you're literally so real and based about the misogyny in the onceler fandom like none of the plot would've happened without audrey or norma (although i am a bit biased when it comes to norma cause she's my fave), and mrs wiggins helped A LOT and everyone just ignored them. also the vitriolic hatred towards the onceler's mom (yeah she sucked but still) is kinda weird where is that treatment towards the rest of his family
thank u dear anon 🙏
I posted my post out on a whim from my drafts but lemme elaborate - the lorax/onceler fandom is incredibly misogynistic. from the fact that ppl make fun of younger often girls having fun and being attracted to Once-ler. I was also a young girl when I first joined this fandom and I could completely feel the mockery over the years. all bc I dared to have fun abt one of my fave characters. and over the years I feel like the nature had become even more so hostile against fans, esp abt women who just join
my another glaring issue is with the fact that this fandom completely overlooks female characters. as u've said, the plot wouldn't have happened without Audrey and Norma. and when u join the fandom discussions u see ppl complaining abt how thinly they are written, the fandom does nothing to expand on them
I'll start with Norma bc she's my absolute fave too - u can barely find anything with her these days. yes I love Normaler but it doesn't have to be all there is to her. if u don't like Normaler, why can't u make Norma be Once-ler's friend? why aren't u exploring her life as a young woman, single mother and then a kind and upbeat old woman? why can't u pick up the pieces in canon abt her spunky but lighthearted nature, love for stories, enigmatic but understanding personality, nostalgia towards different times but still living in the moment, even affection towards things as gentle as nature and as extreme as sports? she fckin drives a crane all by herself! Norma is such a fantastic character to explore but this fandom just doesn't want to. and then when ppl DO explore her character it's dismissed as a self-insert fantasy for girls. even if so, so what? are we circling back to hating young girls for having interests?
Audrey is a similar case. she's either used as a mouthpiece, side piece for Ted or fucking shipped with an adult. why don't u explore her life beside this? why won't u talk abt her being an artist, softspoken dreamer and an introverted character who has to make choices? I love when ppl make her more active but she can also be passive, not everyone has to be an adventurer. and if u make her active, she could make a fantastic protag. all I'm saying is, do better
I'd argue the story of The Lorax also couldn't have happened if it wasn't for Mrs. Wiggins. she's such a fun character too, lovable and sweet and energetic, but also no nonsense and stands up for what she believes in? when I read this ask to my bestie they looked at me and said "Mrs. Wiggins has more personality than Ted" and I AGREE. she deserves more spotlight as a single woman who tries her hardest and balances her life all around. she's so so good
as for Once-ler's mother, she is a total bitch but like........so is his whole family. yes, she's the abuser but everyone else enables her abuse so they're also guilty. like fuck them. I do totally get hatred for Once-ler's mother but she's also a pretty good antagonist. her manipulative behavior and mood swings are very well written in a realistic way. why can't we even say that a woman is a good antagonist? besides, she can also have her past (which does not excuse the abuse ofc, just makes her a deeper character). I see a lot of potential and it's just wasted a millionth time
can I also say that female OCs in this fandom are super scarce? I remember there were a lot of times when fem!Once-ler blogs got deactivated bc they were relentlessly bullied. all for the sake of shipping two mildly different flavors of the same guy. and u don't have to make them side pieces to ur Once-lers. women deserve their own stories to tell. when I was developing my Lorax OC Felicia, her relationship with Once-ler was the last thing I thought of
anyways, it's a total tangent at this point but I wanted this to be an ode to female characters of the lorax/onceler fandom. they deserve their stories and they deserve to be treated with respect. do better
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[grabs a pillow and settles lower into the bed,]
...Actually, no one was home! Or at least, no one answered the door. We ended up sitting around the Lerkim porch for hours, waiting for him to show up...
Ted: Once-lerrrr!!....[groans] Man! What gives, we came all the way out here...
Audrey: [paps her cheek one more time before pausing] pbhh... Hmmn, didn’t think we’d have a Schrodinger situation, huh.
Ted: [glances over at Audrey] ,,A Schroder whatnow?
Audrey: [glances back at him] It means, we couldn’t really know whether he’d be around or not until we got here. [pointedly looks away again] Thaaat’s the less morbid meaning, anyway.
Ted: --HahaH,,! C’mon, no worries! I’m sure he’s just uh, gooone out for a walk! Yeah! He’s gotta come back sometime...
Audrey: Iiit’s okay, Ted, [stands up] we can always try another day--
Ted: –I mean, no, it has to be–I really wanted it to be–[crosses his arms and looks up at the Lerkim again in frustration] mngh,…today was special,,
Audrey: ...,,Well,...mmmfine, then. We’ll wait a little longer.
Ted: Yeah,,? Okay,
Audrey: [sits back down and patpats the spot beside her~] Come sit with me, though.
Ted: ,,.. [siiighs and sits down beside her, leaving a respectable space between them]
Audrey: [scoots right up against him]
Audrey: Thanks for taking me out today, either way.
Ted: Of course,,// wasn't too bad of a drive, right? Aaapart from that one loose brick before the canyon archway. That was my bad.
Audrey: Mm mm, I trusted you.
Ted: Heh, good...
Audrey: Lerkim today, the rest of the world tomorrow~
Ted: We’ll hit up any place you want, no matter how far. Just you wait--
Audrey: [amused] “We”?
Ted: Ah--I mean,,...y-yyeah? If you wan--mmMMM nahhhaha, did I say “we”??
Audrey: I’d love to.
Ted: --I meant, in the general sense, you know? Thneedville’s still got a long way to go, but with the city branching out eventually--
Audrey: We can be travel partners.
Ted: --Oh.....................,,,ok a y,,
Audrey: Hehe,, [kicks her feet idly] Oh, the places we’ll go~
Ted: Haha,...mm...sssorry, I’ll make sure your next birthday is better.
Audrey: Aww, this one’s already been really good, though, if you ask me. [scoots away and leans down to drag her backpack up]...Do you think we’ll still be living in a desolate valley a year from now? I’ve been eyeing a few vacation spots from that Seussional Geographic magazine I showed you.
Ted: Heh,,
Ted: You mean the one that you made us read together front and back in the park and then I got grounded for staying out so late?
Audrey: That's the one. Wait, you got grounded?
Ted: [waves his hand] It was worth it, so no biggie... I was thinking next year we could party it up in Katroo.
Audrey: Hmm orrr enjoy some peace and quiet at McElligot's Pool?
Ted: ...McGrew's Zoo.
Audrey: The Jungle of Nool!
Ted: Solla Sollew!
Audrey: Slab Ci--Solla Sollew?
Ted: Yeah?
Audrey: I dunno if I wanna go to go to yet another seemingly perfect, wall-enclosed city stewing in their own perceived happiness... [fiddles with the backpack buckle...]
Ted: Oh,,uh, well I thought it’d be a good place to start, just for that reason, actually. It’s like Thneedville, but...but done right, you know? And maybe we can take ideas from there to bring back here. Besides, the Once-ler seemed pretty enthusiastic about it--
Audrey: [sits up straight] The Once-ler,?
Ted: Yeah, back when I was trying to find out how to get a--er,, trying to find out what happened to the trees,... He kindaaa, went on a tangent? About all the places he visited before ending up in this valley.
Audrey: [click-flips open her backpack, listening...]
Ted: And then, when I tried to get him back on track, he just kept blabbing on and on about, how great it was in “sweet, sunny Solla Sollew”, with its flowers and its Wah-Hoo “Ri-vur”--
Audrey: Interesting. Let’s go.
Ted: And--huh??
Audrey: Forget what I said before, okay? It...it's kinda ignorant of me to write off a place that I hadn’t even tried visiting. [u u,,] I should give things a chance.
Ted: And you’re...sure it’s not just ‘cause the Once-ler promo-ed it--
Audrey: ,,Pfft! No,,...but a Once-ler did let me try a real milkshake not too long ago. It’s opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. [pulls out the bag of marshmallows Ted had made her bring along]
Ted: Uh, didn’t he make you cry--
Audrey: [ignores his statement and keeps talking] They probably have good food there. Real food. Real animals! Real plants?? Maybe even...a real ocean, can you imagine!? There’s so much out there that we haven’t experienced. I wanna try it all. I wanna see it all. So, that’ll include Solla Sollew.
Ted: ...,,Psh,, glad I was able to convince you, then,...
Audrey: Yep, it was totally you.
Ted: ...[shruuugs] Still kinda weird to know there’s more than one Once-ler.
Audrey: Aww, I don’t mind...
Ted: Oh, Seuss, what if there are multiples of us, too...don’t know if I’m ready for that.
Audrey: ...
Ted: ...Eh, forget it. M’sure it’s just a Once-ler thing.
Audrey: ...Mm, and I’mmm sure you’ll always be the only Ted for me, anyway...
Ted: Wh--I better be!!
Audrey: ,,pffhaHAHAHA!!
............
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