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mcfuckity · 9 months

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You know what? Im breaking my silence. Im TIRED of people missing Jess’ character on purpose. Like, everyone can use context clues and fill in the blanks for every other character but somehow Jess is the only one taken at face value? Jess is being seen as a cold, detached, mean bitch by fans but I cannot determine whether we even watched the same movie.

Let’s address the elephant in the room, because she is a black woman who is NOT a mammy character, people criticize her harsher. Jess was MORE than Miguel’s “lackey”. She had her own thoughts and opinions. She definitely had her own personality and feelings about the entire situation. She lowkey stalled time to give Gwen chances to fix her mistakes.

If Jess was as cold as Miguel and such a “bitch”, she would’ve left Gwen the first time. Let’s not forget that Miguel was fully about to leave Gwen with her own father holding her at gunpoint, JESS vouched to bring Gwen under her name. Jess put her OWN position at risk to help Gwen and it required that she do her job accordingly. Jess made the boundary VERY clear, she is NOT Gwen’s mother. She is NOT her friend. I seen people argue that “Jess’ maternal instincts” should’ve kicked in to protect Gwen” but fully ignoring that Jess HAS A FAMILY! Jess is PREGNANT with her OWN child. Her instincts DID kick in and she chose her dimension with her family in it!

Jess was stuck in a rock and a hard place. She obviously wanted to help Gwen (considering she brought her in at the cost of her own position) but UNFORTUNATELY, GWEN messed up. Gwen saw Miles and that ultimately led to Spot escaping. You can love these characters and acknowledge that every character had their OWN thoughts and motivations that led to fuck ups. It’s not right to try to make Jess sound worse than the man who fuckin replaced his dead self out of grief, was about to leave a teen at gunpoint, and had an entire society of people chase a teenager who wanted to save his dad.

Don’t get me started on the “she’s fighting crime while pregnant argument” because we can accept superpowered people but NOT the possibility that their bodies are more resilient. NOT TO MENTION THAT PETER B HAS A WHOLE BABY ON MISSIONS???? Like, no one is calling him a bad father so what’s different with Jess? Miguel was mean as fuck to Miles upon meeting but Jess doing her JOB is considered being “mean”.

Then the “I didn’t see her enough to connect with her” is fair until everyone can somehow create entire {TERRIBLE} mischaracterizations of Hobie, Pav, and Peni who (arguably) had just about the same amount of screentime. She also shares traits with every other spider person with being snarky and quick-witted while being completely grounded. She’s literally one of the spider people that Miguel fully trusts but somehow the fandom erases her and goes “He loves Peter B and Lego Spidey🤪🤪”

Like, it’s crazy how people find it so easy to erase Jess and Margo (Spiderbyte) in fanworks for things they easily dismiss from other characters and it’s feelin like misogynoir. Like, Margo and Hobie served the same purpose with deciding to go against Miguel for Miles, yet only Hobie and Gwen gets that credit.

AND THEN THE MANY EXCUSES WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING! People keep hating on Jess/Miguel because she’s “obviously pregnant and married” but go right around and ship Miguel with Peter B. Same with Margo/Miles because it’s a bunch of “Miles and Gwen are obviously endgame” ANDDDD???? Since when did every ship HAVE TO be canon in order to be a ship? It’s especially crazy because I BARELY EVER see those comments on Miles/(Peni, Pav, or Hobie) or have no problem with having all the boys huddled around Gwen. The double standard is glaringly obvious.

In conclusion, some of you mfs dont deserve ATSV.

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sleepynegress · 3 days

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About Online Threats Abuse & Misogynoir Towards Black Women in the Entertainment Industry...

Susan Wokoma appeared on the Woman's Hour on BBC Radio recently and she bravely spoke out on the letter of support she and Somalia Seton put together to support Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, as well as speaking candidly on the effects the online abuse that Black women face have...

I IMPLORE people in these fandoms, especially where harassment of Black women happens to listen to this podcast to understand what it does. Listen below:

There is a very white tendency to either make the focus their own sympathetic reaction to a Black woman entertainer being bullied/harassed like this (crying or feeling bad for it happening to them) or minimize what's happening. "It's only one or two" or "They'll probably never see it." And I get the tendency to want to either distance or somehow equalize it to the harassment white women face, as well...but there is a particular nastiness that comes with misogynoir that gets at literally wanting to dehumanize and punish a Black woman for existing. The intention is to destroy them completely, rather than put in place. Anyway, I encourage anyone who cares about Black women in fandom to give the segment interviewing Susan Wokoma, a listen.

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justanisabelakinnie · 1 month

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"We need more strong, fleshed out, well-developed female characters of color!" you bitches couldn't even handle the Madrigal women.

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leikeliscomet · 4 months

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Tried to talk about how Martha being negatively compared to Rose enabled a lot of racism in the fandom so shipping them together and tieing Martha's self-worth to Rose for the 24th time isn't a good idea if you care about Black women in TV/Film like that and I get told I'm being a meanie in my replies AND DMs like thank you for proving my point that you lot don't care about Black female characters and can't be trusted with Black sapphic coding AT ALL

#Martha gets reduced to a failed Rose replacement and now she's reduced to being Rose's Black girlfriend and I'm supposed to lap this up #lord forbid Black women's characters have their own self worth amirite #martha jones #rose tyler #doctor who #doctor who fandom #fandom antiblackness #dr who fandom #dw fandom #black representation #anti rosemartha #fandom misogynoir

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bohemian-nights · 6 months

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Unpopular Opinion: Every time a black female character (especially if this black female character is dark skinned) enters into a relationship with the popular fan-favorite white male character usually one of three things happen a. the black female character is now headcanoned as a lesbian (never bisexual or queer or anything that would leave the character with the possibility of still entering into a relationship with a man) b. white male character is now shipped with other popular fan-favorite white male character/other white female character (the popular fan-favorite white male character is usually headcanoned to be bisexual and when he is, shipped with a woman that woman is always white) or c. black female character (and sometimes their actresses) is now being talked about as if they are the devil himself.

Wanting characters to explore their sexuality is fine but I always find it odd how this always happens when one member of the relationship is a black/blackish woman. *forgot to mention the suddenly polyamorous relationship the three (black female, white male and white male/woman) characters are now without a doubt in*

Anon you spoke nothing, but facts right here 🙌🏽

(The only thing I’d add is that they don’t just do this when the woman in question is with a white man, see Namor and Shuri and the backlash some shippers got for shipping them).

You aren’t the only one who has been noticing this trend.

I say trend loosely because really just a new stereotype to add to the bunch😒

It would be one thing if it was a want for actual representation, but every time now like clockwork. as soon as they see a Black woman who looks like she’s going to have a romantic arc with said popular fandom man, boom she must be gay😑

Hell, it’s getting so bad that these shows/movies are automatically just writing their Black women characters in that way.

If people can’t see how this can be harmful/dangerous, that’s cool, but anytime you want to paint all of a group a certain way and won’t show them in any other setting, that’s how you end up birthing new stereotypes.

This isn’t creating diversity. It’s limiting it(once again).

It’s so all or nothing with our media representation. Black women don’t want to be shown as one thing(which seems to go right over most people’s heads).

We just want the same opportunities as everybody else and not to be put into one or two narrow boxes of acceptable characterization that doesn’t threaten the status quo(aka you can't have Black women looking desirable especially not when there is an available white woman right there next to her).

#bnask #bnasks #fandom misogynoir #misogynoir #I understand the need for representation but it can't just be all one thing #there is a really good thread I want to link on this #but I’d rather not have people flooding that website #lol this reminds me of the people obsessed with Laena velaryon and Rhaenyra Targaryen #Look at how they won't even draw laena with her husband 🙃#yes I’m aware she’s a race bent character but in the show her and Rhaenyra hardly interact #she isn’t her lover(and she’s probably not in the books either) yet y’all just love to draw that version of them together #and refuse to draw that version of her with daemon 🙃#let’s not get into how there were some trying to say nettles is a lesbian with no proof #or baela and putting her with nettles #again I understand representation but it’s all very suspicious considering this is the same fandom that likes calling black people dirty 🙃#the bear fandom is another one that likes to do this #sydney adamu #nettles #laena velaryon #shuri udaku #baela targaryen #tagging all the ones from recent years #y’all rarely do this with white women #she breaths next to a male character and it’s ‘I ship it’🙄

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ambelle · 8 months

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I’ve talked vaguely about white liberals treatment of BW both in real life and in fandom spaces but I feel I should expand on that.

A while back a BW wrote an article about how BM are the white people of the black community. White people were offended and baffled and BM protested. The thing is it's very much true. BM, along with BW are oppressed under a system stacked against us (along with many other demographics), but because BW are women we are also oppressed by BM.

White liberals have the privilege to not have grown up in the hood like I did. So they can claim a world without cops wouldn't turn into open season on BW at the hands of BM. They can say gangs, drive-bys, and drug dealers aren't dangerous and BM shouldn't be prevented from doing it. But when I was little I couldn't use the playgrounds because drug dealers used them as a place to deal and recruit little boys. I couldn't go to the local skating rink because gangs would go there to fight and shoot it up. I had to play in the street with my friends because the MEN in the community were ruining spaces meant for children. Erasing safety in general actually. Not the white president, the men in the community. I can say systematic racism and the BM who did a random drive-by on my house and raped little girls were both oppressing me. Both are true.

But it's not true to the white liberals who have a complete blind spot when it comes to BW because they don't acknowledge we are women. They see us as strong unwavering aggressive machines. We make good allies but they don't need to help us because we are invincible duh. It's the "bw saved the day" shit after every election followed by them going right back to ignoring us the next day.

It's them ignoring all the crazy stats about violence against BW to whitesplain to us how abolishing the police is a great idea. The men harming us will simply stop if they know we don't even have someone we may call for help. Let's abolish the police because they harm BM and BM never do anything they should be arrested for including my rapist. He was simply a victim of white supremacy and I should have hugged him after like the strong mammy I was born to be. No need to talk about black femicide.

Basically, white liberals care about BM (because it's trendy not because they give a shit see ANTIFA), BW care about BM, BM care about BM, and no one gives a shit about BW. That's the reality

But white libs in fandoms are racist in a different way. They like to adopt the struggles of demographics that are oppressed in real life and apply it to white characters. It's why characters like Silco and Jinx are so appealing to them.

(both trying to kill Zaunites here BTW)

Make no mistake If Silco were black fans would be holding them accountable same with Jinx. But they are white and they are (were) oppressed. That's literally a white liberal dream. They get to ignore the fact that Silco and Jinx are rich and they got rich by oppressing poor people and forcing children into child labor.

(that Zaunite teen boy died not that anyone cares. )

They get to weaponize classism to excuse the violence and murder they commit against other poor people. Who cares how many orphans he creates or how many poor children he tries to murder.

Mind you not only was Silco rich off the backs of poor people and the labor of kids, he used the enforcers to help him not only oppress his own people but also frame Ekko (ironically a BM) and the Firelights for crimes he and Jinx were committing.

Jinx who killed multiple Zaunites on purpose and tried to kill Ekko later on. Jinx who is rich and has no motive for the violence she commits. Jinx who is working for the man she KNOWS killed her father figure and tried to kill her siblings. Jinx who never once takes responsibility for any of the choices she makes. But she's white. It's why the fandom supports her hetero ship with Ekko (who they headcanon as being her emotional crutch). They only care about heteronormativity when there is a black woman they want to erase. No other straight pairing gets called "disgusting", "forced", "shoehorned", "a betrayal", or "immoral". Mel is forceful and aggressive. She's a seductress who manipulates Jayce into her bed and into doing her evil deeds.

(He's clearly not into her at all)

He should be kissing Vik's ass and worshipping the ground he walks on. Speaking of Viktor ...him using tech for his own gains, secretly merging his DNA with the core, getting addicted to shimmer, killing a fellow Zaunite and converting up her death + stealing her notes is something no one will discuss.

Because he's white , was once poor, and is "gay-coded". He's thus entitled to murdering a brown woman and entitled to Jayce's body. They weaponize LGBTQ+ rep in order to justify their racism much like the left does in real life.

Mel who shows no ill will towards Viktor is accused of being ableist and classist because she gave him a look when he was arguing with her. Mel who explains why she wants defensive weapons and has several scenes reiterating her motive is accused of wanting war and genocide.

Mel who has exchanged flirty looks with Jayce every episode before she kisses him is accused of raping him. Mel who isn't at all a part of the Vander/Silco/Jinx shenanigans in ep 1 is blamed for the death of Jinx's family because she "controls the council" (even though they often vote against her and Heimerdinger gets a pass despite being there when the cities were founded). Because she's black and rich. Thus they can weaponize poverty in order to villainize BW.

They shout over the people who are actually oppressed. Over the people who know what it's like to have drug dealers and gangs make your life hell while the government does the same on a less personal scale.

This is what white liberals do. It's not new. I won't even get into the weird ass envy/hatred/lust thing they have for bw. The dehumanizing and hypersexualizing shit they do is a whole other essay.

#long post #mel medarda #white liberals #fandom racism #fandom misogynoir #arcane

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fandomshatewomen · 11 months

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*fake shock*

Anyways, listen to women, especially Black Women.

#nicole beharie #sleepy hollow #fandom misogynoir #misogynoir #mod c #fandoms hate women

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the-everqueen · 4 months

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re: lrb, i feel like the reason so much of the sandman fandom has attached to Death as their female character of choice is because she doesn't represent a threat to the major ship and in s1 she IS acting like the Supportive Big Sister for Dream. in other words, she doesn't challenge fandom's idea of what a Black woman "should" be. she can't be shipped with the (white) main character, she shows up briefly to lend him moral support, and she requires nothing from him. unlike all those other messy women that fandom loves to ignore.

#sandman #fandom misogynoir #but also fandom can like...excoriate her for throwing a baguette at her brother bc #''how dare she not verbally acknowledge his trauma and also let him marinate in self-pity''#meanwhile god forbid fandom portray lucienne as anything other than a hyper-competent lesbian #or rose as basically a kid even tho she's an adult woman #or lyta as a crazy bitch with an ugly dream house #like y'all. your racism is showing.#be honest with yourselves that what you want is for black women to be the magical negro and that's it

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two-hands-toward-the-sun · 6 months

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Portraying Black Female Characters in Sandman Fic

A fanfic may not have the same reach as a published book, but being aware of how we’re portraying the many Black women of the Sandman in our fics and our posts is still imperative. As I am nonblack, the only piece of advice I can offer is this: pay attention to how Black women write about themselves. Read books by and about Black women. Listen to music by Black women and consider their lyrics. Educate yourself on damaging stereotypes Black women face in order to avoid reinforcing them in your writing. Just…see how creators portray people who share their own identities. That’s vital. Absolutely essential, even.

Below the cut I have included a few personal recommendations if you’re interested.

Books

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. A gorgeously written, emotionally expansive novel beginning with vignettes about two sisters who never met: in 18th century Ghana, one sister marries a white British officer, and the other is sold into slavery and trafficked to the United States. The book then follows the descendents of these sisters through eight generations. We only spend a single chapter with each character, but Gyasi is so, SO gifted at making you care about them as people in the limited time we spend with them.

(She also wrote an article in 2020 that is well worth a read, and raises points that are important to keep in mind as we seek out more diverse media.)

The Brown Sisters Trilogy by Talia Hibbert. These three books are romances (each book is about one of the titular sisters), and they’re fun and flirty with interesting, distinct characters. I was trying to think of a favorite one, but I couldn’t! They’re all enjoyable in different ways.

Music

“Deathless,” “River,” “Creature (Perfect),” “Vale,” and “Juice of Mandarins” by Ibeyi

“Black Woman” by Danielle Brooks

“Protect Your Queen” by Sampa the Great

“She’s Got Her Ticket” by Tracy Chapman

The entirety of Lemonade by Beyoncé + “Brown Skin Girl” and “I Was Here”

Additionally, here are some links to posts or articles that address the “Strong Black Woman” trope. I see undertones or overt representations of this with Lucienne often in this fandom, and I think it’s a stereotype we need to be especially aware of.

Post: a quote from the TV show Harlem

Post: 10 Ways You Can Support Black Women (specifically #9, but the whole post is important.)

Article: Why the “strong black woman” stereotype is an albatross

#the sandman netflix #the sandman #lucienne the sandman #lucienne the librarian #death of the endless #rose walker #unity kincaid #gault the sandman #mazikeen the sandman #fandom misogynoir

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howhow326 · 4 months

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2024 New Years resolution: Stop Being Nice to Racists

#stop trying to educate them #stop trying to see things from their point of view #stop sympathizing with them #stop empathizing with them #stop interacting with them or their content #be as mean and nasty to them as they are/want to be to you #i'm serious #blm #racism #fandom racism #fandom misogynoir #anti misogynoir #misogynoir

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fandomshatepeopleofcolor · 1 year

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I see endless hate for Discovery. People saying every season is terrible. It's obviously racism. They don't list Burnham as the captain. They ignore all the good rep in the show. They have no real criticism about the plots just that it's long form. But like was the plot bad??? No? Then it's not a bad plot. There's 4 seasons! And each one has been hit hard. It's got its ups and downs like every Star Trek show. But Discovery is 'terrible' because black people have to be 2 times as good to get half the credit.

Nevermind the comparison to Enterprise as if that's not comparing puff the magic dragon to atla. Discovery is the powerhouse of the franchise right now for a reason. But people can't help but cry and piss blood in their pants because they don't like seeing black leads thriving.

well you're right but its more precisely misogynoir because Michael is a black woman.

ENTERPRISE WAS TRASH IT KILLED THE FRANCHISE FOR YEARS!!! The only reason Picard, SNW and the rest of the shows were even possible was because of Discovery!!!

mod ali

#misogynoir #star trek: discovery #fandom misogynoir

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literaryspinster · 9 months

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Mel fans are allowed to be annoyed by how the fandom talks about her

It’s ugly af even when it’s meant to be complimentary and supportive. I don’t care if you think it’s cool that she “uses her body to gain power” that is not a thing that you can prove that she did. Just please stop.

#mel medarda #arcane #fandom misogynoir #it would be less irritating if they didn’t see themselves as progressive

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uncriticalbunny · 9 months

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"sydney having worked on herself and completed all her goals"

#everybody gets a little treat. not u black girl #the misogynoir in fandom is truly something else #this is how 98% of them feel btw #sydney adamu #fandom nonsense #fandom misogynoir #text

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leikeliscomet · 4 months

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Nah I'm seeing a lot of posts on here and twitter blaming Martha's fans for her mischaracterization and while this does happen I'm really not feeling the idea that feeling sorry for Martha like at all is form of infantilisation or removing her agency. Already covered this in previous posts but the strong-Black-womaning is starting to piss me off bc its not an either or. You can feel sympathy for Martha and recognise that she grew and moved on at the same time. Like this doesn't happen to any other companion. We still recognise Rose's vulnerabilities even tho she got herself a gun. We recognise the Clara that pretended to be the Doctor is the same Clara that broke down crying. Again this is why you have to engage with antiblackness as itself and not just a fandom issue bc any basic reading will show you that pity and sympathy are things not afforded to Black women on a systemic or social level and arguing this ruins our characterisation, we need less or none at all is not giving what you think its giving.

#describe Black women without using the words “strong” or “independent” challenge #Praise a Martha Jones trait that isn't strength challenge #doctor who #martha jones #doctor who fandom #fandom antiblackness #dr who fandom #dw fandom #black representation #strong black woman #fandom vent #fandom misogynoir

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bohemian-nights · 11 months

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HOTD has a misogynoir problem and it’s the reason why the fandom refuses to see Rhaenyra as a “villain” in Nettles story

The HOTD fandom has divided itself along the lines of the two factions of the Dance, team black vs. team green as if they themselves are actual members of the teams they root for. The inability to see nuance has resulted in major disagreements between the two camps. However, there is something seemingly that the majority of fans irrespective of their chosen team will agree on.

When it comes to the Rhaenyra, Nettles, and Daemon situation, Rhaenyra is viewed as an unquestionable victim of equal, near equal, or in some cases greater status to Nettles.

Despite the fact that she is the one that orders Nettles to be executed in her sleep, she’s somehow a woman we should all feel sorry for and take pity upon because she just had a little “breakdown.” It’s really Mysaria’s fault because she told a “lie” that Daemon and Nettles were sleeping(according to Team Black). Or it’s Daemon’s fault because he “groomed” Nettles like Rhaenyra(according to Team Green).

To put it plainly, Rhaenyra’s victimhood is due to the fact that the fandom will not view a “white” woman as the antagonist of the situation when a “black” woman is involved. It does not matter that she orders the death of an innocent young woman for merely sleeping with her husband. It does not matter that she used classism and racism(before you say “Rhaenyra isn’t a racist,” go ahead and replace “low creature” with the “n-word” then get back to me) to justify murdering said innocent woman.

Her actions are labeled as a result of stress brought about by the loss of her children. Pinning or rather passing the blame upon others who are less sympathetic. Mysaria(who though white in the books is now half Asian in the show and book(s) she is both a foreigner and a prostitute) and Daemon(who’s a white man). The HOTD fandom will not see Rhaenyra as being in the wrong because they view her as an innocent white woman. This article details this assumption, particularly in this paragraph:

In the case of Nettles, who is a brown-skinned black woman, while Rhaenyra does not cry she does have a strong emotional outburst that fans sympathize with. Nettles is seen as a victim, but the woman who tries to perpetuate racially motivated violence against her is also seen as an equal(and depending on who you ask greater) victim. Thus her own victimhood and innocence is lessened.

As far as the “lie” and the “grooming” accusations go, that too can be blamed upon fans' inability to see past their own innate racial bias.

To these fans, Nettles is only an acceptable and likable character when they can put her into a specific box of characterization. That box being that she is unquestionably a child.

She could not have slept with Daemon because she’s a child(she’s his child or he sees her like his child). Or she was groomed by Daemon because she’s a child. She can not be competition, sexual or otherwise, to Rhaenyra because she’s a child. If Nettles is a child she is not a threat because who is threatened by a child?

(Note, this is the whole reason why fans will “fawn” over Rhaena and Baela, when they don’t ignore that they exist or when they are trying to prop up a dead deformed fully white baby, because they aren’t “competition” in that way since they are Rhaenyra’s stepdaughters. Plus they are “white” in the books).

Nettles is a child in their eyes even though by Westeros standards she is an adult:

She did not sleep with Daemon even though the text explicitly frames their relationships as being romantic and sexual(unless you consider it normal for a father to bathe with his daughter).

She was groomed like Rhaenyra(again bringing in Rhaenyra’s victimhood so as to take away from her crimes) even though she’s an adult and her relationship with Daemon is described in a different manner than Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship beginnings.

This:

Versus this:

The only similarities are the gift giving and even then the gifts are of a completely different nature with a different motivation attached to them.

Nettles literally was homeless prior to the Dance so Daemon gifting her clothes, a hairbrush, and a mirror was actually what she needed. Daemon gifts these items and his affection without getting anything in return besides her company.

Daemon’s most selfless acts are done for Nettles. When it comes down to it, he is even willing to lay down his life for her. He sends her away to save her life, the life of a bastard girl who is looked down upon by even her defenders (like Corlys who calls her dirty and ill-favored) at the expense of his own. Disobeying his wife and queen's orders in the process, thus if he is grooming her, he sure is going about it the wrong way.

Unlike Nettles, Rhaenyra was actually underage(14 seeing how she was born in 97AC and the events detailed here happen in 111AC) by Westeros standards when Daemon begins his “courting” of her.

(The last little tidbit also proves that Daemon can not be Nettles' biological father seeing how he was in the Stepstones from late 111 AC until 115 AC and since Nettles turns 17 in 130 AC she was born on Driftmark in 113 AC).

Keep in mind that many of these fans who call Daemon and Nettles relationship abusive, label it as grooming, or deny it exists will gleefully ship Daemyra or Alysmond while saying that they are #toxic couple goals in an approving manner, that they are an epic romance and are or are going to be the OTP of the show, or wanting to see them be a #power couple.

Daemyra is straight-up grooming and as established earlier, even by Westeros standards Rhaenyra was actually a minor.

As far as Team Greens ship goes, Alysmond has the same power dynamic problems Dattles(Daemon x Nettles). Alys is a 40+ year(s) old woman(she’s described as being at least twice Aemond’s age). While Aemond is 19 or 20 in the books and 16-18 in the show.

Aemond is a prince while Alys is a bastard and a wet nurse. When Aemond takes Harrenhal he kills her entire family while sparing her and taking her as his mistress or rather a spoil of war. The stuff of romance novels people. (Note, I do like Alysmond, but to say it’s somehow better than Dattles is a huge stretch).

What do Daemyra and Alysmond have that Dattles does not? All parties involved are white. Fans don’t mind or are willing to overlook and ship emotionally manipulative incestuous based relationships or questionable power dynamic relationships, as long as both partners are white.

Both sides of the fandom infantilize Nettles to give her a sense of innocence, of blamelessness to the circumstances that befall upon her, while at the same time protecting Rhaenyra’s innocence by giving them a shared “villain.” Usually Daemon(and in some cases Mysaria).

The fandom can only sympathize with her when they view her as a child because a black woman who is a victim of racial violence at the hands of a white woman isn’t relatable. It just shouldn’t be because Rhaenyra is innocent.

Ultimately Nettles is not viewed as a dynamic character who is worthy of a complete arc that includes a heterosexual (I imagine fans would cheer on Rhaenyra and Nettles being together a la “Rhaenyra and Laena” which many fans cared more about than Laena’s relationship that she had with her husband, the father of her two girls who she had a loving marriage with in the books) romantic relationship. Especially with someone like Daemon.

She has to be a child because otherwise if Nettles is seen as a fully sexual being capable of making her own decisions, capable of consenting to a romantic relationship with a man who wants her in turn, a man who is willing to choose her over his white Valyrian(Aryan) wife, a wife who in her anger and jealousy seeks to enact violence upon her as a result of said consensual impossible relationship, she disrupts the natural order of things.

This phenomenon of desexualizing Black women characters who are love interests isn’t new or unique to HOTD. In fact, it’s pretty common in fandoms and is born as a result of misogynoir. This article is on the character Nyota Uhura from Star Trek, but it mirrors what is happening to Nettles right now:

The whole blog is a goldmine on fandom racism, particularly fandom misogynoir. I urge you to check it out especially if you are going to “speak out” on Black female characters when you yourself aren’t Black(this includes other “WOC”).

And before you say, “But Bohemian people ship Nettles with Daeron or Jace so they aren’t trying to completely desexualize her nor do they care about her being with white men because both Daeron and Jace are white,” hold onto that.

While there are some genuine fans of these crackships(neither have any basis in canon and Nettles never even meets Daeron) most of these “fans” are doing so because they know that it looks racist to desexualize Nettles, the only in-canon black character, to the point where she’s the only one without a love interest.

Yes, both Daeron and Jace are white, but you need to look at who their characters are. Daeron has no love interest in book canon so Nettles doesn’t threaten any white woman’s desirability since there is none to threaten.

Jace does have an in-canon love interest(s), Baela. and Sara Snow. They might change it up in the show, but in the books, Jace and Baela aren’t really a couple for long since he goes to the North and meets Sara Snow who he may have married. Sara Snow is a controversial character.

Most fans either don’t believe she exists(and they think she’s Cregan) or they don’t want her to exist(the fandom has a classism and a bastard problem in addition to racism, but again I’m not getting into that today).

Daeron hasn’t even shown up on the show yet(so mostly book fans are invested in him)and while he’ll probably be popular I doubt he’ll reach Daemon let alone Aemond’s popularity.

Jace dies soon into the narrative(he might die this upcoming season). He’s pretty boring in the show and outside of him being one of Rhaenyra’s baseborn sons I don’t think too many people actually care about him.

People are comfortable with putting Nettles with characters like Daeron and Jace solving many birds with one stone while not really stepping on any toes(especially the toes of white women who they actually care about).

It stops people from shipping Nettles with Daemon, because he is too desirable to be with a black woman especially when it would impact his Valyrian queen, it gives Daeron a love interest, keeps Sara Snow from showing up, and keeps the racist allegations off fans back. They are the comfortable choices. They are the non-threatening choices.

So to wrap this commentary up, the HOTD fandom has finally found something which to unite both the Greens and the Blacks. Trying to pidgin hole black female characters into narrow boxes of “acceptable” characterization that desexualizes them which serves to protect white female characters, who they sympathize with, innocence and desirability. As always, nothing brings together a fandom like good old-fashioned racism repackaged as “caring.”

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