Homestuck^2 & Beyond: Gender Exploration (Patreon)

Did you know that the Epilogues were not well received by the Fandom? I know, shocking news! With the things they did to some characters and all the bad stuff that went down in them, it's no wonder there was backlash. Of course, while a lot of the vocal distaste for the Epilogues comes from fans that felt betrayed or hurt by the things in the Epilogues, there's also been a... Smaller section of the Fandom angry at them for. Other reasons. You know the kind that will claim Homestuck is ruined because Hussie is "being held hostage" by "a group of SJWs" that want to insert their "gender and socialist agenda" into the comic, I assume, because they wanted the R slur to be used more in canon.

Passive-Aggressiveness aside, yes, for all of the awful things that happen in the Epilogues, I still stand by the fact that not only do they leave off on a hopeful note, but they bring some very positive things to the table. Ignoring the Epilogues because you feel hurt by them is fair enough, not wanting to engage with new content is fair enough, but I also feel like a complete disregard of everything presented in them because of the bad, really muddles a lot of the good that is, in fact, there. And one of the things I'm most excited for in upcoming content is the exploration of Gender and Identity stuff.

That said, even within the part of the Fandom that aren't just assholes that hate queer people, the feelings regarding this exploration has been rather mixed. And that's what this essay is going to be all about, talking about WP's approach to Gender Stuff, and why I really like it and want to see more of it.

So let's begin!

The Team & Intent

As per usual, before I get into the topic proper, let me just go off on a wild tangent, shall I? I didn't mention people who call the new Team a bunch of SJWs just to be spiteful and passive-aggressive.

Back in the day Hussie wasn't exactly the best, to say the least. Everyone knows the stories of Team Special Olympics, everyone knows about the usage of certain slurs that weren't as badly seen back in the days of the early 2010s, everyone knows about the mess of the Cursed History documents. But I feel that reflects one of Hussie's main core strengths, that he's talked about in Interviews before.

Hussie has stated in the past that he feels comedy stems, mostly, from awareness. Being aware of as many topics as possible, not being ignorant as to not fall into bigotry by accident. Being able to navigate these topics without being a complete chode to someone in the process. And similarly, on the topic of LGBT representation, he's stated something similar, Homestuck was a story made to reflect back at people experiences and things they may have gone through or are going through, and it just felt appropriate, with the growing amount of queer fans, to acknowledge them within the confines of canon.

Hussie has fucked up often in the past, but his words, and the actions he's taken- Taking actual criticism of shit he's done, apologizing about the worst of what he's done, taking steps to try and not fall into these same pitfalls again- Make it obvious to me that he's a genuinely good person trying to push something good for people out in the world.

And so, in comes the WhatPumpkin Team. A group of queer writers and artists that love Homestuck, that are close to Hussie himself, and that are dealing with the current stream of content. When I hear people complain that Homestuck has 'become SJW-controlled', that the current writers are 'muddling Hussie's intent' or somehow holding his Webcomic hostage, I can't help but laugh. You can dislike the Team if you want, although I will say they don't deserve the bullshit they're put through, but to say that Hussie himself isn't involved or doesn't want what's happening or that this is happening despite him, it's just... Funny?

Hussie's a friend of these people. Hussie has pushed to be more open and include representation. The current Team is just continuing the trend Homestuck started and honed specially towards its later parts. To peg them as 'SJWs trying to insert their agenda into Homestuck' really feels like a delusional tactic by people that don't like Homestuck is, and has been, very queer for a long while now. And similarly, if something bad happens to queer characters within the comic, people are quick to come to the worst conclusions- Queerbaiting, outright dislike of the community, and it's like... The writers are part of the community. That doesn't make them exempt of rules, but they're exploring things they find interesting, and putting their own experiences and feelings out there and relating, themselves, to the characters they're writing. You don't have to like any of what they're doing, but trying to find a way to twist their words and content into a personal attack or something awful and irredeemable is just... Yeah.

And that, I feel, is something that needed to be stated before going forward, a reminder that regardless of whether you personally like what's been going on or not, this is a story written by queer people, talking about their experiences through the characters, and wanting to give something to the community, in good will and spirits.

The Content

I could honestly talk all day about everything good I feel the Epilogues and HS^2 and Pesterquest bring to the table, but, we're here specifically to talk about Gender Identity. And so, with the authorial intent out of the way, that reminder that handing over the keys of the franchise to a group of queer people, specially one that means so much to a lot of people, is kind of huge and really good, I am going talk about a few topics.

The introduction of Gender Exploration in current Homestuck content comes from two sides. One is the new exploration of these feelings, alongside a change in presentation to match them, such as Roxy, Calliope or, hopefully in a near future, June. And the other is the retroactive exploration, the canonization of characters as Trans or Gender Non-Conforming, such as Vriska, Sollux, Eridan or Jade.

HS^2 and the Epilogues insist on the label of being Dubiously Canon, and this is one of the reasons why. Upon canonizing a character's interpretation one way or another, people who felt a different way about them- Such as people who like to see Roxy as a trans woman, or John as a trans man- Can feel disappointed, and make their readings of these characters null. But as a story where these things weren't actually set in stone by Hussie, and being explored by a group of people close to him, the Team themselves tell us that these interpretations are still valid and important. Homestuck doesn't want to lose it's malleability and its multiplicity of interpretations, one of its core strengths, but the alternative would be not exploring characters' identities. It would be a waste of potential. The Team is aware that they cannot please both sides, but they tell us this is their take, and any other diverging takes are still valid, so long as they come from a place of love and respect, not spite.

Roxy's case, in particular, is notably interesting, as we have two different Timelines, but only in one of them do they seem to lean into these more masc feelings and changing his presentation. Identity is all about feeling comfortable with yourself, about being who you are. In Meat, Roxy found happiness experimenting with his presentation, finding that he was comfortable leaning into the Strider Cool Dude look, a rad non-binary guy, and even then this has happened relatively recently, giving room to growth and nuance to come from it. Meanwhile, in Candy, Roxy still considers things about her gender, about not feeling necessarily like a woman, but she also finds her own brand of happiness through a different sequence of events- And similarly, whether this means she is currently okay as a non-binary woman, or that there's still room for development, has yet to be seen.

This divergence may seem paradoxical at first, but it is fascinating. A reminder of what identity is, again, of seeking comfort and happiness for yourself. Fluidity of gender, the fakeness of it all. I would be certainly okay with Roxy coming to the same conclusion in every Timeline, but this blurred line adds a layer of nuance on top that makes me very happy, and makes me relate a lot to Roxy, despite being a trans woman myself, and despite having headcanoned Roxy as a trans woman myself before. I am really happy to see the Team explore these topics, and I am really happy to see Roxy find happiness like this, and while I understand some people feeling disappointed, I feel the outright refusal to acknowledge this, and trying to make it seem like this was a "deliberate move to harm people who headcanoned Trans Roxy", is just... Vitriolic and bad, for these people themselves, and for the community at large.

On the other hand you have characters like June, who have been announced as word of god and only very slightly nudged towards in canon so far. Sollux, too, for example, only had very mild hints in his route, and then was confirmed by word of god in a Hussie essay about... Shrek? It's complicated. This has led many people to criticize these moves as a J.K.Rowling-esque thing, which... Seriously? I get the superficial comparison, but thinking about it for more than two seconds makes it obviously not the case.

Because again, the Team is very queer and in support of the community, where as Rowling has a way more dubious reputation in several accounts. The Team not only aren't doing this for clout, trying to push their own experiences out there through the characters for others who may relate to them- They're also actually including these facets as parts of their life and exploring how they feel about them. With Sollux it was brief, but it was mentioned. For Vriska, it actually deepens her connection with Mindfang, adding depth to her character. With Eridan, it took a commonly known Fandom thing, March Eridan, and actually factored it into his Arc in a positive display of not being gender conforming. And June, of course, hasn't happened yet, because Egbert hasn't realized yet, and it will take self-discovery to push through it.  There's nuance and thought behind these choices, by people who relate to these characters and experiences, and that, that is important to remember.

Finally I want to briefly address Jade. We all know about Jade at this point, you all know I'm obsessed with everyone's favorite doggy girl and I've written about her... A lot. And I've talked about this before, but it's good to reiterate. There's more nuance to her case than just 'fetishization' and 'sex canon made canon for laughs', at no point is her junk referenced in a negative light, and she owns her sexuality and is definitely confident and comfortable. Jade's case is presented positively to the audience, not as any sort of joke, and anyone saying otherwise hasn't read the same content I have.

In the end, all of this is just... Really fun for me. Because Gender is weird. Things are blurry and not clear-cut a lot of the time, exploration and identity can take a long-ass time or be a really intuitive thing for a lot of people. There's so many different bits and pieces and aspects to it. And WhatPumpkin? I like that WhatPumpkin seems to have fun with it.

They don't bind themselves to a straight-forward narrative of, oh, Roxy is a trans guy, and has always been! They add nuance, different routes. They remind us that Identity is about comfort and happiness, and whatever route we seek to find it is proper and valid. They remind us that things being dubious and blurry, is okay, that questioning and changing our minds is fine, so long as we are us.

Gender and Identity are serious topics that mean a lot to many people. But they're also part of our everyday lives. And if you cannot experiment with various takes on Gender, if you can't open up about the weirdness and confusion and stupidity at the root of it all, then what is the point?

So long as you're being respectful, exploring the inherent weirdness of gender and presentation shouldn't be a big deal. And that, is why I am really excited to see where the WhatPumpkin Team heads next with these characters.

Be Yourself! 

Be Happy. <3