This may be an unpopular opinion but Iβve never really understood the fandomβs tendency to read Alastor as a particularly βfeminineβ man. Even just watching the show, I always got more of a charming, impeccably-mannered gentleman from the 1930s than someone who was intentionally written as feminine or androgynous.
People usually point to his exaggerated hand gestures and body language but honestly almost everyone in Hazbin moves like that. The animation is expressive by design. Characters constantly pose, gesture dramatically and look like they are on the verge of exploding because thatβs just the showβs comedic style. Iβve never felt like Alastorβs mannerisms stood out enough to signal femininity specifically.
Vox is a good example of what I mean. He also has plenty of exaggerated poses and mannerisms that people could easily read as stereotypically feminine if they wanted to. Heβs expressive, emotional and incredibly animated. Yet the fandom rarely labels him as βfeminineβ and instead a lot of people headcanon Vox as hypermasculine or having βtoxic masculinityβ which has always felt like a strange reading to me.
Looking at these screenshots, I honestly donβt see someone performing hypermasculinity. I see someone whoβs completely comfortable being theatrical, flamboyant, energetic and ridiculous. Thatβs just Vox being Vox lol. Heβs an over the top villain who loves being on stage.
And Iβd say the exact same thing about Alastor.
Neither of them really strikes me as βtoo feminineβ or βtoo masculine.β Theyβre just incredibly dramatic characters. Theyβre narcissistic entertainers who live for spectacle, power and presentation so of course theyβre expressive - theyβre literally performing half the time. Imo, their body language feels more like theatricality than gender expression.
I honestly wonder if the people sometimes conflate flamboyance with femininity. Being expressive, elegant or dramatic isnβt inherently feminine, just like being domineering or loud isnβt inherently masculine. Those traits can belong to anyone.
And thatβs kind of why I included these last screenshots too.
If weβre going to use body language as evidence, then these would be considered stereotypically masculine poses. But I donβt think these images suddenly make either of them βmore masculineβ any more than the earlier screenshots make them βmore feminine.β They both swing between all kinds of exaggerated mannerisms because thatβs just how these characters are animated and characterised.
At the end of the day, I think theyβre actually much closer to each other than fandom discourse gives them credit for. Both are egotistical media moguls, who dress pretty similarly (although that might just be because Vox copied Alastor lol), obsessed with control and power and both present themselves with a ton of flair. If one gets read as effortlessly masculine while the other gets labeled feminine for doing many of the same things, I think thatβs more revealing of the fandomβs assumptions than of the characters themselves.
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