White Tree

Erin Hanson (born in 1981).

Provence Lavender (2024)

Oil on canvas

https://youtu.be/93wE-2E0b4Q

you know this one: https://youtu.be/YMcGLQ-RZ44

gleeful reminder that THESE are buffy's favorite vampires, deep down and minus the vampirism

Steve's awkward, stilted, half-forced romance scenes were clearly not played solely because someone was angling for signaling him as gay. if the audience can see it, there's no way active professional filmmakers didn't know.

but if you compare Tony and Steve, what is the absolute major difference there? not in personality or anything. but character?

like they couldn't wrap their heads around it.

so when we get his flirting, it's awkward and forced, and when we get his kissing scenes, it's as if the kisses themselves elicit no response.

because they can't imagine a man fully respectful of women to be an active participant without showing off his "male prowess".

and so we get "so obviously written as gay MCU!Steve Rogers".

that's my theory anyway.

I think what they were trying to go for is portraying Steve as sexually naive. Part of this is because his enhanced body is new to him and he hasn't experienced people being attracted to him, but part of it is that Steve is a deeply good character and writers and audiences consistently misunderstand that as meaning "straight-laced"/goody-two-shoes/Allergic to Fun.

This says a lot about how the writers view men and manhood.

particularly I feel like the godawful ending he was given in Endgame was one of the most misogynistic plot points pertaining to this because of the logic underpinning why it was seen as a resolution to Steve's arc... he is granted access to a woman, as though he's earned a prize. There is never any question of whether Peggy would WANT to be with him, even though she literally married someone else.