Bridget O’bernstein, “how To Be A Body” + Franz Kafka, Letters To Milena

omfg im laughing so hard i fell asleep on my keyboard last night and i just found this

good riddance live

“Sometimes she would close her eyes and dream of him, but it was never Jorah Mormont she dreamed of; her lover was always younger and more comely, though his face remained a shifting shadow”

Diamonds and guns

(note i love both characters very much and i stan both rhaenyra and alicent, just to let you know before you jump on this short little thread and spout hate bc i love their characters and find them both fascinating).

i think there's a very interesting conversation to be had about alicent and rhaenyra BOTH representing facets of 'white feminism' because i see team green stans an team black stans accusing the other of being white feminists. just as a disclaimer neither of them are are ultimately feminists because feminism simply does not exist in medieval times and both of them do not really fight for women as a whole, they are working for their own goals and achievements, but they aren't working for the rights of other women (especially smallfolk women, the most oppressed on the hierarchy).

starting with alicent, i really think she represents the kind of white feminism of using the patriarchy to oppress other women. she becomes embittered with the injustice being done to her and she sees how no one feels sorry for her, so she comes to embrace the system that had made her a victim to oppress other women and strip away their rights (as seen in her silencing dyana or arguing for aegon's right to the iron throne over rhaenyra). many white feminists use the patriarchy as a tool in order to oppress other people all the while focusing on their rights and distancing themselves from their victimization by becoming representations of the patriarchy themselves. alicent is a victim of marital rape, a child bride, a victim of her father's abuse and she sees a way of escaping her victimization by utilizing the very same system that had nearly destroyed her to assert her power over women and making it 'fair.' because if she has to suffer other women must suffer with her, they're not allowed to escape their consequences, they have to follow the order like she did, they have to sacrifice like she did, and they have to follow their duties like she did. and so i really think she is emblematic of the aspect of white feminism of using the patriarchy to oppress other women.

rhaenyra is emblematic of 'white feminism' because she fights for herself and herself alone. of course she wants what's best for her stepdaughters and will protect them, but she doesn't care about the rights of the smallfolk women, because she's content to keep that same system in place so long as she is ruling. she is fighting for her rights as a female heir in the face of men, but that doesn't necessarily extend to other women who have been oppressed and which i think is a key aspect to white feminism, they don't fight for anyone but themselves, it's not intersectional, it's only aligned in their own interests. rhaenyra herself does not pursue oppression of other women like alicent does but she's certainly not helping other women either, she's helping herself and focuses on what will benefit herself and her family.

a very very short but concise analysis because rhaenyra and alicent are two very different characters and they have been oppressed in different ways and so they react differently, they are resilient in their own ways (alicent by embracing the patriarchy/religion that had victimized her in the first place and feeling the need to exact her vengeance on other women. rhaenyra by fighting for her rights and her rights only against the system that she believes has stolen from her). and perhaps 'white feminism' isn't the correct term to use because feminism simply does not exist in these medieval times, but both of them are very emblematic of the term that the greens and the blacks throw at one another because nuance is simply gone and we have to reduce characters to buzzwords and hate them because they defy what we think look like good characters.

One day we need to have a legitimate discussion on how Jace and Luke weren’t even bullies and how Aegon was Aemonds biggest torturer. And that day is today.

- Alicent herself knew this was true. “You may cuff him about as you wish at home, but in the world we must defend our own” she says after trying to frame Jace and Luke as “savages.”

-Alicent refers to Jace and Luke as Aegons “playthings” in the same scene. What kind of power dynamic do you really think was at play here? Aegon clearly liked to toy with his vastly younger nephews and influenced them.

- Mind you, Jace and Luke were 5-7 years old and NOT aware of the feud that ran in their frayed family. They lack the awareness of characters like Aemond and Aegon who are repeatedly reminded by Alicent that Rhaenyra’s family is a THREAT and that they are bastards who are beneath them in station.

-In contrast, there is not a single scene of Rhaenyra speaking about Aegon, Aemond, or Helaena in derogatory ways to her children. Even in the books, it’s evident that the feud between the children is entirely one-sided with the Greens growing up and *learning* to resent Jace, Luke, and Joff.

-the teasing in and of itself was so mild. What makes Aemond upset is that he doesn’t view Jace and Luke as his equals.

-to Jace and Luke, this was normal teasing. From Aemonds perspective, he’s being emasculated by younger boys who he views as sub-human and unworthy despite having dragons of their own because he’s been TOLD and ASSURED that they’re bastards.

- THIS IS WHY THE TEASING ACTUALLY SETS HIM OFF, NOT THE SEVERITY. Need we be reminded how strongly Aemond feels about “blood purity”? In a show about the Targaryen dynasty, he’s the only character to mention it.

Bonus:

- Aegon hating and wanting to tease Aemond is so on brand for them as characters. Aemond is a momas boy and Aegon is the disappointment. The allure to make his life hell is there.

i hate how people read asoiaf and go But what if they were more strategic. oh renly was so dumb to usurp his brother. cersei was so dumb when she [everything she ever did]. daemon was dumb when he did blood and cheese. and its like but they did those things because theyre renly cersei daemon. renly is an attention whore cos he has no parents and two brothers one of whom is a pussy-slaying frat bro and the other is a closeted middle manager. cersei did dumb things because she was raised by tywin 'caesar was right' lannister in the seven 'patriarchy' kingdoms. and daemon is daemon. you guys just want a book where everyone is a flat personality 500iq MENSA logician. and that sounds like dogshit!

if you are ever out here w the take "society LOVES feminine men and masculine women what about the poor feminine women and masculine men" I need u to know you have entirely submersed yourself in niche online communities and have lost touch w the very real world we live in and you owe every masculine woman and feminine man $100