Talking to the wall here, but I've been thinking more about Nausicaa manga recently and specifically Kushana and the way she's portrayed in it. If you think that viewing the manga through queer lens is impossible just scroll past this and don't scream at me, I'm not making anyone read this or agree with me, I'm just writing down my thoughts
Anything gender related doesn't*really* get talked about in the manga (except for maybe hate towards women in Tolmekia?) but I've read many reviews/analyses regarding Nausicaa and Kushana and the way they're shown as female characters and different"feminine" traits they have, and while I don't really understand treating various personality traits as "masculine" or "feminine" I believe that we don't talk about Kushana's lifestyle literally challenging the way Tolmekian society treats gender norms enough. Just think about it. A princess born in a country where women are looked down on and not taken seriously, where they have 0 chances of gaining any power, commands an army and takes the throne. Not to mention that Kushana also had 3 elder brothers who were more than likely to become rulers of Tolmekia. She's also admired and respected or even feared by many people despite nearly being called "inferior" in the scene with her brother just because she was born a woman. What caught my attention however is that it's unusual to see a princess being given the same kind of upbringing as the princes. Kushana and her brothers were given military education and were expected to command armies, despite the fact that in many ways (gender, being the youngest in the family, not being a biological child to the emperor * according to one of the interpretations of 3 really confusing panels *, just to name a few) Kushana was not supposed to gain any political power at all. You could almost say that Kushana was treated as a prince, despite being a girl, which is exactly why I started writing this wall of text.
Kushana is everything men are supposed to be in this kind of *medieval-ish* society: a leader, a military commander, an excellent swordsman and rider, a talented tactician etc. even more so than her brothers who are never depicted doing anything she did . Sadly, the manga never mentions anything about how Kushana views her position and her responsibilities as well as the way she achieved her status. We never see how she views herself and her gender and how she's treated by her brothers (and probably other people as well). I believe that being female is not exactly comfortable for Kushana, given her rather abusive family.
It may not have been a conscious choice for her, but taking up a social role of a prince is what gave her the privileged position she had. Unlike Nausicaa who never really was limited to a certain type of social behavior dictated by the binary norms, Kushana had to behave according to these norms, but the manga does not explore that.
I'm entering headcanon territory at this point, just a warning for those of you who have read this far. Ever since I reread the manga for the 2nd/3? rd time I can't help viewing Kushana as a transmasc character. She doesn't necessarily present herself in this way fully (the clothing aspect mainly, which isn't explored either) but behavior-wise she definitely does. Her hair could also have been an aspect of presenting in a different way than her cis gender if her decision to cut it short was less impulsive. Obviously that's not the only way to interpret that, because being a butch lesbian also fits Kushana really well. Neither of these hcs have any confirmations and that's why both of them can be valid. Her backstory is a very interesting part of her character I wish more was said about it in the manga
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22
22. Do you have an emotional support water bottle?
This is the one I currently use and I love her
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I thought I was a gay trans man for many years, but after a prolonged identity crisis, I've come to the conclusion that I'm bisexual and bigender (both a man and a woman.) I've always felt an affinity for the word butch and related to (as well as was attracted to) butch women. But in my day-to-day life I'm stealth as a cis man. I want to embrace my butchness but I feel like there's nothing radical or nonconforming about my masculinity since everyone sees me as a man. Especially since I'm on the road to getting phalloplasty, I feel like this realization has been sort of pointless. I'm not like those strong butch women who are visibly gnc and unashamed, though I envy them.
honestly, i don't see anything unchallenging about any person who decides to craft a form of gender different from what they were taught was right. in even mentioning that embracing your butchness would be a decision, you are proving that there is something in that action that changes the way you think about your masculinity, and therefore how you perform it and how it relates to others. and personally, i find even the sheer use of the word butch (as a positive thing, an honorific, especially) to be radical in and of itself for the way it can open up a room.
you may come to butchness from a different angle than many butch women do, but then many butch women come at it from different angles than each other. plus, butches from all throughout history have physically transitioned for all kinds of reasons. look at leslie feinberg. to me, and to many people, i don't think it matters what people see you as, 'cause people are always going to put something on you no matter what you do. when i was younger for example, i identified as a butch lesbian, and i was just like. a teenage girl wearing masculine clothing, and in a lot of situations people just assumed i was a guy. (one time it even happened while i was literally wearing a jacket that had a double venus emblazoned on the chest.) but what they put on and expected of me didn't change the fact of what i was, how i identified, or what it meant for me to be navigating life that way.
idk, i understand where your concerns come from, but i really think this sort of self-analyzing insecurity regarding whether you're doing enough by being butch is like... one of the most prototypically butch things i've ever heard, and also one of the things i feel like all of us have to learn to shed one of these days. it's better for the soul
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any song reccomendations?
well i don't listen to music actively, so i can't say i'm the best with song recommendations BUT i can reccomend the Talking Heads. legitimately every single one of their albums are all great; their music is pretty wacky at times but, really they all slap. my favourite album from them is a hard one to pin down, but the album that has my favorite song of theirs (People like us) is True Stories
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