There’s none of this backlash when people appreciate how Faust was.
People can freely discuss that version of the character, without getting-- this. This meta-rant blithely wondering what the big deal is, if you only had to write volumes about what a big deal it is.
Nobody whines about Baiken because giving up a ruinous quest for vengeance is character growth. Not inadvertently trolling the fandom by contradicting all prior motivation… in a way that makes describing that motivation sound like bigotry. Again: Bridget’s whole deal was to “man up.” Proving worth through bounty hunting, to be taken seriously, whilst staying comfortable with oneself. I.e., cute as fuck.
Rejecting the societal demand to prove gender identity would make perfect sense. Telling anyone to “man up” is toxic enforcement of prejudice. Rejecting that identity instead is bad, actually. It’s an endorsement of those gender roles. Bridget being trans now is not growth. It’s a sloppy misunderstanding of everything the character was about.
But all criticism of that bad writing has to walk on eggshells. I’m fretting over every reference to how Bridget used to be. I wind up editing every sentence a dozen times, scrubbing any hint of contemporary phrasing, like that wasn’t also a celebrated queer fictional character.
Old Baiken was not erased. Old Faust was not erased. But if someone today posts a 2010 drawing of Bridget on an image booru - how do you tag that?
There’s none of this backlash when people appreciate how Faust was.
People can freely discuss that version of the character, without getting-- this. This meta-rant blithely wondering what the big deal is, if you only had to write volumes about what a big deal it is.
Nobody whines about Baiken because giving up a ruinous quest for vengeance is character growth. Not inadvertently trolling the fandom by contradicting all prior motivation… in a way that makes describing that motivation sound like bigotry. Again: Bridget’s whole deal was to “man up.” Proving worth through bounty hunting, to be taken seriously, whilst staying comfortable with oneself. I.e., cute as fuck.
Rejecting the societal demand to prove gender identity would make perfect sense. Telling anyone to “man up” is toxic enforcement of prejudice. Rejecting that identity instead is bad, actually. It’s an endorsement of those gender roles. Bridget being trans now is not growth. It’s a sloppy misunderstanding of everything the character was about.
But all criticism of that bad writing has to walk on eggshells. I’m fretting over every reference to how Bridget used to be. I wind up editing every sentence a dozen times, scrubbing any hint of contemporary phrasing, like that wasn’t also a celebrated queer fictional character.
Old Baiken was not erased. Old Faust was not erased. But if someone today posts a 2010 drawing of Bridget on an image booru - how do you tag that?