And even without going to the extreme of torture, the trope is still visible. For example, when a character is taken captive, how often are they gagged?
Maybe my memory is faulty, but I recall very few examples of gagging restrained men *unless* it was to keep them from accessing a voice-triggered power. (Things like Captain Marvel's "Shazam!" or a D&D spellcaster's ability to chant, for instance.) On the other hand, gagging restrained women is so common that it's probably easier to count the number of times it doesn't happen (such as Rey in The Force Awakens ... which of course allows her to command her guard via Jedi Mind Control (tm) to release her). Take away voice, take away agency .
And even without going to the extreme of torture, the trope is still visible. For example, when a character is taken captive, how often are they gagged?
Maybe my memory is faulty, but I recall very few examples of gagging restrained men *unless* it was to keep them from accessing a voice-triggered power. (Things like Captain Marvel's "Shazam!" or a D&D spellcaster's ability to chant, for instance.) On the other hand, gagging restrained women is so common that it's probably easier to count the number of times it doesn't happen (such as Rey in The Force Awakens ... which of course allows her to command her guard via Jedi Mind Control (tm) to release her). Take away voice, take away agency .
Oh that's an interesting detail to note.
"So why is it such a bad thing that tortured female badasses are sexualized? Because their male counterparts aren’t." Double standard.
To paraphrase Billie Dawn from "Born Yesterday": It's just not COUTH!
It’s just not couth!!! :)