No. I refuse to believe that Vivziepop actually cares about SA victims. Every piece of evidence points to the contrary.Ā
CW for images that discuss or showcase rape. Tread cautiously.
First, letās look at the Glitz and Glam Valentines merch. In this merch, theyāre seen groping each other and making a scissoring pose.
The common excuse for this is that theyāre just playing into those twincest tropes because thatās their whole brand in the show. But the merch exists outside of the show. This merch was not made in the show to show how the porn company will do any depraved fetish for a quick buck. This merch was made for people in the real world, people who have actual twincest fetishes. You can have merch of them playing into the fact that theyāre twins without making it to where they are sexualizing one another like that.Ā
An example of this trope done right are Hikaru and Kaoru from Ouran High School Host Club. These 2 often times play into the twincest trope for money, itās their whole brand. But the show is very clear in showing us that this is not truly them. We never see them behave this way outside of work. Outside of work, they act like actual brothers. Theyāre doing it just for money. (And itās also kind of trauma, but watch OHSHC if you want to see that in depth lol)
I was discussing something with my friend, how fiction does affect reality, since fiction is a direct byproduct of reality, which is why things like incest or age gap ships are inherently wrong. My friend (who is a big Hannibal fan) goes āI get where youāre coming from and I agree, but Iām also a simp for fictional cannibals.ā And to that I said you are less likely to meet someone who is a cannibal or done that heinous crime than you are to find someone whoās a victim to incest abuse. Itās similar to how Vox doesnāt receive hate from the fandom for killing lower income workers, because thatās almost cartoonish in how bad it is.
Then thereās Val. The show is constantly fluctuating between him between a genuine, sinister threat and then him being a ridiculously silly evil man that we shouldnāt take seriously. I can almost understand what theyāre going for, showing that heās an absolute loser that weāre meant to point and laugh at, because he is a loser (fuck sexual abusers). However, thereās a huge disconnect. Itās jarring when you switch between the two on a dime. And I think part of the reason they do this is because of his relationship with Vox. Vox is meant to be a silly, goofy villain and so pairing him with the genuine sinister and disgusting version of Val that we all know and hate, it would feel weird. But hereās the thing. NONE of the Vees should feel cartoonish and stupid like this. Theyāre supposed to be perceived as actual threats, apparently. So, instead, make Vox genuinely sinister and evil too! ACKNOWLEDGE HIS CAMERA IN ANGELāS DRESSING ROOM! ACKNOWLEDGE HIM MARKETING VALāS DATE RAPE DRUG! Donāt add these background details if youāre not going to acknowledge that Vox is a predator as well.Ā
And then thereās Charlie, who has the power and authority to take Val down if she wanted to. But why doesnāt she? Because, in her words, āThat would be so meaaaaan.ā ā¦I have nothing to say to that.Ā
And then thereās Angel. He is not deep in the slightest. They tried so hard but failed miserably. Heās supposedly from a mafia background. You would never know because heās never seen outside of anything sexual. Sex jokes, comments on how heās sexy, talking about how heās a sex worker, all that jazz. He has nothing going for him outside of sex. Which is bad when his whole arc is meant to be how he hates being sexualized deep down! I understand that the show is trying to show us that heās hypersexualizing himself because of his trauma. But this rings hollow when the show refuses to show us literally anything outside of him being sexual! Apparently, he likes to sing and dance. But you wouldnāt know that! (I know he sings, BUT EVERYONE SINGS. ITāS A MUSICAL. Even Vaggie sings when she clearly didnāt like it in the first episode, so Poison doesnāt count). You wouldnāt know anything about his interests because all heās used for is for sex. It doesnāt help that literally almost all of his merch surrounds him being sexualized in some way, feeding into the idea of him hypersexualizing himself not being taken seriously.Ā
This is especially bad when you remember that when Viv was marketing the music video for Poison, THIS WOMAN MADE A CUM JOKE! Yknow, the music video all about sexual abuse? Ya, letās make a stupid sex pun because thatās not tone deaf at all!Ā Fuck you Viv.
And only certain characters get their sexual abuse shined on. But if youāre, say, Blitzo, Sir Pentious, or Husk, your SA experience is completely swept under the rug and ignored. Why? Well, because Blitzo and Husk are more masculine characters than her twinks who get acknowledged for their abuse. And Pentious is a character weāre supposed to be pointing and laughing at.Ā
And donāt even get me started on Raphielle. This person is a storyboard artist for the show, and the storyboard artist for Poison. AND THIS MOTHERFUCKER HAS A RAPE FETISH! I kid you not! This person has even drawn art of Angel being raped by Vox and Val. I refuse to believe Viv cares about abuse victims when she has someone like this on her pay roll (whom she actively defends, mind you). She even lied, saying that this person is a victim of sexual abuse, to which this person admitted was aĀ LIE.Ā
Also, how she treats fans who are also victims of SA. Everytime someone comes forward, saying that they didnāt like the depiction of sexual abuse in the show, Viv will dogpile on them (the most famous example of this being Limus). But then if a fan who is a victim of SA praises the depiction, she will put them on a pedestal. This is tokenization at its finest!
And, hey, letās talk about Vivās catcalling comic, too!
In this comic, two women are being catcalled. One hates it and the other likes it, saying that it means theyāre attractive. The one who hates it then starts yelling at the other girl and based on the framing of the scene, it feels weāre supposed to hate the first girl and think that the second girl was right. FUCK. THAT. This comic couldāve been such an interesting commentary on victim blaming and unhealthily coping with SA by justifying it to yourself. But no. Thatās not what was done here.Ā Great.Ā
I feel like this video is also appropriate to add here
This was her response to peopleās criticism about how she handles SA in her shows. She dresses up as the rapist from her shows, flaunts around, and says heās based on her.
Classy.
