this story was definitely written by a man lol. i can just tell
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Comment by bibliophage on Tears on a Withered Flower - Chapter 52
10 Replies
@bibliophage yes it i written by a man maybe that's why female lead's body in this webtoon have been sexualized
@Heheheheheh
As if men's bodies weren't sexualised in this webtoon.
As a dude I genuinely don't know if the author is a woman or a man, but this is definitely for a female audience.
As if men's bodies weren't sexualised in this webtoon.
As a dude I genuinely don't know if the author is a woman or a man, but this is definitely for a female audience.
@Sleeping log regardless of who wrote it, these tropes are both overdone and harmful. but in this case specifically, the storytelling feels like it came from a male lens.
the female characters are not properly developed in contrast to the male ones and they tend to fall into very common "plot roles". hae-soo is the diamond-in-the-rough hard worker. she's been mistreated by men all her life (eg. her abusive father, her deadbeat husband) and is waiting for taeha to show her he's different and lift her out of poverty.
jealous women swoon and hit on taeha constantly and resent haesoo for holding his attention (e.g. flower shop coworker). one woman is so obsessed she practically begs him to go out with her bc she's "liked him first and longer". cheating narcissist mincheol has another naive, innocent, young girl in his manipulative clutches and she falls for it hook line and sinker. every other woman pictured is having sεx with the bodyguard, the ML's older brother, or referred to in men's convos like objects.
in general, everything, including all the characters, seems to be designed to make taeha look cooler. there's more scenes depicting taeha "outperforming" other men, either in terms of status, physical appearance like height/musculature, or generally just charm (which btw—super weird. do men need to be locked in some imaginary competition with each other constantly? give them a break and some genuine friends. jesus.).
anyway, i won't deny that women also tend to write men being domineering in dark romances, but combined with everything else it just makes it more likely that a man was wrote this.
the female characters are not properly developed in contrast to the male ones and they tend to fall into very common "plot roles". hae-soo is the diamond-in-the-rough hard worker. she's been mistreated by men all her life (eg. her abusive father, her deadbeat husband) and is waiting for taeha to show her he's different and lift her out of poverty.
jealous women swoon and hit on taeha constantly and resent haesoo for holding his attention (e.g. flower shop coworker). one woman is so obsessed she practically begs him to go out with her bc she's "liked him first and longer". cheating narcissist mincheol has another naive, innocent, young girl in his manipulative clutches and she falls for it hook line and sinker. every other woman pictured is having sεx with the bodyguard, the ML's older brother, or referred to in men's convos like objects.
in general, everything, including all the characters, seems to be designed to make taeha look cooler. there's more scenes depicting taeha "outperforming" other men, either in terms of status, physical appearance like height/musculature, or generally just charm (which btw—super weird. do men need to be locked in some imaginary competition with each other constantly? give them a break and some genuine friends. jesus.).
anyway, i won't deny that women also tend to write men being domineering in dark romances, but combined with everything else it just makes it more likely that a man was wrote this.
@bibliophage sorry I wanted to press other one
@bibliophage
Now that you have said it I see what you mean. And yeah, the woman doesn't feel almost 1 dimensional (maybe 1.5 D), but so far the dudes have been acting in a ununderstundable way apart from basic stuff, which I guess is supposed to be cool and mysterious.
Now that I am looking at this webtoon in a more objective way, I see that the main reason this is enjoyable is because we feel bad for FL and want the best for her.
And to your question, in my experience dudes tend to openly say who they dislike, even to the others face, but it is also common to see guys just support eachother through just hanging out, not discussing feelings. And honestly, I haven't seen dudes in "competition" with eachother, because, irl, what reasons are there to complete? And if there are contests, it is clear as day, but it is also for the fun of it, at the end of the day, if it's something trivial, it's a way to complement eachother in a roundabout way, whilst enjoying the time.
Altho it is true that we compare ourselves to the others to see how we stack up, and also it isn't hard, since guys constantly tease eachothers unhurtful weak points (at least that is the idea, but sometimes we poke things that should be left because).
Now that you have said it I see what you mean. And yeah, the woman doesn't feel almost 1 dimensional (maybe 1.5 D), but so far the dudes have been acting in a ununderstundable way apart from basic stuff, which I guess is supposed to be cool and mysterious.
Now that I am looking at this webtoon in a more objective way, I see that the main reason this is enjoyable is because we feel bad for FL and want the best for her.
And to your question, in my experience dudes tend to openly say who they dislike, even to the others face, but it is also common to see guys just support eachother through just hanging out, not discussing feelings. And honestly, I haven't seen dudes in "competition" with eachother, because, irl, what reasons are there to complete? And if there are contests, it is clear as day, but it is also for the fun of it, at the end of the day, if it's something trivial, it's a way to complement eachother in a roundabout way, whilst enjoying the time.
Altho it is true that we compare ourselves to the others to see how we stack up, and also it isn't hard, since guys constantly tease eachothers unhurtful weak points (at least that is the idea, but sometimes we poke things that should be left because).
@Sleeping log thanks for saying that. i totally agree about how we sympathise with haesoo and that's the main reason why we stick around.
just to clarify, i’m not saying real men walk around constantly trying to beat each other in contests. i was talking about how fiction often portrays male characters as if their only purpose is to make the ML look better—richer, taller, stronger, more desirable etc. a rly classic example is the trope of a group of losers sεxually harrassing the FL and the much more physically imposing and handsome ML beating them up or intimidating them into backing down. that actually happened in an earlier chapter here lol
i totally get that it’s not a reflection of real friendships or how guys actually bond!! i've seen many male friendships be chill and supportive. that's why i'm questioning the writing here, bc it flattens other male characters into props or rivals instead of real people. i just think men and women deserve better character writing than this.
just to clarify, i’m not saying real men walk around constantly trying to beat each other in contests. i was talking about how fiction often portrays male characters as if their only purpose is to make the ML look better—richer, taller, stronger, more desirable etc. a rly classic example is the trope of a group of losers sεxually harrassing the FL and the much more physically imposing and handsome ML beating them up or intimidating them into backing down. that actually happened in an earlier chapter here lol
i totally get that it’s not a reflection of real friendships or how guys actually bond!! i've seen many male friendships be chill and supportive. that's why i'm questioning the writing here, bc it flattens other male characters into props or rivals instead of real people. i just think men and women deserve better character writing than this.
@bibliophage
Sorry about the angry, mistake!!!!
Thanks for clarifying, and yeah, I agree that in fiction a lot of the time characters are there only to serve a narrative reason, not as main characters of their own story. For both genders. Which sucks, because I love seeing a story where everyone is finding their way through the story by their choices, and it feels deep and natural.
A series that nails this is Avatar the last Airbender. It's not just MC and lackeys that follow because "I guess I have to do this now".
Sorry about the angry, mistake!!!!
Thanks for clarifying, and yeah, I agree that in fiction a lot of the time characters are there only to serve a narrative reason, not as main characters of their own story. For both genders. Which sucks, because I love seeing a story where everyone is finding their way through the story by their choices, and it feels deep and natural.
A series that nails this is Avatar the last Airbender. It's not just MC and lackeys that follow because "I guess I have to do this now".
@bibliophage ikr the way na haeso's (that's her name right?) body is portrayed is definately through a male point of view a complete hourglass as one may say.
usually , in other webtoons the mc's body is made to be standard sometimes a little beautified to depict that they are different ; the main charachter
but na haeso's body is completely sexualized it kinda makes me wanna drop
usually , in other webtoons the mc's body is made to be standard sometimes a little beautified to depict that they are different ; the main charachter
but na haeso's body is completely sexualized it kinda makes me wanna drop
@ABCD.1234 it's like the man is trying to show how a woman's body should be or atleast that is how he likes it
@Sleeping log right?