darapoizner

I agree that they should seek to discuss bi-erasure more openly. However I also think that this show is written in an extremely deliberate manner and the decisions they make and whether those decisions are “right or wrong” can be a matter of perspective. Personally I find it poignant the way they show everyone trying to put Piper into a “box” that doesn’t describe her, but I can respect if that’s not how everyone sees it.

It is true to say there is no way to equivocate the actions of (made up) drug criminal with those of a genocidal dictator… This is why I think it was weird for the writer of this article to make the comparison in the first place. It’s a comparison, as a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, that I find personally offensive. I don’t understand our society’s fascination with rating evil things – especially fictional things – on a scale of 1 to Hitler, because it is truly diminishing to those who suffered at the hands of a real person.
But, for the sake of argument, let’s say we can compare them. I think it’s inarguable that “Walter does not get near Hitler” in terms of how evil he is. No one is arguing that Walter’s actions aren’t evil, nor that he didn’t cause a great deal of suffering to the people in his (need I say it again, fictional) world. But it is utterly ridiculous to try and scale those actions in relation to someone who is responsible for the deaths of millions of people and for nearly annihilating more than one cultural group.

Angry Jewish girl, out.

It’s baffling to me that someone can’t make a movie about an unstable individual without those person’s actions being generalized to an entire gender. The whole point of this movie was about the smoke and mirrors of the relationship, not about how “bitches be crazy and will do anything to get people on their side”.

I think this is a very valid thing to note about the show. I hold a separate opinion, though. I actually think there’s a possibility that Orange avoids using the word “bisexual” to make a point. Bi erasure and biphobia is so common in our society’s discourse that the way the other characters treat Piper’s sexuality seems to me to be a pretty accurate commentary on the way the world ignores the existence of bisexuality. OITNB makes a point about bi erasure by employing it in its the same way it’s employed in real life. Alex is always referring to Piper as “straight” and Larry is always calling her “gay” with neither of them willing to openly acknowledge the possibility for a middle ground despite the fact that Piper is clearly bisexual. It’s confusing, but personally I think they’re using their characters to convey the stubbornness of our society in accepting the bisexual label.

I like how you titled the article; I have to say that sometimes watching Game of Thrones as a feminist can be challenging, and while I can see how it’s debatable, I wouldn’t call Game of Thrones a feminist show. That being said, you’ve definitely demonstrated ways in which the show can be read in a feminist way despite its not being truly “feminist”. The example I find the most interesting is Daenerys and Drogo’s relationship. I think the way Daenerys employs the knowledge of her female comrade to take control of the situation made a relationship that was initially so disturbing into something palatable…and then ultimately, the love that developed between Khal and Khaleesi was pretty much believable.