fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2661 ]

[ SECRET POST #2661 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2661 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

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02.

[Injustice: Gods Among Us]

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03.

[Game of Thrones]

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04.

[William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus]

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05.

[Welcome to Night Vale]

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06.

[Crown of Stars]

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07.

[Game of Thrones]

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08.

[Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]

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09.

[LOST]

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10.

[Riff-Raff, Rocky Horror Picture Show]

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11.

[Captain America: The Winter Soldier]

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12.

[Breaking Bad]

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13.

[Problem Sleuth]

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14.

[Doctor Who]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 034 secrets from Secret Submission Post #380.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Has anyone here seen this show/this episode?

I thought it was seriously offensive but I've seen nothing but praise for the episode so I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe or some shit.

The character is described as "not human", "like Darth Vader", crazy, is really happy to get a severed finger as a present, and of course her nickname is "Voodoo" because of the aforementioned "dark shit" that she's interested in. Because of course asexuals can't just be normal people, they have to be psychos! And she has to act all disgusted by sex because of course you can't think sex is totally fine and great for other people but just be uninterested in it yourself, you have to be completely horrified by it.

And I get that that doesn't mean they're necessarily saying that all asexuals are like this one character, but when there aren't any other examples of mentally healthy characters to point to, it kind of seems like they are saying that.

And it's not like Sheldon or Sherlock where fans have just decided a character is asexual because they seem like it to them, it's actually been stated multiple times in the canon. And every time it came up it seemed like it was only mentioned so the two main male characters could make fun of her.

Oh, and they describe it as meaning you don't have sex, which...no. That's celibacy. But when celibacy comes up she says the difference is that celibate people "can't get laid, but asexuals don't want to" which again, isn't even fucking true. And another character claims he did "research" about asexuals and they have a "manifesto" and all this stuff and basically makes it sound like a cult or something, plus of course they had characters say all the usual bullshit asexuals get like "maybe it's just a phase!"

And if all that's not enough, someone actually called it a "pathology". That's a direct quote. Plus I know there are things I'm forgetting...I didn't write it down and I don't want to watch it again because I'd just get even more pissed off.

So yeah. Apparently I'm just overreacting because every other asexual person on the internet thinks it's great but it really bothered me. :(

I haven't even heard of Sirens, but nothing from that description sounds flattering or good representation.

And yet, somehow I'm not surprised that the asexual communities collectively creaming themselves over this.

Tbf, there isn't much asexual representation so anything is kind of exciting...though the reaction does seem a bit...overboard.

Is this the remake of the English version of Sirens? That version was great.

I have nothing to say on the asexuality account, except everything you mentioned does sound offensive as hell.

Yep. The asexual stuff didn't happen until episode 6, and up until then I was loving the show, but now I don't know what to think. I kind of want to keep watching to see what happens (maybe the characters who were being assholes about it will learn from their behavior?) but at the same time it pisses me off so much I don't want to watch any more.

The problem is we are in the era of inclusivity where shows get praised for that shit just for mentioning less visible minorities at all. We have come far enough as a society where producers can/do get shit from the general public for a harmful or idiotic representation of a gay character, but sexualities that are seen by the majority as "deviant" can still be misrepresented or used as a cheap excuse for villainy (or in conjunction to villainy just to illustrate mental anguish, because as well all know, not being heteronormative always equals mental anguish).

CSI has some of the best examples of this to date. In their entire run they managed to have villains who were: furry, into non-consensual age play (baby/parent, diapering etc), a dominatrix, an MtF woman who was performing illegal sex reassignment surgeries, a latex enthusiast, a foot fetishist...

Oh and to top it off, one of the main recurring antagonists was transgender man.

I know. It's really frustrating.

I caught a few minutes of some show my sister was watching the other day where a married couple was into bondage and were getting all sorts of crap about how "twisted" and "sick" and horrible people they were. You'd think they'd murdered small children by how outraged people were.

I just don't understand people's attitudes towards anything they deem unusual or "weird." I mean, I'm asexual and I don't give a damn what anyone else is into as long as it's all between consensual adults. I just can't understand why people are so bothered by what other people like sexually.

I saw a gif set with an explanation of this character on tumblr, and it all looked and sounded really positive there. It took me a minute to realize you were talking about the exact same show. Funny how that can happen.

TBH, I was wondering how accurate OP's perception of the show was. Knowing that someone else has seen it so completely differently makes me feel grain of salt-y about it.

Like I said to the other person below, I had to check it out on Tumblr to see what was being said, and it's pretty much entirely (from what I've seen) people reading things into scenes that weren't there.

In this case, she told one of the main characters that she would be friends with him. That's it. And there are people on Tumblr talking about how she's still romantically interested in men even though she's asexual and she wants to have a relationship with that guy, even though none of that was ever said.

And there's one post with someone gushing about how they're dating, when again, that was never said in the show. The opposite, actually...someone specifically asked them if they were dating and they both emphatically said "NO!" People on Tumblr are imagining things.

I had to look it up on Tumblr because I was curious what people were saying, and honestly most of it seemed to me like the typical fandom reaction, a whole lot of reading into something that's not actually there. There are all these people commenting saying "OMG she said she's still into guys and into having a romantic relationship with one of the male characters! That's so great!" when no such thing happened. She said she would be friends with him. That's IT.

And a lot of the gifs that seem positive are either taken out of context or they leave out the part where someone said something negative immediately after.

I know I'm in the minority in being annoyed but seriously, a lot of the stuff on Tumblr just seems like wishful thinking.

I've watched a couple eps of Sirens and all I can say is that they don't take anything seriously. I'm sure they've had stereotypes for the main guy that's gay, but because of the kind of show it is, I probably wouldn't care. Sorry that it bothered you :(

If there were a bunch of other asexual characters on TV I don't think it'd bother me, but since this is the only one at this point where it's actually been stated by the character and not decided by the fans, it seems like a bigger deal somehow.

I know a lot of people hold comedy to a different standard and say it's allowed to be offensive because anything goes, but it seemed to kind of unfairly single out the asexual character. The stereotypes aren't really that big of a deal, more the fact that they said it's just a phase and a "pathology". They haven't said anything like that about the gay guy (which they shouldn't, because it's horrible) but if they did I feel like people would be outraged. It doesn't seem balanced.

Offensive humor in a Denis Leary series? Do go on...

(If you don't like this, stay away from Rescue Me. I love that show but hoo, boy, I could see how it would enrage people.)

Your basic premise seems to be that, because there aren't a lot of representations of your sexuality in commonly consumed media, you feel like this show owes you the interpretation of it that you'd feel most comfortable with.

It doesn't.

No piece of media can be all things to all people. And frankly, it sounds like this show manages to be some things to some people just fine. You just don't happen to be one of those people. And that's also fine.

(Frankly, I'm not sure why you're shocked that there's sexual judgement going on. Virgins over a certain age get judged. Sluts get judged. People into BDSM get judge. Why should asexual people be exempt from the general climate of "don't do sex differently than me!"?)

I don't feel like anyone owes me anything, I'm just saying I personally was bothered by it, and even acknowledged that I'm in an extreme minority. (Since my original post I've come across a few other people that share my opinion but the overwhelming majority seems to have found it positive.) I'm not going to send letters to the writers demanding that they change the character or anything, I'm just sharing my frustration...people rant about random stuff here all the time, so I thought it was okay to do so.

SA

And yes, you're right in that people get judgy about unconventional sexual things, so I guess I shouldn't have really been surprised. It just kind of sucks because the initial reaction is to be kind of excited to see someone like you on TV for pretty much the first time ever (at least where it's actually, officially part of the canon) and then that character is portrayed in a disappointing way. But no, I definitely don't think they owe me anything. I'll just hope for more characters in the future, and might even continue to watch this show to see how things evolve in future episodes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2661 ]

Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

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Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

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Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens

Re: Asexuality in the TV show Sirens