Because fictional characters do not have the capacity to make choices. Because they are not REAL people.
Power Girl and Starfire did not CHOOSE to fight evil in skimpy, revealing outfits. It is not their PERSONAL CHOICE to wear those clothes. They are fictional characters and their wardrobes are under the control of the author and artist.
Dumbledore did not CHOOSE to stay in the closet as a personal and professional choice because that was his right as a person. He is a fictional character. The fact that his sexuality was left at only vague subtext and only revealed through word of god was a deliberate decision made by the author.
Fictional characters are fictional characters. They do not make their own choices.
but thats the thing.
in canon. they did. im guessing you dont actually like their comics. because they choose to wear that. its part of whom they are. nice try tho op
You know that fictional characters are not REAL people who can REALLY make REAL choices, right? They are CREATED and CONTROLLED through deliberate actions of their writers.
Dumbledore can’t CHOOSE to stay in the closet because Dumbledore isn’t REAL. Free will does not apply to non-existent people.
I don’t get it. By this logic, they don’t really do anything. The point is that they’re depicting free will, of course they’re not real people. What is your point?
That if there is something problematic or unsavory about how a character is depicted, you can’t write it off as “well, the character CHOSE to do this.” Because they didn’t. A writer CHOSE to have a woman, or a gay man, or who ever, be shown doing these things.
An ACTUAL REAL WOMAN did not CHOOSE to wear a superhero costume with a boob window. A writer and an artist made that choice. So you can’t hand wave away those elements by saying that it’s ok because the character CHOSE it.
Ok, but what about your example with dumbledore? His character choosing to stay in the closet shows us something about his character and the world around him.
I don’t think writers typically make choices for their characters just to make them use free will lol these choices intentionally show us things the author wants people to know or figure out, or on the other hand, not know.
But Dumbledore DIDN’T choose that, because as a fictional made up not real person, he can’t make choices like that. In fact, him being “in the closet” is never even examined or discussed. JKR just never revealed that Dumbledore was gay until post publication, which leads the audience to view him as closeted.
And we don’t really know WHAT that is supposed to tell us about the world or the character, beyond the fact that JKR didn’t think it was important enough, in the book that specifically explored the hidden secret backstory of a character, to even hint that he might be gay.
And there is something problematic about the ONLY LGBT+ character in a cast of dozens upon dozens of named characters being SO DEEP in the closet that JKR had to mention it in an interview for people to know.
And the point, not to get overly distracted by Dumbledore as an example, is that we can’t judge these elements as personal choices of the characters. We have to judge them as deliberate decisions by the creator. A male writer choosing to put his female heroes in busty skimpy outfits is not WOMEN choosing to embrace their sexuality through body positivity. A heterosexual author writing her only gay character deep in the closet is NOT a real gay man choosing to keep his personal life a secret for his own comfort.
So, if a female author had chosen to put her superheroes in revealing clothes, you would have been alright with that?
I’m getting real sick of this “only modesty is empowering” narrative.
This logic dictates that J.K. Rowling is an accessory to mass murder.
After all, SHE made Voldemort kill all those people.
You are aware that Harry Potter isn’t REAL right?
Like, Fictional Characters are not real and conscious entities shouldn’t be a hard concept.
This thread is like watching that “pound of feathers vs pound of steel” video
Rule: When analyzing or critiquing media, you can not defend a problematic aspect of media by saying that a character CHOSE to do it, and that people are allowed to CHOSE to do things.
Published
Mooncustafer 