#and the contrast between kate and ibrahim's queer-codedness in this episode is so fascinating | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

seahorsepencils · 10 days ago

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also can we just talk about the fact that in the Wish World, a woman can get away with calling another woman beautiful without setting off everyone's queer panic, but when a man does it to a man, it tips over the edge? so the Kates of the world are flying just under the radar, but are likely to be more emotionally repressed as a result - and yet, all the queer or queer-coded characters in this world are offered the same security and protection from doubt by the prospect of entering into an opposite-sex marriage...

#i may be emotionally attached to this topic #a good amount of my academic writing focused on queer invisibility in literature from time periods when queerness was subject to censorship #and specifically how women were represented in literature when women's queerness was particularly conducive to invisibility #and the contrast between kate and ibrahim's queer-codedness in this episode is so fascinating #ibrahim has a big queer panic reaction most likely because repressed queerness for a male character in this world is closer to the surface #whereas kate has sublimated her queerness and emotional repression into a fixation on rules and order #because work is where she can make things make sense #where she can keep things neat and tidy and cover up anything that feels off #hence the zoe evans comparison in my earlier post #honestly the way this interacts with the actors in both roles is fascinating #before dw one of alexander devrient's most notable appearances was as a queer stylist on ted lasso in a scene with masculine anxiety #and jemma redgrave made a career out of playing repressed queer-coded women before she was cast as kate #it's so fascinating because in the actual real world of the show they make an intriguing pair in a normal cool bisexual way #but against the backdrop of an overly repressed patriarchal society obsessed with reproductive futurism #they fall into more of a binary #so there's the adorable shoulder bump but also the comforting potential to be a beard couple and the safety that would come with that #he can rescue her from her spinster status and she can rescue him from anyone ever doubting his sexuality #there's so much here holy shit #brb i gotta go reread heather love's feeling backward and lee edelman's no future while watching this episode 8 more times #like a normal person #doctor who #dw spoilers #jemma redgrave #alexander devrient #kate stewart #christofer ibrahim #gay #queer stuff #queer tv #compulsory heterosexuality

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