#atla feminism

[flameohotwife]

So I always thought the canon pairings in AtLA had good writing/development but all the Aang and Mai bashing has made me decide to rewatch the series because shippers of a certain other ship called them "abusive" and Aang sexist. But honestly, I love how Mai calls Zuko out on his jealousy and possessive behavior in "The Beach" and Aang is always supportive of Katara's dreams, even refusing to be trained by Pakku because he's sexist to Katara. I like that Sukka teaches kids watching the show to treat women with respect but also Kataang and Maiko in the examples I mentioned above are also good examples of feminist moments in the show too.

YES! Anon, say it louder for the people in the back! There are so so SO many amazing feminist moments in this show and honestly I loved watching it with my kids (multiple times, haha) for that reason. I don't remember growing up with media that showed SO may instances of how girls/women could stand up for themselves in those types of situations. I love how Katara stood up to Pakku (with Aang's support! His little "Go, Katara!" makes me smile every time) and also how she CONSTANTLY takes boys on in fights, from pirates and Rough Rhinos to the taunting kids that subsequently get frozen where they stand ("oh, a girl has her ways") and anyone who insults Aang. How SHE is the one to defeat Azula in the end. How the WHOLE SHOW starts with her rant against Sokka's sexism. How Suki finally put's Sokka in his place. How Toph had to be played by "a really BUFF guy" in EIP because the Fire Nation couldn't admit to being bested by a tiny, 12-year-old girl. How Mai won't let Zuko treat her like a possession with no agency of her own. How she is the one to save HIM in the end at Boiling Rock (how's that for a damsel in distress?). How Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are trusted by the Fire Lord to perform tasks even the highest generals can't achieve. How the show is relentlessly turning sexist stereotypes on their heads and making viewers question what they think they know.

Beyond the feminism (which you all probably already know I adore so much), I love that each of the leading boys has learning experiences wrt less-than-ideal behaviors towards girls/women, because in real life boys (and girls, too!) are GOING to make mistakes as they're learning and it's important to show how they can move beyond those mistakes and not forever be defined by them. Zuko learns not to be a possessive asshat like he is in The Beach (at least, we don't see him act that way towards Mai again--he might as well have broken up with her via text and not given her the option to follow him to the "good side," but he never acts possessive again. Baby steps). Aang learns he can't just solve their relationship problems by kissing Katara when she's confused. He gives her space and she clearly thinks he's learned from it by the end (really, by the next episode). Sokka learns not to be sexist and that sometimes girls are going to be stronger/better fighters than he is AND THAT'S OKAY. Good, even! It doesn't make him "less of a man" or anything like that, and we don't hear those sexist ideas come out of his mouth again. ALL of these make great talking points for parents watching the show with their kids, too.

Kids make mistakes. They lean on stereotypes or prior experiences and sometimes that bites them in the butt. AtLA shows that we can teach kids hard lessons. Not only can we fight back against injustice but we can improve ourselves when we've been the ones to mess up. And I really think that's something special.

Thanks for sending in your thoughts, anon! You're so right.

[justthoughts1310]

Sokka may not be a misogynist, but the Netflix live action ATLA is:

There really is no cartoon/anime for female empowerment like the OG ATLA and LOK cartoons.

The creators of ATLA wrote the manifesto on how to create a masterful series on female empowerment and equality that is not cheesy or hocky.

In this show, women and girls are not a monolith but immensely diverse. There's no correct way to be a powerful, talented and bold woman or girl within the avatar universe.

You can be hyper-feminine like Ty Lee and Asami.

You can embody more traditionally masculine qualities like Korra and Toph.

Or you could just be a typical woman or girl falling more in between like Azula, Mai, or Suki.

You see the exact same thing for the male characters. There's no right way to be a man. There's many ways to be a man, and this idea flies in the face of patriarchy.

I say that the Netflix version is misogynist, because it's not enough to be a powerful woman. One must be allowed to be unapologetically, unabashedly and boldy powerful.

Which is what happens in the OG ATLA. Sokka's misogyny was actually a part of his character arc, because every time he was misogynist his misogyny was met with the answer that women and girls are phenomenal, that women and girls are living their lives and largely unconcerned with the opinions of men.

If you read the Kiyoshi novels, you learn that surprisingly enough, the least patriarchal amd misogynist nation in all of Avatar is the fire nation, and the misogynistic nation in all of Avatar is the northern water tribe.

The reason I say that the women in these shows are unabashedly powerful is because aside from Sokka and the master from the Northern Water tribe, no one ever questions why or how they are powerful. They expect it.

Zuko is Ozai's first born son, yet Azula is his pride. When Ozai imagines the future, he imagines it with Azula as the fire lord. He names her after his father. He trusts her to go find the avatar once he knows the avatar has returned.

Sokka and Katara effectively lost both of their parents, but Katara the youngest steps up as the mother and becomes the glue of the group. She's the one who becomes both an immensely powerful bender and healer.

Suki loves Sokka, but when we are introduced to her. She is unconcerned with him. Her and the other Kiyoshi warriors are the protectors of the village who go out into the world to do good into the world.

We see the revseral of all of these tenants in the Netflix show.

Ozai has hope for Zuko at the expense of Azula who he sees as a nuisance. She is no longer am obvious prodigy.

Katara is seen as a child who will not grow up by her brother who is now behaving as a father figure.

Suki is infatuated with Sokka and she follows him around Kiyoshi island when he arrives.

These woman are powerful but restrained and undermined in this power. Suki becomes concerned with the opinions of a man, and a random man at that.

What the OG ATLA taught to all women, girls, boys and men is that you never have to apologize for being powerful, intelligent, kind empathetic.

This is a very critical point that cuts to the heart of the OG ATLA that Netflix has missed.

[f1reladymai]

people who claim that Katara ending up with Zuko rather than Aang would have made her character more “feminist” completely disregard her race and ethnicity. it shows a lack of understanding when it comes to intersectional feminism because Katara and Aang ending up together is revolutionary. these are two people who understand each other in a way no one else could. both victims of the same regime in the exact same way. both genocide survivors. both the last of their kind (Katara being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe and Aang, of course, being the last airbender). both genocides committed to kill the avatar and erase hope from the world. both come from a collectivist culture. they are both leaders of a resistance group, two people who fight for a better world and in the process find love during war time, in the face of an imperialist nation that was set on wiping them out but they prevailed. not only did they end the war together, but they are tangible proof that love and hope and peace is possible and it’s never too late for things to turn around, even if you are the last of your kind.

Aang, Katara and their relationship is embodiment of that hope and of the revolution.

[longing-for-rain]

You know what gets me about Zutara and the hatred that has been directed towards it for nearly 20 years now is that Zutara is, fundamentally, a purely female fantasy.

Zutara was always written by and for women. Years ago, this fact was even used to mock it as something frivolous and stupid, the same way that most things women enjoy are mocked.

Zutara was created by fans. It was created by girls imagining something better for a female character they loved, and by extension, themselves.

Zutara is for all the girls who once caved to a boy’s romantic advances out of guilt and felt uncomfortable with that narrative on screen.

Zutara is for the girls who want to feel passion in a relationship.

Zutara is for the girls who want a partner who will love them through their darkest moments.

Zutara is for the girls who want a partner they don’t have to change for.

Zutara is for the girls who want to feel supported by a partner.

Zutara is for the girls who want a partner they don’t have to babysit.

And yes, Zutara is for the girls who want to be with a partner they find attractive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

When people attack the idea of Zutara, this is fundamentally what they’re attacking—women and girls wanting better for themselves in a relationship. And I think that’s really sad. But I guess it makes a lot of sense in a world where women are being increasingly bombarded with tradwife propaganda and where 13 year old girls are stressing out about what kind of anti aging and diet products they should buy. We are in hell.

[goddessemmy03]

Can you tell me your real dick size? I might ask for proof

[starlight-bread-blog]

[dreamchasernina]

Stop using Katara as a tool to uplift male characters!

“Katara should’ve kept her scars, it would teach Aang a lesson and made her bond with Zuko more”

Look deep inside yourself and ask why you want the indigenous female character to be scarred for the rest of her life, reliving a traumatic experience ALL TO BENEFIT A MALE CHARACTER.

“Katara was purposefully drawn more childlike so she could fit Aang better…bigger eyes and flatter chest”

Or…hear me out here…MAYBE ITS BECAUSE SHES a 14 YEAR OLD Girl??? Why do you want her to have a big chest? What the fuck is wrong with you? The show itself points out the way Katara is sexualized in the fandom in the ember island episode? And yet all of that just went over your head and you’re sexualizing her again and again? So she could fit Zuko better than Aang?

I have never ever felt so protective over a fictional female character. She’s a character I grew up with, she’s inspiring to so many people. She is an actually well written female character, with depth and flaws, and a character arc, yet certain shippers cannot stop undermining everything about her just to uplift their dumbass ship! And these are the people who preach feminism to the rest of the fandom. Leave Katara the fuck alone!!! Just admit you want to be with Zuko and SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[nico-drawings]

The news about Sokka not being sexist in the Avatar Netflix show took people by surprise. After all, Sokka overcoming sexism and starting to drink his respect woman juice was a huge development for him. But I think people are misunderstanding the situation.

Sokka's sexism wasn't taken away to make him less problematic, it was taken away to not let Katara be a feminist.

Let's all be honest here. Netflix doesn't care about equality or being righteous. They take inclusivity and use it as merchandise. They take problematic characteristics away so that they advertise their shows to kids. But most importantly: they take away just causes and political speech or wash it down for it to be as profitable as possible.

Sokka isn't a sexist anymore because Netflix doesn't want people to be offended by him. Sokka isn't a sexist anymore because if he was Katara would have to be the angry feminist that she always was and Netflix doesn't want people to be offended by HER.

Because Katara was revolutionary. She called her brother a "stupid maschilist" in kid's show as her second line. She is the first one to believe in change. She inspires a bunch of adult men into rebelling against an occupational force by raising her voice and being flashy and loud. She insulted a 70 years old dude to his face and fought him because he was a sexist jerk and she challenged traditional gender roles. She tore down a factory because it was destroying the ecosystem.

THAT is Katara.

A loud and young girl, feminist and ecoterrorist that quite literally changed the world by believing in change and being loud about her ideas and hopes.

She is a NIGHTMARE for most folks of the older generations and conservatives fucks.

Toning down Sokka means toning down Katara and that is what they want.

[theweeklydiscourse]

The idea that Katara should have ended up with Zuko instead of Aang for feminist reasons overlooks their strong connection. Katara and Aang both survived genocide and are the last of their kinds—she's the last Southern Water Tribe waterbender and he's the last airbender. Their bond isn't just about their backgrounds but also about fighting together against oppression. Their love story during war shows that hope and unity can triumph, challenging the idea that feminist stories must avoid traditional relationships. Katara and Aang in "Avatar: The Last Airbender" prove that shared experiences and understanding can be a powerful part of feminist storytelling.

Nice ask anon, did chat gpt write it for you?

Sorry I just can’t get over how this is phrased, especially the part where you write the show’s legal name for some reason. It sounds like AI wrote it, down to the bizarre structure of your point and the incoherent message you’re trying to get across.

But hey, I’ll bite. I’m having some difficulty understanding how that constitutes as feminist storytelling. If only you could be a bit more specific about what specifically makes their relationship “feminist” rather than gesturing at vague notions of how their shared values automatically correlate to feminist storytelling. The premise of your argument is also laughably vague, you never quite explain how shipping Zutara for “feminist reasons” overlooks the strong connection that Katara and Aang share. What are these “feminist reasons” that Zutara shippers are espousing? Could you explain what their conclusions are? Do you even know what arguments they’re making?

Don't make me laugh, "challenging the idea that feminist stories must avoid traditional relationships" as if traditional heterosexual relationships are somehow endangered by the evil influence of feminism. It's always laughable to watch Kataang shippers engage in these mental gymnastics to find any flimsy shred of evidence that their ship is "feminist" and avoiding the obvious reality that the ship overwhelmingly prioritizes Aang. The "love story" in question is Aang pining after Katara while her feelings remain unknown until the final minutes of the finale. Where Katara's perspective is absent while Aang's is reiterated many times throughout the show, ultimately neglecting her agency in this "love story". The cherry on top is Katara being reduced to being Aang’s dutiful wife and then widow, ultimately fading into the background and being neglected even further post-atla.

Yeah...that doesn't seem indicative of "feminist storytelling" to me.

[c-m-li]

I feel that we, as a fandom, don't acknowledge the special level of condescension inherent to Paku telling Katara that she can't learn to fight simple bc she's a girl and women aren't suited to fighting.

The Northern Water Tribe has been insulated for the past 100 years from the Fire Nation so they've managed to keep invaders away with just the men as waterbending warriors.

But Katara, from the Southern Water Tribe, has been exposed to the war since she was young. She's experienced how the Fire Nation killed her mother bc she was helpless and she's seen how the war has ravaged her entire community.

Additionally, as they've trekked to the North Pole, they've faced attackers and how the war has damaged other communities.

So for Paku and the Northern Water Tribe, in their cozy little corner of the world untouched by the horrors of the war, to look at this person who has had to grow up as a fighter and tell her that they won't teach her how to fight better bc it's against tradition and she needs to leave it to the men -

It's a brand of apathy that kills and I don't think we talk about it enough bc the Northern Water Tribe not letting their women fight is a fucking luxury that nobody else in the world had.

Also - also - on a related note, I think the reason Aang's pacifism and his refusal to kill was so highlighted was bc he's standing next to Sokka and Katara who have grown up in this war and both are 100% ready to stand on business almost all the time.

[nintendylan64]

Avatar the Last Airbender was a very feminist show. That's why I picked this meme I found from Google images.

[punkeropercyjackson]

If you're a Kataang anti i'm just gonna assume you're a misogynist who hates it when women rebel and nonconform in ways that aren't for men and should only exist for the cishet visage rather than for themselves and other women

[all-seeing-ifer]

fred burkle is such a compelling and layered character if u exclusively watch the ats episodes that were written by women

[blackbullet99]

Zutara’s Fake @$$ Feminism

Okay so @kidcaroline brought up this weird-@$$ take where this braindead dude says Zutara is a purely female fantasy and an expression of unapologetic female desire. And who’s the nutcase who said this.

Of course only someone as delusional as longing-for-rain could say something as stupid as this. Love or hate Zutara, it being a purely female fantasy is objectively wrong, there are a lot of men who actually like Zutara, one guy on YouTube made tons of videos about them, there were some writers in A:TLA who shipped it, Dante Basco the proclaimed Captain of Zutara ships it. One person who shipped Zutara actually argued that a lot of men ship it and the ship shouldn’t be limited to just women, so naturally longing-for-(acid)rain personally attacked them because they’re a man. Misandrist much?

Let’s look at the reasons why Zutara is such a profoundly feminist ship, shall we…

Okay, so skimming over the fact that Zutara literally started when Zuko captured Katara in “The Waterbending Scroll” and wanting better for Katara is wanting her to end with someone who relentlessly pursued her and attacked her for most of the show. Literally all of these points that supposedly support Zutara literally make no sense and many of which could easily apply to Kataang.

Katara never caved into Aang out of guilt, that’s never suggested at all in the narrative, she was never uncomfortable with Aang, the average ZK might be, but Katara wasn’t.

Where was the passion in Zuko and Katara’s relationship, seriously what passion are they talking about, does OP think constantly fighting each other is passion because “muh enemies to lovers”, do they Katara touching Zuko’s scar because she was going to heal him at one point is passion. How TF is that considered “passion”, it just comes across like you have a kink. You want passion…

THIS is passion.

Ignoring the fact that Zuko never had feelings for Katara. Aang literally loves Katara no matter what. If they’re referring to “The Southern Raiders” Aang never stopped loving Katara, he understood her pain, he was just concerned that killing a guy would take a strain on her mental state. But that obviously means he didn’t care about the “real” Katara, what a jerk, right guys.

When did Katara ever have to change for Aang? Y’all are aware that Katara would have to change quite significantly if she married into The Fire Nation, right?

Aang objectively did support Katara. That’s all there is to it really. He did throughout the whole show.

Katara was never Aang’s babysitter. Darn Bryce for mentioning weird romantic tropes that have nothing to do with Kataang and desperate ZKs taking them out of context. Aang was a kid just like Katara, the latter of whom was often the voice of reason, but she never had to actively take care of Aang. He’s 12, he’s not a baby.

Okay, but like, Katara is attracted to Aang. Not to get all weird on y’all but objectively speaking she is attracted to him (see “The Cave of Two Lovers” or the Kataang images above). Which makes sense because they’re only a couple of years apart. This comment, and really this whole post is just OP admitting that they’re self-inserting onto Katara, they don’t care about what she wants, so they twist the narrative of the show and act like Katara should be attracted to Zuko and not Aang because these 20-something women are attracted to Zuko and not Aang. They use Katara as a self-insert because 99% of the time these b!tches wanna f*ck Zuko and use Katara as vessel to live out their weird sexual desires. Ew.

This final comment, just screams, “White Tumblr So-Called Feminism”. OP seriously thinks saying “I like Zutara” is advocating for women’s rights. She cannot be this stupid and delusional, for real? There’s nothing wrong with Zutara as a ship, there’s nothing wrong with most of the women who ship Zutara. But at the end of the day it’s a fictional pairing between two fictional characters, people who don’t like the ship aren’t attacking women, people who don’t like Zutara just don’t like the ship for whatever reasons. I don’t like the ship because not only is Kataang superior, seeing as they start of a close friends who mutually trust, support and admire each other and gradually develop feelings for one another (slow-burn friends-to-lovers is peak), but also because Zuko and Katara were enemies throughout most of the show, they only become friends near the very end of the show, great friends who do support and value each other, but let’s be real, their relationship isn’t profoundly different from Katara’s other relationships with The Gaang, and going from friends for 5 episodes to making out in the last episode is just crazy-forced.

Additionally there are plenty of men who ship Zutara as a pointed out, but also plenty of women who ship Kataang because these women genuinely like their relationship and acknowledge the love and positive aspects in Aang and Katara’s relationship. But of course longing-for-(sh!t)rain dismisses and invalidates these women by calling them “BoyMoms” (whatever that means) because they don’t share the seem POV as OP. Which leads to the fact that longing-for-sh!tstain really doesn’t care about women and what they want, they’re going out of their way to make Kataang look problematic and Zutara the epitome of female desire, but the only people who would actually believe that are fanfic obsessed idiots who have never left their computer and have no understanding of any real-world issues, in other words dumb b!tches just saying “eXaCtLy” to each other. Really whining-for-rain only cares about what they themselves desire and think their opinion is the only one that matters, hence they attack anyone who even slightly disagree’s with them. Just check the original post and you’ll see.

The only “feminism” they care about is in their weird Wattpad middle-school ship. She don’t care about the real Katara or her feelings if it doesn’t fit her self-insert narrative.

She writes torture-porn r@pe fics about Katara.

She called an actually real-life indigenous women racist because said women hates the idea of Katara marrying into the nation the colonized her tribe, killed her mom and would make Ozai her father in-law, just so Katara, Sokka and Hakoda could essentially be trophies for Zuko. This @$$hole thinks supporting a crackship is supporting women’s rights, but will invalidate the feelings of a real-life indigenous women who doesn’t agree with said crackship.

In conclusion, f*ck you longing-for-fascist and f*ck your fake-@$$ feminist, you objectively don’t care about A:TLA, or Katara or even women, if anything you’re nothing but an insult to women.

[longing-for-rain]

I find it very strange how people act like shipping a male and female character together romantically somehow destroys their friendship, but act the exact opposite for two male characters.

Why is it that we see a female character’s relationship to a male character as more shallow if romantic feelings develop?

Why is it that we simultaneously view a relationship between two male characters as deeper when romance is added?

I just see a lack of respect for female characters and women in general. You view her as an accessory to her love interest, stripped of her own personality and ambitions as soon as she’s shipped with a man. I know canon romance often treats female characters this way, but so do fans. It isn’t progressive of you to cry about how fanon ships “ruin” female characters’ friendships when that isn’t the case at all in most fan content.

It’s your own bias talking. If you’re capable of understanding that romance can deepen and strengthen a friendship in the context of two men, you should be able to see that when a woman is in the picture too. Think on that for a second.

[kebbopulos]

Literally sobbing thinking about how Avatar: The Last Airbender was the first show with a plot I ever watched. Sure I watched other shows before but it was like Dora and Teletubbies, Avatar was my first real show.

And I can’t stop thinking about how impactful it was as a little girl. The fact that in the First Episode Katara is belittled for being just a girl, and she fights like hell showing how powerful girls can be. And us watching Sokka grow as he learns about the kyoshi warriors. The famous “I am a warrior, but I’m a girl too” line from Suki. And the season finally with Katara fighting Paku for a right to learn. That anger Katara felt was something I related to even as I was about to turn 6. I knew what it felt like being treated differently, and it felt good seeing that righteous anger portrayed and being rewarded. Katara fought and was allowed to learn

That show really shaped part of how I saw the world around me. I am so so grateful that I grew up with not only strong female characters, but strong female characters who were actively fighting sexism in the show! Avatar: The Last Airbender is a masterpiece in so many ways, this is just the one on my mind <3