Chansey

The slap heard 'round the world aired on Tuesday during the Glee promo, just after the show. I no longer have a personal tumblr, but I track both Faberry and Achele tags for some RPs I'm involved in, and things exploded. As always, every little gesture, every little expression of the Faberry (Rachel/Quinn, for those who don't know the portmanteaus) were analyzed to the point of "how could there possibly be anything left to say?" and Achele (Lea/Dianna) shippers talked about how difficult that scene must have been to shoot.

I'm probably in the minority, but at this point, I checked my tags tonight and realized I am sick to death of all the graphics that are being created with lyrics like "a kiss with a fist is better than none" and others that glorify that presumed act of violence against Rachel. Because, guess what? As much as I adore Quinn Fabray and support her, what she will do is violence against Rachel. I saw one entry excusing what she did because "some people just have no place to vent their rage." Oh, okay. Well, that excuses every person who has ever beaten another, doesn't it? They just had no other way to express how angry they were!

I understand it. Quinn is (in my mind) repressed, but even if you don't say that the reason she is going ballistic is because of some hidden feelings for Rachel, there is still no excuse for her striking out, literally. For all of these people who are romanticizing that scene, I need to tell you: you are being insulting to those of us who have been struck within the context of a relationship, or even not in the context. It's not romantic, it's not sexy. It's violent, it's not right, and glamorizing it is disgusting.

Ryan Murphy seems to have an obsession with violence that borderlines on the fetishistic, and it concerns me that the majority of the violent acts on the show are by women, against women. Yes, you have Neanderthal Karofsky and his crew going after Kurt and the boys. Yes, you have Finn bashing Puck's face in when he finds out about the baby. But, you also have: Lauren/Santana, Santana/Quinn, Santana/Mercedes (in a mild form during the Boy Is Mine duet, at the end when Santana was ready to throw down), and now we have Quinn against Rachel. Why? To me Ryan Murphy's misogyny is well known: girls only exist to be manipulative of each other, to fight over boys, there can be no friendship, only competition, between women. Girls can't be happy single, they're either miserable or in love with food. Girls are meant to be punching bags, emotionally by the boys, and emotionally and physically by each other.

I'm not denying that violence against women happens, perpetuated by both men and women, and I'm not denying that it needs to be portrayed for greater awareness, but it needs to be portrayed delicately, by showing it for what it is: violent, mean, ugly. I'm a Faberry shipper, I love them with all my heart, but I don't care if Quinn Fabray is in love with Rachel Berry and thinks that Rachel drove her to those feelings. Hitting someone isn't the answer, but to Ryan Murphy, it seems as if it's the only answer. It's as if, to him, women are these catty creatures who can't do anything but stab each other in the back and lash out in the most virulent way possible. He's doing the young girls who watch this show a disservice by making them think that this type of violence is funny, romantic, a way to solve all problems. And he's doing those of us who have been struck or abused in some way a disservice by romanticizing something that has no romantic or redeeming quality to it whatsoever.

"A kiss with a fist is better than none"? No. That's not love. That's not sexy, that's not romantic, and please stop portraying it that way.