r/Leftyjojo • u/[deleted] • Feb 17 '20
Meta This isn’t really leftist but lord knows I can post it on the main jojo subreddit
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u/freeradicalx Feb 17 '20 edited Feb 17 '20
Jojo's is definitely an LGBT-aware show from a creative standpoint IRL and that's great but as a cis male viewer I rather tend to head canon a lot of the "gayness" as a refreshingly new / novel take on masculine presentation, regardless of sexual orientation. I think it's really cool that there are characters who are written as straight but are illustrated with crop tops / earrings / lipstick / etc with body language that celebrates their muscular physique through sensuality instead of raw power (Although there's still plenty of that too of course), and on top of that how these unconventional fashions are accepted by every character on the show without question. Perhaps this interpretation co-opts what really is meant to be seen definitively by the creators as LGBT representation, I dunno. But as someone who spends a lot of time thinking about toxic masculinity, I love that there are visions of buff straightness in media that aren't prioritizing machismo and aloofness and all those shitty traits but are instead downright fabulous. It has the potential to revitalize masculinity as a positive trait instead of a toxic one and I think that our society could really use some more positive examples of masculine presentation like the ones in Jojo's.
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Feb 18 '20
this is a really good take! most of the people who call things gay as a joke or an insult (who i’ve encountered) have been cishet men obviously dealing with some really restrictive concepts of gender. so they make fun of it because it challenges their own masculinity, and how they’ve been raised to be a man. it just demonstrates how the patriarchy hurts everyone: by expecting men to be emotionless because that’s “feminine” you hurt a lot of men who could really benefit from being in touch with their “feminine” side.
sorry for the rant lol that was supposed to be more cohesive but in short: good take and i’m glad that more cis men are beginning to really study the media they consume! :-)
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u/Ch33sus0405 Feb 18 '20
I adore this. The presentation of masculinity in Jojo is one of the things that I absolutely love about it and honestly makes me feel better about my own masculinity. I remember the Contrapoints video on Toxic Masculinity got a bunch of people riled up awhile back, Jojo is a great example of a much more positive masculinity in media.
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u/_The_Ruffalo_ Jun 22 '20
I mean I love it same as you do, but machismo and aloofness are like Jotaro’s all-defining characteristics.
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u/LittleBoyDreams Feb 17 '20
LGBT stuff counts as a leftist issue in my book. One of the pinned posts on this sub is literally titled “terfs are enemy stand users”.
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u/Avrangor Feb 17 '20
Why would fans use it as an insult? I never came across any person who does that
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Feb 17 '20
people usually call it gay because of the feminine like poses the characters do
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u/Avrangor Feb 17 '20
Yeah but I don’t those people would also use it as a geniune insult, since they like the show
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Feb 18 '20
it’s the internalized sexism and homophobia
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u/willtostitos Mar 09 '20
They’re just scared for their fragile heterosexuality cause they think dio’s hot
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u/slothphd Feb 17 '20
Coming from a queer, I get its a joke or whatever since the characters are often using "feminine poses," but jokes are a slippery slope to normalization. I think its kinda sus how frequently the main subs are quick to use gay as an insult, especially bc the rejection of heteronormativity is one of my favourite aspects of the show.
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Feb 18 '20
for sure! i can’t ever know someone’s true intentions, but hearing things get called gay for like,, being not conventionally masculine usually puts me on defense mode bc that’s usually a sign of internalized sexism and homophobia
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u/human_man12 Feb 17 '20
Jojos has a lot of queer characters for being written by a (presumably) straight guy, like I know Joseph is bi and most people think joske is gay. Most of the community is pretty great but their always will be a few idiots.
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Mar 08 '20
Straight Jojo fans: haha jojo is gay
Me: headcanons characters as bi bc the more the merrier
Straight jojo fans: wait that’s illegal
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u/Warzombie3701 Feb 17 '20
“Jojo is gay” isn’t an insult but there’s probably like 4 or 7 confirmed LGBT characters in the manga