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Wait I'm lost is ralsei actually feminine?

I can't explain it but It seems like the deltarune team see rals in more as a *redditor falsetto* "the BOI, we must protect the BOI, also here he is wearing an ADORABLE butler outfit, isn't that cute" whilst the fandom picture her wearing overtly cutesy feminine outfit, yes even as a guy in other websites.

Not a complaint btw just surprised is all

I mean, yes, ralsei is "actually" feminine. some people like to skirt around this by insisting that liking ribbons and dresses and having your main hobbies be baking and sewing has nothing to do with femininity, but that's just kind of patently ridiculous.

like, of course these things are associated with the idea of "femininity". because the ideas of what are "feminine" and "masculine", and indeed the very concepts of "femininity" and "masculinity", are entirely based in gendered expectations. for whatever reason, a lot of people fail to grasp that "feminine" is not just a neutral descriptor word that means whatever you want it to. it is a word which is describing the relationship someone has to their prescribed gender role, and how well they succeed (or fail) in performing it. this is (part of) why the words "girly" directed at a boy and "unladylike" directed at a girl are terms of derision.

ralsei is, undeniably, feminine. he likes wearing ribbons and expresses an interest in wearing dresses. he is implied to be wearing makeup (or perhaps he just naturally has long beautiful eyelashes and pink eyelids). he wants to look cute and pretty, and expresses joy when he is identified as such. some of his only hobbies are baking and sewing. he's the party's healer, and is treated at least in part as a "love interest", directly drawing on RPG tropes for female characters. these are all very much things that are considered "for women", because the society we are a part of is one with a rigid gender binary. when people say ralsei is feminine they're not just arbitrarily deciding what "counts", they are understanding that he possesses many traits in line with societally prescribed femininity.

and, y'know, crucially, the game does not mock ralsei for wanting to be feminine. no one laughs at him for wanting to wear ribbons or for using healing magic. but that doesn't mean that everyone "gets" it. basically every choice ralsei makes for himself leans into that femininity, but when other people have control over his presentation or perception, they almost always choose something more masculine. you can see this with his butler and rocker outfits, neither of which he chose for himself, and with his role in the prophecy where he is identified as a prince. and I don't think that this is because everyone who does this thinks he needs to be more masculine, but I think it is notable because it makes it very clear that ralsei is not just feminine by coincidence - it is something he is choosing to be, because he wants to be. and this conflict is absolutely core to his character, because his entire arc is centered around figuring out his own identity, and allowing himself to have his own wants and desires, instead of just being what he thinks other people might want him to be.

people always say that internet spaces are americanised because the users are majority americans.

and i do always wonder how much of that is "there are actually a majority of usamericans" and how much is "usamerican cultural markers are a default for many online spaces, and non usamericans are often indistinguishable from usamericans unless you're actively looking".

so here's an incredibly unscientific poll reblog for reach or whatever