fatehreads

[fatehreads]

Male centrism is real

usually I would open this up with more “serious” life or societal issues - but this has been nagging my head. One often relies on fiction for comfort or to escape, and yet as a woman its so difficult to find fiction that does exactly that. From ancient literature to shitty modern fan fiction, the same problems pervade - the unnecessary and extraneous villainisation of women for artificial or reasonable traits, the exaggerated worship of toxic men and boys, the encouragement of favoring said males over proper character arcs or fulfilling development for women, and the quiet exemplification of toxic societal patterns. Moreso, fiction goes to ridiculous amounts to make said ordinarily “villainous” men seem “redeemable”, “soft”, “misunderstood”, going o any length to justify their villainy - no surprise that however much we like to say “it’s no similarity to real life”, it fucking IS.

Lilith is villainised for refusing to submit to the man she was created equal to, and she is hated for the cause of most evil alongside (and occasionally worse than) Lucifer. the idea of biblical Adam being handmade a wife he can “rule over” as the Torah and Bible gaslight Eve and insist on women’s subservience and subjugation is venerated, not questioned for the depravity it is. The idea of Hades kidnapping Persephone to force her to be an unwilling bride and Demeter calling out the sheer injustice of such a barbaric practice is twisted into some sick “rebellious” love story that paints her as morally questionable rather than right. Shehr Zaad telling stories every night to a cruel king who slaughters virgins after sleeping with them is seen as a love story.

everyone remembers the stories from Abraham faiths about boys being killed or approached by lustful queens. It was so wrong when Yusuf was sold by his brothers. Conveniently, not one peep is heard about the daughters killed and sold by their brothers, fathers and husbands. No sympathy for the female slaves approached by lustful kings.

people love to harp on about the “symbolism” of Hindu tales that are no different to tales from most other pantheons about pagan gods - tales of rape within and between families, the encouragement of misogynistic and racist practices that still plague Indian communities.

no one remembers or represents the stories for real women.

No one is brave or accepted enough to write about the older brothers who enslave and sell their sisters, steal from their inheritance, go as far as to beat them. No one writes about the husbands who isolate their wives from their families, coerce then into sex, turn them into slaves for their own families, going so far as to kill or accuse them when they don’t bear sons. No one writes about he husbands who turns the women’s children on them to be able to kill them. No one writes about their manipulation, gaslighting, toxicity. Everyone is quick to write pages and movies and jokes about supposed “female toxicity” when women and girls go through so much effort to build relationships, families, communities. No one says anything about the toxic patriarchs who stood by and encouraged he favoritism of sons, the brutal belittlement of sisters and daughters, the physical horrors committed by boys and men.

Fiction let’s us believe that men and boys have the same sense of morality we do, but they don’t. They really don’t.

their idea of love is separation, jealousy, pain and labor. Their idea of love is sex slavery, kidnapping, bloodshed, and women’s tears. Hey have no interest in understanding the nuance of female relationships, bodies or minds - they take pleasure in degrading it.

we see menstruation and childbirth and family making as a means of connection and spirituality. They make it a “source of sin” and spin all kinds of tales to insist they’re the center of creation when their role is minimal at best and destructive at worst.

Their idea of equality is gaslighting us into thinking we’re just as bad as them or that they’re heroes or reasonable people in comparison.

never forget the women burnt alive - in widowhood and after childbirth, in the name of countless gods and faiths. Never forget the women stoned to death. Never forget the woman beaten in her home. Never forget the woman who had acid thrown in her face. Never forget the woman unfairly accused and thrown to rot. Never forget the women being sexually abused by these disgusting men and boys, and the women they manipulate into supporting them. Men and boys are not your friends or lovers. This isn’t about the one good father or husband in your life.

we’re talking generally, men and boys as a population. Regardless of race, religion, age, ethnicity, background.

Theyre not prophets or gods. They’re the rapists and murderers. They’re the cause of the problems you see even in women. They’re the cause of broken relationships. They’re the cause of the pain of our mothers, sisters and daughters. They’re the ones who steal from us - our inheritance, our self-esteem, our families, our time, our success. Their fantasies are our worst nightmares at worse and at best, unrealistic petty drama fests of spite.

they’re not misunderstood poor little boys acting out because women hurt them. They manipulated and created a society to favor them, uncaring for how many women and girls thy had to use and discard. We don’t have to care about their mental health. The men who separated and raped young girls did not care about our mental health or our stories. The men who assaulted my grandmother and mother had no care for how this would affect their generations.

start having creative empathy for women and stop it for men.

The world would be less harsh for women if we called out the toxic men and boys instead of wasting time writing pages and pages defending them or developing them as people or interpreting their stories. Accept that a rapist is a rapist and here was no love there. Accept that evil brothers and kings do not respect you.

accept that most men and boys will do anything to put you down and hold you back, and you need to fight their false logic and pornographic fantasies with your own story and truth. You need to hit at their prominent male fictional figures in ways you might not be able to hit their real life figures. Adam doesn’t love Eve, he controls her. The prince doesn’t save Cinderella, he buys her. Hades doesn’t love Persephone, he kidnaps and emotionally wounds her. Shehr Zaad does not change the king, she outlived his violent psychopathy.

even modern shows and musicals fandoms can take the lesson. Regina from Mean Girls isn’t the problem, teenage boys are far worse bullies and manipulators. Lilith and Charlie from Hazbin Hotel was right. Varian was a stupid boy who threatened an innocent family.

The list goes on. accept that the people worth protecting - the people who care about you - are the women and girls male defenders love to hate. Accept that there are mothers of daughters ho are loving and want to protect them. Accept there are sisters who want to understand and help you. Accept that they offer more rich stories, better companionship, healthy relationships and beautiful futures to those men and boy ever could.

and if nothing else, then for the love of God stop going to the greatest lengths to woobify male characters and men at the expense of women and female stories.