In Defense of Mai: Fandom Misperceptions and Answers to Her Detractors

[ljlee]

This was originally part of the Fire Nation culture essay, but it was off topic enough that I decided to expand it into an essay of its own.

Comments

[ljlee]

Ha, I really do want to read up more on existentialism. I don't know a lot about the philosophy, but my grossly oversimplified understanding of it (you define yourself with your choices) helped me both with tough real-life decisions and in writing fiction.

Good point about Toph's tendency to go with the flow. The Mai/Toph parallels feel particularly close to home because I was talking to a girl in my class just last night over beer, lamenting how our overprotective upbringing contributed to our timidness and lack of drive. Poor little middle-class girl problems.

And you're right, I think Mai catches a lot of flak for not being the universal protector, a friend to all living things etc. etc. and still daring to get the guy, thereby breaking the romance narrative that only perfect maidens pure of heart deserve to get desirable dudes. (I will never understand this conception that you can be worthy of some man or woman's love. People like who they like, end of story. Attaching romance to just deserts is at best a recipe for frustration and at worst the express route to Rapeville.) Mai's a pragmatic and down-to-earth person, not out to save the world but unstoppable when it comes to the people she cares about. I think being discerning about where she expends her emotions and energy is actually wise in a world that expects women to be everything to everyone. I respect Katara's idealism, I just happen to think the world needs its unsentimental, no-nonsense Mais as well.

As for Mai as the consummate politician-consort, I agree it's more fanon than canon. I do think she'll be pretty much forced to be a politician in some capacity because everything she does as consort will be political. Machiavellian machinations not so much, at least from what we've seen in canon.