nuanced, growing and changing in spite of the male gaze leering over them, telling them that their complexity as a female is impossible.
Somehow, she is less than female because she refuses to place effort into "femininity" in the same way as her female peers and the trans-identified male standing beside her. Jules' character is the definition of breaking gender norms as he is a man dressed in traditionallly female clothing. Why is he not just non-binary?
Rue is not less than female, and nor are those other girls despite the narrative presenting Jules' experiences as congruent to theirs. Despite their differences, they are all females with a difference in style. Non-binary is code for male. Just admit it, because somehow the world has made man the default when they did not create life. Women were here first, way before femininity and masculinity. We are both strong and gentle. We are life and death. We are complex. We are 🌿NATURE🌿. Assessing femaleness as a costume is assuming that lack thereof makes a woman less than a woman. It also adds to my point that only men are allowed story progression that does not heavily involve their sexuality. Their romance is an afterthought, a side goal in their stories. They don't have to conquer their virginity because they're not expected to be pure and nice. For women, romance and perfection is shown as the only thing we strive for. Rue is not perfect, and she certainly isn't that romantic. What would you do if people were naked? Would your gender theories work then?
That's strike two. ❌
My last qualm followed shortly after discovering her first comment. Maybe it pains me to see a woman disregard her existence for a man's unsound beliefs. It hurts even worse when assessing her words in the following post.
All women. Did Hunter tell you to say that?
I've already seen how TRA's and trans-identified males feel about black women, and they make it so blatant. Black woman are adult human females. We have female anatomy. When did we become other kinds of women simply for the color of our skin? We have been dehumanized and mocked enough! Stop lumping us with deluded autogynephiles who see our oppression as a privilege. As a woman of color, it is terrible to see her ignore this basic fact just for the sake of brownie points from a cult.
Strike three! You're out. ❌❌❌
My gripe with Euphoria. Part 3:
The Mixed Melodies of Maddy
For some, Maddy's character may be hit or miss, for a multitude of reasons. My main reason was that I wasn't sure how to feel, at least on a larger scale.
Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie
Like some of the other female leads, we are meant to ogle her as a very sexual and "empowered" teenager. Her archetype is presented as the cheerleader to Nate's jock. Both are rude, tend to achieve what they want, and have their horrendously unstable relationship to wave around to others. There is something that Maddy lacks, however, and that is Nate's disregard for others. Maddy is shown to empathize, especially with her friends. I would almost say that she cares for them more than she does Nate, but that idea could be challenged. She is shown to be confident and straightforward, which are good qualities, until the writer's decide otherwise. The viewer is left wondering how much of these confidence is a facade after all, especially when coupled with Nate. It is interesting to see how Nate's demon dick impacts the girls he's with. When Maddy was with Nate, she had seemed to have a streak of violence and hostility with others. When this relationship broke off, it was as if she mellowed, taking on a laid-back persona similar to Lexi's. There is still much to critique about her character, both pre and post mellow. It helps to have some background for Maddy Perez. At a young age, she was subjected to the controversial industry that is pageantry. Her confidence and skill helped in her success, which was quickly tarnished when her mother removed her from this arena due to the prevalence of pedophiles. I feel like this was the opportunity to introduce something big for the show, possibly a critique on the sexualization of girls as young as 3 years old.....but no. That misshap was brushed aside in a manner of "it happens" as Maddy rushes toward other avenues. She comes to the conclusion that she would rather do "nothing", then switches to possibly doing something in order to attain the high value of the women who's nails her mother painted. This is all to avoid the trappings of being both impoverished and in a strained relationship like her parents.
When she meets Nate Jacobs, this is where more of her character gets called into question. We see her purposefully portray herself as the perfect girl to Nate Jacobs, who has an odd list of demands (likes girls hairless, slender, small noses, chokers, and other shallow things) that supposedly Maddy is able to meet. She even lies about having never had sex just to increase her appeal. She will then use this newfound sexual status with Nate to convince him into treating her like the rich women she aspired to be, having him buy her lavish presents. This rich woman status feels more like pr*stitution, to put it flatly. The show presents her using her body for currency as empowering and confident. She even analyzes p*rn so that she can carry on their "techniques". It is stated offhandedly, that she doesn’t derive pleasure from doing so. Her body is no longer hers. It is Nate's, which he feels free to use at his own discretion.
All this, and Maddy admits that she is afraid of him. She has reason to be, given his violent streak not only from the 1st season where he chokes her, but also in the 2nd where threatens her life, then claims it was all a joke. In spite of this, she says that she is still attracted to him, although it makes her "sick to her stomach". It's clear why, and I think teen dating violence is often overlooked in the media, or isn't given the nuance it deserves. The girl’s abusers are not framed as such. Instead, these are boys with a troubled past who need rehabilitation through her love and her love alone. Never mind the stalking, the yelling, or the inappropriate touching. He says he "loves her". Unfortunately, these girls feel like they love them back. It's saddening to see Maddy's usually confident nature fizzle under the gaze of Nate. She is willing to hide her bruises for him, wrongly accuse someone for him, and even beat her friend over him. I do not want to claim that her character isn't strong because she still loves her abuser. A lot of women unfortunately fall in love with those that hurt them. Perhaps it is the need to give back, even when a lot has already been snatched away from her. Nevertheless, the show sees Maddy as empowering because of this toxic love. She gets right back with Nate despite her weariness of him, and even some lingering hatred. Still, this hatred is not as aimed toward him as I would have liked.
Despite ending things in season 1, we jump to season 2 with Maddy making the claim that she would like to get back together with Nate, and the two soon resume this rugged relationship. This was with Maddy's knowledge of Nate's secret tapes, mind you. Tapes exhibiting graphic material of Nate's father and other men, mind you. But they get back together, with Nate's undiclosed relationship with Cassie almost floating in the background ready to burst in the season's finale. It soon does, however, and Nate and Cassie's lies are both exposed. Nate has lied and physically assaulted Maddy, but Maddy's aggression is turned to the lesser crimes of her former friend. Sympathy isn't a requirement for these characters, but I think the direction taken in having Maddy beat her friend at this revelation is one that I find typical. Regardless of his crimes, Nate is allowed to retain his humanity in not getting humiliated. Lexi's parody of him and his fellow jocks did not single Nate out the way the portrayal of Cassie did. Cassie's misguided attempt at finding attention winds up giving her a kick so far down that I hardly see her getting back up in one piece. Maddy hits Cassie with her shoes, leaving her bleeding and forced to stand her crumbling ground against a girl not much different from her.
Obviously, Nate is stronger and far more aggressive than Cassie could ever be, but why would Maddy result to violence? Is it because it is easier to beat down on another girl than to directly confront the boy who caused you the most harm? I do not mean to excuse Cassie's actions, as they were harmful to do to a friend. Also, I can't suggest that Maddy would have gone behind Cassie's back the way she did to her, but the result of this conflict landed in a direction that was telling, to say the least. Nate gets to eject his father from his life and resume in the next steps toward his "redemption". Meanwhile, Maddy and Cassie while likely not recover from this conflict, or they will find a difficult way of doing so. These girls that the show loved to deem powerful and strong in their sexualities were ultimately thwarted by exactly that: their sexuality. They did not learn anything outside of not being able to trust eachother. The thought of looking collectively at how their view of themselves, how they have been used, and how they can rise from this does not occur in the narrative's conclusion. What lies in wait is what remains dormant in most stories. The male leaves the women to their squabble as he comes on top and better than ever. The women, in their frustration and miguidance, are confused into hating eachother.
My gripe with Euphoria. Part 2:
The Lifestyle of Lexi
I may do some of these characters separately as opposed to in pairs. I may pair character who share similar plot elements or affect each other's storylines in a major way. In some cases, I might even give them a seperate page for further analysis if necessary. While Lexi connects to both Cassie and Rue's characters, I feel like specifically addressing how she was written.
Unfortunately, I might show my favoritism here because Lexi is one of the more humanely drawn character that I found myself relating to. She is the younger sister of Cassie and is comparitively more introverted. She has a contrasting choice of attire as well, dressing more conservatively in a prim, bookish style that.
Lexi Howard, played by Maude Apatow
Character outfits notably play a large role in this show, specifically in its eye-catching presentation as well as a reflection of the characters. Maddy, Kat, Cassie, and even Jules are shown to be more chic in their style and very willing to show some skin. These characters are presented as the hyper-feminine and hyper-sexua) characters of the show. They've been presented naked and sometimes afraid when facing certain sexual encounters. Lexi is one of the few characters who gets to keep her top on and not have sex, lust or really any other risky obstacles define her character, but that comes at a cost in this show. That cost was, of course, her screen time. She did not make up overarching storylines like Rue's love for Jules and her addiciton to drugs. She was also not anyone's main attraction until season 2 when Fezco (the local drug dealer) started taking interest in her. My concern was also that this male lead is indeed a drug dealer. That is not me rejecting any of his good intentions toward her. Funny enough, despite his job, he is probably as nice as the male characters get in this show. Still, he has a dangerous occupation that has been shown to lead to trouble. This is the bad boy-good girl plot that seems to flourish in the media. Like most good girls, her story is only seen as interesting to work with when she becomes a troubled male character's point of interest. Her additonal screen time ultimately amounts to a rushed plot. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy her theater production in which she presents a detailed rendition of her life alongside the other characters. In the 2nd season's finale episodes, Lexi also appears to be facing an evolution in her clothing style that reflects these speedy changes. Her outfits become bold, taking on darker colors and more exuberant flourish.
Her outfits were still just a minor thing about her. The psychology of the character was given in brief flashes and short quips, but I had something to work with. Her relationship with Cassie was far more my concern. It took me a minute and even stumped me when I found out later in the series that Cassie was the eldest. She embodies all of the aspects of a stereotypical younger sibling, which we often see presented as bratty, self-centered, spoiled, etc. It is a part of the controversial "birth order theory", which takes a look at how birth order determines a child's capabilities. These qualities tend to stem from the youngest children not having room to be resourceful, probably having an older sibling to fall back on. There was plenty going on in the Howard household for the girls to develop that kind of reliance on one another, although Levinson did not attempt to give them that much screen time. Still, we get a glimpse that a younger Lexi is the more resourceful one to whom Cassie often released her woes. We see their realtionship reach a breaking point in the seadon 2 finale when Lexi's play very much shine's a light on Cassie as a person. In theory, this goes back to the the turbulent lifestyle both girls had to live. Their father had a drug addiction, which we learn later how that impacts their reactions to themselves as well as to characters like Rue. Cassie seems to take the fore-front, or more active approach in their father's slow decent into addiction. She is ready to love him regardless, openly supporting him even though is not specifically sure of what has occurred to him. Lexi is more reserved and noticeably more analytical of her father. We don't get to hear much of how she feels about this, specifically in the aftermath. It seems to have affected Cassie quite blatantly as we see her break down in the last episode, and in front of a live audience nonetheless. It was heartbreaking to watch their cold views of eachother be brought to light. Lexi saw Cassie as broken, but she also saw her sister as someone she hardly knew. This decision of her sister's ditziness and sexual nature sheds some light on Lexi's thought process, but we hardly see her reflect on this in moments that span longer than a minute. We also see Cassie's feelings emerge as well, where she states that Lexi is so "uninteresting" that she has to chronicle everyone's life just to add some spice to her own. Here, the narrative presents some interesting conflict between the two, but they don't get that time together. We are instead shown Lexi running away as Cassie is left to be chased and beaten by Maddie Perez. We are later shown that Lexi does rise again, ready to finish her pretty successful (and expensive looking show). Still, it did not feel like an enjoyable conclusion for either of these characters. Although the show is setting itself up for a third season, I doubt that any more time needs to be waisted as Sam Levinson continues to not flesh out the supposedly less interesting characters. It's clear why Rue remains front and center, but why are other characters given such shallow archs (and possibly unnecessary falls)?
Fezco (Angus Cloud) and Lexi (Maude Apatow) sitting together
Returning to the dynamic between Lexi and Fez is made even more odd when her father's story lingers in the background. Sure, Gez has the laid-back nature that matches her own, but he sells drugs. Plain and simple. Her father used them. This does not seem to give much in terms of morality for her characts. She may question his actions here or there, but it does not seem to affect her as directly as it should. Her attraction to him should be more of a struggle. Honestly l, we could even factor in Rue as an addition to this struggle. Rue and her were close for a long time, and she had to sit and watch as her friend fell into the same path as her father. She has been seen even helping Rue cheat her away out of a positive drug test, marking how strongly she feels about Rue as a friend. We see how this conflicts her to a certain point, but not enough time is given for this reflection to be effective. It is fairly obvious that Fez is the one selling Rue more drugs to fuel this addiction, but Lexi is not allowed to think about that. This would get in the way of the artificial plot that the writers constructed for her in order to push her into the limelight. Her need to start this play and simultaneously run it is also a leap in her character that leaves me with more questions than answers. We see her play review the lives of the show's main characters in an almost sympathetic way, but her narration hardly explains away her conflicting actions alongside her hasty development in confidence. This development presents itself, consequently, as force to drive the plot rather than a natural progression.