TreborSnurb Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Could Robin Hood or Merida from Brave be symbols of aromantic asexualism? My thinking is that since they are both aces (skilled) at archery, then that would seem to fit. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Robin Hood is in love with Maid Marian, though Link to post Share on other sites
TreborSnurb Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 Yeah. I forgot about that. Is there anybody else that would be a better fit? Link to post Share on other sites
pyrrhicperegrination Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 i think merida is definitely good aroace representation (the whole not wanting to get married mindset, the lack of romantic interest in any of the suitors and instead sending them off as friends, bow and arrows "aro"). luna lovegood from harry potter might be considered aro/ace, in the books it was rather blatantly shown how she didn't quite have romantic/sexual interest in any characters. Link to post Share on other sites
Anthracite_Impreza Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 17 hours ago, pyrrhicperegrination said: i think merida is definitely good aroace representation (the whole not wanting to get married mindset, the lack of romantic interest Merida didn't want to get married yet, she definitely showed interest in one of the boys and literally said she wants to marry in "her own time". Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Beat Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I fucking love Brave and think it would be cool if she was an aroace symbol Link to post Share on other sites
pyrrhicperegrination Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 23 hours ago, Anthracite_Impreza said: Merida didn't want to get married yet, she definitely showed interest in one of the boys and literally said she wants to marry in "her own time". oh, got it. i'm sorry for the misinformation. i haven't watched brave in a long time so my memory is a bit rusty; thanks for the correction! Link to post Share on other sites
DarkStormyKnight Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 Eh I definitely accept Merida as an aroace because I adore her. Sure she isn't perfect representation but that's fine, I'll take what I can get. Link to post Share on other sites
PoeciMeta Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 On 10/31/2019 at 10:58 PM, Anthracite_Impreza said: Merida didn't want to get married yet, she definitely showed interest in one of the boys and literally said she wants to marry in "her own time". Maybe it's just the cultural and historical context it's supposed to be set in, which isn't depicted as very aroace-friendly. In this case, strategically, a ''later'' is definitely more socially acceptable than a ''no''. That's just my own hope speaking, though. (Also, it's been ages since I last watched the movie...) Link to post Share on other sites
Anthracite_Impreza Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 I think the idea is to show people are entitled to make decisions for themselves and in their own time; there's no evidence to show Merida's aro-ace, and I severely doubt the creators even know it's a thing. Showing strong, independent women and girls is the "in thing" rn, so it's much more likely she's a regular het girl who knows her own mind. Aro-ace visibility is nowhere near this stage yet. Think how often women are used as 'rewards' for the male hero, or nothing more than a plot point. Merida is her own character, and even though she's interested in the boys she won't be pushed into things she's not ready for. This is an extremely important message in a still misogynistic society where girls are pushed into relationships from day one. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 39 minutes ago, Anthracite_Impreza said: I think the idea is to show people are entitled to make decisions for themselves and in their own time; there's no evidence to show Merida's aro-ace, and I severely doubt the creators even know it's a thing. Showing strong, independent women and girls is the "in thing" rn, so it's much more likely she's a regular het girl who knows her own mind. Aro-ace visibility is nowhere near this stage yet. Think how often women are used as 'rewards' for the male hero, or nothing more than a plot point. Merida is her own character, and even though she's interested in the boys she won't be pushed into things she's not ready for. This is an extremely important message in a still misogynistic society where girls are pushed into relationships from day one. To add a bit of true historical fact: romance, the type of romance being discussed in this thread, was relegated to stories (think Arthurian tales/The Song of Roland/later Robin Hood [Marian being a late comer to the stories]) and then only at a distance. In reality, if two people wanted to wed for romantic reasons, they probably would have been derided and given the side eye. Taking the Disney-fication out of the picture, and given that Merida is the daughter of a lord, she probably would have little to no say in who she wed, especially if her father needed to obtain lands or a strong ally against another, or access to resources, etc. Marriage was about economic and/or political gain with the upper classes and mainly an economic one on the part of the lower classes. If the couples fell in love with each other, that's just a bonus, otherwise given the Church's views on divorce, etc., they were pretty much stuck with each other. 'Romantic love' as we aros try to understand it, is actually a new comer into the world of why people get married. Link to post Share on other sites
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