Lowri's Agender

Author: Lowri’s Agender

  • The Land Of Rising Gender Diversity

    The Land Of Rising Gender Diversity

    Content Notes: Artistic Rendition of Topless Nudity and Discussions of Acephobia, Homophobia, Pathologisation, Sexism, Transphobia, TERFs and Xenophobia

    I know I promised last time to discuss trans representation in a manga. And we will get there. But before that, I think it’s only fair to dedicate an essay to attempting a brief 4,500+ word explanation about the intricate history of transgender people in Japan. Because without it we will be helpless to understand the context a character grows from. And because this pride, I can’t help but be thinking of my trans community at home and abroad. So together, lets see how gender diversity developed in Japan.

    The Beginnings Of Having Fun

    From the early Meiji period (1868-1912) there was already a seedling of transgender adjacent history. Men and women were understood to exhibit a variety of sexual behaviours including dressing and living as the opposite gender.[1][2] However, there is no evidence of a strong internal identification.

    The modern use of the term transgender often relies on personal knowledge. Someone is transgender because they identify with a gender that is different to the one they were assigned at birth. Those who are cisgender identify with their birth gender. But there is often alot of grey area between transgender and cisgender, especially when looking to the past.

    Therefore when we look at historical cases, even if they appeared as another gender, there is usually little record of an internal identification. This is not to definitively say they were or weren’t transgender, but rather that any such attribution cannot be solidly stated. And that such complexity of gender identity and deviancy should not be compressed to conventional modern understanding.

    From the 1920s onwards sexology began to sprout in Japan. This resulted in a quick boom of research around perverse desire, including transvestism (crossdressing), sadomasochism (pleasure from pain), fetishism (unusual sexual interests) and homosexuality.[1]

    But in the lead up to WW2, such studies were banned and it wasn’t until the 1950s that there was a new wave of sexological research. This was due to US occupation ending, which resulted in many of the restrictions on the purveying of pornographic material being lifted. [3]

    Collection of Kasutori Zashi Magazines photographed by darkamyy
    Retrieved From: Reddit

    Of note are two similar genres of pornographic material. Hentai magazines (not the kind you are expecting) and kasutori zasshi or pulp magazines.[1][3] The latter is essentially just your run of the mill romance and kinkster periodicals, though these often included transvestite, transgender and homosexual content, alongside more familiar kinky spreads.[3]

    The former are pervert publications, which utilized a unique process of creation. These magazines were produced, ran by and read by both sexologist academics and queer people alongside kinksters.[1] Essentially both those deemed perverse and those who study the perverse interacted, theorised and researched together within columns.

    And these magazines were very progressive even by modern day standards. Some rejected the view of perversion as a medical disorder stating:

    ‘Sodomites, you must have pride! You are definitely not abnormal!’ [1]

    And as stated by Mark J. McLelland:

    “These publications were considerably more supportive of sexual and gender variety than any publications existing in English at this time…the paranoia about ‘the homosexual menace’ in 1950s America being absent in Japan.”[3]

    However, some parts do not align cleanly with modern sensibilities.[1] There was a common understanding of perversion as taking traditionally male or female attributes and slightly subverting them. The paradigm was good for the time, but still relied on notions of masculinity as inherently sadistic and femininity as inherently masochistic. It’s just feminine bodies sometimes behaved masculine and vice versa.

    The simple binary of attributes began to break down in the 1960s. This was due to an increased national attention on “feminised men”, who comprised a mix of camp gay men, crossdressers and transgender women.[1] First through the propagation of gei bās (a transliteration of gay bars) where effeminate gei bōi servers, who wore Western women’s clothing and makeup, captured heterosexual imagination. [3] This was to the point that so called tourist gei bās popped up exclusively to cater to a heterosexual clientèle.

    Photo of Le Carousel’s Blue Boys (e. 1960-1964) by an Unknown Photographer
    Retrieved From: Digital Transgender Archive

    And second through the Blue Boy Boom. The term Blue Boy was implemented by a variety of gender diverse people who were Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB).[1] Originating from a group of transgender and transvestite Parisian performers called The Blue Boys featured in Europa Di Notte by Alessandro Blasetti in 1959.[3]

    The interest for Japanese audiences started in 1961 when Europa Di Notte was released in Japan, followed by Blue Boy performances in Tokyo in 1963.[3] This led to an unique blend of AMAB people who usually desired surgical enhancement to their femininity but identified as anything from homosexual man to heterosexual woman.

    But the most influential part of the Blue Boy Boom was The Blue Boy Trial.[1][3] A doctor was arrested in 1965 for performing Genital Reassignment Surgery (GRS) on three people, who were later charged with prostitution. In 1969, the doctor was tried under the Eugenic Protection Law for sterilisation.

    GRS is the surgical procedure to turn penises and testicles into vaginas (vaginoplasty) and vaginas into penises (phalloplasty). These are complicated procedures and have undergone major revisions since they were first recorded in 1930 and in 1946 respectively.[4] Neither procedure makes anatomy that functions similar to cisgender genitalia, but it does make anatomy that functions for urological and sexual activity.

    The Blue Boy Trial led to SRS being banned in Japan until 1998 and so anyone desiring transgender care had to go abroad. But, it’s not like laws ever stopped the trans community from flourishing on home-soil either.

    Separation Between Gay and Trans

    The 1970s saw transgender people and transvestites discussing their own relationship with gender. Carrousel Maki commented on openly experiencing a masculine nature even after having GRS.[1] Others viewed themselves as both homosexual male and transgender woman with some even conceptualising themselves outside the gender binary. However, cisgender consensus was shifting towards understanding of transgender people as possessing “a sex of the heart” that was different from their bodily anatomy.

    The 80s saw even further gender complication with the introduction of the term Nyūhāfu or Newhalf.[1][3] Initially created by Betty of the Osaka show bar Betty’s Mayonnaise, the label gained popularity after Keisuke Kuwata produced a hit single employing the phrase. It became more recognized by cisgender heterosexual audiences after model Rumiko Matsubara released an album called Nyūhāfu and openly identified as such.

    Cover for Rumiko Matsubara’s Nyūhāfu Album (1981)
    Retrieved From: Tumblr

    This cemented within the broader public a distinction between gay men and transgender people.[1] Although it should be noted, such a distinction was not necessarily retained within the community. Many individuals still view their gender identity as tied to their homosexuality. As well, others who crossdressed or otherwise appear as another gender, identify solely with their natal gender.

    Through the mid 80s and into the 90s, there was a boom in transgender and more broadly queer activism. Transgender activists specifically began to lean into pathological labels.[3] In 1995 when four doctors at Saitama Medical College submitted an application to their ethics committee to prescribe GRS to trans patients. This was approved in 1998, with the provision of stringent guidelines to get around the Eugenics Protection Act.

    Photograph of Saitama Medical School (2019) by an Unknown Photographer
    Retrieved by: Ondotorism
    Note: Please appreciate my upmost maturity in having resisted the temptation to put a One Punch Man panel here

    Torai Masae, a trans man and founder of FtM Nippon was active in redefining transgender identity as a disability.[3] The tactic was successful in no small part due to a fortuitous coincidence between the Japanese term for Gender Identity Disorder (seidōitsuseishōgai) and disability (shōgai).[5] This inspired a sympathetic public that, amongst other gains, supported transgender people’s right to change their legal sex. And in 2004, spearheaded by Masae and other transgender activists, such recognition was passed into law providing the person was:[6]

    • Over 19 years old.
    • Unmarried.
    • Had no children.
    • Had no reproductive glands or had reproductive glands with a permanent lost of function.
    • Had a body which appears to comprise of parts that resemble the genital organs of those of the opposite gender.

    The no children rule was amended to only count progeny who were minors in 2008[5] and the requirement for sterilisation was deemed unconstitutional in 2023.[7][8] There is still ongoing judicial action regarding the requirement to possess genital organs aesthetically resembling the opposite sex.[7] But although the public at large and governmental institutions only recognise trans women and men, it does not mean genders outside the binary stopped existing. In fact, they were becoming more popular than ever.

    X-Jendā? I Hardly Know Them!

    X-Jendā is a Japanese umbrella term for genders outside of the binary whilst additionally representing an identity itself.[9] Although akin to the English word non-binary, it is significant to state x-jendā is a unique category with its own complexity.

    Part of this is due to the Japanese language blurring the distinctions between gender and sex that exist in English. Seibetsu means both biological sex and gender in Japanese and the suffix -sei is applied to gender and sexual identifiers.[9] This can be seen in ryōsei which describes intersex people and those who’s gender is fluid. Therefore in utilizing an English loan word, x-jendā explicitly decouples sex and gender whilst showcasing not just gender identity but ones perspective on gender itself.

    Cover of X-Gender Vol 1. (2022) by Asuka Miyazaki
    Retrieved From:Bleeding Cool

    The word x-jendā originated in the Kansai queer communities of the 1990s, with Sonja Dale specifying Osaka and Kyoto being the most probable areas to have spread the term.[9] The first textual reference to x-jendā appeared in a 2000 gay rights magazine Poco a Poco, ran by G-Front Kansai. They included it in a glossary of useful terms with the following definition x-jendā :

    “As the narrow definition of MtF[Male to Female]/FtM[Female to Male] strongly indicates a desire to move towards the opposite sex, [x-jendā] is used by individuals who do not fit under the existing categories of male (dansei)/female (josei), or who are unsure of their sex/gender.”[9]

    Shinichi Morita, a founding member of G-Front Kansai, would be instrumental in the spread of x-jendā as a term.[9] On top of that, they would later identify as MtFtX in the G-Front and PESFIS documentary ♀？♂？※？. Put differently, they transitioned from male to female to x-jendā.

    More specifically, Morita states that their gender is close to female internally but they are attracted to gay men. [9] This leads to them enjoying an internal feminine experience but an external presentation that allures homosexual men. Morita even advocated for the removal of gender roles in the workplace and an end to gendered discrimination, siding with the now contentious jendā-furī (gender-free) movement.

    X-Jendā would subsequently appear in a variety of texts within the early 2000s, both by academic and by queer people themselves. The 2007 Rockdom of Sexuality text Toransu ga wakarimasen!! (I don’t understand trans!!), included essays by FtX individuals.[9] There were even televisual appearances by FtX people to discuss their gender on talk shows although outside of such programs there was little representation. However, it is with the advent of the internet that x-jendā skyrocketed into popular use.

    Blog spaces long housed personal stories and tales for x-jendā individuals to converse about their identities and their own issues.[9] Mixi, an anonymous social media somewhat akin to Facebook has x-jendā specific groups like Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei (The Sex That is Neither Male Nor Female) and Seibetsu no Nai Seka (A World Without Sex/Gender). Both of these have over 4500 members.

    Furthermore, gender diverse groups allow folks to discover their x-jendā identity,[9] similar to how some Western transgender and non-binary people start in Butch sapphic circles or femboy Twitter. Speaking of, even Twitter has allowed for x-jendā individuals to connect and follow specific friends or creators. Though I’m not sure how truthful that is presently in the year of our Devil 2025.

    Image of Nuriko from Fushigi Yûgi by Yuu Watase
    Retrieved From: Mini Tokyo
    Note: Although Fushigi Yûgi is not my favourite anime, it occupies my mind so much because of the really good music and NURIKO MY BELOVED!

    And there have been examples of celebrities in Japan coming out as x-jendā. Mangaka for Fushigi Yûgi, Yuu Watase, disclosed she is x-jendā in 2019.[10] And based on the specific tweet she opened up in, there is evidence of at least some doctors becoming more receptive to gender diverse identities outside of the binary. But sadly, there is a more broad move to preserving the history of pathological control in Japanese medical establishments.

    Sterilising Fun

    Pathologisation has long remained an issue with the treatment of transgender individuals. Since the rise of sexology in 19th century Western Europe, medical practitioners with little actual knowledge of the community have tried to be the gatekeepers of our bodies.[11]

    In the 1960s, psychiatrists tried to develop transexual models of disease to decide who was worthy of hormone treatment and surgical intervention.[11] They prioritised a stable binary identity, aversion to our own bodies, adherence to gender roles and heterosexuality as the defining traits of “genuine” transgender people.

    As we know seidōitsuseishōgai or Gender Identity Disorder became the key diagnosis for trans individuals in Japan, to the point it developed into a term of self-identification for some.[3][6][11] It is moreover the phrase most prominently used to describe transgender people in Japanese media. Whilst this leaning into pathologisation did allow for some to gain new rights and recognition, there was criticism early on.

    In 2002, academic discourse argued that such a move meant transgender people would be viewed as inherently needing treatment. As a result they would have to portray themselves as traumatised or distressed to gain access to healthcare.[3][9] This leaves those who live outside the binary like Nyūhāfu and X-Jendā to be legally, socially and medically ignored. Anyone who does not conform to cisgendered views of gender identity is ignored as assimilation is prioritised over care.[3]

    My favourite example of assimilationist tactics is in a study by Elroi Waszkiewicz, a paper I will never stop recommending to friends.[12] In it, he documents transgender men’s experiences in US institutions designed to help people transition. He notes a phenomenon called Gender Profiling, whereby gender stereotypes are used to decide if someone is truly trans. Specifically, the gendered biases of an individual medical professional become hoops for a trans patient to jump through in order to access medical care.

    Image of James Dean Smoking (1955) by an Unknown Photographer
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    This exists because of the vague rules of the DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnosis. Since it is impossible to definitively define what makes someone any gender, the clinician is left to their own devices to assess if a patient is undoubtedly suffering from The TransTM. And cisgender clinicians suck at understanding gender.

    Some of my favourite examples relayed by Waszkiewicz include clinical judgement of: the right way to hold a cigarette, the correct underwear to use and the appropriate type of people to be attracted to (cisgender heterosexual women). [11]

    Adding to this, in the Japanese context, there is an awful twist. As transgender people are only allowed to legally change gender if they first fail to reach the standards of their natal sex.[9] In other words, there is active emphasis on the assimilation and inferiority of transgender people, as pitiable failures of traditional gender, whose disabled heart must be accommodated.

    To delve a little into my own personal experience, since this post comes out on the second anniversary of my GRS. When I was seeing psychiatrists in 2020-2022 to get surgery, the fact I wore makeup and dresses was noted down multiple times as valid reasons for surgical intervention.

    One psychiatrist rebuked me for saying I didn’t mind appearing masculine some days. A thing that was a relatively ordinary occurrence in my humble village in the North East, never mind a common experience for queer people. But because I am transgender, any enjoyment or acceptance of my natal masculine characteristics is seen as proof of deception.

    Additionally, after I went through with the GRS, there was a strange frequency to which specialist nurses and even the surgeon assumed my goal was to provide pleasure for a partner. More specifically, that I underwent treatment, aftercare and now constant dilations to make sure a hypothetical future cisgender heterosexual man received pleasure.

    Generic Man from The Heckler (1992) by Keith Giffen
    Retrieved From: Write Ups

    I even know of trans women being denied GRS on the grounds that they were asexual, leading to me hiding my asexuality. Not once did the idea I might enjoy being with someone without a penis, or the concept of my own personal satisfaction, seem to enter their minds. It shows how dehumanising clinical staff can be. Our needs are second to that of the presumed future partners.

    Even if a trans person is seeking medical care, the power being in the hands of ignorant clinicians leads to us having to contort to cisgender expectations. Further worsening this though, if people desire only certain parts of medical care, if they have an atypical gender identity or merely want to be their own brand of person, there are systematic barriers and legal vulnerabilities for such deviation.

    The system in Japan, as well as in other countries like the UK and US, hamper and strangle the trans community. It impairs our ability to be our authentic selves freely and to gain equal status with our cisgender counterparts. And this gets even worse with the rise of ultraconservatism and transphobia within Japan.

    TERFs Are A Mould That Infests Everywhere

    Since the early 2000s in Japan, there has been what Kazuyoshi Kawasaka calls a growing Anti-Gender movement.[13] This crusade is pioneered by ultraconservatives, emboldened by the popularity of Shinzo Abe during his two runs as Prime Minister of Japan. It has attacked both feminist scholarship and LGBTQIA activism within the 21st century, focusing on the subversion and supposed removal traditional gender roles.

    Official Portrait of Shinzo Abe (2012)
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    The feminists of the 90s and 00s promoted the concept of jendā-furī, the idea of a gender free society, where cis Japanese women would be liberated.[13] These activists relied on bureaucratic relationships to enact their policies and had little to no grassroots organisation to exert political pressure in a more bottom up manner. As such, when there was a rise of ultraconservative politicians that deliberately manipulated the idea of jendā-furī as a:

    “soft fascism of sexual perverts”[13]

    The feminists of the time struggled to develop a resistance to this rhetoric.[13] A struggle that was exacerbated by prominent feminists inability to counteract against the calculated misinformation, instead treating it as innocent ignorance. However, as you can expect, it was not only cis Japanese women who were targeted. In fact queer people and Korean women were especially vilified in this modern ultraconservative movement.

    A vilification that was made worse by a lack of intersectional intercommunity practice amongst activist groups, who all seemed to despise each other. Feminist scholar Chizuko Ueno commented that:

    “…if someone asks me if feminism can forge a coalition with gay men, I would answer ‘yes, if they are not misogynistic’. Gay activists would harshly criticise me if I talk like this, but I cannot imagine gay men who are not misogynistic. The gay men who are not misogynistic would be those who do not romanticise masculinity; if they exist, I want to meet them”[13]

    Conversely gay writer and activist, Noriaki Fushimi, argued that jendā-furī denied the inherent differences in sexual desire based on biological sex.[13] As well he suggested that gay people should focus on pleasure, not activism. It seems not everyone can be as presciently intelligent as Shinchi Morita.

    This backlash led to the deprivation of the rights for Korean residents in Japan, queer people in poverty, and the strengthening of xenophobia often lobbied at queer refugees.[13] And although it died down when Abe first resigned, after his re-election there was a whole new wave of ultraconservatives.

    This time it directly targeted transgender people, especially women. The late 2010s, saw Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF) be shipped from the UK into Japan. TERF represents both a movement and signifier of individuals that seek to exclude trans people, especially those who are AMAB, from feminist discourse. The central proposition is that transgender women are perverse males who obtain sexual titillation from transitioning. Whilst trans men are innocent soft girls cruelly tricked into removing their divine femininity. I wish I was overstating this.

    Photograph of Ochanomizu University (2018)
    Retrieved From: Zero Hora

    Ochanomizu University, a women’s only university, stated they would admit trans women by 2020.[13] In response Twitter TERFs in Japan decried the move and were routinely challenged. This led to a prominent Japanese feminist group, Women Action Network (WAN), to publish an article by an anonymous user.

    In it, the writer stated that TERF is a slur (it is not) and that trans people being allowed into women’s only spaces will cause a wave of misogynistic violence.[13] Furthermore, it spewed rhetoric similar to UK transphobic discourse and even name dropped Queen of Mould herself, JK Rowling.

    WAN decided against retracting the hate piece after there was understandable outcry, resulting in TERF politics gaining a large platform in Japanese feminist circles.[13] So not only did traditional liberal feminism once again fail to help marginalised individuals, in certain circles it actively made it worse. All the while, lessons of the past about intercommunal connections were never learned.

    On top of this, the modern era has seen a roll back on securities for queer people, like the blocking of a bill to enshrine protection from discrimination for the LGBTQIA community.[13] As, well there has been an increased movement in Japan to make transgender and gender non-conforming individuals feel uncomfortably alienated from single-sex spaces.[6] There has even been discourse around transgender athletes, with them being framed as dangerous to women’s sports.[14]

    Overall, like in the UK, the US, France and other countries in the West, Japan has moved towards the removal of trans people from public life. But that does not mean there is no hope.

    Progress Marches Onwards

    In 2017, Tomoya Hosoda became the first open trans man in the world to be elected into a public office.[15] He became the councillor for the Kanto city of Iruma on a platform to increase the rights of LGBTQIA people, the disabled and the elderly. He is the second transgender person admitted into a political position in Japan after Aya Kamikawa was elected to the Tokyo municipal office in 2003.

    Photograph of Tomoya Hosoda (2017) by Nerelle Harper
    Retrieved From: QNews

    In 2019, Yokosuka City became the first municipality to allow partnerships between x-jendā individuals and legally enshrines equal protections for them under the law.[16] There is a general trend in Japan for districts allowing marriage between same-sex couples and growing pressure on current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government to nationally recognise equal marriage for all.[17]

    Transgender employees are successfully suing governmental and private workplaces for harassment and discrimination, marking the beginnings of protection from bigotry for queer people.[18][19] There are and continue to be, legitimate strides being made to protect, uplift and dignify the LGBTQIA community in Japan.

    Furthermore, in reading about the rise, the continued resistance and ever-present queerness of the Japanese transgender and gender non-conforming community, I ended up feeling genuine trans joy. By reading about individuals whose gender is just homosexual, with the creation of terms to challenge pathologising traditionalism and witnessing the words of transgender Japanese people express their unbridled self-love. Even whilst acknowledging the horrors the community is currently facing, the unabashed communal love and self-confidence is moving.

    I know that Pride this month is mired by the horrors of the world. For as long as I’ve been aware I was a little queer, there has been a pervading sense in the UK of hatred towards me and people like me. Of governmental machinations seeking to crush my community. Made all the worse by recent decisions in the UK to offer protection only on the basis of chromosomal sex.[20] But as we can see in Japan and in other countries there are movements against this. Activists, politicians, celebrities and everyday people fighting in ways big and small to stop the repealing of progress.

    We might not be able to do a lot. All I feel I can do is write. But sometimes even the small things, like educating a friend or talking about your queerness can have a big impact. We as trans people, non-binary people, queers all around, need to maintain our presence in life. It’s hard. Even scary, and I will never judge someone for retreating. But the more we are open in the face of adversity, the more we openly challenge the narratives of pathologisation, politicisation and hatred. The more we become immovable to any force. Allowing our community to be out and proud.

    And allowing ourselves to be happy, if but for a moment.

    Happy Pride to everyone reading, no matter who or where you are. You’re amazing. Don’t stop being amazing.

    References

    1. Hitoshi, I., & Takanori, M. (2006). The process of divergence between ‘men who love men’ and ‘feminised men’ in postwar Japanese media. Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, 12.
    2. Wieringa, S., Blackwood, E., & Bhaiya, A. (Eds.). (2007). Women’s sexualities and masculinities in a globalizing Asia. Springer.
    3. McLelland, M. (2004). From the stage to the clinic: changing transgender identities in post-war Japan. In Japan Forum (Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1-20). Taylor & Francis Ltd.
    4. Beemyn, G.(2013). A presence in the past: a transgender historiography. Journal of Women’s History, 25(4), 113-121
    5. Konishi, Y. (2024). Trans depathologisation and gender identity disorder in Japan: A critical discourse analysis of medical literature, 2010–2022. Social Science & Medicine, 353, 117039.
    6. Dale, S. P. F. (2022). Transitioning through the toilet: Changing transgender discourse and the recognition of transgender identities in Japan. In Rethinking Transgender Identities (pp. 163-181). Routledge.
    7. Doi, K., & Knight, K. (2023, October 25). Victory for Transgender Rights in Japan | Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch website: Human Rights Watch
    8. Khalil , S., & Tan, Y. (2023, October 25). Japan’s top court says trans sterilisation requirement unconstitutional. BBC News. Retrieved from BBC News
    9. Dale, S. P. (2012). An introduction to X-Jendā: Examining a new gender identity in Japan. Intersections: Gender and sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, 31.
    10. Watase, Y. [@wataseyuu] (2019, May 20)ブログでもここでも呟いたけど、再度。 漫画にも影響してると思うから。 私はXジェンダーと医師に診断されてて、中身は、男にも女にも寄れるし男でも女でもない。 見た目はちゃんと(20代後半から社会に合わせて)どうせやるならやるでメイクもオシャレもする、それだけ。 女性の身体は否定しないが . Retrieved From: Web Archive
    11. Konishi, Y. (2024). Trans depathologisation and gender identity disorder in Japan: A critical discourse analysis of medical literature, 2010–2022. Social Science & Medicine, 353, 117039.
    12. Waszkiewicz, E. (2006). Getting by gatekeepers: Transmen’s dialectical negotiations within psychomedical institutions.
    13. Kawasaka, K. (2023). Queers and national anxiety: Discourses on gender and sexuality from anti-gender backlash movements in Japan since the 2000s. Global Perspectives on Anti-Feminism: Far-Right and Religious Attacks on Equality and Diversity, 182-201.
    14. Tanimoto, C., & Miwa, K. (2021). Factors influencing acceptance of transgender athletes. Sport Management Review, 24(3), 452-474.
    15. Farand, C. (2017, March 18). Japan becomes first country in the world to elect a transgender man to a public office | The Independent. Retrieved from The Independent website: The Independent
    16. Tokoi , M., & Mochizuki, M. (2019, June 12). Pushing for “X-gender” recognition | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News. Retrieved from NHK WORLD website: NHK World
    17. Khalil, S. (2023, October 2). Marriage equality eludes Japan’s same-sex couples. BBC News. Retrieved from BBC News
    18. Doi, K., & Reid, G. (2023, July 18). Japan Supreme Court Ruling a Victory for Transgender Employees. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch website: Human Rights Watchruling-victory-transgender-employees
    19. Doi, K., & Knight, K. (2022, November 29). Japanese Trans Woman Wins Workplace Harassment Case. Retrieved from Human Rights Watch website: Human Rights Watch
    20. Fox, A. (2025, April 16). What does the Supreme Court ruling on definition of a “woman” mean?. Retrieved June 21, 2025, from The Independent website: Independent
  • I Still Am A Dark Romantic Teenager

    I Still Am A Dark Romantic Teenager

    Content Notes: Images of Torture and Discussions of Consumption, Death, Sexual Abuse and Suicide

    I have talked at length about the origins of SCP -166 as well as how the community responded to the article. And although there were positive moments, my reviews have primarily been a downer. Therefore, to round off this trilogy in a joyous fanfare, let’s talk about one of the most depressing pieces of fiction I have read and why it works so well!

    0166 License to Kill

    SCP-0166 is not actually an SCP article. It is from the Tales Series, essentially the fan fiction section of the SCP wiki. This format allows for more conventional narrative stories as well as lore building by creators outside of the official articles. Often it is employed by writers to put their own spin on the lore or allow a more personalised look at different characters. Which is exactly what UraniumEmpire was hoping to do when they posted SCP-0166 on 20/9/2019. [1]

    I frequently state you should read the original literature, but for this story it is rather necessary. This is a extensive piece of work and I will not be capable of doing the details justice in a brief overview. We begin with Epon’s (the name I’m using for SCP-166) Containment Procedures which say she is to be managed by the Pataphysics Department.[1] They are a research division which handles anomalies that treat the universe as if it is materially fiction.[2] Furthering this narrative interplay, changes to Epon are to be examined for “Romantic Repercussions” referencing the Romantic literary movement.

    She is to be housed in an unfurnished containment cell, fed 19th century vegetarian food and to be moved to a new housing unit every week.[1] She is to be contained in Site 166, a set of disposable concrete buildings containing empty holding compartments that are not allowed to exist for more than a year. Asexual or neurotypical personnel are strongly preferred and all feminine attracted employees are denied access to Epon.

    Moving onto the description section, we are informed Epon’s primary anomaly. She is the centre of a reality warping field that transforms the surrounding matter to conform to literary ideals.[1] However she exhibits some control of this as there is a deliberate manifestation of 19th Century Dark Romanticist conventions. Extended exposure to this field is inhospitable due to hostile architecture and pollution. As well, the more things change to these conventions the more the field grows, hence needing to switch where she lives.

    The Cathedral Of Blood from Code Vein (2019) by Bandai Namco
    Retrieved From: Facebook

    After all this preamble we are conveyed some history, in the form of two separate streams. One recounts Epon’s personal history and the other is a set of interviews with a Dr Sophia Whateley. I will try covering all this chronologically but in the story itself, the two sets of information are alternated between.

    Paraphrasing the tale to hell, we begin with Epon in her former teenage succubus form.[1] She is examined by a male doctor, Dr James Dantensen with allusions of sexual malfeasance on the doctor’s part. Eventually, Epon escapes containment and neutralizes him before being re-contained. After this, Epon exhibits signs of recalcitrance, disavowed Catholicism, suicidality and becomes hostile to all personnel.

    However, once she began suffering from malnutrition due to not eating and cellulitis, her hostility lessens. She escapes for a second time but hands herself back into containment six months later, with little discussion as to what she did on her outing. Only that she seems worse mentally.

    We subsequently obtain the interviews with Dr Sophia Whateley. The first is predominantly Epon stonewalling the psychologist, as well as lamenting being emotionally stunted and perceiving a lack of control in her own life.[1]

    In the following interview we find out Dr Whateley was trying to be reassigned due to developing romantic feelings for her patient. But because of anomalous interference she is forced to interact with Epon anyway. Epon monologues about how Dr Dantensen perceived her as a fetish piece, so after his death the teenage succubus transformed into a mid-20s dark romantic. In addition, she blames Whateley, as proxy for the entire Foundation, for their culpability in her abuse. This section ends with Epon recounting a male staffer breaking into containment to elope with her. In response, she told the staffer to kill himself.

    The third interview is primarily Whateley and Epon arguing.[1] The former contends she is trying her best to help. But the latter views the doctor as being impersonal, lacking any care and solely representing another in a extensive line of researchers attempting to control her. To Epon, Whateley is no better than the men who came before her.

    The final interview is the most tragic. Whateley rushes into Epon’s containment cell, her fingers covered in blood. She tries talking but coughs up blood as her words are choked.[1] The doctor pleads to Epon that she wanted to do more and still loves her, as the effects of tuberculosis consume her lungs. Epon monologues that it was inevitable, that this is a terrible way to go, and in response to the declaration of love, tells Whateley to kill herself. Whateley dies in an instant. And Epon retreats to her bed, her back to the camera in her room. With only the sounds of crying disturbing the stillness.

    Transcending American Literature

    There are many directions to take this story, a plethora of things that can be said about it. But I think one of the most important avenues is to discuss the ties to Anti-Transcendentalism or Dark Romanticism. Dark Romanticism is a combination of the Transcendentalist and Gothic literary movements, often typified by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville.[3][4][5] Transcendentalism is excellently described by Olgahan Bakşi Yalçin in her essay on Moby Dick as:

    “ Briefly, transcendentalism stresses the importance of individualism, intuition, nature, and self-reliance as opposed to Calvinism, or the doctrine of predestination practiced by the Puritans at that time”[5]

    The Gothic movement was based on Romanticism (itself based on Transcendentalism), and focused on the more sordid side of individualism and nature. It often relies on secrecy, illness and horror in everyday occurrences.[3] These genres were uniquely from the United States, as Transcendentalism itself came from the desire of American writers to produce their own literary movement outside of European writing conventions.[4] However, although Dark Romanticism was born of Americana, it ended up less conventional that the other offshoots.

    Depending on the writer, you get a different severity of critiques against Transcendentalism. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter does depict Anti-Transcendentalist themes but ultimately seems to side with Transcendentalism as the path for humanity.[4] Melville’s Moby Dick has Ishmael gradually lose his Transcendentalist beliefs due to the horrors of Ahab’s lust for revenge. Suggesting Transcendentalisms idyllic picture is not inevitably reflected in reality.[5] And Poe’s The Pit and The Pendulum focuses on the horror people inflict on others, how disgustingly torturous we can naturally be.[6]

    Illustration for The Pit and The Pendulum (1919) by Harry Clarke
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    All of these counter the Transcendentalist idea that humans are innately good and virtuous, but their conviction behind it ranges wildly. Ultimately however, all Dark Romanticism believes in the innate sinfulness of humanity and desires to explore the internal world of the sinner.[4] Furthermore, there is a focus on revenge and sadism, the desire to injure others for “righteous” reasons or simply out of pure anger.[4][5]

    The point is not to create an edge-lord paradise but rather to reveal the lies behind the naively optimistic view of human nature as always good. To demonstrate not only mortal complexity but inherent evil in a psychological and spiritual capacity. And what better way to illustrate the horrific tragedy of a girl trapped in the stories of others than the genre built to reveal the darkness in us all.

    Twinning With 1851

    Although Poe is the King of Dark Romanticism, I believe the best starting point for comparison is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. In the story we follow Ishmael, a optimistic Transcendentalist whaler signed onto the Pequod.[7] The ship is captained by the monomaniacal Ahab, who lost his leg to the titular whale and desires revenge at all cost. We witness Ishmael’s naive hope for humanity and nature battle against the whirlpool of illogical hatred.

    It is interesting to note that Melville originally wrote this as a simple fictional account of his own experience whaling. That is until he met with Hawthorne who seemed to inspire a shift in tone.[5] In a similar way, UraniumEmpire took a simple account of erotica disguised as horror and turned it into an existential nightmare. But I think the most important comparison t is to note the similarities and differences between Captain Ahab and Epon, especially within the interactions of their transcendentalist characters.

    Moby Dick Commission (2017) by Daniel Warren Johnson
    Retrieved From: Comic Art Fans

    Both Ahab and Epon are consumed by the desire for cathartic revenge. The world has treated them horribly, and they have been wronged by an individual, although one is an animal and the other is all too human. Because of this, they see the world as filled with the horrors of sin and hatred. But the more compelling connection is how both show awareness of the futility of their pursuit. Ahab reflects on his wife and kids, knowing he and others may never see their family because of his monomania. [5] And Epon states:

    “Maybe you were like me, the keystone macguffin in a shitty plot. Titillation for the reader. Be thankful yours wasn’t as big a pervert as mine.”[1]

    Epon is aware of her position as a MacGuffin, a fictional puppet to entice and entertain the reader, with little to no control over her own story. Even as we read her killing Whateley, as cries echo for the loss of love, one cannot help but feel she is still confined in the conventions of a story. Like Ahab feels compelled to hunt the titular whale by an indescribable force,[5] Epon is moved to weaponise her trauma by the conventions around her. The narrative itself warps the world around her but also reflects how she is trapped in the confines of fiction. Never able to be fully realised.

    And even the knowledge of this predicament does not bring any hope of change. As Transcendentalism challenged the Doctrine of Pre-ordination,[5] there is irony therefore in using Dark Romanticism to suggest Epon too has little free will. Even with all her power, Epon does not choose where she lives, who she interacts with, what she eats or how she is seen. The narrative around her dictates how others interact with her. A narrative that only exists so she can avoid the leering of men. A narrative which she does not fully control in terms of how it effects others.

    Perhaps most tragically of all is how Epon destroys any hint of Transcendentalism in Whateley. For all intents and purposes, Whateley is our Ishmael. She genuinely believes in the inherent good of her patient, that she is someone who can be helped and is not a literal demon. As well as Epon’s ability to choose a new life for herself. But just as Ahab’s cruelty transforms Ishmael’s philosophy,[5] Epon’s literal genre bending transforms Whateley. Her kindness is unbelievable to the traumatised Epon, and therefore the latter forces the darker aggression out of the former. Confirming the worst suspicions of Epon that everyone, no matter how kind, has sin in their heart.

    The Scarlet E

    The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne is perhaps the most hopeful of the Dark Romantic tales. In it, a woman called Hester is caught cheating with a man due to getting pregnant whilst her husband is lost at sea.[8] She is punished with shame as the letter A for adulterer is emblazoned on her chest. But even through the mocking and isolation, Hester gains the strength to be a good person and alter the meaning of the A. From Adulterer to Able. Hester is an exemplary Transcendentalist, surrounded by Anti-Transcendentalists like her returned husband seeking revenge and the Reverend she committed adultery with. [4]

    The Scarlet Letter (1861) by Hugues Merle
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    It is thought-provoking how some parts of The Scarlet Letter contrast and mirror Epon’s own descent. For example, both Hester and Epon show self-reliance exemplifying the transcendentalist iconography of individualism.[4] They are bastions of independence with no need for institutions or society. But in Hester’s case, this is to present her transformation and reveal her innate goodness. In being solitary, Hester is allowed to acknowledge her “sin”, to forgive those who treated her poorly and move on. However, Epon’s case reveals her desire for revenge and catharsis, to enact the pain she experienced onto others for some semblance of emotional relief.

    Moreover, both Pearl (Hester’s bastard daughter) and Epon are intuitive, understanding the world through inner truths and spiritual intellect rather than scientific rationality.[4] Showing the brilliance of emotional intelligence and interconnectivity with the world around them. However once again there is a split. Pearl’s intuitiveness comes from her innocence and connection to nature, allowing her to reconnect with the Edenic past of humanity. But Epon’s life is permeated with disposable concrete buildings and detached perverts. Her intuitiveness is from her trauma, a lack of innocence and arguably outright rejection of it. Hypervigilance manifesting into a need to defend the self above all else.

    It’s fascinating how Epon is so close to representing a transcendental character. But due to the trauma and horrors she experiences, she is never able to have that hope for humanity again. Paradoxically it is the institution forsaking her that results in her Dark Romanticism.

    Epon does not arrive at the conclusion of many early writers from the United States. That to be truly good one needs to be an individual attuned with nature away from society.[4] Instead, she believes that humans are innately corrupted and evil. Likely because unlike Transcendentalist and Romantic writers, she was directly defiled and exploited by these systems.

    But there is one more part of the Scarlet Letter I would like to explore. Roger Chillingworth is Hester’s husband who makes it his mission to torture Reverend Dimmsadale for the cheating with his wife.[4] He torments Dimmsadale relentlessly, until the bad Reverend confesses to his congregation, then promptly dies. Chillingworth dies a year later, now with no one to abuse. There are two parallels in my opinion to produce between Epon and him, though I wish to note she is clearly a more sympathetic character.

    The Leech and His Patient (1878) from The Scarlet Letter by Mary Hallock Foote and
    L. S. Ipsen
    Retrieved From: Gutenberg

    To begin with, Chillingworth is compared to and stated to be the devil incarnate.[4] In his conquest for revenge, his sadistic sinfulness and need to seek retribution for a slight results in him devolving into unrefined evil. I find this an interesting parallel to Epon, who escaped sexual demonisation by embodying sadistic demonisation. She becomes a figure of revenge, hatred and spite, unable to let anyone close to her. And those who do become even slightly close to her wind up dead. With this framing it is intriguing that although Epon eluded sexual exploitation, she never evaded othering itself.

    However, the more compelling parallel is how Chillingworth’s revenge comes to be what sustains him. Without someone to victimise, to hurt for what they have done to him, he simply gives up and dies. As noted shrewdley by Ramti Mahini and Erin Barth:

    “Dimmesdale is right in noting that relentless revenge is a sin that is worse than any other sin committed by human beings. It causes the pain and sufferings in people to perpetuate in eternity with no ending. Against humanity, revenge can kill the human heart, restricting the ability to love and to forgive.”[4]

    Chillingworth’s quest for revenge ends up with him neglecting his wife and being unable to move on.[4] In a more tragic fashion so too does Epon’s. It’s never textually stated but is quite clear sub-textually that Epon did love or care for Whateley. Why else would she cry at her death? Or engage in a flirtatious manner? Or keep Whateley around after she falls in love?

    But Epon’s need for revenge to sustain her, her desire for catharsis against the institution that wronged her leaves no room for love. It is understandable that Epon never chooses to forgive those who tortured her. But it is tragic she never chooses to love those she cares for.

    Pretty Privilege For Diseases

    The final part I wish to focus on is the choice to use tuberculosis as the manner of death for Whateley. For anyone familiar with gothic novels, the death of the fair maiden by consumption is something you’ve come across. Although it should be noted that consumption was never a one to one with tuberculosis.[9]

    Rather it was the name for a range of lung diseases that caused the person’s body to waste away.[9] To be consumed into nothingness. To give a basis for understanding Clark Lawlor and Akihito Suzuki provided this description of the 18th Century medical literature on consumption:

    “The model of the process of the disease was the accumulation of putrid blood in the lungs, the corrosion of the organ by ulcerous pus and the subsequent emaciation of the body. The essential image employed here was that of foul decay.”[9]

    For an extensive discussion on the history of consumption culturally and in literature I would recommend perusing their paper. But for our purposes, I want to focus on the Romanticisation of the disease. Despite the preceding description at the beginning of the 1700s, there was a shift in how the public and the poet viewed consumption.[9]

    The public, especially the privileged classes, deemed this as a disease of the aristocrat.[9] A sign of languishing emotionality, as the dainty frame of the afflicted could not keep up with the roaring passions of the soul. In other words, a disease for the rich tortured lover.

    Camille Monet sur son lit de mort (1879) by Claude Monet
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    This was especially appealing for the upper classes as it was a disease that brought about thinness and delicate constitution, something desirable for all genders within the 1700s.[9] Some even viewed love as the cure for consumption, as it was lovesickness that was thought to be the primary aetiology, especially for women. The disease was aestheticised to a peaceful, tranquil slip into the pool of endless nothingness. The dying tubercular maiden is perhaps not better emphasised than in this quote from a 1764 diary:

    “a beautiful bride of heaven, an angel too pure and spiritualised to abide long in the material world of the crude body and less refined minds”[9]

    And for the poet, scientist or otherwise intellectual, consumption, especially for males, was seen as a sign of their genius.[9] Akin to the 27 club of the 1700s and 1800s, to die of tuberculosis was seen as to prove your intellectual and poetic genius. You were merely a candle that burned to brightly, and so had to die young.

    Ironically, Poe of all people would expound critically on this notion, stating that the creation of the archetype caused their death to be more important than their prose.[9] Essentially, they were sold on brand rather than artistic merit. Though to be fair, I’d be further willing to entertain modern mediocrity in artists if they committed to dying of consumption.

    Consuming Partners

    With all this said, it is an curious contrast that Whateley’s death is so visceral. Her fall into tubercular death is not so much gentle angel or tortured intellectual as well, vicious misery:

    “SCP-166 averts its gaze towards the ceiling as Dr. Whateley undergoes a violent coughing fit. By the time Dr. Whateley finally recovers her breath, much of her blouse has been stained with blood and phlegm.”[1]

    There is no dainty slow departure, no poetic monologue, for the proclamations of love are choked by the impending toll of death. And yet, it is this act more than anything that makes me convinced that Epon loved Whateley. To choose the death of lovers and poets is a deliberate act. One I believe is brilliantly subverted and yet integrated by UraniumEmpire.

    Here we behold no beauty in death as Poe would have done. Instead, we are exposed to the violence of retribution and the pain of trauma, externalised into the sole loving connection Epon had left.

    The horrifying coldness Epon embodies in Whateley’s final moments are not just her acting out cruel reprisal to any who gets close. It’s the active choice to embrace pain over love. To not move on. She is stranded in a cycle she never wanted to start, moved by the intangible forces of narrative conventions and writers to suffer even more. Her tragedy could not be represented by the Romantic ideals of tubercular angels, nor by the Dark Romantic ideals of beauty in death. Only in unflinching agony, do we understand the Ouroboros of Pain she can never leave.

    Untitled 27 (2013) by KwangHo Shin
    Retrieved From: Bechance

    Because Epon and Whateley are the same. I’m sure you recall the line previously where Epon compares herself to a MacGuffin. In it she is also comparing herself to Whateley. The two are both victims of their writers, although UraniumEmpire’s victimisation is at least deliberate meta-commentary. The two are not ardent tortured souls and the power of love cannot liberate them from narrative beings who wish to play with their creations for entertainment.

    Death by consumption was often deemed as The Good Death.[9] Unlike diseases such as smallpox or death by war, it was comparatively peaceful in the social consciousness. In a uncanny way, Epon could be right. Maybe Whateley should be thankful that the writer chose consumptive death instead of abusive stasis. It is a more peaceful alternative than the myriad of other ways one could die in the SCP universe. And at least with this, Whateley gets to be free. And she will finally know a peace never afforded to Epon.

    Conclusion

    SCP-0166 has been one of the few SCP tales that has stuck with me since I initially read it. I’ve revisited the story often and have even recited it to friends. The tale is by no means perfect writing, but it has always struck a chord with me. Part of that is the visceral emotions of Epon are ones I have borne and continue to bear as someone who experienced relatively similar abuse. The raw emotionality captivated and expressed concepts I could not . But as well, more than anything, I was happy to have horror that was humanising.

    Throughout reading the tale alongside the SCP-166 article, what always strikes me is regardless of Epon’s actions, the tragedy of her situation is front and centre. She is not a archetypal good person. But I defy anyone to read the story and be able to condemn her actions or act as if they would be virtuous. It accepts and allows for the imperfections and maladaptive behaviours of an abuse victim. She is allowed to be a threat to herself and people around her, without a meta-textual patronising saviour narrative.

    But it is in researching Dark Romanticism and consumption that I finally reckoned with Epon’s humanity. That I got to witness buried in the tale the glimmers of how she could have been a different person. As well as how even with all the power Epon is purported to have, she’s still as much a victim of the labyrinthine narrative as she was at the outset. But this time, it was done as purposeful commentary by the writer, rather than sadistic or ignorant carelessness. The depth of the creation by UraniumEmpire is utterly astounding. And I never will stop thinking of this tale.

    Thank you all for reading this. Next up will be an essay dissecting the history of the Japanese transgender community. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you think of SCP-0166.

    References

    1. UraniumEmpire.(2024). SCP-0166. Retrieved From: SCP Wiki
    2. Jerden.(2024). Departments. Retrieved From: SCP Wiki
    3. Howard, M. (2015). A new genre emerges: The creation and impact of dark romanticism.
    4. Mahini, R. N.-T. (Noor), & Barth, E. (2018). The Scarlet Letter: Embroidering Transcendentalism and Anti-transcendentalism Thread for an Early American World. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(3), 474. DOI
    5. Yalçin, O. B. (2019). The dichotomy of Melville’s Moby Dick: American transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism. Atatürk Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, (63), 263-278.
    6. Ballengee, J. R. (2008). Torture, Modern Experience, and Beauty in Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Modern Language Studies, 38(1), 26–43.
    7. Melville, H.(1851) Moby Dick. New York, Dodd, Mead and company
    8. Hawthorne, N. (1850). The Scarlet Letter. New York: Applause.
    9. Lawlor, C., & Suzuki, A. (2000). The Disease of the Self: Representing Consumption, 1700-1830. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 74(3), 458–494.
  • I Could Be A Teenager’s Libertarian Dream

    I Could Be A Teenager’s Libertarian Dream

    Content Notes: Discussions of Ableism, Gamergate, Paedophillia, Rape, Racism, Right Wing Radicalisation and Sexism

    In the previous essay we covered the numerous versions of SCP-166 and the larger extrapolations that could be made from them. But the SCP Foundation is an online collaborative forum. Unlike some writing forums where someone simply uploads a poem and gets critiqued, each piece is part of a vaster web created by the community. And therefore, any story is not just a tale of its creators but of those who interacted with it too. Therefore let’s look at what the community can tell us about SCP-166.

    A History of Horny Demons

    I believe one of the most pervasive and evergreen comments regarding the SCP 166 article is how Epon (it’s primary focus) had to drink sperm. How the act of spermophagia for sustenance was quite literally integral to the idea of a succubus and could not be separated from it. From user Wishun on 30/1/2013:

    “Succubi, at their core, are sex eaters. They sustain themselves via intercourse and that is their defining characteristic. Wether [sic] that feeding is spiritual, emotional, phsyical[sic], etc. varies by mythos. If this is going to stay true to the core idea, there needs to be something linking to that universal theme.”[1]

    Straight away one could argue a historical link doesn’t explain why Epon has to be a teenager, but let’s tackle the comment in a alternative way. Perhaps it is due to ignorance on my part, but I was never aware of sperm sustenance being an inextricable tie to succubi lore. At most I associated them with the kiss of death. Moreover they were consistently just innately desirable beings in a sort of vague way whenever I encountered them in media. But I will admit my asexuality may have hampered any exposure to contemporary portrayals of succubi.

    Therefore with this ignorance began my research to find some reliable accounts of succubi history. A goal that ended rather disappointingly. Alot of the academic writing borders on flowery and magical language, making it difficult to distinguish historical records from mythologising by the writers. The best account I could find was an excellent book by Walter Stephens, however he primarily covers Christian theology on sexual demons and witchcraft. And does not touch much on early Jewish scholarship.

    One of the earliest accounts for succubi starts with Thomas Aquinas, a name synonymous with Christian medieval philosophy.[2] Although not a primary focus of any writing, Aquinas popularised two aspects of demonic copulation. Firstly, that demons (and angels as well) possessed virtual bodies. That is to say, bodies made of air that looked like ours but did not interact with matter normally.

    They did not need to eat or drink but some demons were interested in a separate bodily act. Essentially, demons could sire sinful mortal children by altering their shape to a charming lady to bank a male’s semen and then shift into a comely man to impregnate a woman with said sperm. Therefore, we can consider them early recycling icons.

    Altarpiece of Thomas Aquinas from Ascoli Piceno, Italy (15th Century) by Carlo Crivelli
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    Until Heinrich Kramer’s unfortunately influential Malleus Maleficium (1486), a treatise on witchcraft, most stories of succubi and incubi portrayed their actions as lacking consent.[2] It is in Kramer’s account where the idea of witches making deals with sexual fiends to enact harm on others was first introduced.

    On top of this, we get a slight change to the game plan of demons. Through the method above, Kramer argues they are creating half demonic children which we call cambions but he referred to as changelings. Furthermore, incubi and succubi were still not understood as a unique class of demons, but rather the name for any fiend who sleeps with a human.

    Of final importance is “The Witch; or On The Illusion of Demons” by Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola. [2] This is a fictional account of the Mirandola witch trials between 1522 and 1525 that saw seven men and three women killed for witchcraft. The text makes use of accounts Mirandola himself had gotten from torturing the witches, even utilizing one as a named character who speaks on the matter of witchcraft. It is in essence, a play justifying governmental murder. As well, it includes the baffling addition that demons genitals feel like densely packed flax and are bigger than humans.

    I state these strange details not just because of their hilarious nature, but to evidence Stephen’s aspersion that Mirandola primarily communicated this out of spiteful hate for the seven men who purportedly experienced otherworldly sex.[2] I agree with Stephens that the history of the succubi and incubi is littered with jealous guys. On top of this, I would include that it does often come across as if they get very little physical contact of their own. It seems impotent rage remains a timeless behavioural issue.

    Substantiating A Succubus

    So apart from being an excuse to research demonology, I wanted to discuss the origins of succubi for two reasons. Firstly, that the idea of them stealing sperm to somehow gain your spiritual essence is a more recent addition to the mythology. And secondly to show the early writing on succubi was largely Christian fear-mongering in an effort to induce a literal satanic panic for religious leaders to capitalise on control.

    This is not to say that semen sustenance is therefore unimportant to the mythology, but rather that any assertion of its integral nature is a post hoc justification. People liked SCP-166 with the addition of this succubi lore and therefore considered Epon eating sperm as an indispensable story beat. Without it, she will lose her demonic aesthetic trappings, and these fiendish references cannot be replaced with other parts.

    Aetheria (2025) by Yuming Li
    Retrieved From: Instagram

    But there were other avenues to explore in the lore, some of which is not innately sexual. A being with a virtual body comprised of air and succubi powers could have been a compelling discourse on the nature of visual attraction. Dissecting how attraction does not have to rely on physical substantiation. People can just catch a glimpse of a stunning face and be completely enamoured. Even be driven mad with rage or love because they will never grasp what they covet.

    It would make for a fun evil SCP if the succubi utilized this to her advantage to torture others. Or a tragic one if she could never experience physical touch, even by those she loves. All this, without needing to focus on physical nakedness, sperm eating and barely legal teenagers.

    There’s even wider social commentary to be made, how men sleeping with succubi inevitably generated a righteous anger in other men for the lack of sexual satisfaction in their experiences. As well they are invariably proven lacking when compared to the incubi lovers of women. These mythologies tap into the intimate insecurity of the most influential males who have to cover up how genuinely unfuckable they are with status symbols. A tale that has no bearing in the modern day of course.

    It would have been another unique take on the succubi to suffer the insecurities of those around her being projected onto her. The desire to conquer a body that is pleasurable beyond measure whilst also needing to contain such lustful thoughts so as to uphold their social image. The feelings of inadequacy when faced with an otherworldly force you cannot compete with. The form of a succubus is bursting with cultural touchstones on the nature of love, sex and relationships. Touchstones that end up feeling completely ignored by SCP-166 and admittedly by most of the spin offs that followed.

    Le génie du mal (1848) by Guillaume Geefs
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia
    Note: This is the closest I can get to succubi/incubi art without showing pornographic poor anatomy

    Whilst I enjoy the subsequent writing, it does feel like none of them ever really grapple with the history of the succubus. Or the various diverse ways they have been portrayed in Christian theology and beyond. There is no interest in analysing how the succubus has been utilised in changing times, varied cultures and disparate people.

    Instead, it is stripped to its barest essentials as an icon of cisgender heterosexual male appeal, with no consideration for actual historical use of such iconography. Instead, cursory overviews with no critical appraisal are uncritically accepted as the canonical versions of a millennia old mythological group. An uncritical acceptance that is born from a specific movement online.

    E-Libertarianism? In My Nerd Community? More Likely Than You Think

    When reading through the comments chain of SCP-166 there is a surprising level of reasonableness for a post-2014 online nerd space. However, there were some parts that rather lived up to my expectations such as this reply by user Puffinmasa on 31/12/2020, commenting on the current SCP 166 piece:

    “I wasn’t really married to the old article, but the context added with the witches vs patriarchy vibe makes this very noxious. Every aspect of the article seems to serve one of two purposes; to ensure that it’s seen as a replacement/undermining of the old scip [sic] instead of it’s own thing, and to push that psudo-pagan[sic], earthy ‘wholesome’ aesthetic we’ve all come to associate with a certain clique.”[1]

    Before we get further into this, quick note, I am rebranding myself to be a pseudo-pagan, earthly wholesome writer cause that sounds fantastic. But to decode this comment is to inevitably reveal my side in various online culture wars (as if my writing already hasn’t).

    In addition, it is worth noting I do not have special access to the intent behind Puffinmasa’s veiled language. However, I would argue it is reasonable to say there are aspersions of anti-progressive language, siding against what would presently be called “The Woke Mob”. And whilst not every user commenting on SCP 166 is like this, more than is strictly comfortable are.

    In their extraordinary essay which you should absolutely go read, Faith Agostinone-Wilson examines the emergence of E-Libertarianism, which she describes as having the core belief that the internet is:

    “a self-governing, neutral location with equal access for all that should not be interfered with by regulations of any kind”[3]

    This sounds reasonable on the offset, but there are 4 key tenets propping the belief up.[3] Beginning with First Amendment Absolutism, a belief based on the United States First Amendment that governments should not censor speech. However, such rhetoric is extended to the idea that any censorship or moderation, even by private groups or individuals, is a slippery slope towards authoritarianism.

    To suggest the removal of comments, the blocking of people or even just to critique any speech mildly is to allow for totalitarian beliefs to seep in. However, as Agostinone-Wilson points out, such proponents never address the opposite issue.[3] That uncritical acceptance of bigotry will lead to normalisation of hate speech.

    Next is the myth of the Internet being a neutral place. A realm where markers of race, gender and class are completely absent, and those who do show their marginalisation are associated with unjust regulation.[3] This is where terms like Social Justice Warrior and Political Correctness are from. The idea that countering bigotry in all its forms is itself harming the impartiality of the internet. To sanitise or otherwise make cyberspaces comfortable for minorities, is to harm the foundation it was built upon.

    Because, building on Free Speech Absolutism, the internet should be a marketplace for all ideas. Only through the neutral competition of thought online can truth be found. This ignores how monopolies, the rich and politically powerful can influence algorithms in certain directions to make the search engines and social media lack any semblance of neutrality.

    As well, it creates an acceptance of ignorance. Any facts or knowledge the users are not predisposed to knowing through academic gatekeeping, algorithmic manipulation and other forms of information control are simply not strong enough to compete in the market. In other words, those who shout the loudest are automatically right.

    FREE SPEECH (2023) by Ripper13
    Retrieved From: Imgflip

    Thirdly, the internet is not real, a classic for trolls to this day. The idea that harassment, threats, doxxing and other deeds taken online cause no harm. [3] Anything that may support violent beliefs is reasonable as the media either does not directly call for harm or if it does, it’s never as bad as [Insert Pithy Fallacy of Relative Privation].

    This extends to analysis of work created by internet users. Anything generated online, be it a Youtube video, Soundcloud song or fanfiction is considered to bear a less tangible connection to reality. And therefore such art should never be subject to the same standards as “real-life” creations. After all, you’re just taking this too serious; it doesn’t really mean anything if it’s on the internet. It can’t be harmful because it is not real.

    Linking to this is the final belief, that harassment is the price of admission for a wholly free society. [3] The abuse marginalised people face is the price they must pay for freedom the internet affords. This can be as straightforward as the passive normalisation of harassment and dehumanisation of minorities, but sometimes rises to explicit acceptance of the behaviour.

    Even if stories, artwork, commenters or anything else alienates, degrades or outright harms minority groups, it is a worthwhile tribute on the altar of freedom. As long as the libertarians don’t have to sacrifice anything that is. Like their imaginary underage wives.

    The Harms of Being Edgy

    You can see evidence of Agostinone-Wilson’s tenets of libertarianism throughout the comment history of SCP-166. Although it notably got worse in 2014 around the time of Gamergate, which solidified a lot of the more casual right wing internet users into a collective network.[4] This is not to say that SCP users ever rose to the level of Gamergate actions but rather that the cultural mileau of online nerd spaces at the time leaked into this community in the worst possible way.

    There’s examples of Free Speech Absolutism such as, if it makes you feel bad then its automatically good horror that needs protecting, from Jabal on 14/9/2019:

    “There are plenty of articles that are supposed to make you feel uncomfortable or make your skin crawl. Complex and controversial themes if well handled should never be off limits in my opinion. The fact you have such a strong opinion about it and that it is well written means it is already a success.”[1]

    That the internet is neutral and needs to not be “sanitised” from Count DVB on 2/2/2019:

    “Never really saw her as something overtly sexual. Sex is part of life and existence and trying to “sanitize” it for the sake of being “serious” is… maybe a little ridiculous.”[1]

    The Internet is not real, in response to a commenter saying that SCP-166 perpetuated rape culture, Anonymouse99 said on the 16/8/2013:

    “There’s a knife SCP that makes you kill people, but I sincerely doubt the author was making an argument about how knives need to be regulated. You’re looking wayyyy too much into this.”[1]

    And that harassment is the price of admission, specifically to be in the SCP fandom is to normalise the sexualisation of young girls/women, from The Raven on 16/12/2010:

    “It’s creepy, but hot in a way. Yes, I’m strange.*volunteers for “feeding” duties* .”[1]

    Note: In fairness, The Raven did edit this comment to no longer be creepy. Though this was only after being directly called out.

    I mention all of this not to cast aspersions that the SCP forums are secretly trying to radicalise you, but rather to show the inextricable political connections with SCP-166 and its defenders. The broader goal of e-libertarianism is to package conservative values as countercultural, inverting the movements of the 1960s to create an irony laden version of right-wing ideals.[3] That to, for example, mirror paedophilic and sexist norms in a collaborative horror fiction forum is actually edgy and against the status quo.

    It doesn’t even need conscious adoption of the core ideals to be effective. As long as the general trend online captures these ideas, the radicalisation happens on an discrete level. Exposure, even thoughtless exposure, is the only requirement.

    Therefore these kinds of stories and defences do not exist in a vacuum. They were and are, part of a vaster network of a right-wing pipeline into extremism. As Agostinone-Wilson notes the pathway towards white supremacy in online spaces often starts with more “harmless” contrarian trolling and espousal of less radical E-Libertarianism.[3] The uncritical appraisal of fiction like SCP-166 leads to real life harm, not just in the sense of inspiring even more barely legal pornography and espousing libertarian philosophy on consent.

    It normalises the dehumanisation of marginalised and vulnerable individuals under the guise of horror. This normalisation then leads to ironic acceptance becoming unironic. Marking the gradual descent downwards to right-wing extremism as can be seen in Gamergate amongst other online radicalisation movements.[3][4] And the most troubling part of this, is horror does not have to be so thoughtless. Iconoclastic figures in horror like Jordan Peele have shown that the language of the genre can be employed to uplift the tales of the marginalised.

    SCP 818 (2015) by SunnyClockwork
    Retrieved From: DeviantArt

    But even within the SCP Foundation, there is an excellent history of queer, disabled and racialised creators sharing their marginalisation using horror. Or even just tales that tap into resonant themes of these groups. My current favourite being SCP-818 an article inextricably linked to ableism faced by high support needs autistic individuals and the disposability of disabled black people. It’s terrifying and dreadful, but you always sense condemnation towards the treatment of 818. Something not present with the writers or many commenters for SCP-166.

    Indeed when a more progressive outlook is achieved, when Epon’s humanity compels someone to think about their own culpability in a sexist society, the conclusion is not what I would call a beneficial influence. As shown by user Lummox on the 3/11/2013:

    “Just knowing [Epon] exists leaves a mark of shame. Knowing that if I were to touch her delicate flesh with my rough, callused hand, it would leave a mark[…] She’s a damsel in distress, as rescued as she’s ever going to be, an ageless innocent trapped at the emergence of nubility. I need to be protected from her, and she from me.”[1]

    I do not want to disparage this user for providing an incredibly vulnerable self-reflection. There is no ill will on my part towards anyone I have shared statements from. But, from Lummox’s comments, it seems like all this tale does is feed sexist understandings of gender dynamics. Men are violent aggressors and women are damsels in distress.

    A narrative that solely makes inter-gender relations and understanding worse. One bred not by a progressive feminist understanding on the nature of gendered discrimination, but on conservative gender essentialism where personality traits are dictated by chromosomes and genitalia.

    It helps no one but right wing propagators to present this horrific bleak picture of humanity. Because if we are biologically hardwired to cause harm or be harmed, then more left wing notions of equality between people cannot be reached. All we can do is seek to prevent the harmful gender from hurting the vulnerable gender. Or give in to hopelessness and lean into our roles. But there is hope. And weirdly enough the SCP community shows it.

    The Benefits of Community

    On the first page of the discussion board for SCP-166 back on 7/11/2008, before Clef’s first rewrite, is this comment by user Dr Gears:

    “…The pretty SCP girl who lives off semen seems like a send-up for a erotic fan-fiction. not [sic] saying there’s no hope for it, but our other succubus is pretty darn good…”[1]

    It’s not a lot, its not an amazing opus on the nature of sexism in nerd spaces, although to be fair neither is this essay. But, it is something that gave me hope. And throughout my research of this topic, I have found commenters and writers who pushed back against the messaging of SCP-166. And that, is of vital importance.

    It obviously helped changed this specific article but also protected the community. The strength of collaborative fiction is not just in the nature of multiple writers contributing. It is in the communal critique of ideas. Even if the community as a whole moved at a glacial pace, I am glad it moved at all and had these conversations.

    Ironically, in allowing for the dissent, and the back and forth by less than perfect humans giving less than perfect arguments, the community prevented a lot of the harm that SCP-166 could cause. In forcing people to defend their positions, in censoring trolls or hate speech and keeping individuals on track with dissecting the tale, it meant that others were ameliorated from right-wing libertarianism.

    There are countless examples of commenters reading rewrites or proposed edits and finding them significantly better than the current version. And in doing so, realising the harm SCP-166 dealt in its current form outweighed the artistic merit.

    I am not stating that it is the job of every marginalised person to have to be a voice of the oppressed. Rather, I am saying that it is the job of community heads, online and offline, to create spaces where marginalised people can easily speak. To prevent trolling and silencing of the most vulnerable.

    Because whether you like the original SCP-166, the modern one, or one of the rewrites in between. By having a community that supported other writers, their visions, their perceptions, we got some excellent spin offs of 166. And some deeply personal tales of sexism and feminine experiences that changed how men looked at the struggles of women.

    But those are tales we will explore next time.

    References

    1. SCP Contributors (2025). SCP-166/Discussion. Retrieved From:SCP Wikidot
    2. Stephens, W. (2003). Demon lovers: Witchcraft, sex, and the crisis of belief. University of Chicago Press.
    3. Agostinone-Wilson, F. (2020). Enough already! : a socialist feminist response to the re-emergence of right wing populism and fascism in media. Leiden ; Boston: Brill|Sense.
    4. Mortensen, T. E. (2016). Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate. Games and Culture, 13(8), 787–806. DOI
  • I Was Once A Teenage Controversy

    I Was Once A Teenage Controversy

    Content Notes: Art of Sexualised Teenagers and Discussions of Acephobia, Gay Conversion, Homophobia, Paedophilia, Rape and Sexism

    I have adored the SCP Foundation since I was a teenager writing weirdly disturbing horror stories for English class. The communal atmosphere, the dedication to executing novel ways to write online, even the acceptance of the bizarre captivated my imagination. My love of this niche is to the point of having read the first 1000 articles and planning to go through them all eventually. But this dedication comes with the knowledge of the more disturbing and disgusting side of the SCP Foundation lore. Therefore, let’s explore perhaps the most famously controversial SCP. 166

    A Real History of A Fictional Organisation

    The SCP Foundation is an online forum where writers can submit stories. The narratives come in two flavours. The more conventional one is the Tales Series, which are stories that can follow any format and are meant to be writer’s exploration of SCP lore. The other is SCP files, where the story poses as an academic journal entry, introducing the reader to strange new anomaly. The point of these files is to produce unusual beings and objects, things that should not exist within the world and therefore need to be locked away or studied. Usually with a reliance on horror and science fiction genre conventions.

    As well, the SCP Foundation is itself in the lore, as a scientific private company that seeks to: Secure anomalies, Contain them from the outside and Protect the world from the dangers. Hence SCP. This establishes metafictive interactions with the files, where the reader imagines themselves engaging with in universe scientific write ups of the bizarre anomalies. The idea of a role-playing metafiction extends to the writers themselves, who screen names are repeatedly in universe characters, usually researchers in the SCP Foundation. A pertinent example is the primary writer for the article we are dissecting today, user DrClef, who’s fictive counterpart is called Doctor Alto Clef.

    The SCP Foundation started on the 22nd of June 2007 on…4chan.[1] Yeah that 4chan. The first SCP file 173 was posted on /x/, a creepypasta forum, by an anonymous user. Weirdly enough, this SCP is easy to explain to Doctor Who fans, just imagine the weeping angels. No genuinely, it is a statue that moves when no-one looks at it and breaks your neck. This story inspired a bunch of other articles and multiple threads on 4chan, that shared the format and even created a collaborative lore. But the restrictions with using threads were beginning to annoy the writers.

    A life-sized paper mache figure, ressembling a cross between a human baby and an alien standing upright. It sits in a decrepit white room, with rectangular windows at the back.
    Untitled 2004 by Izumi Kato
    Retrived From: The Scare Chamber
    Note: This was the original image used for SCP-173, but there is now no image on the SCP article due to copyright worries

    So on 18th January 2008, the series moved to the EditThis wiki website, which is described as a Wikipedia clone.[1] The articles from 4chan were then moved to the SCP wiki. During this time period there was little moderation or communal understanding on how to write an SCP file. After all, it was still a burgeoning community that had swiftly grown from one writer to many hundreds in 6 months. But EditThis would not remain the home of the community. Eventually, on 25th of July 2008, the SCP series would move to Wikidot due to EditThis trying to monetise the website. The former wiki was deleted on 6th September 2008, despite a minority of users still being active there.

    To this day, the SCP series continues to be hosted on Wikidot and is currently sitting at over 8,000 articles. There is a thriving and active population of writers in both the SCP files and Tales series. It has even inspired other online horror writing communities, most famously The Backrooms, as well as influencing hit games like Control and Lethal Company. Furthermore it has its own games like SCP-Containment Breach, Secret Laboratory and 5K which I am informed are indeed games. That exist. And can be played. There has even been real-world implications with the term infohazard being used in certain sections of online cults communities. Though today, we will narrow our focus onto one of the oldest articles in the SCP Series.

    Laying Down The Beginning

    SCP-166 is an SCP file created in Ross Fisher Davis on the 1st of June 2008, back on the EditThis website.[2] It was then ported over to the Wikidot site on the 26th of July. The original first article still exists and can be read here. Whilst I would typically recommend that people read the sources, this file contains disturbing sexualisation of a barely legal/underage girl, depending on interpretation. So, feel free to avoid it if that will harm you in any way. In case you do not wish to wade through it, I will provide the low lights. Moreover, throughout these essays, the character of SCP-166 will be referred to as Epon which is one of her canonical names. This is in hope of displaying quite how awful the writing is if she is named.

    All SCP articles begin with the a number, a risk classification and then the details of the procedures to contain the anomaly.[3] The containment procedures are relatively normal, stating she requires minimal security, though adds some foreshadowing by saying her windows must be misted. On top of that, male staff are forbidden from entering the vicinity or examining the contents of the video surveillance. Next, we receive a description which covers history, physical features and a report of the anomalous effects.

    Epon was found in a convent in England, left there to be cared for by the nuns as her mother was a supposed elder entity.[3] She is described as a pale, slender human girl around the age 16-18. Epon’s hair seems to grow abnormally rapid rate, and she is reported as refusing to wear clothing, therefore being perpetually naked. No further justification is offered. She is as strong as an adult man, but is susceptible to asthmatic fits when exposed to aerosols and cigarette smoke.

    Lastly, Epon’s effect is the capability to mind control any man that she makes eye contact with. The only limit is she cannot force someone to inflicted harm upon themselves. This is terrible enough without the following line about her final anomalous effect:

    “SCP-166 is sustained entirely on human male semen, which she would normally obtain by her powers over the minds of a desirable male.”[3]

    To help frame that behemoth of a sentence the tagline for this article, often used as unofficial titles, is A Teenage Succubus. Though I acknowledge the need to state why this is abhorrent, as a point of analysis, I want to add that the reasons should plainly obvious to anyone. Apparently they aren’t, but they should be.

    Let’s start by addressing the age range of 16-18. This is a cop out of an age range. Deliberately designed in the same way “barely legal” pornography is, to allow for the slightest wiggle room. So they can claim it’s not really predatory or creepy because it is technically lawful and morally permissible.

    In addition, the spermophagia and nakedness are obvious additions designed to titillate. But on top of this she is deliberately pale, slender and has long enchantress-like hair. It’s like the gothic horror ideal of a sexual partner, with the added paedophilic youthfulness desirable only to terminally online libertarians. As well, the mind control aspect to drain men of their semen, presumably through an oral sex act, is a naked sexual fantasy posing as horror. It’s not subversive or chilling in anyway detached from the fact someone produced this.

    But even if we imagine a far off world in which this is not a twisted dream, it is nonetheless an innately sexist story. The enchantress leading astray wretched vulnerable men with her rampant feminine wiles and powers. I’ve explored it further in this Kuchisake-Onna essay, but the essential point is viewing femininity as deceitful and manipulative compared to the logical and truthful masculinity. A type of narrative often used against feminine people (regardless of gender identity) to justify their sexualisation and sexual abuse of feminine people through their innate nature. Even their ability to refuse consent cannot be trusted, as their words say one thing, but their bodily presentation says another.

    Fortunately for all of us it was rewritten. Unfortunately, it was not rewritten well.

    Canonising Procreative Acts

    On the 7th of November 2008, user DrClef created and posted a full rewrite of the SCP-166 article.[2] He stated on the attached SCP 166 discussion board that this was due to it needing a punch up. [4] This rewrite was followed by a spate of edits over a year between DrClef and user Slate, the culmination of which can be viewed here as Rewrite 1. There is also a set of significant rewrites in 2013, which I will include a part from in my overview.

    We once more begin with containment procedures. First is an outline of items Epon has been given like a Bible with Apocrypha and a catholic rosary, suggesting a more religious aspect to her character.[5] At this point we encounter our first issue, as Epon is still unable to don clothes. But now there is an added explanation that she gets pressure sores after 45 minutes of wearing fabric. The descriptions of no male staff being allowed nearby and needing to drink 1cc of semen a day to survive is repeated.

    An illustrated pale girl fully naked, grasping a white rosary. Her blonde wavy hair goes to the floor, covering her chest and thighs whilst accentuating her body. Her ice blue eyes stare directly at the viewer as she prays, her lips slightly ajar. The background contains abstract decoration as well as the title "SCP-166 Teenage Succubus"
    SCP-166 (2014) by すわん
    Retrieved From: Pixiv
    Note: I feel the need to state I do not endorse these types of images, but I also need to show how Epon was drawn during the Rewrite 1 era.

    We then move onto the descriptions. Epon is physically similar, though they do not specify her being pale and includes a odd line about her being cute but nothing special according to the female staff. [5] Moving to her effects, her powers are described as more enamouring than direct mind control. In essence, regardless of sexual or romantic orientation, 100% of males who see Epon fall deeply in love/lust and will attempt to copulate with her. The effect will fade on 70% of men once they lose sight of her, though for 30% it leads to a continued violent desire to rape her.

    It should be noted, we get a small 2 line paragraph that explains this causes distress to Epon. This focuses in on the reason for her anguish being because she is Catholic and wishes to remain chaste. [5]

    After that we receive a couple of addenda . Addendum A talks about her history at a nunnery as previously mentioned, but connects it to a story of a young man catching sight of her at the convent. This man then murders one nun and injures three others in an attempt to rape Epon, before being killed himself. This gains the attention of the SCP Foundation and details why she is in their custody. Furthermore, the addendum provides one of two examples of a man being capable of somewhat resisting the urges Epon brings. As a male SCP soldier isolates himself from her in response to her effects manifesting in him.

    Addendum B is not present in the 2013 edits but is in the 2008 ones.[5] It describes Dr Alto Clef (the character), gaining access to Epon’s room and demonstrating no ill effects as well as enjoying a pleasant chat. We only know the chat was about Epon’s mother and Clef seemingly showed no effect analogous to other males in her presence.

    A digital painting of a woman with flowing hair, wearing a light dress, holding a white object, set against a dark, abstract background with hints of red and orange.
    SCP-4231-A and SCP 166 by AmoneYun
    Retrieved From: SCP-DB
    Note: SCP-4231-A is called Lilly and is Epon’s mother

    The concluding part is from the 2013 edit, which includes a letter from Clef to Epon.[6] It states he is her father, and he slayed her mother when she was first born. The letter insinuates Epon’s mother to be a nature goddess of some sort and states Clef left his daughter with the nuns. Finally, its ends with Happy Sixteenth Birthday, implying Epon was or is 16 during her containment at the Foundation. Though due to a widespread issue with early SCP articles, we do not know the date of the letter as that information is redacted.

    Authorial Intentions Overriding Reality

    So. This edit fixes none of the problems with the first version and instead doubles down on a lot of the creepiness. Whilst I will go over the wider communities response in the next essay, I want to tackle DrClef’s vision for the article here. In a comment submitted on the SCP-166 discussion board, on the 16th August 2013, he argues three essential points:[4]

    • There is an apparent horror in both Epon and the men suffering from the mental alterations. With the latter being somewhat responsible for the suffering because of an operative having resisted the desires implanted in him.
    • That even if it perpetuates victim blaming, that doesn’t make this a terrible article. As we could see Epon as a metaphor for the male gaze and objectification.
    • That one can view Epon as a person who shows both sides of the Madonna-Whore Complex and this adds to the horror of the article.

    So, the first issue is, there is not much work being done about how horrifying the experience is for anyone involved. Most of that is left implicit save for a single brief paragraph by anonymous others stating that Epon is troubled by it. This, in and of itself, is not bad. Implicit horror is valid and often used to enormous success in the SCP Series.

    However, for implicit horror to work, the implications need to be the focal point. What is left unsaid, what is unknown, generates questions that should be the focus of the audience’s mind. But those questions don’t feel like the focus in comparison to DrClef’s grandstanding for his self insert character.

    Many comments on the first rewrite in 2008 remark that the article expands Dr Alto Clef lore.[4] People wonder if he is a demon or the devil incarnate, and this trend continues in the 2013 edits. Apart from that, instead of wondering about the delicate implications, the use of teenage sperm drinking and the insistence Epon remains naked are what chiefly horrify people. The idea of both Epon and these men experiencing disgusting violation is less commented on in comparison. Consequently, even if it was his intention, he absolutely failed to strike the appropriate balance to highlight that horror. Instead, he oversold the cheap shocks and his own lore-building.

    An illustrated character wearing a white coat and a black hat, holding a rifle, with a snake wrapped around him and flowers in the background.
    Kondraki/Clef (2013) by ptzs
    Retrieved From: Pixiv

    But even with nominal attention on Epon, the group who really are not focused on remain the men whose minds are twisted. We get no sentiment as to how they feel at what could either be an incredible mental violation or a resistible thought insertion. There is no sense of a need for therapy, memory wiping drugs (a staple of SCP Series) or any other interventions. Never mind the lack of access to any of these men’s experiences through their own words.

    We can never tell how in control they are, and that feels somewhat pivotal to a narrative about unwilling mental and bodily violation. If both the men and Epon are meant to be experiencing violation; it would be imperative to at least somewhat understand the nature of that violation. It is not just that Epon’s victimhood is barely considered, the men’s feel like a contrast to show how powerful and special Clef is.

    Furthermore, the fact Epon’s power overrides sexuality is never expanded on. If done right, this could have been an imaginative exploration of gay and ace conversion. The horror implicit in the distinct nature of marginalised sexual and romantic preferences being stripped away to conform to a societal standard.

    But we barely receive a single throwaway line, which ends up with Epon and the men being treated as disposable. Anyone who was identified as being victimised by DrClef’s own thesis for his work is never given the opportunity to express the horror within that experience. Instead their pain is a backdrop for the terrific tragic life of Dr Alto Clef. Because only through him can we apparently undestand the horrors of Epon’s existence.

    The Terrifying Twisting of Feminism

    Even if we view Epon as a metaphor for the male gaze and objectification, these issues are not subverted. Merely making her Catholic and an unwilling participant in her effects is not enough to actually comment on objectification. In fact, she is never allowed to be anything but the object of her own article. A being who’s opinions are not once given any narrative weight. Especially in comparison to that of her father who receives an in-universe letter to express how he feels. Who is allowed an actual point of view in the media.

    And it is not like it would be impossible to show her perspective. Many articles use therapy logs or letters or even drawings by the anomalous focus, to showcase their perspective and view of the situation. Instead Epon is relegated to someone else’s perspective on her, making her the text book definition of an object. Her perspective is paid pure lip service.

    But even then the lip service doesn’t make complete sense. Why is the focus of her terror at her situation how it effects her religion? I do not know many Catholics; the United Kingdom is infamous for our completely normal relationship with Catholicism. But surely, the peril of bodily injury is present along with the threat of spiritual detriment. And any religious orientated harm is linked to Epon’s chastity. The key reason for her harm is on the patriarchal expectation of her. Even as a victim of her own existence, the writing and world around her frames her victimhood by the ideals of men, and never through her lack of agency.

    A classical painting depicting two women and a child beside a stone fountain, with lush landscapes in the background.
    Sacred and Profane Love (~1514) by Titian
    Retrieved From: Wikipedia

    Finally, by making Epon a Madonna-Whore complex incarnate, DrClef is just enacting sexist stereotyping not commenting on them. Though originating in psychoanalysis[7], the Madonna-Whore complex is presently used as a pop feminist social critique for how women are measured as partners to men. They are to be both as chaste as the Virgin Mary, but as sexually debauched as the media portrayal of sex workers. Women are imprisoned in a double standard to be both asexual and hypersexual, to be good at sex but never enjoyed it with anyone apart from their one true love. To simply portray sexism is not enough to comment on it.

    In portraying a supposedly subversive character, DrClef’s complete lack of understanding around feminist literature and analysis leads to an outdated and overdone trope. A girl whose beauty literally is only enrapturing to a male gaze. A girl who must stay perpetually nude for contrived reasons and yet has to resist the innate sinfulness of the feminine form. She is the one who must carry the penance and is never allowed to grieve for the situation she finds herself within. Though of course, Clef is given plenty of narrative space to lament.

    DrClef never thoroughly examines the socio-cultural issues with this, nor ever condemns the men for trying to harm her. I’m ordinarily not one for the requirement to expressly condemn abominable acts. But when there are comments, art and fanfiction literally thirsting after the teenager from her inception, you need to explicitly counter them.[4] I do not comprehend how it took 12 years for a rewrite to happen. But we did eventually get one.

    Putting the Nymph in Nymphomania

    On the 5th of June 2018, after numerous critiques and calls by the divided community to change SCP-166 (as well as spiritual successors doing better jobs than the seminal article), DrClef requested a complete rewrite of the article.[4] On the 30th of October 2020, Cerastes had created the rewrite[2], though thanked users like UraniumEmpire and LtFlops amongst others for the help.[4] The article in its current version can be read here. There will be not as much analysis of this version, as it contains less compelling or horrific content.

    For the final time, we begin with the containment procedures and start off strong as Epon is allowed to wear clothes! Mostly loose fitting organic cotton and she eats…typical food, without any additives. They keep the Catholic items like the Bible with Apocrypha and the rosary. Her physical description has changed as she is still a European female, but with satyr-like features, swapping out the goat aspects for reindeer ones.

    A cartoon styled illustration of a character with antlers, wearing a simple dress and holding a rosary. The character has a friendly expression and features one blue eye and one brown eye
    SCP-166 (2021) by Zal-Cryptid
    Retrieved From: DeviantArt

    Epon’s anomalous power is reasonably simple, man made objects around her degrade and rust, with plant life growing in their place. She maintains the vulnerability to artificial pollutants, though they directly cause ulcers as well as asthma. Her existence is confirmed by a Global Occult Coalition agent (essentially the occult UN of the SCP Universe) called Agent Ukulele. A blatant nod to Dr Alto Clef, who routinely carries around a ukulele. It appears Epon caught the eye of the GOC due to being able to enact a ritual to force the world back to the Palaeolithic era. The anarcho-primitivists would have idolized her.

    We get a couple of addenda, the first being an interview between a chaplain and Epon. They both talk about their familial relations, with a hint of Dr Alto Clef being Epon’s father at the end. Addendum 2 features a higher up chastising a redacted researcher, though it is in fact clearly Clef. The researcher had given Epon a phone line without permission and showcases the regret that Clef has about not being there for his daughter. Ultimately we get a similar letter from before, stating he killed Epon’s mother but nevertheless wants to protect her. And that, is the current edition of SCP-166.

    I do not have much to say on this. It is a marked improvement over the previous article, but then again blank page would be too. The character concept for Epon is perfectly cute. The icon of the past actively transforming the world around them to return to a state of Edenic paradise is a nice, if a straightforward idea. The design also calls back to this with the reindeer like features and the need to wear and eat organic items. It even ties back to the letter, with her mother being a nature goddess. This is perfectly serviceable and wholesome, though I agree with commenters that it fails to leave an impact. [4]

    However, the rewrite is hampered by the desire to still treat the article as backstory for a self insert. As well there is an inability to modernise a deeply dreadful tale into something greater than the sum of its history. In essence, the story struggles to rise to the heights of the SCP greats because it is trying to do too much, leaving it with no cohesion.

    A character with long blonde hair wearing a black and white outfit, holding a crystal orb, standing in a mystical background with dark colors.
    SCP-166 (2023) by pirixiepeace
    Retrieved From: DeviantArt
    Note: Once again, I would like to reiterate that I do not support images sexualising teens (or nuns) and I am showing them I am showing them to relay the sexualisation is still present.

    Cerastes had to tie the SCP article to about 12 years of lore building by DrClef and others in the community. Allowing for all the contingencies as to who Epon is, what she has achieved and will achieve as well as DrClef’s vision for is fictive daughter. This impossible position means the story could never genuinely let go of the past and transcend it’s origins. Even moreso, people haven’t fully let go of the sexualisation of Epon, even with this tamer article. I prefer this over the other two versions, but it is eclipsed by other tales generated from Rewrite 1 like SCP 4166 or 0166. However, those are stories for another essay.

    Life-like Horror

    Throughout the research and writing of this essay, a comment made by user LittleCrow on the 5th of February 2011 has stuck with me:

    “I can’t believe I’m having to find the words to explain why I think a beautiful teenaged SCP who can’t wear clothes, must drink semen, and drives all the men crazy is a bad idea.”[4]

    In reading the comments made by the SCP contributors on the discussion board, I was pleasantly surprised by how much pushback there was. Even more so by how early the criticism was. But, in that is the horror I have found in this article. In the fact people surprise me by critiquing this. And in the comparable amounts of people praising the first rewrite.

    It’s kind of terrifying reading a story that fulfils all the sexist tropes used against you as a teenager. A terror multiplied exponentially when a bunch of men (and a couple of women) uncritically state that parroting paedophilic nonsense is good storytelling.

    Every time I read the first rewrite the lack of power Epon has, strikes me. Not just in the deliberate narrative, but in how she is invented with no agency. How a writer trapped a girl in this sick twisted hell and another framed this horror as chiefly effecting his self-insert above all others. How the uncritical perpetuation of sexist ideals infests horror even to this day, with people venting their grimmest views on women under a veil of inspired creation. Twisting half formed uneducated ideas of feminist theory to fit their narrative of auteur authorship. The horror is not in the story.

    It’s outside of it.

    References

    1. RJB_R. (2023) History Of The Universe: Part One. Retrieved From: SCP Wiki
    2. Containment Fiction Wiki Contributors (2023). SCP 166. Retrieved From: Containment Fiction
    3. Davis, R.F.(2008). SCP-166. Retrieved From: SCP Classic
    4. SCP Contributors (2025). SCP-166/Discussion. Retrieved From:SCP Wiki
    5. DrClef (2009). SCP-166. Retrieved From: SCP Classic
    6. Cerastes (2024). SCP-166. Retrieved From: SCP Wiki
    7. Hartmann, U. (2009). Sigmund Freud and his impact on our understanding of male sexual dysfunction. The journal of sexual medicine, 6(8), 2332-2339.
  • Feasting on The Goblin Juices

    Feasting on The Goblin Juices

    Content Notes: Discussions of Anorexia, Child Death, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Corrective Rape, Incest, Orthorexia, Starvation and Sexual Predation

    We have previously covered both the historical context behind Goblin Market and the religious interpretations bursting from its prose. But now we turn to a more universal experience. Hunger. Hunger for food, for others and for love. As well as the hunger to rebuke our desires.

    Divine Sapphic Triads

    In her essay, Mona Reed argues that historical sapphic literature should not be confined to obvious erotic acts.[1] Paralleling Adrienne Rich, she supports the examination of disguised love, such as shared feminine joy, sisterhood and intimate friendship.[2] In this case, we can consider the relationship between Laura and Lizzie as not just one of biological sisterhood, but as a sapphic joining of the two girls.

    Using this foundation, Reed states that the Goblin Market itself purveys the destruction of women through the coercive nature of compulsory heterosexuality.[1] Compulsory heterosexuality (hereafter referred to as comphet), is a sociological phenomenon first posited by Rich.[2] She asserts that all children are brought up to believe that straightness is not only the default, but an essential requirement. Put differently, society is built around the sublimation of any experiences outside of the dominant straight lens. Like young girls can be lured by the promises of delicious fruit, so too are children disciplined into the delights of a purely heterosexual lifestyle.

    But just as the fruit leaves dear Laura destitute, so too does heterosexual dominance rely on the destitution of women. In a strictly straight (and albeit Western) paradigm, the agency, power and control are consistently given to the man, whereas the woman is expected to submit to their authority. Now, this isn’t true of every heterosexual relationship, trust me I live in the North East. More precisely, it is the societal standard by which other relationships are measured. Especially within Victorian England.

    Stained glass depiction of a crowned female figure holding a book and a flower, symbolizing purity and wisdom.
    Stain Glass Image of Saint Æthelthryth , Photographed by Fr. Lawrence Lew
    Retrieved From: Flickr

    This idea is supported historically as Christina Rossetti never married, and in fact, denied three suitors. [3] Although it should be stated, the first was denied because he converted to Roman Catholicism. Moreover, Christina Rossetti admired Saint Æthelthryth for her ability to maintain her virginity despite being married twice.[2] In rebuking the standard to bear children and accept intimate relations, she challenged the heteronormative dynamics of the time. In a similar vein, one can view Lizzie and Laura’s castigation of the Goblin Market as their rebuking of heterosexual ideals, although taken a step further.

    Whilst it might not be a full on celebration of sexual sapphicness, Reed presents a compelling alternative to a standard dyadic pairing of the girls. She states that:

    “Rossetti [suggests] that women should form queer, homo-social triad unions with Christ so they can abandon the institution of heterosexual marriage that leaves women feeling unfulfilled and emotionally depleted.”[1]

    The reason we can view this as queer is twofold. Firstly any undermining of the traditional heterosexual dynamic, especially that which involves same gender relations, allows itself to be viewed as inherently queer. For they are considered outside the norms of the society. But, even more so, Reed argues that Christ (and to some extent Lizzie) can be viewed as gender subversive. According to Reed, Rossetti regarded God as neither male nor female, instead containing an essence of both and yet beyond our conceptualisations of gender.[1]

    Additionally, she put forward that if one accepts Laura as Eve, then one must view Lizzie as Adam. She too is tempted and tested to see if her heart waives from God, through the fruit of the Goblin Market.[1] However, Lizzie never strays, and she takes on the pain of her Eve-like figure. In this way, Lizzie can seen as a bigender figure, taking on both aspects of male and female whilst never renouncing either. A deliberate countering of bimodal sex based ideals. Through this, we could see Rossetti as glorifying a homosocial order devoid of masculine interference. A place where women can take on the roles of both binary genders, whilst communing with God in a vaster capacity than ever before.

    I genuinely enjoy this interpretation presented by Reed, but we should ground it slightly. Whilst I believe that authorial intent should never be considered the official version of analysis. It is critical to state that this framing was likely not Rossetti’s intention and, at best, she intended a more religiously orientated view of sisterhood. Although Reed’s viewpoint is equally valid, we should not allow it warp our view of Rossetti. She was unequivocally a racist, classist and anti-Semitic poet, views which do not support the interpretation of her as a lesbian ally. Any reading of Goblin Market as sapphic happens in spite of, not because of, her own beliefs.

    The Sanguine Made Sweet

    As stated in my first Goblin Market post, Christina Rossetti had deep ties to the gothic literature movement. As researched by David Morrill, her uncle John Polidori wrote The Vampyre, one of the oldest works of Western vampire literature.[4] Additionally, her grandfather was a noted admirer of the gothic romantics, and Rossetti invested much time in her antecedent’s library. Her environment being inundated with gothic horror seems to have bled into Goblin Market too.

    On a purely aesthetic level, there are many similarities to gothic vampire novels of the time. Fair maidens tempted by the allure of unusual animalistic men, delighting in their own logic to ensnare victims in a way that drains the body until it wastes away. Additionally there is the focus on biting, sucking and consuming as the cause of the wasting away. Although Goblin Market arguably uses proxy vampirism through the fruits. Even the trickling of juices seems like a stand in for a more sanguine liquid.

    An illustrated portrayal of a ruggedly handsome man with curly hair and a determined expression, dressed in historical clothing, against a warm, textured background.
    Cover for The Vampyre by David Rabitte
    Retrieved From: Black Coat Press

    But in the details, Morrill argues there are clear comparisons to Polidori’s The Vampyre. Firstly, in how the vampire Lord Ruthven entices his victims. It is not merely in his honey words and rakish demeanour, but importantly in his charitable acts which always led to those cursed by it to sink into misery.[4] Put simpler, in giving to others Lord Ruthven ensured that they would become vulnerable, so he can feast upon them. Similarly, the charity of Rossetti’s goblins results in the downfall of Laura. By offering her fruits for the simple prize of a lock of hair, they make certain their corruption spreads and that they are able feed on her youth.

    The offering of her lock of hair also mirrors another vampiric tradition in Morrill’s view. Just as Lord Ruthven has to be invited into an abode, so too must the goblins be invited into Laura’s body.[4] Morrill explicitly links this to religious themes, that the vampire represents the devil, that evil incarnate cannot enter a person’s soul unless they consent to it. The consent can be achieved through trickery or deceit, but irregardless, the power rests inside the individual to rebuke or court evil within their heart. Even more so, the goblins never seem capable of leaving the glen to enter the girls’ house, as if they are barred from the Edenic gardens. And therefore can only feast on the innocent good when invited to.

    Building on this, both Lord Ruthven and the goblins can be seen as stand ins for the men who would prey on young women. Lord Ruthven rather by design is a debonair predator that feasts on the youthful vitality of women until they are nothing more than monstrous husks which cannot be saved.[4] The goblin men similarly prey on young girls, causing Laura to also waste away into virtual nothingness. Laura even wakes up on the night after the market, desperately gnashing and gnawing, like she has been molded into a vampire and is desperate to feed. It is like she has become the goblins themselves and has been reduced to animalistic hunger.

    Whilst I would not go so far as to state that Goblin Market comprises a form of vampire literature, I would say there are clear inspirations drawn upon. Some of this could be similar cultural touchstones, after all Polidori and Rossetti were devout Anglicans and it is not unlikely both would comment on the nature of evil. But others such as the enticement through charity and predation seem to be at least indirectly inspired. However, Morrill’s comparison does seem to miss certain conventions of vampirism, like it being contagious. Though he is not the sole researcher to establish these connections.

    The Sanguine Made Sapphic

    Rebecca Little combines themes from the previous sections to attest that Goblin Market is an example of homoerotic vampirism, in a similar vein (pause for silent chuckles) to Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla.[5] Carmilla is a tale of the titular vampire, and her unrepentant hunger for Laura, the fair maiden. At 18, she meets Carmilla and is exposed to a world of sensual temptations and delights. However, in one of the first cases of “Bury Your Gays”, the vampire is executed for her depraved sapphic nature. And Laura is returned to Christian heterosexuality.

    Conversely in Goblin Market, it is our Laura who performs the role of vampiress. In the scene where Laura eats the goblins fruits, Little points to this section as key to her vampirism:

    “Suck’d their fruit globes fair or red:

    Sweeter than honey from the rock,

    Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,

    Clearer than water flow’d that juice;”[6]

    Here we can discern how the fruit starts as honey sweeter from the rock, a biblical reference to Psalm 81:16, wherein God would delivered those faithful to him honey from a rock.[7] Subsequently it becomes man rejoicing wine, seemingly distancing the juice from a more Eucharistic drink. And finally, it is like water, the essence of life itself.

    Little compares the taste journeying from sweet to intoxicating to necessary to that of a vampire’s first indulgence in blood.[5] Furthermore, I’d argue it becomes more basal. As it goes from God’s food, to an association with God’s food, to ordinary water necessary for survival. In this way, the possibly heavenly fruit becomes a simple consumable, an item for survival detached from the Lord’s grace.

    Little builds on this by paralleling the fruit to the Apple from The Tree of Knowledge. As Eve was cursed with the Knowledge of sin, so too does Laura become afflicted with the knowledge of heterosexuality.[5] By partaking in this erotic feast, Laura inherits a taste of heteronormative practice, indulging in the saccharine addiction of socially approved decadence. However, this indulgence comes at a cost. Her metaphorical virginity is taken, and she is transformed into a vampiric figure, a creature lacking the purity befitting a young girl.

    A woman with long hair sits against a tree, wearing a long dark dress, with a subdued and contemplative expression. A basket is visible nearby, and the scene conveys a sense of longing or introspection.
    Goblin Market (2011) by Jillian Tamaki
    Retrieved From: https://www.jilliantamaki.com/goblin-market/

    Laura is forsaken with no way to imbibe in heterosexual desire. As a result, she is a ravenous monster, gritting her teeth at night in a restless stupor for the echoes of delight.[5] And in the day she is static, practically asleep, allowing herself to wane away. Unable to handle even the trivial tasks that once presented her such nourishment both physically and spiritually. So to save her sister, Lizzie goes to the goblin men and braves their attempt to violently impose heterosexuality on her.

    Although never stated by Little, this scene could be seen as a form of corrective rape. This is where queer individuals are forced into sexual relations with the opposite sex to “cure” their queerness. Combined with the previous imagery of straightness siphoning Laura’s humanity from her, we could recognize Lizzie as actively resisting the draining.

    Resistance which is met by the Goblin Market punishing her for not succumbing to compulsory heterosexuality. Combined with the vampiric lens, Lizzie becomes our virtuous woman, resisting the parasitic wiles that seek to drain her body and soul. To put it concisely, she is able to defy both heterosexuality and vampirism through her fortitude.

    But it is the final feast with Lizzie covered in juices for Laura to suckle on that the vampiric elements are fully on display.[5] In this scene, Little argues the juices are a proxy for Lizzie’s blood, in a manner reminiscent of how wine is a stand-in for Christ’s essence. Therefore, we could regard Laura consuming this blood in an erotic manner as simple lesbian vampirism. This would be conceived as an incestuous relation by a cursory viewing. However writers used social taboos like incest to hide lesbian romance. Rossetti might be attempting something similar, or at the very least, is accidentally recreating the paradigm.

    A young woman with a thoughtful expression is seen biting into her finger while surrounded by fruit-laden branches. In the background, fantastical creatures and additional fruit are depicted, enhancing the sense of allure and temptation.
    Walking Through The Landscape of Faerie (2016) By Charles Vess
    Retrieved From: Enchanted Living Magazine

    More importantly though, is that Laura’s feasting seemingly cures her vampirism. Unlike more modern lesbian vampire stories, the sapphic relationship is not framed as the corruptive element but the panacea for the corruption of comphet infection. The wasting away caused by a life of heteronormative pining is cured by the redemptive power of “sisterly” affection.

    Although the feasting is painful for Laura, that is because the ideal of heterosexual bliss is being burned from her blood, and being replaced with a more pleasant alternative. With the caveats of the previous lesbian explanation in mind, Goblin Market could be interpreted as a narrative about the redemptive powers of queerness. And how queer love can liberate people.

    Secular or Spiritual Hunger​?

    Though many writers have focused on Laura’s descent into devouring, others have explored Lizzie’s refusal to eat. In particular, the parallels between her denial of sustenance and Anorexia Nervosa. After all, she is never seen eating within the poem and is framed as virtious, even spiritually enlightened, because of her defiance against the fruit. However, to explore if anorexia pertains to Lizzie, we first need to understand the condition and unravel the history behind it.

    Anorexia Nervosa is a mental health condition characterised by a refusal to ingest food resulting in a person becoming severely underweight.[7] This is typically accompanied by a warped perception of their body. Such as viewing themselves as fatter than they are otherwise perceived or hyper-aware of minor “flaws” in their appearance. Moreover, it results in a myriad of physical health conditions due to the starvation and a counter-intuitive obsession with food.

    Anorexia was first considered a medical condition in the 1870’s, originally termed Hysterical Anorexia as well as the currently used Anorexia Nervosa. [8] Although in the lead up to this, it was debated in Victorian medical circles for decades.

    Joan Brumberg connects this debate with the Fasting Girls, a movement of women and girls starving themselves (or faking starvation) to prove religious piety.[8] Such devotional deeds were not unique to the Victorian period and have a history in 13th century female saints, who refused to ingest anything but the Eucharist. According to Brumberg, this continued into the 16th and 17th century with ordinary women performing these acts as forms of miracles.

    Black and white engraving depicting a scene with a young girl sitting at a table, surrounded by a flower arrangement, while a woman observes her. In the background, a farmhouse and several people in Victorian attire are visible. The image is titled 'Sarah Jacobs in her Bed Room The Fasting Welsh Girl Case'.
    Contempary Drawing of Sarah Jacobs by an Unknown Artist
    Retrieved From: The Geneologist
    Note: Sarah Jacobs was one of the more famous Fasting Girls and died at age 12 due to starvation.

    These Fasting Girls represent just a limited part in a grander movement by medical institutions in the Victorian period to secularise and pathologise religious behaviours. However, it therefore needs to be noted that devotional denial was considered by the majority of Victorians to be a sane and reasonable act. Although not the norm, it was regarded by spiritual leaders and their congregations as proof of divine providence. Even Rossetti was known to starve herself for religious purposes. [9]

    Because of this, it is challenging to call Lizzie’s act of defiant starvation close to that of anorexia or even a similar comparison. Though both involve the act of deprivation, Lizzie’s (and the Fasting Girls) have religious connotations whereas anorexics seek control or to drastically reshaping their body.

    As well, the fact such fasting was not viewed as harmful by the individual or community stops such behaviours from being a disorder. Since most mental health issues depend upon an understanding of harm towards the person with it or those around them, which requires treatment. People are allowed to do risky things to their body, without constituting a disorder.

    Though Lizzie’s actions do not merit a direct comparison to anorexia, it would be erroneous to state Rossetti recognized no virtue in the act of tempered eating:

    “The balances suggest scarcity short of literal nullity: hunger, but not necessarily starvation. Scarcity imposes frugality, exactness . . . No waste, latitude, margin; self-pampering can be tolerated, but only a sustained self-denial: self must be stinted, selfishness starved, to give to him that needeth.”[10]

    As stated by Anna Silver, Rossetti truly believed in the ascetic refusal of nourishment as cleansing for the soul. She expressed a certain contempt for the body, specifically for its desire for food. [9] Or rather, when such hunger was indulged with ordinary earthly foods. Because satiating your appetite was tantamount to succumbing to bodily sin.

    Like inviting a vampire into your abode, by allowing for culinary decadence they were giving into the body’s greed. And as discussed previous, such bodily hunger should be used to lead a person to the Lord.[11] Only though achieving physical inanition like the virtuous Lizzie could one ever hope to attain spiritual health. Which is not like anorexia, but is strikingly similar to another eating disorder.

    Hunger for Health

    Orthorexia is a proposed eating disorder, first coined in 2000 by Steven Bratman and David Knight in their book Health Food Junkies. [12] The term is used to describe an unhealthy obsession with eating healthily. This is not purely a desire to be more nutritionally aware, but a ritualised restriction of nourishment to the point of malnutrition. This can be cutting out certain food groups necessary for bodily function such as sugar, carbs or meat, with no mitigating health reason. In addition, it mirrors anorexia with an obsessive consideration of food.

    I want to emphasise that I am not diagnosing Rossetti or anyone else as being orthorexic. Moreover, it is imperative to state that to the best of my knowledge, nobody links spiritual health to orthorexic behaviour.

    Instead, I wish to implement the framework that people can develop maladaptive obsessions with health, to explore Rossetti’s preoccupation with divine vigour. Simply put, what if we view the contrast of Lizzie and Laura as the argument for the prioritisation of the metaphysical over the physical? An argument Silver believes to be a cornerstone of the tale:

    “Goblin Market” juxtaposes sinful consumption with a virtuous renunciation of appetite to teach its readers a moral lesson about the world”[10]

    By itself this would not necessitate an issue, as people are allowed to have other priorities for their own health and well being. Some prioritise the physical, others the mental, so why not the spiritual? The issue is that Rossetti goes further by solely focusing on metaphysical health in Goblin Market and rebukes bodily satiation completely. It does not matter if Laura’s body burns like wormwood, for her spiritual health is being tended to.

    Furthermore, Laura is rebuked by Lizzie for being tempted by the sounds and sights of food at the Goblin Market. The temptation of food itself, of the material form’s desire to be satiated is to be controlled and ordered. One should not partake in fruits for the priority must always be in the spiritual.

    A young woman with long, flowing hair sits in a yellow dress, delicately holding fruit while goblin-like figures surround her, eagerly reaching out for her attention, set against a pastoral backdrop.
    Goblin Market (1910) by Florence Harrison
    Retrieved From: Instagram

    Adding to this, Silver argues that Rossetti views the hunger for Christ and spiritual satiation as taking effort.[10] Laura is allowed to easily feast by giving her lock of hair, whereas Lizzie must undergo a barrage of violation to achieve sanctified satiation. In essence, the argument becomes that those who are obsessed merely with bodily health are lazy. Not dissimilar to orthorexics who can monitor the nutritional intakes of others. Though it should be noted that most tend towards self-monitoring critique.

    Instead Rossetti’s external criticism is more akin to that of modern-day diet culture, the impetus behind many orthorexic issues. The fallacy that health and well-being can wholly be yours, if you stick to a strict, overly particular and unnecessary ritual of ingesting nourishment. A fad diet.

    Devoid of any scientific justification, except for how restriction leads to a placebo effect that causes you feel better in the short term. And to gain more health problems in the long term. Just try the Atkins diet the Carnivore diet the Stone Age diet the starvation diet. It’ll work this time.

    Although I do not believe it rises to the level of Orthorexia, I do think Lizzie’s exaltation is Rossetti’s authorial approval for the refusal of carnal pleasures. That such temperance will lead to experience spiritual satisfaction. A message tainted by social narratives at the time that caused young girls to starve themselves to death for spiritual closeness to God.[9]

    If not a symptom of medical malaise, Goblin Market could be seen as a propagator of social illness. It is spreading a narrative that people to this day are barraged with. A message that we should fixate on food to the point of mania to achieve a form of existential enlightenment, whether that enlightenment is social captial or religious salvation.

    Remembering The Market

    In writing these essays I have grown to both love and loathe the Goblin Market. There is so much beauty and connection to Anglican history that I never learned about, as well as deeply fascinating theological structuring. Even the interpretations that fall outside of Rossetti’s intentions have such wonderful explorations of human experience. Every paper I read I acquire another connection to the Bible or to queerness or mental health.

    But, with every paper I also discover another way that the grimmest fruits of British society are sold within the tale. I have said that I will not advise you how to feel about the Goblin Market. And I do not wish to take away from the sapphic and religious beauty of the poem. However, I need to state this.

    No matter how much you love the poem, remember what Christina Rossetti was really like. I, like many of the authors I have read for these essays, struggle with the whitewashing of Rossetti as a feminist and pseudo-queer poet. A narrative I held coming into the research and informing why I enjoyed the poem.

    I think that while she is progressive for her station and time, such a statement is damning with faint praise. Whilst you can enjoy Goblin Market as a testament to lesbian love, it is impossible to say that Rossetti ever would have approved of such ideas. And that somewhat dampens my enjoyment, especially when she is uplifted instead of actual sapphic writers.

    Therefore, I will leave you with a brief work by Jewish Victorian poet Amy Levy. A gift to her friend and unrequited lover, Violet Paget. An example of the writers left in the shadows of Christina Rossetti.

    New Love, New Life

    She, who so long has lain

    Stone-stiff with folded wings,

    Within my heart again

    The brown bird wakes and sings.

    Brown nightingale, whose strain

    Is heard by day, by night,

    She sings of joy and pain,

    Of sorrow and delight.

    ‘Tis true,—in other days

    Have I unbarred the door;

    He knows the walks and ways—

    Love has been here before.

    Love blest and love accurst

    Was here in days long past;

    This time is not the first,

    But this time is the last[13]

    References

    1. Reed, M. (2020).The Queer and Feminist Myth-Revision of Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal, 113-117
    2. Rich, A. (1980). Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence. Signs: Journal of women in culture and society, 5(4), 631-660.
    3. Duguid, L. (2004). Rossetti, Christina Georgina (1830–1894), poet. Retrieved from: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
    4. Morrill, D. F. (1990). “Twilight is Not Good for Maidens”: Uncle Polidori and the Psychodynamics of Vampirism in” Goblin Market. Victorian Poetry, 28(1), 1-16.
    5. Little, R. (2020). Homoerotic Vampirism in” Goblin Market” and Carmilla. Furman Humanities Review, 31(1), 69-80.
    6. Rossetti, C.G (1862). Goblin Market and other poems. Cambridge London. Macmillan.
    7. Silver, A. K. (2002). Victorian literature and the anorexic body (Vol. 36). Cambridge University Press.
    8. NHS. (2024). Overview – Anorexia. Retrieved From: NHS UK
    9. Brumberg, J. J. (1985). ” Fasting Girls”: Reflections on Writing the History of Anorexia Nervosa. Monographs of the Society for research in Child Development, 93-104.
    10. A. K. Silver. (2002). Victorian literature and the anorexic body (Vol. 36). Cambridge University Press.
    11. Rossetti, C. G. (1892). The Face of the Deep: A Devotional Commentary on the Apocalypse. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
    12. Bratman, S., & Knight, D. (2000). Health food junkies : overcoming the obsession with healthful eating. New York: Broadway Books.
    13. Levy., A (1889). New Love, New Life. Retrieved From: Victorian Queer Archive