I know I'm dumb but can someone PLEEEEEASE tell me what's going on in pages 16 and 17, like what is the smaller dude doing? drugs? It looks like a little bottle in his hand, what is it? Is he smoking from it? Is it supposed to knock the other person out too, like was that his plan or the black hair dude was just sleeping or what? What are those HAAA HAA sounds in those panels???? I'm a full grown adult, pls help Σ(っ°Д °;)っ
@Darling Dixi~ Since you won't be replying to this thread anymore, just wanted to call you a flaming shitpile of a person who reduces the impact of rape, abuse, confinement, abetment of suicide, showing suicidal imagery and assault in a piece of work that had no strong disclaimer for either of those crimes and even went a step ahead to normalise them by showing a character facing no consequences for committing them against another character. It's just fiction but the author doesn't think so, she justified her MC's actions and went above and beyond to blend the lines between bdsm, a healthy sexual activity with a healthy community and straight up crime without recognising any of the toxic/harmful impact of it otherwise she would have warned the audiences instead of giving her stupid story tags like 'romance' 'smut'. It's lovely that you think that sadism or the title "Sadistic Beauty" automatically encapsulates rape, suicide and justifies being a shit person but hey, I take it as a reflection of your whole personality. Atleast there are better people than you reading this manhua and understanding what's what.
Also in your honour ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭
I don't think you're an awful person. I just think that instead of observing equally relevant opinions around you and educating yourself so that you do not carry messed up notions into the future, you stubbornly try to defend yourself instead of knowing better for your own sake. I still have the same things to ask you.
A) what did you mean by saying that it's called "Sadistic Beauty" for a reason? does sadism encapsulate criminal behaviour?
B) how is sexism, misandry, rape, abuse, assault, unwanted humiliation, suicidal imagery, abetment to suicide and physical/mental coercion a normal part of sadism, especially in BDSM?
C) Why is it normal enough that it doesn't need a trigger warning especially for readers who might be rape victims themselves or may be suffering from the aftermath of any of the things I mentioned above?
D) why should I excuse the author and like her work where she actively celebrates the severely problematic elements by calling it graphic bdsm instead of rape and even calling the rapist a "bdsm queen"
E) are you saying that these crimes and toxic behaviours are normal in the bdsm community?
F) should people who misrepresent the community be excused because it's "fiction"?
We can talk as much as you want.
Fine fine~ if you're so curious about my opinions.
A) it's called Sadistic Beauty for a reason means that when people read it they should except sadistic acts to be preformed in the story. In real life, that should not encapsulate criminal behavior even if the other party gives consent.
B) as was to my understanding before people have been jumping down my throat, I considered all except the suicidal issues a part of sadism, especially if the other person consents. The suicide things, I admit were well demonstrated, but, I don't agree that it was good to include, however, without it, would you have honestly felt so strongly about Minho in the end?
C) I have said nothing in regards to everything mentioned above being normal. However, i pose a question back to you: why would and ex victim of similar abuse go anywhere near reading this kind of story? Surely they have enough common sense to stay away just from the title and cover art alone, yes? The people who read comics like sadistic beauty are mainly people who haven't gone through this and are clearly just in it for the fantasy aspect of it, but would never act on it. I'm not guaranteeing that, I'm saying a majority of people wouldn't.
D) I'm not saying you should like her work~! You don't have to, no one is making you~! And for the most part, the author did make her a 'bdsm queen' especially when the other characters consented. Minho is not consenting, thus it was rape and a crime. I do not condon that behavior. HOWEVER, Minho is not a good person. It doesn't matter what his home situation was or how he grew up; the bottom line is, is that even though he had a supportive group of friends who cared about him and were there for him that time and time and TIME again he: insulted, belittled, talked shit about them behind their backs, and even stole from them. YET, he had the gull to come back time and time again to ask for their help like they owe him something or should always be there for him no matter how he acts. To me, all the characters, except Wookyung, acted as they should, minus the assault, because there is usually a limit to how much people can take before they finally look at someone and go 'why the fuck am I still friends with this person if all they do is take and not give?'. Friends and their support are a privilege, not something you're entitled to have: a fact Minho ignored for literal YEARS and then wondered why no one was there to support or give him help when he needed it.
The protagonist tried to put the past behind her with him, but found that she couldn't and left, but he kept clinging to her. She did what she did to scare him off, yet he stayed. If he had learned ANYTHING, he would have gotten the message the first time around and not come back. But he did and still had the balls to demand kindness from her like it was owed to him.
E) no, I am not. As someone who is not in said community, I have little to no knowledge about what goes on in the BDSM community. I support it as long as both parties are consenting adults and know what they are doing.
F) if the community is misrepresented and the author did not know or bother to look into the community at all especially if the opportunity was available, then no.
If the community was misrepresented and the author had no way at all to look into the community and no way to check their facts, then yes.
My beef is mainly with the fact that Minho was written the way he was because he was supposed to be disliked. His 'submission' and the karma aspects of his behavior are more or less a part of a fantasy element of bdsm that I believe should not be practiced without consent of both parties. I have a very strong feeling that most people in the bdsm community would never commit such acts without consent and most people who read this story, judging by the comments and topics, have enough common sense and morals to not act on such behaviors in real life. If young minds, such as teenagers, read this and cannot clearly discern the very real and apparent difference between that line fine of reality and fantasy, then clearly that is their problem and it needs to be discussed with a professional as a majority of people do not have this issue.
With everyone jumping down the author's throat about the mistreatment of Minho, even though he was created to be disliked, it is very clear that most people who have read this can clearly see the line between fantasy and reality.
In my belief, by taking away everything bad that happened to Minho in the story, and yes, some of it was overkill, everyone is essentially calling for censorship of this story, which is simply that: a story. It's not real life, and examples shouldn't be taken from it. Simple as that.
Your turn ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
Fine fine~ if you're so curious about my opinions.
A) it's called Sadistic Beauty for a reason means that when people read it they should except sadistic acts to be preformed in the story. In real life, that should not encapsulate criminal behavior even if the other party gives consent.
B) as was to my understanding before people have been jumping down my throat, I considered all except the suicidal issues a part of sadism, especially if the other person consents. The suicide things, I admit were well demonstrated, but, I don't agree that it was good to include, however, without it, would you have honestly felt so strongly about Minho in the end?
C) I have said nothing in regards to everything mentioned above being normal. However, i pose a question back to you: why would and ex victim of similar abuse go anywhere near reading this kind of story? Surely they have enough common sense to stay away just from the title and cover art alone, yes? The people who read comics like sadistic beauty are mainly people who haven't gone through this and are clearly just in it for the fantasy aspect of it, but would never act on it. I'm not guaranteeing that, I'm saying a majority of people wouldn't.
D) I'm not saying you should like her work~! You don't have to, no one is making you~! And for the most part, the author did make her a 'bdsm queen' especially when the other characters consented. Minho is not consenting, thus it was rape and a crime. I do not condon that behavior. HOWEVER, Minho is not a good person. It doesn't matter what his home situation was or how he grew up; the bottom line is, is that even though he had a supportive group of friends who cared about him and were there for him that time and time and TIME again he: insulted, belittled, talked shit about them behind their backs, and even stole from them. YET, he had the gull to come back time and time again to ask for their help like they owe him something or should always be there for him no matter how he acts. To me, all the characters, except Wookyung, acted as they should, minus the assault, because there is usually a limit to how much people can take before they finally look at someone and go 'why the fuck am I still friends with this person if all they do is take and not give?'. Friends and their support are a privilege, not something you're entitled to have: a fact Minho ignored for literal YEARS and then wondered why no one was there to support or give him help when he needed it.
The protagonist tried to put the past behind her with him, but found that she couldn't and left, but he kept clinging to her. She did what she did to scare him off, yet he stayed. If he had learned ANYTHING, he would have gotten the message the first time around and not come back. But he did and still had the balls to demand kindness from her like it was owed to him.
E) no, I am not. As someone who is not in said community, I have little to no knowledge about what goes on in the BDSM community. I support it as long as both parties are consenting adults and know what they are doing.
F) if the community is misrepresented and the author did not know or bother to look into the community at all especially if the opportunity was available, then no.
If the community was misrepresented and the author had no way at all to look into the community and no way to check their facts, then yes.
My beef is mainly with the fact that Minho was written the way he was because he was supposed to be disliked. His 'submission' and the karma aspects of his behavior are more or less a part of a fantasy element of bdsm that I believe should not be practiced without consent of both parties. I have a very strong feeling that most people in the bdsm community would never commit such acts without consent and most people who read this story, judging by the comments and topics, have enough common sense and morals to not act on such behaviors in real life. If young minds, such as teenagers, read this and cannot clearly discern the very real and apparent difference between that line fine of reality and fantasy, then clearly that is their problem and it needs to be discussed with a professional as a majority of people do not have this issue.
With everyone jumping down the author's throat about the mistreatment of Minho, even though he was created to be disliked, it is very clear that most people who have read this can clearly see the line between fantasy and reality.
In my belief, by taking away everything bad that happened to Minho in the story, and yes, some of it was overkill, everyone is essentially calling for censorship of this story, which is simply that: a story. It's not real life, and examples shouldn't be taken from it. Simple as that.
Your turn ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
XD what did I even read.
Do you understand the story is openly advertised as ROMANCE and BDSM story? There are no warnings, it's literally tagged as romance which is clearly misleading and it's author's RESPONSIBILITY to correctly label their story?
Author calls Doona at the very end of the story, bdsm Queen, after many rape and abuse scenes which weren't addressed AT ALL or acknowledged. I see you don't understand the core of the problem. And Doona didn't have questionable scenes ONLY with Minho.
It doesn't matter what person Minho was when we are talking about RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, ABUSE and TORTURES.
Btw Supportive group of friends? Did I miss something? Name ONE friend beside guy with glasses.
"supportive group of friends who cared about him and were there for him that time and time and TIME again he: insulted, belittled, talked shit about them behind their backs, and even stole from them. YET, he had the gull to come back time and time again to ask for their help like they owe him something or should always be there for him no matter how he acts." like either I have amnesia... Or you have to explain this part.
You clearly don't want to see Minho's character is absurdly badly written because author has to JUSTIFY and belittle the abuse he faces. He is raped, tortured, degradated but he keeps acting the same. It doesn't have ANY impact on his character which is just unbelievable. And why? Because we have to have an excuse to justify Doona's abuse. That's the problem of the story. That Doona's wrongdoings, her misdeeds are never recognized, she is called BDSM queen to the very end meanwhile Wookyung is classified as a criminal.
My turn?
A) Not exactly, sadistic acts do not come with a label of "anything goes" especially when consent isn't involved. It wasn't the sadism that got to me, it was that every time Byun Minho said "no", mc proceeded to rape him. Consent isn't a "once given", it lasts throughout the duration of the session so that either partner can withdraw it if and when they feel uncomfortable. Let's make one thing very clear, sadism by definition is one thing and under bdsm, it means something entirely else. mc carries out sadism ONLY under bdsm which is an entirely consent based community. If you carry out sadism without consent it is rape, assault and abuse. If mc was doing the same acts as a villian or just for the heck of it, I would've understood but under bdsm??? no fucking way.
B) Once again, you're wrong when you say that all those crimes come under bdsm. That is not sadism what mc did under the pretense of bdsm, it was assault and abuse. Let me again make it very clear that bdsm does not in the least, support sexism, misandry, rape, abuse, assault, unwanted humiliation, suicidal imagery, abetment to suicide and physical/mental coercion. I don't know what gave you that they do but please do better wth. Also you mentioned "feeling strongly" about Byun Minho which is extremely horrific to me because it sounds like you're justifying the author's use of these crimes as some kind of shock factor without realising the impact of such elements because if she had she would've provided a trigger warning right before the chapters in question. You're sick if you think that using suicide or rape as a wow factor in a romance smut is a wonderful thing. Also giving trigger warnings, even as a small note, is not an extremely difficult thing to do but it shows that the author understands how these sensitive topic affect different people and a forewarning would likely protect such individuals from reading the content and hurting themselves.
C) Once again, what an extremely offensive opinion. Victims of abuse? are you implying that in order to feel disgusted by rape/suicidal imagery you need to have suffered it first and worse, that a piece of work has no duty to sensitise a reader who may happen to feel strongly about these subjects beforehand? my whole complaint with the series would have been thwarted if only the author had warned me about its contents. This manhua had a disastrous impact on my mental health because I didn't know what I was getting into, I kept hoping that the problematic behaviour would change and be corrected, instead it was glorified and rewarded in the end?? "People who mainly read sadistic beauty" do not agree with you because look at the comments. Do you think all these people are here to purposely shit on it? that they're all victims of abuse who accidentally got themselves into this train wreck and are now complaining? it's good you don't guarantee that a majority are in it for the "fantasy" aspect because you're wrong, a majority of people, even those who were in it for the "fantasy" aspect did give a shit about how problematic and unaddressed some elements in the manhua were.
D) Oh god, it keeps getting worse. I would like to say that "for the most part" the mc is a rapist. Period. mc was in college when she was introduced to bdsm and as a fully grown adult, consent is basic human decency, not something that you need to be specifically taught. Even if you have to be taught consent, in case that is what helps, there is no law that states that "you may rape a person you do not like". If your bdsm acts are selective as to "I will rape this person" but mostly I won't rape anyone so wow I'm such a bdsm queen, you're actually sick. mc, at no point, was forced to carry out assault against Byun Minho and yet she did it all on her own independent will which means she is actually a rapist. No excuses. Most victims of verbal abuse go their whole lives not raping anyone, I wonder what pushed mc to do it outside of her own accord. Imagine if rapists were freed from jail because "for the most part they have had consented sex in their life" jeez, you're part of the problem. I know this is fiction but for you to even say that...
Anyways, the second you mentioned Byun Minho is a bad person, I knew it's downhill from there. He's not the villain of the story because villains perform terrible acts out of pure pleasure (like mc and Wookyung) and are driven to ruin the lives of others by sheer ill will (Wookyung). Even if Minho talked behind mc's back, belittled her, verbally abused her, went back to her, tried to insert himself into her life, even if he tried to stay after mc scared him, pushed him away, warned him.. she still had 0 right to rape him as some sort of payback or revenge and yes it was rape because everytime he clearly said no and was visibly uncomfortable with the acts being performed on him. The act should have been stopped with him saying no but it never did. You're right, mc owes him nothing but she also doesn't have a right to assault or abuse him. That's whole person not your personal property. The author even showed Minho having traumatic flashbacks for shits and giggles because nothing really came of it did it? He was neved supposed to be empathised with.
And when you say that protagonist tried to put it past her... really? Byun Minho graduated from uni, worked his part time jobs, did his internships and got a job. He spent those 10 years working for the Dean, being well respected by his students and did not once try to insert himself back into mc's life. On the other hand, who took a chance to lock him in a room and rape him repeatedly to vent out 10 years worth of anger induced stupidity? who learned bdsm only to metaphorically "strangle" the person they love and hate so much. Those 10 could have been spent of therapy, or finding supportive friends who understand bdsm of even falling in love but mc did none of those things and clung to her hatred of the man.
Also talking about friends, do you think mc treated her friends or her subs right? the only reason Haesol stayed with her was because he was willing to ensure her selfishness. Just because she admits that she's shitty doesn't add to the fact that she literally doesn't change and continues to rape until the last few chapters. Changed people don't just suddenly decide to rape somebody. The mc and Minho are both trash but when mc became the rapist and Minho the victim... Ooh boy, I knew then what the narrative was going to be. Atleast Minho did not rape anyone, was respectful to mc back in college. Doesn't excuse his toxic behaviour but his toxic behaviour sure as hell doesn't excuse mc's supposed reason to rape him. Keep arguing, this is one thing I will not yield about.
E) Consent and sex education, as you mentioned is both important, very well. You still feel a bit stunted on the whole bdsm thing so I'm hoping you go on to educate yourself more before answering for it on public forums. It's a highly multifaceted set of activities with respect and love being at the centre of it. You said that "most" people reading Sadistic Beauty are educated on the ins and outs of bdsm and don't need to be policed yet you yourself show a lack of respect and awareness when you claim that the community practices "sadistic" acts like sexism, misandry, rape, abuse, assault, unwanted humiliation, suicidal imagery, abetment to suicide and physical/mental coercion. There is a limit to their practices when used in consented play and without consent and aftercare, it isn't sadism. pure and simple. psst, not giving aftercare also amounts to rape, just fun facts brought to you by the bdsm community. Safe to say that Minho never consented, never recieved aftercare and also never knew what was happening to him because he wasn't educated about bdsm, mc was but she always sprung those acts up on him like punishments, which they practically were since all she did was try to torment him. Plus why did she perform bdsm, an aftercare heavy activity, on him with no intentions of providing aftercare? Lastly, you proved your lack of awareness when you supported Minho's destruction because he's framed as the "antagonist" when he's clearly not and even if he is, he is a victim of (wrongly justified) assault at the end of the day. By wrongly justified, I mean that his rapists were never punished not shown to be wrong in their treatment of Byun Minho, this is an actual nightmare of rape victims in the real world, not seeing your assaulter suffer consequences. Your lack of empathy proved to me that you're not entirely aware. Not at all. This manhua redeemed a woman from her ex by getting her to repeatedly rape him and then passing him off to the hands of a psychopathic rapist and somehow you're trying to convince me that was okayish to some extent. smh
F) The author had every way to check into the "facts" since she wrote the rest from inspiration as well so why not start with the Wikipedia basics of bdsm before stomping into the, very precarious, territories of "femdom" and "graphic bdsm". You can't mix primary colours to make more if you can't even differentiate between the three. Also there's no "if". The community was been misrepresented the moment author decided to forego the trigger warning in all her rape/suicide scenes which I'm sure many read as bdsm but sadly they're not. sb joins the scum ranks of 365 days, 50 shades of gray when it comes to bdsm representation. Don't support the author where she was clearly wrong or don't claim it so openly if you don't want backlash.
Now talking about your "beef", it's a fictional story. How strongly I feel about Minho and how strongly you feel about mc is the purpose of this manhua but it still doesn't change a couple of things on ground level. Author is free to write about and torture whoever she wants in her work but her hatred for a character is not going to be matched with that of other readers since clearly most people were expecting a better story for Minho. Fun fact, readers enter a contract with the author when they start a written work, knowing that the author has fully informed them about what they're going to get from this work. Similarly, readers did not sign up for the rape and abuse and the author broke that contract by not informing us beforehand. In no universe, is rape and abuse "normal" in a romance smut and when it is then a fucking trigger warning is to be provided if the author cares about how such depictions may affect their various readers. At no point was this a "rape fantasy" "dark" "thriller" nor did I see any "Depiction of rape please practice viewer discretion" or "Depiction of suicidal imagery please practice viewer discretion". Let's be clear, without a trigger warning, author basically implies that is a non-problematic part of her work and doesn't need special attention. That it's even normal as you said. And haha, scroll down and see how the "this is completely normal, people won't mind when I show them this crap turned out". This is not bdsm, or a practical joke about Minho's suffering. I will not stand for the understatement of suicidal imagery because it affects me very adversely. I would have avoided it in a heartbeat if only I had gotten a warning.
You're very wrong about the "most people in bdsm wouldn't". This isn't just about bdsm. This is every reader who picks up something from the manhua and recreates, even if in a small way, it in real life without knowing any better because the author did not take the incentive to differentiate between places where bdsm was shown as correct and where it wasn't. And wth? enough have common sense? when was that the fucking issue. The issue was not to be able to tell if it's bad but for the author to not force rape, assault and suicide down people's throat without warning. Of course people would protest if they recieved such a stupid plot. And it is minor's problem? what? that the author cannot hold accountability for the impact of her work. Reviews, movie ratings, tags and triggers exist for people of all ages. If people grew into sensible adults just as they turned 18 then there'd be no rapists or criminals above the age of 18. People wrongly learn at every stage, therefore policing is important and author just added to the problem by normalising this bullshit. Keep in mind even "hentai" and "porn" have to be rated even though those aren't supposed to be treated with a moral compass and are only for fap but author released this work with a legible plot and backstories and progressions while standing for equal treatment, woman empowerment, female sexuality and what not and then set all of that on fire by justifying the one thing plagues women more than anyone else:- rape.
Lastly, as you said, fiction is fiction and I agree. But toxic elements are still toxic elements and as long as the author doesn't identify them, even if they were intentionally written/committed against her personally most hated character, I will hold it against her, even if you don't. Compared to you, her work impacted me very differently and in a way that cannot be excused no matter how I look at it.
How do I end this... I was deeply upset about how you responded and the things you brought up. I'm quite frankly traumatised.
"To me, all the characters, except Wookyung, acted as they should, minus the assault, because there is usually a limit to how much people can take before they finally look at someone and go 'why the fuck am I still friends with this person if all they do is take and not give?'. Friends and their support are a privilege, not something you're entitled to have: a fact Minho ignored for literal YEARS and then wondered why no one was there to support or give him help when he needed it."
Like about who we are talking about because I'm lost o.o
Plus tbh ater the rape and assault and trauma Doona caused she literally owned him the bare minimum of kindness but instead she gave a homeless person a roof above the head in exchange for prelonged sexual assaults and other forms of abuse.
It's always so funny how everyone can write the whole essay but how bad and evil Minho is but all you can say about Doona is yeah yeah she raped him, anyway plus adding excuses: but he clings to her, he came to her (rather victim blaming don't you think)... Such mentality is problematic itself and additionally shows the very next problem of the story: how the abuse Doona's faces was well addressed and recognized me awhile Minho was never recognized as a victim which is one big RED FLAG.
And how the author had no way to inform herself about the bare minimum and basic knowledge about BDSM community....
Oh my god EXACTLY! mc had rape scenes with EVERYBODY (since no consent was involved) and worse, till the final chapter, she gets around to giving aftercare. Take it from a person who knows the bdsm community well, no consent+no aftercare=rape≠bdsm and author fucking needs to do better if she's going to commercialise a story based off a respected, chiefly healthy community like bdsm.
Attacking my phrasing? Ok, I see how you are.
Keep on being a good social justice warrior and defending your bubble.
I found your information insightful and will take it as a lesson for further stories.
I'm deeply sorry my opinions have traumatised you so much, however my opinion on this story will not change. I am more aware of how..extreme it is, thanks to you and I have greatly enjoyed our conversation.
I wish you luck in the world of yaoi my friend!(⌒▽⌒)
Well, I'm reading what your wrote, I don't know you personally so it would be ridiculous for me to assume your "intention" behind it so the best I tried to do was stick to what was before me. Though we remain in our respective corners, thankyou for apologising for your opinions/phrasing and I'm sorry if you felt attacked by mine. It's not a bubble, however, that I'm defending. What is wrong is wrong. I wouldn't have spoken against you had you stated your opinion as a personal one, instead you were belittling another person's opinion on how they cared about the rape shown in the manhua by saying that it doesn't matter because it's fictional so I had to intervene. Every opinion matters, especially one that is valid. Justification of rape is wrong and will continue to be wrong in every "yaoi" that has it and yes, I will keep complaining about it while enjoying the ones that don't have those toxic elements or address them properly.
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This is true, people should buy it when it comes out but... why should English readers buy it on B omto on right now? The reason it's getting translated in English is because although it comes out on T appy to on, it takes ages to catch up with the main being so far behind.
I know it's a sticky situation and more people should buy it but intl readers can't be forced to go through such a difficult site like Bomtoon just because Korean fans aren't buying it enough. We would also love to support through Tappytoon but the release just takes so long, the illegal translation most likely comes up before. Sorry.
We’re reading illegal translations and it’s only common decency that we buy these from a legit website to support the author. If you’re underage or don’t have the money, I’m not going to force you but if you’re of age and have the means to purchase it, you should to support the author. The only reason why the author is still writing is because ppl are buying it, but recently they’re having setbacks and they’re withholding chapters because it’s being pirated.
The author has every right to write about what she wants but readers also have to right to know exactly what they'll be recieving once they start a piece of work. If you distort or misconstrue the impact of your work, for example showing the bdsm in sb as "ideal", purposely reducing/brushing off an assault victim's trauma, showing rape as "justified" or showing Duna as the "Queen of BDSM" then, it should be expected that many people won't be very happy with what they got.
Duna is the protagonist, a victim of bullying and Wookyung is the rich, perverted sadist side character (as per the author's own description). While people were looking forward to Duna's growth, nobody gives a rat's ass about a psychopath's arc. Duna did understand consent with Haesol but after he told her how good and mature she is towards the end, she went on to rape Minho instead of doing, literally anything else. A good person wouldn't do that. Her growth was cut by the author at the last moment and it was made to seem like mc only cares about consent if the subs cares about her, as if treating people like human beings is conditional. We knew a long time back that Wookyung and Duna are different and Wookyung is immoral while Duna cares about her subs. We were expecting growth from Duna, the mc, the protagonist, the victim, not Wookyung.
People be saying that Minho is targeted because of prevalent misogyny in Korea but don't realise that SB is misogynistic to the t. Haesol views Duna like an objective he has to achieve and overlooks her personal shortcomings to treat her like a prize he has finally won, everytime she tried to break up with him over genuine concerns of her, he just ignored her feelings to imply this kind of "I don't care, you're amazing" which isn't healthy, it means he doesn't see her as a equal partner/human being with imperfections.
Secondly, Wookyung is the paramount of misogyny but never got punished for it. He saw Duna and immediately interacted with her with the objective to coerce her into submission by initially playing along with her dominant acts. He is the picture of toxic masculinity, using his "rich man" resources and strength to crush, rape and assault people for his own pleasure. Just because he isn't shown assaulting a woman doesn't mean he isn't misogynistic. He still views every sub as a piece of flesh for his own gratification, be it Duna or Minho.
Thirdly, I'm sorry to say but, Minho was the exception, in the end he himself admitted that he saw her as above him but was insecure because as he wasn't the perfect "manly" man who is popular, sorted, well-liked, easygoing, confident, rich, sexually open and "succesful" in terms of his writing (like Cha- as if these traits have anything to do with a "man").
Lastly, both the author and Duna themselves peddle such sexist views about men vs women such as 1) women shouldn't know how to cook or clean when those are important survival skills 2) women can't be strong while being sensitive, control their sexual impulses, place value on consented pleasure and aftercare while keeping past unresolved feelings of anger out of casual sex 3) women's lives have to eventually be dominated by the love given to her by a man otherwise she cannot "heal" or "become a better person" 4) Women don't know what they want from relationships and will overspill serious and casual into each other while not being able to communicate properly 5) Minho is teased for being poor, having a small penis, erectile dysfunction, performing poorly during sex (hyper sexist male issues that men are pressurised for) 6) In that fight scene between Haesol and Minho, Haesol provoked him by saying that his penis is small and therefore he cannot please Duna which is so stupid because Duna herself has been obsessed with him for years regardless of his "incapacities". 7) If Haesol is the antithesis of a "manly" man then why is he shown to be territorial over Duna with a man she herself allowed to live with her, while asserting he has a big dick and satisfies her more 8) author herself places such importance on big dick=confident man, small dick=insecure man that it's funny 9) Every "woman rapes man" scene in this manhua relies on the very sexist assumption that the woman would never go to jail simply because the man would be too ashamed to report that he has been raped by someone from the "fairer sex" or even acknowledge the fact he can be raped as men are socially conditioned to "invite" sex and be open to every opportunity of it, even if it's rape.
This is... disgusting. I rest my case I guess, nothing can justify rape in this manhua, reverse misogyny is still sexism, women gotta do better. If women do the same things men do to women when in a position of power then we're all trash. Period.
I mean, what can you expect from a revenge fantasy story masquerading as a romance. Even if it's "problematic" the whole point seems to just have been to punish Minho, a stand-in for stereotypical misogynists in Korea and have everyone get off scot-free. I would never call it a "female empowerment" story, but as people were discussing. Different values for different cultures. I don't think anybody here thinks that this is a perfect story and that the patriarchy has been destroyed just because Minho was raped a few times. Just pointing out that this is just a sex fantasy aimed for people to watch horrible stuff happen to this dickhead and feel no guilt over it. I would personally love to see a BDSM story where..you know. consent actually exists...but I've conceded that it's probably not as deep as everyone makes it out to be. just my two cents.
Definitely! this is not an exemplary thesis on feminism but it can't be helped in terms of the content, a lead female domme, for a lot of people to expect some cues for it regarding the real world. I would still say that it could've been better written. Lilith 2 for example, is also a lesbian bdsm manhua but unlike sb, it actually worked to show the MC's struggle regarding her job and love life along with depicting the smut very well. What else, yes, I was just responding to someone who said that this manhua was a result of misogyny in Korean and though the author tried to show Duna as this revolutionary work oriented woman, it could've been done better since author ended up reinforcing most of those sexist stereotypes instead of breaking them. Thankyou for your comment!
Thank you! Readers have been hinting about the sexism in this manhwa for a while, but your posts really sets out how the manhwa enforces a lot of toxic sexist tropes, to both men and women. The author had a great opportunity to break the mold.... but alas, same old.
Rape is rape and it's always wrong and is duly called out in all manhuas regardless. See love levelling, bj alex, kiss me liar, people always comment on the rape scene being disgusting. It's bad that we have associated that behaviour with male leads but I would like to add that it is still never idealised.
The point of most of those problematic bl's and love stories (like twilight, 50 shades of gray) is that by the end, the male lead changes by the power of love, thereby insinuating that the rapey, violent behaviour was never ideal and had to change. Duna got so much love from readers because they were eager to see her learn better and improve through the love she eventually gets, instead she keeps on raping her subs and it's somehow justified because she's a woman.
That's when people started hating her. Not all victims of verbal abuse turn out like Duna, who herself realises that consent is important as a 28 year old woman but still overlooks it to play out this rape fantasy. In Minho's case, just because people are saying that he shouldn't have been raped doesn't mean that they want to ride his dick or kiss his ass. It just means that noone deserves rape, no matter how annoying, arrogant or verbally abusive the character is written as.
Minho didn't deserve to be raped. She couldve done anything else but she didn't. Rape is not a natural solution, it's something you consciously decide to do. This is more about Duna's moral compass than about Minho. Look, I know you really admire her and I appreciate that but what she did was a crime. I love her too and I was praying she changed but she didn't. How can you be appreciated for being good and mature one chapter and then the next, you just assault a person. Also I'm not a Minho stan, I just sympathise with him after all that happened to him. All the terrible things he did were terribly punished but Duna hurt many people and raped her subs but somehow, she gets excused
For now, Dowon seems to be pulling all the weight in the relationship while Beom stays super self-oriented. The least he could've done was apologize for kissing him without consent last time and then clocking him because once Dowon understands the boundary, stops watching his lives and keeps away, I don't see Beom making the effort to express himself or even try to push the relationship forward... we can only hope for now. Maybe things will fall into place as we know more about their pasts.
Ps- very personal opinion but I dislike it when people automatically go to the offensive regarding anything, like how Beom got pissed when Dowon found his lingerie, lashed out when HE drunk kissed him or went "boy hurts, toy better" when he asked him out in the newest chapter, like you want to assume the negative when that wasn't even the person's intention. I understand it comes from underlying insecurities but it can't be very healthy to have in any relationship, especially a serious one.
I'm expecting to see Beom's pov in the coming chaps because he is, after all, a devout lover of coral snake so his rejection must be having some genuine reason. EXCITED!!!!
I mean, if CS had any self respect he’d stop watching the streams.
I think the uke is projecting his traumas onto the seme. Like instead of getting into an argument about sex toys vs partner sex he could have just said “I prefer sex toys over partner sex” and not make a big deal out of it.
At this point they clash so much I don’t know how they will actually get together ┗( T﹏T )┛