I Love You For Your Flaws (Not That You Have Any)

So, I have a little writer’s block and it’s been a month since I went to any seminars or lectures. Since writing is where I vent my insufferably intellectualised view of the world and I have no seminars in which I can talk at great length about monstrous women, it’s entirely predictable that I am reading a lot of meta. Ferretbrain articles and analyses of Lady Gaga videos are forming a great part of this, but they have nothing to do with what I really have the urge to write about: to whit, the habit fans have of claiming to love characters for their flaws and what that means.

It’s pretty much universal: we hear that people who like our favourite character are whitewashing, being silly fangirls, missing their glaring faults. (I imagine villain-lovers hear this more but I’ve certainly seen it related to the heroes.) ( We get all William Congreve: 'nay, I like her for her faults!' )