[CW: This post discusses the way villains are often coded as marginalized identities. There are mentions specifically of queermisia/queerphobia, ableism, antisemitism, and racism.]
Like many people, I adore fictional villains. Most of my favorite characters of all time are villains, and I in fact have three tattoos inspired by fictional villains. Villains and antagonists are often some of the strongest parts of a story.
Name a fandom I'm part of, and there's a very strong chance the character I find most meaningful and relatable is a villain.
But to be honest? I kind of hate that.
Many, many people have written at length about coding: the way in which characters are implied to be of a specific background or marginalization without anyone ever coming out and saying it. This happens very often with villains, especially in fantasy. For example, the trope of villains with big hook noses is part of an extremely antisemitic stereotype that Jewish people = evil. My personal experience with coding, and the reason I relate to so many villains, is that many are coded as, one, queer in some fashion and, two, as neurodivergent/mentally ill.
These coded villains are not typically written by people who share their coded marginalizations, which adds a definite layer of sometimes subtle bigotry. This gets internalized by people who consume the media, and then applied, often subconsciously, to real people.
Here are a few examples that have personally affected me:
Untrustworthy characters being indicated by fidgeting and a lack of eye contact. As an autistic person, I am uncomfortable with eye contact and find it quite difficult if not impossible to maintain. Because eye contact is held up as such an important part of being trustworthy and honest, autistic people, especially children, are often abused by caregivers until they learn to make that eye contact. Fidgeting and stimming are also "trained" out of autistic people in abusive therapies like ABA.
Evil characters do not experience love, are repulsed by it, and never seek romantic partners. As an aromantic person, I frequently deal with dehumanization and vilification because I do not experience romantic attraction. Aromantic people are frequently seen as frigid, cruel, and even abusive, just because we do not experience that attraction the way alloromantic (non-aromantic) people do.
Characters who have low or no empathy are held up as the epitome of cruel and dangerous. A lack of empathy is heralded as a sure sign of abusive, controlling, and malicious tyrants. But there are multiple disorders, two of which I personally have, that often come with low or otherwise "abnormal" empathy. This does not make us bad people, and seeing villains (both real and fictional) who are portrayed as evil because they're not empathetic is extremely demoralizing and harmful.
What's the point of me saying this? The point is that if you want to write a good antagonist, you should be careful that you're not just using harmful coding as a shorthand that will hurt real people. Take great care (and hire sensitivity readers) so that you don't make bigoted assertions that a trait of a marginalized group is a sign of evil.
I'm tired of relating to villains. I'm tired of seeing my autism, my personality disorder, my queerness, my real-world experience reflected in the people I'm told I should hate and root against. If you are a content creator, please do your part to be mindful of the way coding and tropes can be used to harm.
Representation matters, but the thing is that it has to be positive representation. Give me a glimpse at myself in villain after villain after villain, and you have not told me that I matter. You have told me that I am repulsive and wrong.
Be mindful, be aware, and be better than creators of the past. Don't tell marginalized people that we're evil, because gods all know we get enough of that already.
Until next time,
Jenn.
