This is a very unorganized 5 am thought but its fascinating like. How frequently toby writes about sexism and misogyny but its often done so tastefully and subtly that you don’t ever really notice it, but it’s still so so there. Like I think people view utdr as a series that doesnt have that kind of bigotry when it really really does but its just. Written well.
Like. On a surface level, theres characters who are like. A caricature of a misogynist, like Aaron. He’s a buff guy who tells women they’d be cuter if they smiled and objectifies them. He’s meant to be a joke. And meant to make you go “ew fuck this guy” y’know? Then theres things that’re a little less surface level, like a character we can like who has a little more depth but a massive trait of his is objectifying women, like Cap’n. He’s funny and has other gags and traits, and every time he says something weird his buddy always tells him to knock it off.
We have a median where people start to argue but a good amount can agree on, like Berdly. He frequently objectifies Noelle and speaks over and for her, claiming her work as his own. The second he gains feelings for Susie, he starts referring to her in ways she doesn’t like and objectifying her, too. He’s a teenage boy who’s been dragged into weird internet subcultures and you can only hope he’ll learn better. Hell, his arc isn’t even over yet. He’s a weird kid that is nice to girls one on one, but hasn’t learned to not use the patriarchy to his advantage the second he can.
Then we have characters where, if you point out their sexism, people start to argue. And I get it! If you mark a character as “vaguely sexist”, then that means their problematic and bad. But it really doesn’t- I think it adds to them as characters and is worth dissecting. For example, Spamton is very vaguely sexist. A lot of people disagree with this, and I get why you would- I don’t think hes a “woman hating misogynist”, but his behavior in weird route is very telling of some traits- most importantly and obviously him referring to Noelle as “hot mama” and “side chick”. He’s not gonna tell a woman to go make him a sandwich, but he will call a woman a bitch.
Then theres characters that Toby on purpose wrote as a way to combat sexist tropes. Media is FULL of the “in depth depressed man with a cardboard cutout dead/divorced wife”. So he swapped it around. He made Toriel as in depth as possible, giving her layers upon layers that you can write essays on, and then made Asgore the least explored “main” character in Undertale. In Deltarune, Toriel still gets more spotlight, and Asgore is obsessed with having his “life” back- a picture perfect family, a wife by his side, his job, his kids- exactly what a Man is supposed to be. He’s not a raging misogynist either- he’s soft, he wears pink, he grows flowers for a living and for a hobby. But he objectifies Toriel and tracks her down and confronts her in public spaces so she looks bad if she tries to be firm with her boundaries. This is a fascinating character trait of his- he does it in Undertale, too. He loves the idea of Toriel. Sure, they worked well while they did, but when he lost her, all he could focus on was getting her back instead of doing some introspection.
Idk. I think utdr as a series has some of the best written women ive ever seen and thats kind of heartbreaking to say considering its like. An indie rpg. One of the best there is, sure, but like. Youd think thered be more examples. Idk. I like how toby fox writes women and misogyny as a whole.
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