Imagine almost dying to a poison apple and naming your kid after an apple.Its like a car crash survivor naming their kid vehicular manslaughter or smth
15:27 I love that you brought this up. In apple’s storybook romance status on her doll box she says that “just because our story says daring and I are supposed to get married doesn’t mean we’re an item.” It’s ironic for her to say this considering the fact that she’s constantly trying to make her and Raven an item “You and I are supposed to be frenemies.” “It’s our destiny.” “Since you’re such an important part of my story headmaster Grimm said that we could LIVE together. Isn’t that enchanting?”
where did you get she was constantly trying to make her and Raven an item? even as a child, i could gather it was because she wanted a platonic closeness with Raven, she felt almost a sisterly bond because their stories are so intertwined. it reminded me of my relationship with my half sister more than my relationship with any of my female crushes. mostly, it reminded me of my relationship with fellow girls i would obsess over because i wanted to be their friend, and there really wasn't a sexual attraction just because I could be attracted to girls, i just thought the idea of being their friend was exciting because i felt like we'd be perfect for each other as best friends for one reason or another. i didn't have many offline friends growing up, i had none as i got older, so it was fun to idealize getting close with certain girls because i found them platonically appealing, and i was self aware enough to know i wasn't romanticizing or sexualizing the women i wanted to be friends with so bad, i felt like they'd be the other side of a kinda dynamic duo i'd only see in TV. now we're sexualizing friendship between women, or potentially gay women over such vague evidence as examples of Apple trying to force their closeness, smh.
OK BUT THE LEVEL OF DRAMA. Like maybe another reason apple was upset about ppl not following their destiny was cause she knew she liked girls but was willing to turn on her own sexuality for HER DESTINY and she’s like well im giving up stuff why can’t others or something 😭💀
I said in someone else's video on Miraculous that was talking about Zoe being an unnecessary character that they literally could have given Zoe's crush on Marinette to Chloe and her internalized homophobia being the reason she targeted Marinette so viciously. Too bad the creator has a hate boner for Chloe and turned her into a mustache twirling caricature of an antagonist while the adults who enabled her, abused and neglected her get away scot-free and "redeemed" meanwhile the 14 year old is "literally Satan" and "irredeemable" in his eyes
Monster High's maker, Garret Sanders, never planned for G1 Clawdeen to be a lesbian, imply just not boy crazy. However, he loves the fan headcanon and decalred it as canon in a "Word of God" way. So yeah. Clawdeen is a lesbian 😁
From what I’ve heard in one of the comic con doll journals or whatever there was HEAVY implications But by then MH had been around a while so it’s probably that the HC came first and if it fits why not go with it? It’s a HC for a reason afterall
I find it interesting to see how Apple, while doing her best to follow her destiny, is both praised and ridiculed; specifically for her hair. It actually reminds me of the paradox that is Raven's destiny. I've always thought it was unfair that Raven is both being told to be evil to be accepted, and that if she is evil she will be rejected and punished. I mean, we all saw how she was treated before going rogue, with everyone avoiding her and even her introduction on Legacy Day being said with hatred. We also saw her destiny and her punishment for being evil (angry mobs, a life of servitude, and being imprisoned and scared). Yet, despite all of that, she's expected to be evil and told to be so. I can't remember the name of the short, but one of them showed her being brought in by the faculty for her rebellious behavior and being praised when she turns Headmaster Grimm into a chicken man. She's getting mixed signals, but now I see that Apple is experiencing the same. She's praised for who she is and is related to, as well as her royal behavior, but she is looked down upon for things she can't control (her hair color and possibly her sexuality, but she's in the closet so no one is outright judging her with that in mind). It's all mixed signals and paradoxes, but it also seems like the thing that most of the students are going through. The villains receive the judgment that Raven goes through, and the heroes who want anything else in their lives or struggle to meet such high expectations are going through Apple's problem.
I LOVE your point about the apple in the Snow White story being a symbol of female sexuality because in Dragon Games, Apple eats the apple and falls into her sleep, and that’s the catalyst for Darling to kiss her
one thing I heard a long time ago was when apple got poisoned daring (her bf) couldn’t wake her up with true loves kiss. instead, darling (darings sister) woke apple up by giving her cpr. so the theory was that when she did the mouth to mouth, it was actually a kiss, and apple and darling were soulmates
@DarlingCharming5394 that's literally the plot of the dragon games movie, the other characters got darrring to kiss her first because only 'true love's kiss' could wake her up
there's actually a good explanation that's been out there since like 2018 - the cpr thing was spread because facebook mothers were so mad at the kiss between apple and darling that mattel had to say something, so they went with that. anyways, a couple years after the release when gay people were more commonly accepted, the creators did confirm that apple and darling were true loves and were supposed to end up together
This was such a good video. I read the first four books of Ever After High and watched the show and movies in their entirety. One thing I noticed about Apple White is how she gets so uncomfortable any time the topic of boys comes up. When asked why she isn't dating Daring Charming, she says because she has her happily ever after to be with him yet Apple isn't dating any guy at all nor shows any interest in it. She is more of using Daring as a cloak to say she is straight while not actually being with him. She is putting it off for as long as possible and it very much looks like comphet.
It’s even mentioned in an ever after high book (the one with apple and meeshell on the cover but I forgot what it’s called) that apple eventually tried to be in a committed and serious relationship with daring, but she had to break it off because it wasn’t going anywhere and she wanted to focus on school….hmmm 🧐
I would love to watch a video on the privatisation of fairy tales - stories that were once in the public domain and now aren’t, stories that once belonged to everyone (pretty much), but now is owned by Disney. Disney controls the narrative of so many stories
As someone who grew up reading the brothers grimm tales, abridged Hans Christian Anderson and more, long before i watched disney, i wholeheartedly agree.
I WHEEZED at the hetero confusion towards Melanie at the beginning of the vid lmao Apple always got my gaydar ringing, even before I even knew I had one, so just the title has me whooping for all the femmes out there
Me too! I never got the feeling that she actually liked Aaron and Shane(even though she cried when they broke up with her, I think it was just about her image and wanting the validation of being with them). I think she was truly attracted to Cady and only dated Aaron to piss Cady off.
I agree about the "they end up following their destinies anyway in a different way" thing, especially because of the way that through the children we know their parents didn't even follow a destiny the way they expected to! With Cerise being the daughter of the wolf and red. Also at times it almost seems like Apple is falling into the villain archetype - which her mom is the queen of their kingdom at the moment, while Raven's is imprisoned (or using the similarity to the og tale - dead)! It almost feels like Apple is the one whose destiny is pulling her toward villainy and her friendship with Raven is actually pulling her out of that destiny, instead of her wish to follow the perceived destiny she thinks she has. Also the Rebels are a clear rejection of "tradition" which the Royals are for. But Apple wants so badly to be part of tradition but parts of her (like her blonde hair and lesbianism) reject that tradition without her consciously being able to control them. It very much comes off like she's mad that people are choosing!! to break tradition, when they could so easily follow it, while she has to try so very hard to be part of that tradition. I hope that makes sense.
love this video concept. it just hits so many of my interests. i've always believed that apple's insistence on others following their destinies even if they're terrible is just a reflection of her own feelings regarding her own destiny. i imagined her subconscious train of thought to be, 'i don't want to live happily ever after with daring, but i have to. why can't other people also understand that they have to do these things that they don't want to.' i also really like the point you made about her "poisoning herself with raven". it works really well with the overarching plot about her trying so hard to connect with raven in a way that is not necessarily reciprocated (frenemies/eventual enemies). which can parallel well to the "falling for the straight girl trope" which i often associate with a sort of self-punishment where the character fixates on someone unobtainable as a means of preventing themselves from "getting what they want". which can be used to sort of represent queerness as a whole, where raven can fill in for any girl and not being able to be with her in the way she wants is representative of never being able to be in any sapphic relationship, either because it won't work out or because she wants to convince herself that it will never be reciprocated.
Intriguing... This concept of Lesbian characters going for the "unobtainable" is something we see all the time. You can even see it with G1 Clawdeen, Regina George, Chloe etc. etc.
LOVING THIS SUBJECT!!! As a hyper feminine lesbian it has definitely contributed to my own confusion to my sexuality so I LOOOOVE characters like apple white ❤ it’s already hard to find lesbian characters to relate too and even harder to find ones that are more “girly” like me
i agree with most of your analysis, it's really good! just one thing, i don't know if i would put apple in the "safe mommy" category. seems like she gets nervous whenever her mother is around in dragon games, almost like there could be a pressure to be perfect from her mother? it's been a while since i watched it but from what i remember, apple seems to want her mother to be impressed by her will to make everyone follow their destinies. idk i feel like there could be some more mommy issue lurking down there. but also i could just be hallucinating that and remembering it wrong lmao. great analysis anyway!!
This! Snow is a narcissist idk how so many people miss it. When she sees Apple for the first time in a long time she only asks about grades and destiny related things she never checks on her, shows actual interest, eats up everyone worshipping her. I remember as a kid I was confused why Snow White was picked for the main story of this universe but I realised as I got older why it made so much sense and put Apple in such an uncomfortable position People say Apple's mum might be one of the greatest, if not the greatest Snow White to ever live. Think of what Snow's story is about. She's meant to beautiful, humble, kind, gentle, Snow is supposed to be perfect. That is her character. Her villain literally wants to kill her because she's perfect. Imaging having to live up to a line of perfect women and people consider your mother to be the most perfect of perfect while you feel like you already started off wrong by being born with the "wrong" hair colour. Snow never seems to care about Apple any further than making sure she's as perfect as possible to be queen. Snow White is an emotionally abusive mother.
Honestly, I used to despise Apple white as a child but now that I am a little bit older I can't help but sympathize with her. She was a teenage girl who was pressured by all her mentors to be the perfect successor to snow white. I literally can't imagine how stressful it would be to appear perfect 24/7.
LOVE this!! I always looooved the well scene. I have a personal headcanon that Darling saved Apple from the well, and that’s what inspired Darling to get into hero work in the first place. In way too wonderland when Darling is revealed to be the white knight, she says “I guess you’re all probably wondering how I got here, but that’s a story for another day.” We never actually got to find out her backstory as to why she became a hero. Since the show and the books have both similarities and differences I think something like this could be revealed in the show if it were to ever get a continuation
If you want to read more about critiques of the disneyification of fairytales, I suggest looking into the work of Jack Zipes and Maria Tatar. Tatar in particular in her book The Hard Facts of Grimm's Fairy Tales makes some excellent points on how even the "original" tales as told by the brothers grimm were heavily censored in comparison to the oral tradition they came from, scrubbing away mentions of sexuality, incest, and paganism/fairies, and adding in christian virtues and increasingly violent punishments for the supposed wrongdoings of fairy tales (as an example of how the Grimms censored fairy tales, the story of Allerleirauh transitioned over time from being about a king lusting after his own daughter to tragically being forced to marry her by his counsel, and Rapunzel's story changed from being discovered by her Fairy mother to have seen a man once she became pregnant to being discovered by her enchantress mother to have seen a man once she... tells her. Interesting adaptational quirks). Even the supposedly "original" and "purely academic" Grimms were swayed by the market of their time and what they saw as profitable to sell to children. So there's a long tradition of the market sanitizing and scrubbing away the rough edges of folk tales for the sake of "palatability to children." A summary of Zipes's critique of Disney is that, rather than being transformative or elaborative, their retellings of the stories are _reductive,_ and that they homogenize the oral tradition by imposing themselves as the definitive version of these stories. So there's a lot to say about how commodification kills the core of fairy tales
But then again, a lot of this is getting into the idea that any retelling that isn't strictly following the original stories as they were said are inherently wrong and bad. Which also kills the spirit of why we tell Fairy Tales in the first place. Instead of being a time capsule of what cultures throughout time see as fair and good, and a safe place to try new things with old faces, it turns into a discussion of "Murder GOOD. Child friendly BAD." it's ironically enough, still extremely reductive. Marketing isn't bad. I'm sick of people villainizing others for wanting a successful career telling stories. Censorship is a very important discussion but wanting to make stories for children to enjoy instead of adults isn't a bad thing, and removing darker elements isn't a curropt action. The conclusion we reach can't be "we have to get rid of happily ever afters and return every fairytale to the blood sex and murderfest they once were", it should be embracing every type of retelling as adding something unique and new. Disney made legendary children's films based off the original stories while adding their own cultural impact. They shouldn't be seen as the definitive writers of fairytales, but its obnoxious and hypocritical to think we should throw everything the company did away as "shitty writing to market to kids because it isn't 10000000% accurate." Zipee's critiques seem to be in part based on worshipping the past and refusing to move on and appreciate the present. At the end of the day they're stories meant to be retold.
Also the Brothers Grimm removed a lot of the agency in the original fairytale heroines and made them more quiet and passive and ironically enough added more female villains/violence against female characters in their stories. If you read the stories, the female characters, whether they are the protagonists or the love interests, tend to be largely very passive and demure and damsels in distress, just plot devices for the other characters to act upon, and their primary character trait tends to be their beauty and delicacy. Although there are some thankful exceptions. You should also read “Grimm’s Bad Girls and Brave Boys” for more info.
8:12 I don't know how widely known that part of the original fairy tale is. But snow white got her name and appearance basically, because her mom accidentally stabbed her finger while she was sowing by the window. And blood dropped on the snow there. So she wished for a child with skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. I personally am not that familiar with eah. But from what you said, it also seems like an interesting way to use the original fairy tale as commentary on how older generations want younger ones to be just like them, and anything that isn't, even if it's as superficial as hair colour, gets criticized. Also, when we see snow white as this idealised representation of femininity and look at apples blond hair with that interpretation (blonde nowadays (and for a while) being considered very feminine). Apple is still definitely performing very feminine, which is what the adults want from her. But her femininity is different from her mother's through something that nobody has control over (her hair colour). And the adults do not like it. Which definitely can be read as an analogy to her being a femme lesbian and thus not performing femininity quite the way that a straight girl would.
Also the black hair comes from the color of the ebony window frame around her. And I agree about her not performing femininity the way a straight girl would as a lesbian. It reminds me of how being gay is something that can’t be helped. Just like having naturally blonde hair is something that can’t be helped. It also shows how being feminine isn’t synonymous with being straight-passing or conforming to heteronormative gender roles!
Really great video! I didn't realize I was a lesbian until late high school, but since middle school I've really loved a lot of the hyperfeminine girl media and I feel like that helped me be more comfortable with dresses and pink to the point where I loved them. As I got older I suppressed those interests and tried to fit in with the teen girl things (makeup, teen dramas, dating boys, ect) but I didn't feel the same draw or safety from them. It was something I had to perform instead of something that came naturally. After I realized that I was gay I was able to start enjoying my old interests again because I didn't feel the need to perform the "socially acceptable" femininity. Things like EAH, barbie, and my little pony will always be a great source of comfort for me and I'm still enjoying them in my 20s. Also I know Darling was the one who broke Apple's curse but you're right she always had mad chemistry with Raven
I had a similar experience when I came out as bi. For years leading up to it, I almost only wore pants or shorts and tended to wear darker colors (maybe subconsciously trying to present as butch?) After I came out, I realized I was comfortable wearing skirts and dresses a lot more. It's like coming out freed my femme side.
Same I relate to this especially with not caring about guys at all! Or, like as the girl in the video says, not having a favorite male anything. I had to force myself to care about and consider men. Everything I’ve always admired and loved has been female and feminine.
I've been waiting for someone to make a video essay on Apple White and all the themes that surround her, all the metaphors and psychology that is in her story or even in Ever After High as a whole, just basically psychoanalyze the character like I did in my head this whole time. It's infuriating how most eah fans think Apple is just being a bitch with no deeper meaning whatsoever to her behaviour when she's literally just a teenage lesbian who has been pressured into following society's expectations, into fitting into the exact right box when the box is way too small to fit into. As a lesbian, she always spoke to me, even in my childhood and preteen years, and I will clutch her close to my heart for my whole life. I LOVE this video
Trans man here! Holy fuck, I clicked on this video because of how much I loved Ever After High growing up, but then got slammed with psychology and a analysis that knocked me on my ass. How you review everything and all of your points got me so immersed, and I learned WAY more from this video then I ever thought I would. So many things you said in this video resonated with me, but the biggest thing that comes up in my mind is just how hyper-feminine everything was growing up as AFAB in the 2000s-2010s. You hit the nail on the head with how likely it is so many AFAB people grew up completely immersed in those pieces of media, most likely to hide or escape their own true feelings. This isn't really necessary, but I wanted to provide my own experience as a way to give further perspective. For me personally I enjoyed both feminine and masculine pieces of media. For the girly things I would sometimes find myself with a crush on specific feminine main characters, but then I would watch masculine media and it would become my entire hyperfixation/special interest because I would find myself subconsciously projecting onto some of the male characters in the shows that I watched. For example, The Hub Network was a excellent channel for me because it had amazing shows for both sides of the childrens media. Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, and then on top of that I would watch channels like Nickelodeon and become obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012. I just wanted to consume all of the media I guess lmao! But I always felt a sense of escapism in different ways while watching both types of shows. For the feminine media, it felt like taking a peek into "the girl world", and I would often feel a underlying desire or pressure to act like those feminine characters in order to "fit in" more (my desire to fit in also coming from simply growing up neurodivergent). But for masculine media, I would have escapism in a really positive and fun way! I would watch and feel myself truly relax into my couch, and the only femenine show that gave me that sense of escapism was My Little Pony (and I was also estatic as hell when the brony fandom became a thing too, because it subconsciously cemented in my brain that guys liked the show too. That always really got my egg ass overly excited to know lmao). Overall, you really got my brain thinking super hard with this video! So, you've certainly earned a subscriber over here lol. I hope you don't mind this wall text of a comment haha, I just find this overall topic of how children's media can reflect such deep rooted societal issues
This was very enlightening! I had never looked into lesbian psychology before, but a lot of things "clicked" after this video. I'd love to hear more of your EAH opinions, especially those that pertain to queerness. :)
I also think there's something to be said about this trope and the amount of "mean girls" that fall into it. For example Regina Chloe and at the beginning of EAH even Apple would all fit into that category. I mean there is little to no evidence to support the idea of Regina being saphic in any way shape or form and with Chloe yes there is the obsession with Ladybug but Alya is also obsessed with Ladybug and while you could use her relationship with Nino as reasoning as to why not as many people interpret it this way Chloe is also shown to have an interest in boys i.e Adrien. I think this does stem from both the "mean lesbian" trope and the idea of hyperfeminininty always being demonized notice how both Chloe and Regina are incredibly feminine and both shown to be bad people. And while I have no issue as people interpreting these characters in this way because I also do I just thought it was something worth noting. (Also I have not finished the video yet so if this is addressed in the video I simply just haven't gotten there yet)
Valid point- However, the reason I used Chloe & Regina as examples of "Closeted Femmes" was because of their attitudes towards their Male vs. Female counterparts. In Mean Girls, Regina saw her boyfriend as an "asset" or mobility to move up in the social ranks. That's why she was so comfortable with cheating time and time again. It goes to show how men are regarded in this game of chess some of us sapphics play to get by. Even Adrien was seen more as a commodity for Chloe, an infatuation- Its almost as if he was sought after for the status & power he held in Paris. As for their female counterparts, it's apparent that there is more attention given to these women- whether this be through well-thought out schemes of manipulation, socializing, fashion, building more of a relationship based on interest & attraction rather than a "social advantage" for them. If you think about it, Katie should've been the last person the plastics let in- But because Regina took personal interest in Katie she climbed the social ranks and was regarded as Regina's #1. Sure, we could say it was nothing more than a "close friendship" but I argue something different. If we are not able to re-imagine the classics from a sapphic or WLW Point Of View, we limit ourselves to the confinements and restrictions of the male gaze and the hetero-normative perspective.
@@dorothydiabetes yep and I 100% agree with you I should have worded it better but what I meant was that the directors and all that I kind of feel like it was intentional coding and that was my point not that I thought Interpreting the characters that say was wrong because I also interpret them that way
I haven’t even seen Everafter High but your video essay literally blew my mind 🤯 + now I WILLL be watching (+ rewatch this!! w/ a deeper appreciation!!)
I relate to the closeted femme sapphic so much I wish we had more representation of this character, a girl who is both feminine but also isn't heteronormative, it seems we either get one or the other but can't have both
just watched But I'm A Cheerleader last night, and it made me just reflect that in a way it reminds me of femme lesbians being Sisyphus in a metaphorical way. just carrying on the struggle of being the perfect girl, purely free of sin just to fall over. Overall, I really liked the video! I remember back when Darling kissed Apple I became so euphoric I was rolling around the house in happiness.
im literally begging for EAH to come back like im an adult now but i loved it sm and i still miss it. and this was such a good video, people dont talk about apple's queercoding enough
I kinda wish you had talked about other invisible and closeted femme lesbians in media, but this video was still great and insightful nonetheless! All the more reason to love Apple White! If not for the strike then I'd hope that EAH gets renewed so that they continue to show off Apple White's lesbian potential!
I'm always a little bit skeptic about Freud given the many weird things he said and the fact that he considered being gay a mental illness but what you said in the video makes sense
Unfortunately, Freud was a product of his time. Believing being gay was a mental illness was comparatively progressive (compared to the general view of "gays are evil, immoral, going straight to hell.") I'll give him credit for being one of the pioneers of mental health and treatment, but man, did he make a few wrong turns at Albuquerque.
This is fascinating thank you ! I am late bloomer lesbian, I was so deep in the closet I didn't let myself be aware I was in a closet. 4 minutes in and I am loving the take down of Disney and reclaiming of older folk tales Snow White was based on. Love your view on Snow White's journey as that of awakening to her inner truth. I am reminded of 'Women who run with wolves' (Clarissa Pinkola Estes) discusses themes of initiation, coming of age that are in various folk tales through out the world. Basically if white, black, and red are important colors in the story - it was once about initiation into the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth. 'Red Moon' by Miranda Gray speciifically looks at these same colors and themes as they related to women's mysteries and menstruation cycles using the archetypes of maiden, mother, sorceress, and hag - with Snow White as innocence of childhood, before menstruation - the apple (as you said wisdom knowledge) essentially her getting her first period and entering into adulthood. The 'Evil Queen' as the sorceress phase - PMS, hightened sex drive. The 'Evil Queen' as women stepping into their power, their sexuality and how this was feared.
i loved watching this so much omg i definitely wanna rewatch ever after high now! also lesbian psychology seems so so interesting i wanna definitely learn more about that.
i LOVE this so so much!!! ive always seen most of the eah characters as lesbians (yes i'm projecting) and i loved hearing your analysis of apple!! id love to see more like this and also the way you explain things is so engaging!!
I am not hating at all, I think the video is pretty good, but uh... Why is Melanie Martinez in the thumbnail?? They're openly bisexual and have been since the beginning. She is also some form of enby (she/they). She's not closeted and I don't see them being mentioned in a meaningful way in this video, so what is the purpose of including her on the thumbnail with the lesbian flag?
Yeah I agree. And also this entire video is about Apple White with only a slight mention of Regina George, Chloe Bourgeois and Clawdeen Wolf, so I have no idea what all the other characters are added for. Kinda misleading, iyam.
I just found your channel but I love your views and analyses so much but I also love how we just teleport with you all over your house like those horror liminal space weirdcore TikTok’s so I’m listening to you discuss your personal synopsis of the imagery of Snow White while you look at something off camera in your garage and then BAM we’re in your room now and I love it
Leaving this here so I remember to come back to it. I want to watch a video essay on closeted lesbian femmes specifically focused on Apple White, but I’m supposed to be bowling…
my fav sapphic pairing is caitlyn and vi from arcane. i love how the femme girl is always paired with either goth/tough girl. i sense some queer coding with the new Wednesday show too
ur really livin the dream. just took a peep at ur channel… u went phone free for 7 months? moved to canada? have no other social media? must be nice :0
I have lots of theories about EAH. One of them related to Apple and Darling and the fake Storybook of Legends that the Evil Queen made to replace the actual one that she stole. Anyway the book shows Apple ending up with Daring. However this is not the true storyline. The only difference between the siblings names is the letter "L" for love. Which I believe was a subtle clue as to who Apple's true love actually is. Darling also has to experience the constant admiration of males just like Apple does. So there were all these clues leading up to what ultimately happened in Dragon Games.
You are iconic and I love your points. It feels like we're having a conversation. I'm so used to reading actual like "doco style" "evidence in point" essays and essay videos. I do think some of the evidence you include, you don't take the time to truly elaborate upon. The evidence you truly believe and think show the audience the media is truly sapphic representation isn't show us such, until you tell us the conversation between raven and apple white. Even then, the evidence and why you feel that way about it, is lacking here, even though there are lots of points you bring up, they aren't elaborated upon. And that analytical breakdown would be amazing to hear. It gives non-believers the chance to see a true line of thought in which that is the final result, the final outcome. And those are often undeniable truths, that really make people ponder how they could actually look away from it. Still loving this tho! 🤩
I love that you bring in a lot of information from the book. The books were my first interaction with the EAH series and (im biased) I think they are the best piece of official EAH content there is tbh
Ever After High was literally my whole childhood, I was so happy because this was the first time i'd seen queer representation in anything i watched, and representation that i could clearly see. Apple White was one of my favorite characters, and i just love learning more about her and exploring all the aspects of her personality I never noticed before.
This was such a good video omg I love that there's someone else out there who wants to rant about Apple's closeted lesbianism and love for Raven as much as me
I have never even heard of this series but I am locked in. I am here for more lesbian analysis video essays. I can think of many other femmes in media that are queer coded that fit this- NANA (Hachi) Komatsu from NANA, possibly Glinda in Wicked, from what I have started of Xena- Gabrielle and wanting more than life with a random husband and joining Xena in her travels. I know some may chalk up these desires to stay single or form own nontraditional path as just critiquing societal roles or the patriarchy but there can also be queer readings of that.
11:49 this seems kinda interesting tbh Femininity performed for women in general vs femmes who perform an almost GNC version of femininity often for other women as well
I think the well occurrence could be a metaphor for SA. If I'm not wrong it happened when she was a child and she says she felt "the worst sensations someone could ever feel", and when she was rescued she was promised that when she fulfilled her destiny she would never feel anything bad again and she would live happily ever after.
this video (on top of other events from the past week) has helped me realize a lot about myself. as a masc-dominant nonbinary person who grew up with a narcissistic mother who taught hyperfemininity, it took me a long time to realise i was trans despite being knowledgeable about transness and trans identity because i was also feeling feminine gender dysphoria. when i felt like a woman, i never felt like i was feminine enough or pretty enough or perfect enough. when i got older it manifested into rebellion and emo stuff as you'd expect, but even having realized i was bisexual for five years and having trans friends, it took me until i was 16 to realize those feelings i had were more than lack of self confidence. sometimes im a boy, sometimes im neither. and occasionally im a girl. ive always felt uncomfortable presenting female after this realization, and up until today i thought it was because i didnt want my transness de-valued or im not feminine often. its a little bit of the de-valuing thing, but it is also because of my feminine dysphoria, and no time is it more evident now that ive started testosterone (and after watching this video). I love being a woman sometimes. i love being a man sometimes. i love not fitting into either of those boxes. i just need to learn to embrace femininity when it calls to me
This is video is exactly what I was needing omg the way you explained everything is so good it’s so interesting I also wanted to know what do you think about raven and apple being related since raven is like her step aunt
To my knowledge, they're not related at all. If you think about the original tale, Snow White was the Evil Queen's daughter but in the world of Ever After- due to them marrying different prince Charming's for generations to come- they're definitely two different families at this point.
Such a good video. And even tho she was barely mentioned I was literally talking about Chloe from miraculous being closeted yesterday. That’s why the betrayal of ladybug hurt so much. To me it felt like I was watching someone get rejected by someone they like liked. It was a very genuine girl pain to me and it makes me even angrier bec she was written out of the show. By a character who IS basically wat she was being written to be.
I was playing Baldur's Gate but its storming and my power went so instead I've found myself here. This randomly showed up in my feed and I must say I'm not disappointed because your energy is astounding and oddly contagious. You made this sm fun kudos fr
This was a fun listen. Thank you for putting it together! I am not familiar with these characters, but it's very interesting to listen to your psychological hypothesis with regards to their dynamics as portrayed in the writing. In more old fashioned terms, "I loved the meta, excellent theories all around."I have subscribed, and look forward to seeing you creations in the future!
5:30 I think your interpretation is really interesting Also if we take fairness to still mean beauty but not strictly appearance it can be many other qualities. People talk all the time about inner beauty or like ethical/moral behavior etc Snow White is written to be kind and help others and that’s what makes her beautiful etc Vs her mother turns on her the moment she thinks her **own daughter** can take attention away from her
i also think apple is some kind of neurodivergent, most likely ocd or autism. she likes to preform this femininity and boxes and doesnt stray from her comfort zone, just like how some neurodivergent people like to put everything into boxes. also her obsession with everyione following her destiny fits into this, she doesnt realy know whats gonna happen if they dont follow their destiny and obsesses over following it and i see myself as a person with ocd in her a lot because i was scared of everything too, like the uncertan and obsessed over avoiding those things.
This isn't about the video but Apple's hair should have been like an amity moment with her hair naturally should have been Black or the beep or dark blue
I don't know much about ever after high, I was definitely more into monster high- but your explanation has really boosted my interest. I love your videos, your cute positive energy, and I love being a lesbian. Can't wait to watch more of your videos!!
I have a personal headcanon that darling is a trans man 🏳️⚧️ (a biological female transitioning to male): 1) her colors match the trans flag 2) her being a REBEL and her being TRANS would make sense 3) she’s obviously heroic (not saying women can’t be heroes…they absolutely fucking can! But in the stories it was mostly the men who were the heroes so it would make sense why she’d transition into a male). Proof that apple is lesbian: 1) the term: “fruity” implies you’re queer 2) ever notice how much amity blight and apple white have in common? 3) her colors match the lesbian flag 4) her storybook romance status in her doll diary says: “just because daring and I are supposed to be married doesn’t mean we’re an item” she’d deny having any romantic relationship with daring when she is asked about it. 6) I mean…it can’t be a coincidence that both characters share traits that conveniently imply queerness? lol
@@rebelagainsttheblues I actually came up with my version of Apple's Story that's even has hints of Sleeping Beauty's story and Even Cinderella lol. let me know you're thoughts: - Raven and Farrah bestow gifts to Apple as an early coronation gift, Raven gives her a magic mirror, And Farrah give her the gift of beauty - Everyday Apple asks Mira Shards (who's inside the mirror) who's the fairest. One day the mirror warns he about an impending doom, It fails to be specific... but it states that one day she will die an unexpected death by an evil sorcerer. Neither Raven nor Farrah can prevent the prophecy, but they change it... stating that she will be revived by a lover. - Her coronation begins weeks later, Faybelle being the daughter of the dark fairy isn't invited. having grown jealous and resentful towards the queen. She order a huntsman to corner her in private and strike her. He spares Apple and instead brings Faybelle the heart of a deer as proof of her "death" - Upon hearing about Faybelle's plan she becomes an outlaw, and her capture is ordered for a grand reward. - Word spreads to Faybelle that Apple is still alive. Angered...she stealthily makes 3 attempt to take her life. disguised as an old lady she attempts: strangulation with scarves, slitting of the throat, and of course the iconic poisoned apple lmao. -Raven and Farrah place the queen in her coffin, assuming that her lover is one of the queen's suitors, He tries to wake her up, he fails. and a funeral is held in place. Eventually they are introduced to a FEMALE suitor, whom the queen had a secret intimate relationship with. she wakes her up. -Faybelle is furious and is forced to wear hot glass slippers and dance until she drops dead. (like the original Snow White lol). Apple's relationship with Darling is cordially embraced. and they all live.....you know the rest lol.
I loved your interpretation of Snow White's story, it's refreshing to hear a new perspective. Also, I've never watched Ever After High but now I definitely will
You made me really rethink Apple. She pushes her pain onto others yes, but the sacrifices she was forced to make didn’t really compute for me before. That’s before we even got into the sapphic section. Thanks.
I know it's not about the video topic, but can we talk for a moment about how stunning she looks! The hair, the make-up, the smile... so cute and gorgeous (I love the eyeliner) Just me clicking on a video about gay headcanon stuff (as you do), only to get blown away Btw I love the take on Apples and Ravens relationship. The poison take, like honestly how romantic it sounds...
thanks for making me cry at the fact that Disney ruined an incredible franchise for Descendants again. (even if Mattel pulled the plug themselves because they were too afraid to end in a lawsuit for characters in the public domain in a school setting, so original ofc Disney would've won even if Descendants came after and there are countless other very similar franchises 🙄 I'm fuming because they probably would've won if it happened & that's why Mattel chose to do that. I hate how the ones with more money always win, how is that fair.)
Welcome to Canada! Yes it has been raining forever here! Really enjoyed your analysis! I love classic fairy tales and any twist or variations folks make on them!
Ngl since apple and ravens story is only the 2nd time this story is told, it never said the prince can be a princess since all snow white wanted was love,just love. Personally ship apple and darling but if you ship raven and apple it still can be the same, both are royalty,rich and have love and are kind soooooo yes the prince can be a princess
Before the theory about raven and apple being switched is confirmed, even then, Apple White is a blonde! Those two aspects are basically of the same importance. I personally think the parents are also just a generation among many and the stories slightly change when they're retold with their kids. Maybe the apple was an orange once but then the apple became canon and then the next protagonist is blonde and then the prince is a lesbian and so on, minute changes
Imagine almost dying to a poison apple and naming your kid after an apple.Its like a car crash survivor naming their kid vehicular manslaughter or smth
Obviously the parent would name their daughter Mercedes.
You wrong for this 😭😭😭😭
It's better than naming after the villain name, ngl (cough cough descendants)
gonna name my kid shredder because i once got my finger stuck in a paper shredder
@@aminishnamedvaati I thought you were talking about tmnt at first
15:27 I love that you brought this up. In apple’s storybook romance status on her doll box she says that “just because our story says daring and I are supposed to get married doesn’t mean we’re an item.” It’s ironic for her to say this considering the fact that she’s constantly trying to make her and Raven an item
“You and I are supposed to be frenemies.”
“It’s our destiny.”
“Since you’re such an important part of my story headmaster Grimm said that we could LIVE together. Isn’t that enchanting?”
Yes Yes!
@@Darlyy_Slayz remember Grimm turned into a chicken
where did you get she was constantly trying to make her and Raven an item? even as a child, i could gather it was because she wanted a platonic closeness with Raven, she felt almost a sisterly bond because their stories are so intertwined. it reminded me of my relationship with my half sister more than my relationship with any of my female crushes. mostly, it reminded me of my relationship with fellow girls i would obsess over because i wanted to be their friend, and there really wasn't a sexual attraction just because I could be attracted to girls, i just thought the idea of being their friend was exciting because i felt like we'd be perfect for each other as best friends for one reason or another. i didn't have many offline friends growing up, i had none as i got older, so it was fun to idealize getting close with certain girls because i found them platonically appealing, and i was self aware enough to know i wasn't romanticizing or sexualizing the women i wanted to be friends with so bad, i felt like they'd be the other side of a kinda dynamic duo i'd only see in TV.
now we're sexualizing friendship between women, or potentially gay women over such vague evidence as examples of Apple trying to force their closeness, smh.
@@AneXineohp Also if that I can easily say Well people are doing same with Darling and Apple them
@@AneXineohp hi
OK BUT THE LEVEL OF DRAMA. Like maybe another reason apple was upset about ppl not following their destiny was cause she knew she liked girls but was willing to turn on her own sexuality for HER DESTINY and she’s like well im giving up stuff why can’t others or something 😭💀
This adds SO MANY LAYERS to the whole situation, I love it
Saving this for when im in the mood for a video essay on closeted femme lesbians(im a closeted femme lesbian)
Did u watch it yet
Life in the closet sucked for me, good luck girl
Watching now for the exact same reason lol
* laughs nervously in agreement *
I said in someone else's video on Miraculous that was talking about Zoe being an unnecessary character that they literally could have given Zoe's crush on Marinette to Chloe and her internalized homophobia being the reason she targeted Marinette so viciously. Too bad the creator has a hate boner for Chloe and turned her into a mustache twirling caricature of an antagonist while the adults who enabled her, abused and neglected her get away scot-free and "redeemed" meanwhile the 14 year old is "literally Satan" and "irredeemable" in his eyes
Hi 😘
Part of me thinks he had a run in with someone like Chloe and making her irredeemable is how he deals with it, ya know, like a coping mechanism
@@terittapparently chloe is based off his childhood bully so that's probably why he doesn't want to redeem her
@@teritt 😘
@@skull_rat do you like pickles
Monster High's maker, Garret Sanders, never planned for G1 Clawdeen to be a lesbian, imply just not boy crazy. However, he loves the fan headcanon and decalred it as canon in a "Word of God" way. So yeah. Clawdeen is a lesbian 😁
And is dating Twyla ✨✨✨
he probably saw the headcanon and was like "aw man, why didnt i think of that"
@@aquadraws5833 I thought that was her baby sister doing that lol
From what I’ve heard in one of the comic con doll journals or whatever there was HEAVY implications
But by then MH had been around a while so it’s probably that the HC came first and if it fits why not go with it? It’s a HC for a reason afterall
Afaik he's queer too and planned for Kieran Valentine to be gay (which mattel didn't allow at the time so they better fix that in g3)
I find it interesting to see how Apple, while doing her best to follow her destiny, is both praised and ridiculed; specifically for her hair. It actually reminds me of the paradox that is Raven's destiny. I've always thought it was unfair that Raven is both being told to be evil to be accepted, and that if she is evil she will be rejected and punished. I mean, we all saw how she was treated before going rogue, with everyone avoiding her and even her introduction on Legacy Day being said with hatred. We also saw her destiny and her punishment for being evil (angry mobs, a life of servitude, and being imprisoned and scared). Yet, despite all of that, she's expected to be evil and told to be so. I can't remember the name of the short, but one of them showed her being brought in by the faculty for her rebellious behavior and being praised when she turns Headmaster Grimm into a chicken man. She's getting mixed signals, but now I see that Apple is experiencing the same. She's praised for who she is and is related to, as well as her royal behavior, but she is looked down upon for things she can't control (her hair color and possibly her sexuality, but she's in the closet so no one is outright judging her with that in mind). It's all mixed signals and paradoxes, but it also seems like the thing that most of the students are going through. The villains receive the judgment that Raven goes through, and the heroes who want anything else in their lives or struggle to meet such high expectations are going through Apple's problem.
I LOVE your point about the apple in the Snow White story being a symbol of female sexuality because in Dragon Games, Apple eats the apple and falls into her sleep, and that’s the catalyst for Darling to kiss her
THISSS
Eve and adam, persephone and hades
@spacebar9733 Achilles and Patroclus, Sappho and her MANY female lovers
@@one-onessadhalf3393 I'll add them to my tbr. Forbidden fruit is my favorite metaphor 🤭
@spacebar9733 OH THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO
one thing I heard a long time ago was when apple got poisoned daring (her bf) couldn’t wake her up with true loves kiss. instead, darling (darings sister) woke apple up by giving her cpr. so the theory was that when she did the mouth to mouth, it was actually a kiss, and apple and darling were soulmates
The books also go into it and ship them!!
Ummm there isn't any confirmation of that
@DarlingCharming5394 that's literally the plot of the dragon games movie, the other characters got darrring to kiss her first because only 'true love's kiss' could wake her up
@@kjarakravik4837 No the plot of Dragon Games was to show relationship of Apple and Raven and their mothers more deeply
there's actually a good explanation that's been out there since like 2018 - the cpr thing was spread because facebook mothers were so mad at the kiss between apple and darling that mattel had to say something, so they went with that. anyways, a couple years after the release when gay people were more commonly accepted, the creators did confirm that apple and darling were true loves and were supposed to end up together
This was such a good video. I read the first four books of Ever After High and watched the show and movies in their entirety. One thing I noticed about Apple White is how she gets so uncomfortable any time the topic of boys comes up. When asked why she isn't dating Daring Charming, she says because she has her happily ever after to be with him yet Apple isn't dating any guy at all nor shows any interest in it. She is more of using Daring as a cloak to say she is straight while not actually being with him. She is putting it off for as long as possible and it very much looks like comphet.
Exactly! The discomfort whenever a guy comes up is exactly how I feel too omg!
It’s even mentioned in an ever after high book (the one with apple and meeshell on the cover but I forgot what it’s called) that apple eventually tried to be in a committed and serious relationship with daring, but she had to break it off because it wasn’t going anywhere and she wanted to focus on school….hmmm 🧐
Same
I would love to watch a video on the privatisation of fairy tales - stories that were once in the public domain and now aren’t, stories that once belonged to everyone (pretty much), but now is owned by Disney. Disney controls the narrative of so many stories
Yesss
As someone who grew up reading the brothers grimm tales, abridged Hans Christian Anderson and more, long before i watched disney, i wholeheartedly agree.
I WHEEZED at the hetero confusion towards Melanie at the beginning of the vid lmao
Apple always got my gaydar ringing, even before I even knew I had one, so just the title has me whooping for all the femmes out there
What is wheezed
I'm so glad people are still talking about ever after high
Oops I farted
I will never not talk about EAH with yall
@@LangkeeLongkee why
samee omfgg
@@medea__witchhh briar
I thought I was the only one who thought regina george was a closeted lesbian and thats why she had rage issues 😂
Me too! I never got the feeling that she actually liked Aaron and Shane(even though she cried when they broke up with her, I think it was just about her image and wanting the validation of being with them). I think she was truly attracted to Cady and only dated Aaron to piss Cady off.
I agree about the "they end up following their destinies anyway in a different way" thing, especially because of the way that through the children we know their parents didn't even follow a destiny the way they expected to! With Cerise being the daughter of the wolf and red. Also at times it almost seems like Apple is falling into the villain archetype - which her mom is the queen of their kingdom at the moment, while Raven's is imprisoned (or using the similarity to the og tale - dead)! It almost feels like Apple is the one whose destiny is pulling her toward villainy and her friendship with Raven is actually pulling her out of that destiny, instead of her wish to follow the perceived destiny she thinks she has.
Also the Rebels are a clear rejection of "tradition" which the Royals are for. But Apple wants so badly to be part of tradition but parts of her (like her blonde hair and lesbianism) reject that tradition without her consciously being able to control them. It very much comes off like she's mad that people are choosing!! to break tradition, when they could so easily follow it, while she has to try so very hard to be part of that tradition. I hope that makes sense.
Am I a big girl
love this video concept. it just hits so many of my interests.
i've always believed that apple's insistence on others following their destinies even if they're terrible is just a reflection of her own feelings regarding her own destiny. i imagined her subconscious train of thought to be, 'i don't want to live happily ever after with daring, but i have to. why can't other people also understand that they have to do these things that they don't want to.'
i also really like the point you made about her "poisoning herself with raven". it works really well with the overarching plot about her trying so hard to connect with raven in a way that is not necessarily reciprocated (frenemies/eventual enemies). which can parallel well to the "falling for the straight girl trope" which i often associate with a sort of self-punishment where the character fixates on someone unobtainable as a means of preventing themselves from "getting what they want". which can be used to sort of represent queerness as a whole, where raven can fill in for any girl and not being able to be with her in the way she wants is representative of never being able to be in any sapphic relationship, either because it won't work out or because she wants to convince herself that it will never be reciprocated.
Intriguing... This concept of Lesbian characters going for the "unobtainable" is something we see all the time. You can even see it with G1 Clawdeen, Regina George, Chloe etc. etc.
@@dorothydiabetes bad news I lost 2 of my subscribers
LOVING THIS SUBJECT!!! As a hyper feminine lesbian it has definitely contributed to my own confusion to my sexuality so I LOOOOVE characters like apple white ❤ it’s already hard to find lesbian characters to relate too and even harder to find ones that are more “girly” like me
It’s even harder to find ones that are Black. It makes me treasure the ones who do exist with all my heart. 🥰
i agree with most of your analysis, it's really good! just one thing, i don't know if i would put apple in the "safe mommy" category. seems like she gets nervous whenever her mother is around in dragon games, almost like there could be a pressure to be perfect from her mother? it's been a while since i watched it but from what i remember, apple seems to want her mother to be impressed by her will to make everyone follow their destinies. idk i feel like there could be some more mommy issue lurking down there. but also i could just be hallucinating that and remembering it wrong lmao. great analysis anyway!!
This! Snow is a narcissist idk how so many people miss it. When she sees Apple for the first time in a long time she only asks about grades and destiny related things she never checks on her, shows actual interest, eats up everyone worshipping her. I remember as a kid I was confused why Snow White was picked for the main story of this universe but I realised as I got older why it made so much sense and put Apple in such an uncomfortable position
People say Apple's mum might be one of the greatest, if not the greatest Snow White to ever live. Think of what Snow's story is about. She's meant to beautiful, humble, kind, gentle, Snow is supposed to be perfect. That is her character. Her villain literally wants to kill her because she's perfect. Imaging having to live up to a line of perfect women and people consider your mother to be the most perfect of perfect while you feel like you already started off wrong by being born with the "wrong" hair colour.
Snow never seems to care about Apple any further than making sure she's as perfect as possible to be queen. Snow White is an emotionally abusive mother.
Honestly, I used to despise Apple white as a child but now that I am a little bit older I can't help but sympathize with her. She was a teenage girl who was pressured by all her mentors to be the perfect successor to snow white. I literally can't imagine how stressful it would be to appear perfect 24/7.
Like Isabela Madrigal from Encanto.
LOVE this!! I always looooved the well scene. I have a personal headcanon that Darling saved Apple from the well, and that’s what inspired Darling to get into hero work in the first place. In way too wonderland when Darling is revealed to be the white knight, she says “I guess you’re all probably wondering how I got here, but that’s a story for another day.” We never actually got to find out her backstory as to why she became a hero. Since the show and the books have both similarities and differences I think something like this could be revealed in the show if it were to ever get a continuation
That story is actually mentioned in her Doll Diary
I have that hc too!
If you want to read more about critiques of the disneyification of fairytales, I suggest looking into the work of Jack Zipes and Maria Tatar. Tatar in particular in her book The Hard Facts of Grimm's Fairy Tales makes some excellent points on how even the "original" tales as told by the brothers grimm were heavily censored in comparison to the oral tradition they came from, scrubbing away mentions of sexuality, incest, and paganism/fairies, and adding in christian virtues and increasingly violent punishments for the supposed wrongdoings of fairy tales (as an example of how the Grimms censored fairy tales, the story of Allerleirauh transitioned over time from being about a king lusting after his own daughter to tragically being forced to marry her by his counsel, and Rapunzel's story changed from being discovered by her Fairy mother to have seen a man once she became pregnant to being discovered by her enchantress mother to have seen a man once she... tells her. Interesting adaptational quirks). Even the supposedly "original" and "purely academic" Grimms were swayed by the market of their time and what they saw as profitable to sell to children. So there's a long tradition of the market sanitizing and scrubbing away the rough edges of folk tales for the sake of "palatability to children." A summary of Zipes's critique of Disney is that, rather than being transformative or elaborative, their retellings of the stories are _reductive,_ and that they homogenize the oral tradition by imposing themselves as the definitive version of these stories. So there's a lot to say about how commodification kills the core of fairy tales
TIME OUT, NO WAY
But then again, a lot of this is getting into the idea that any retelling that isn't strictly following the original stories as they were said are inherently wrong and bad. Which also kills the spirit of why we tell Fairy Tales in the first place. Instead of being a time capsule of what cultures throughout time see as fair and good, and a safe place to try new things with old faces, it turns into a discussion of
"Murder GOOD. Child friendly BAD." it's ironically enough, still extremely reductive.
Marketing isn't bad. I'm sick of people villainizing others for wanting a successful career telling stories. Censorship is a very important discussion but wanting to make stories for children to enjoy instead of adults isn't a bad thing, and removing darker elements isn't a curropt action.
The conclusion we reach can't be "we have to get rid of happily ever afters and return every fairytale to the blood sex and murderfest they once were", it should be embracing every type of retelling as adding something unique and new.
Disney made legendary children's films based off the original stories while adding their own cultural impact. They shouldn't be seen as the definitive writers of fairytales, but its obnoxious and hypocritical to think we should throw everything the company did away as "shitty writing to market to kids because it isn't 10000000% accurate."
Zipee's critiques seem to be in part based on worshipping the past and refusing to move on and appreciate the present.
At the end of the day they're stories meant to be retold.
Also the Brothers Grimm removed a lot of the agency in the original fairytale heroines and made them more quiet and passive and ironically enough added more female villains/violence against female characters in their stories. If you read the stories, the female characters, whether they are the protagonists or the love interests, tend to be largely very passive and demure and damsels in distress, just plot devices for the other characters to act upon, and their primary character trait tends to be their beauty and delicacy. Although there are some thankful exceptions. You should also read “Grimm’s Bad Girls and Brave Boys” for more info.
8:12 I don't know how widely known that part of the original fairy tale is. But snow white got her name and appearance basically, because her mom accidentally stabbed her finger while she was sowing by the window. And blood dropped on the snow there. So she wished for a child with skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.
I personally am not that familiar with eah. But from what you said, it also seems like an interesting way to use the original fairy tale as commentary on how older generations want younger ones to be just like them, and anything that isn't, even if it's as superficial as hair colour, gets criticized.
Also, when we see snow white as this idealised representation of femininity and look at apples blond hair with that interpretation (blonde nowadays (and for a while) being considered very feminine). Apple is still definitely performing very feminine, which is what the adults want from her. But her femininity is different from her mother's through something that nobody has control over (her hair colour). And the adults do not like it. Which definitely can be read as an analogy to her being a femme lesbian and thus not performing femininity quite the way that a straight girl would.
Also the black hair comes from the color of the ebony window frame around her. And I agree about her not performing femininity the way a straight girl would as a lesbian. It reminds me of how being gay is something that can’t be helped. Just like having naturally blonde hair is something that can’t be helped. It also shows how being feminine isn’t synonymous with being straight-passing or conforming to heteronormative gender roles!
Really great video! I didn't realize I was a lesbian until late high school, but since middle school I've really loved a lot of the hyperfeminine girl media and I feel like that helped me be more comfortable with dresses and pink to the point where I loved them. As I got older I suppressed those interests and tried to fit in with the teen girl things (makeup, teen dramas, dating boys, ect) but I didn't feel the same draw or safety from them. It was something I had to perform instead of something that came naturally. After I realized that I was gay I was able to start enjoying my old interests again because I didn't feel the need to perform the "socially acceptable" femininity. Things like EAH, barbie, and my little pony will always be a great source of comfort for me and I'm still enjoying them in my 20s.
Also I know Darling was the one who broke Apple's curse but you're right she always had mad chemistry with Raven
I had a similar experience when I came out as bi. For years leading up to it, I almost only wore pants or shorts and tended to wear darker colors (maybe subconsciously trying to present as butch?) After I came out, I realized I was comfortable wearing skirts and dresses a lot more. It's like coming out freed my femme side.
Same I relate to this especially with not caring about guys at all! Or, like as the girl in the video says, not having a favorite male anything. I had to force myself to care about and consider men. Everything I’ve always admired and loved has been female and feminine.
I've been waiting for someone to make a video essay on Apple White and all the themes that surround her, all the metaphors and psychology that is in her story or even in Ever After High as a whole, just basically psychoanalyze the character like I did in my head this whole time. It's infuriating how most eah fans think Apple is just being a bitch with no deeper meaning whatsoever to her behaviour when she's literally just a teenage lesbian who has been pressured into following society's expectations, into fitting into the exact right box when the box is way too small to fit into. As a lesbian, she always spoke to me, even in my childhood and preteen years, and I will clutch her close to my heart for my whole life. I LOVE this video
SAME!
Trans man here! Holy fuck, I clicked on this video because of how much I loved Ever After High growing up, but then got slammed with psychology and a analysis that knocked me on my ass. How you review everything and all of your points got me so immersed, and I learned WAY more from this video then I ever thought I would. So many things you said in this video resonated with me, but the biggest thing that comes up in my mind is just how hyper-feminine everything was growing up as AFAB in the 2000s-2010s. You hit the nail on the head with how likely it is so many AFAB people grew up completely immersed in those pieces of media, most likely to hide or escape their own true feelings.
This isn't really necessary, but I wanted to provide my own experience as a way to give further perspective. For me personally I enjoyed both feminine and masculine pieces of media. For the girly things I would sometimes find myself with a crush on specific feminine main characters, but then I would watch masculine media and it would become my entire hyperfixation/special interest because I would find myself subconsciously projecting onto some of the male characters in the shows that I watched. For example, The Hub Network was a excellent channel for me because it had amazing shows for both sides of the childrens media. Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, and then on top of that I would watch channels like Nickelodeon and become obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012. I just wanted to consume all of the media I guess lmao! But I always felt a sense of escapism in different ways while watching both types of shows. For the feminine media, it felt like taking a peek into "the girl world", and I would often feel a underlying desire or pressure to act like those feminine characters in order to "fit in" more (my desire to fit in also coming from simply growing up neurodivergent). But for masculine media, I would have escapism in a really positive and fun way! I would watch and feel myself truly relax into my couch, and the only femenine show that gave me that sense of escapism was My Little Pony (and I was also estatic as hell when the brony fandom became a thing too, because it subconsciously cemented in my brain that guys liked the show too. That always really got my egg ass overly excited to know lmao).
Overall, you really got my brain thinking super hard with this video! So, you've certainly earned a subscriber over here lol. I hope you don't mind this wall text of a comment haha, I just find this overall topic of how children's media can reflect such deep rooted societal issues
REAL, EVERY SINGLE WORD -trans guy Hiii 😁😁
@@Vinnvinndsa on another note has anyone else noticed that darlings colors match the trans flag 🏳️⚧️ lol. I see her as a female to male.
@@margeryojije7862 holy shit ur right. New head cannon for me
I see her as a trans woman.
This was very enlightening! I had never looked into lesbian psychology before, but a lot of things "clicked" after this video.
I'd love to hear more of your EAH opinions, especially those that pertain to queerness. :)
Yeah but *maybe* the problem is other people assuming just because someone is super feminine that doesn’t mean they’re not gay af 💋💄💅
You look adorable
Exactly I’m 1 million percent gay and hyper feminine
@@perrip2355 what
been thinking of this too
@perrip2355 Same sis. 😘
barbie mermaidia was my lesbian awakening so this video resonates hard w me
Or the princess and the pauper!
watched this video out of curiosity and came out a hardcore raven and apple shipper
why did i get chills and gasp when you said raven is her poison. im such a dramatic lesbian 😂
Ikr me too!
I also think there's something to be said about this trope and the amount of "mean girls" that fall into it. For example Regina Chloe and at the beginning of EAH even Apple would all fit into that category. I mean there is little to no evidence to support the idea of Regina being saphic in any way shape or form and with Chloe yes there is the obsession with Ladybug but Alya is also obsessed with Ladybug and while you could use her relationship with Nino as reasoning as to why not as many people interpret it this way Chloe is also shown to have an interest in boys i.e Adrien. I think this does stem from both the "mean lesbian" trope and the idea of hyperfeminininty always being demonized notice how both Chloe and Regina are incredibly feminine and both shown to be bad people. And while I have no issue as people interpreting these characters in this way because I also do I just thought it was something worth noting. (Also I have not finished the video yet so if this is addressed in the video I simply just haven't gotten there yet)
Valid point- However, the reason I used Chloe & Regina as examples of "Closeted Femmes" was because of their attitudes towards their Male vs. Female counterparts. In Mean Girls, Regina saw her boyfriend as an "asset" or mobility to move up in the social ranks. That's why she was so comfortable with cheating time and time again. It goes to show how men are regarded in this game of chess some of us sapphics play to get by. Even Adrien was seen more as a commodity for Chloe, an infatuation- Its almost as if he was sought after for the status & power he held in Paris. As for their female counterparts, it's apparent that there is more attention given to these women- whether this be through well-thought out schemes of manipulation, socializing, fashion, building more of a relationship based on interest & attraction rather than a "social advantage" for them. If you think about it, Katie should've been the last person the plastics let in- But because Regina took personal interest in Katie she climbed the social ranks and was regarded as Regina's #1. Sure, we could say it was nothing more than a "close friendship" but I argue something different. If we are not able to re-imagine the classics from a sapphic or WLW Point Of View, we limit ourselves to the confinements and restrictions of the male gaze and the hetero-normative perspective.
@@dorothydiabetes yep and I 100% agree with you I should have worded it better but what I meant was that the directors and all that I kind of feel like it was intentional coding and that was my point not that I thought Interpreting the characters that say was wrong because I also interpret them that way
Both good points!
I haven’t even seen Everafter High but your video essay literally blew my mind 🤯 + now I WILLL be watching (+ rewatch this!! w/ a deeper appreciation!!)
I relate to the closeted femme sapphic so much I wish we had more representation of this character, a girl who is both feminine but also isn't heteronormative, it seems we either get one or the other but can't have both
Yeah I would love that too!
just watched But I'm A Cheerleader last night, and it made me just reflect that in a way it reminds me of femme lesbians being Sisyphus in a metaphorical way.
just carrying on the struggle of being the perfect girl, purely free of sin just to fall over.
Overall, I really liked the video! I remember back when Darling kissed Apple I became so euphoric I was rolling around the house in happiness.
im literally begging for EAH to come back like im an adult now but i loved it sm and i still miss it. and this was such a good video, people dont talk about apple's queercoding enough
I kinda wish you had talked about other invisible and closeted femme lesbians in media, but this video was still great and insightful nonetheless! All the more reason to love Apple White! If not for the strike then I'd hope that EAH gets renewed so that they continue to show off Apple White's lesbian potential!
I'm always a little bit skeptic about Freud given the many weird things he said and the fact that he considered being gay a mental illness but what you said in the video makes sense
Unfortunately, Freud was a product of his time. Believing being gay was a mental illness was comparatively progressive (compared to the general view of "gays are evil, immoral, going straight to hell.")
I'll give him credit for being one of the pioneers of mental health and treatment, but man, did he make a few wrong turns at Albuquerque.
Also he was pretty misogynistic considering the fact that he believed in penis envy and also the fact that he tried to cure his daughter’s lesbianism.
Yes I agree with you #Rapple4life Apple is definitely a clostesd Lesbian because "That'll be absurd behaviour for little miss perfect"
Pls change your profile picture back to marinette
@@madelinehattertea bro why it’s their profile picture you don’t control it
@@puppydogs68 because I like it even better
@madelinehattertea Wtf? You don’t get to tell someone else what to make their profile picture. That’s their choice! Leave them alone.
i hope you know i’ve been wanting this video for 7 years AND I AM FINALLY FREE. THANK YOU.
This is fascinating thank you ! I am late bloomer lesbian, I was so deep in the closet I didn't let myself be aware I was in a closet. 4 minutes in and I am loving the take down of Disney and reclaiming of older folk tales Snow White was based on. Love your view on Snow White's journey as that of awakening to her inner truth. I am reminded of 'Women who run with wolves' (Clarissa Pinkola Estes) discusses themes of initiation, coming of age that are in various folk tales through out the world. Basically if white, black, and red are important colors in the story - it was once about initiation into the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth. 'Red Moon' by Miranda Gray speciifically looks at these same colors and themes as they related to women's mysteries and menstruation cycles using the archetypes of maiden, mother, sorceress, and hag - with Snow White as innocence of childhood, before menstruation - the apple (as you said wisdom knowledge) essentially her getting her first period and entering into adulthood. The 'Evil Queen' as the sorceress phase - PMS, hightened sex drive. The 'Evil Queen' as women stepping into their power, their sexuality and how this was feared.
Saving this to my watch later playlist! Always love me a good EAH video essay.
9:08 part of the first story arc was apple and raven coming to understand each others perspective and desire
Why can’t the fandom die the same 😭
Because fandom is stupid.
i loved watching this so much omg i definitely wanna rewatch ever after high now! also lesbian psychology seems so so interesting i wanna definitely learn more about that.
i LOVE this so so much!!! ive always seen most of the eah characters as lesbians (yes i'm projecting) and i loved hearing your analysis of apple!! id love to see more like this and also the way you explain things is so engaging!!
why are the last two mommy types kinda relatable… especially 2
I am not hating at all, I think the video is pretty good, but uh... Why is Melanie Martinez in the thumbnail?? They're openly bisexual and have been since the beginning. She is also some form of enby (she/they). She's not closeted and I don't see them being mentioned in a meaningful way in this video, so what is the purpose of including her on the thumbnail with the lesbian flag?
Yeah I agree. And also this entire video is about Apple White with only a slight mention of Regina George, Chloe Bourgeois and Clawdeen Wolf, so I have no idea what all the other characters are added for. Kinda misleading, iyam.
I just found your channel but I love your views and analyses so much but I also love how we just teleport with you all over your house like those horror liminal space weirdcore TikTok’s so I’m listening to you discuss your personal synopsis of the imagery of Snow White while you look at something off camera in your garage and then BAM we’re in your room now and I love it
I haven’t watched this in years and now I’m going to watch it again!!
Leaving this here so I remember to come back to it.
I want to watch a video essay on closeted lesbian femmes specifically focused on Apple White, but I’m supposed to be bowling…
you got me crying through this eloquent commentary, darling. thank you for sharing your introspection so that i may taste my own
clicked on this and didnt know you were a black gurl, and this made my heart smile. you ate sis
How didn’t you know? /gen
my fav sapphic pairing is caitlyn and vi from arcane. i love how the femme girl is always paired with either goth/tough girl. i sense some queer coding with the new Wednesday show too
ur really livin the dream. just took a peep at ur channel… u went phone free for 7 months? moved to canada? have no other social media? must be nice :0
I have lots of theories about EAH. One of them related to Apple and Darling and the fake Storybook of Legends that the Evil Queen made to replace the actual one that she stole. Anyway the book shows Apple ending up with Daring. However this is not the true storyline. The only difference between the siblings names is the letter "L" for love. Which I believe was a subtle clue as to who Apple's true love actually is. Darling also has to experience the constant admiration of males just like Apple does. So there were all these clues leading up to what ultimately happened in Dragon Games.
Oh wow I never thought of that! Great eyes!
You are iconic and I love your points. It feels like we're having a conversation. I'm so used to reading actual like "doco style" "evidence in point" essays and essay videos.
I do think some of the evidence you include, you don't take the time to truly elaborate upon. The evidence you truly believe and think show the audience the media is truly sapphic representation isn't show us such, until you tell us the conversation between raven and apple white. Even then, the evidence and why you feel that way about it, is lacking here, even though there are lots of points you bring up, they aren't elaborated upon. And that analytical breakdown would be amazing to hear. It gives non-believers the chance to see a true line of thought in which that is the final result, the final outcome. And those are often undeniable truths, that really make people ponder how they could actually look away from it.
Still loving this tho! 🤩
I love that you bring in a lot of information from the book. The books were my first interaction with the EAH series and (im biased) I think they are the best piece of official EAH content there is tbh
Look at that shining queen! Love your way of explaining things, I could see you side by side with that professor 😁
Who are some other Closeted Femmes in Animation/Shows that I did not mention?
Isabela fucking Madrigal!
Also Yuri Han from XO Kitty.
Monet de haan from gg
Alyssa Greene! From The Prom!
This is so well thought out and I love it like I literally wanna hear every single thought you have about ever after high
I see Apple white, Clawdeen wolf,and Melanie Martinez I click. I'm a simple man.
Same
Ever After High was literally my whole childhood, I was so happy because this was the first time i'd seen queer representation in anything i watched, and representation that i could clearly see. Apple White was one of my favorite characters, and i just love learning more about her and exploring all the aspects of her personality I never noticed before.
Im so happy I stumbled across this gem
This was such a good video omg I love that there's someone else out there who wants to rant about Apple's closeted lesbianism and love for Raven as much as me
when PATD started playing i thought my phone was broken LOL
I have never even heard of this series but I am locked in. I am here for more lesbian analysis video essays. I can think of many other femmes in media that are queer coded that fit this- NANA (Hachi) Komatsu from NANA, possibly Glinda in Wicked, from what I have started of Xena- Gabrielle and wanting more than life with a random husband and joining Xena in her travels.
I know some may chalk up these desires to stay single or form own nontraditional path as just critiquing societal roles or the patriarchy but there can also be queer readings of that.
I literally love your energy yesss pls do as many videos like this as you want it was so entertaining and i learned so much!!!!
11:49 this seems kinda interesting tbh
Femininity performed for women in general vs femmes who perform an almost GNC version of femininity often for other women as well
I think the well occurrence could be a metaphor for SA. If I'm not wrong it happened when she was a child and she says she felt "the worst sensations someone could ever feel", and when she was rescued she was promised that when she fulfilled her destiny she would never feel anything bad again and she would live happily ever after.
this video (on top of other events from the past week) has helped me realize a lot about myself. as a masc-dominant nonbinary person who grew up with a narcissistic mother who taught hyperfemininity, it took me a long time to realise i was trans despite being knowledgeable about transness and trans identity because i was also feeling feminine gender dysphoria. when i felt like a woman, i never felt like i was feminine enough or pretty enough or perfect enough. when i got older it manifested into rebellion and emo stuff as you'd expect, but even having realized i was bisexual for five years and having trans friends, it took me until i was 16 to realize those feelings i had were more than lack of self confidence. sometimes im a boy, sometimes im neither. and occasionally im a girl. ive always felt uncomfortable presenting female after this realization, and up until today i thought it was because i didnt want my transness de-valued or im not feminine often. its a little bit of the de-valuing thing, but it is also because of my feminine dysphoria, and no time is it more evident now that ive started testosterone (and after watching this video). I love being a woman sometimes. i love being a man sometimes. i love not fitting into either of those boxes. i just need to learn to embrace femininity when it calls to me
This is really great! Thank you for speaking on this and the struggles Apple has to go through.
This is video is exactly what I was needing omg the way you explained everything is so good it’s so interesting I also wanted to know what do you think about raven and apple being related since raven is like her step aunt
To my knowledge, they're not related at all. If you think about the original tale, Snow White was the Evil Queen's daughter but in the world of Ever After- due to them marrying different prince Charming's for generations to come- they're definitely two different families at this point.
RAVEN BEING APPLES POISON HELLOOOOOO THATS SO CLEVER?!?
i got the narcissistic victim mommy combo ayy
also this was so interesting and entertaining to watch you did a great job!
Such a good video. And even tho she was barely mentioned I was literally talking about Chloe from miraculous being closeted yesterday. That’s why the betrayal of ladybug hurt so much. To me it felt like I was watching someone get rejected by someone they like liked. It was a very genuine girl pain to me and it makes me even angrier bec she was written out of the show. By a character who IS basically wat she was being written to be.
Sprinting over to watch the rest of your videos
I was playing Baldur's Gate but its storming and my power went so instead I've found myself here. This randomly showed up in my feed and I must say I'm not disappointed because your energy is astounding and oddly contagious. You made this sm fun kudos fr
26:07 the realization hits hard
This was a fun listen. Thank you for putting it together! I am not familiar with these characters, but it's very interesting to listen to your psychological hypothesis with regards to their dynamics as portrayed in the writing. In more old fashioned terms, "I loved the meta, excellent theories all around."I have subscribed, and look forward to seeing you creations in the future!
The part where you were talking about the different mommy types in relation to lesbian psychology gave me a lot to think about…
ok, you've convinced this elder millennial to watch this cartoon
5:30 I think your interpretation is really interesting
Also if we take fairness to still mean beauty but not strictly appearance it can be many other qualities. People talk all the time about inner beauty or like ethical/moral behavior etc
Snow White is written to be kind and help others and that’s what makes her beautiful etc
Vs her mother turns on her the moment she thinks her **own daughter** can take attention away from her
I'm just now realising the reason why my mum was so confused when i came out as bisexual was probably because I'm very hyperfeminine 😂
i also think apple is some kind of neurodivergent, most likely ocd or autism. she likes to preform this femininity and boxes and doesnt stray from her comfort zone, just like how some neurodivergent people like to put everything into boxes. also her obsession with everyione following her destiny fits into this, she doesnt realy know whats gonna happen if they dont follow their destiny and obsesses over following it and i see myself as a person with ocd in her a lot because i was scared of everything too, like the uncertan and obsessed over avoiding those things.
This isn't about the video but Apple's hair should have been like an amity moment with her hair naturally should have been Black or the beep or dark blue
0:45 same pearl XD
I don't know much about ever after high, I was definitely more into monster high- but your explanation has really boosted my interest. I love your videos, your cute positive energy, and I love being a lesbian. Can't wait to watch more of your videos!!
I have a personal headcanon that darling is a trans man 🏳️⚧️ (a biological female transitioning to male):
1) her colors match the trans flag
2) her being a REBEL and her being TRANS would make sense
3) she’s obviously heroic (not saying women can’t be heroes…they absolutely fucking can! But in the stories it was mostly the men who were the heroes so it would make sense why she’d transition into a male).
Proof that apple is lesbian:
1) the term: “fruity” implies you’re queer
2) ever notice how much amity blight and apple white have in common?
3) her colors match the lesbian flag
4) her storybook romance status in her doll diary says: “just because daring and I are supposed to be married doesn’t mean we’re an item” she’d deny having any romantic relationship with daring when she is asked about it.
6) I mean…it can’t be a coincidence that both characters share traits that conveniently imply queerness? lol
@@margeryojije7862 ✍️✍️
@@rebelagainsttheblues I actually came up with my version of Apple's Story that's even has hints of Sleeping Beauty's story and Even Cinderella lol.
let me know you're thoughts:
- Raven and Farrah bestow gifts to Apple as an early coronation gift, Raven gives her a magic mirror, And Farrah give her the gift of beauty
- Everyday Apple asks Mira Shards (who's inside the mirror) who's the fairest. One day the mirror warns he about an impending doom, It fails to be specific... but it states that one day she will die an unexpected death by an evil sorcerer. Neither Raven nor Farrah can prevent the prophecy, but they change it... stating that she will be revived by a lover.
- Her coronation begins weeks later, Faybelle being the daughter of the dark fairy isn't invited. having grown jealous and resentful towards the queen. She order a huntsman to corner her in private and strike her. He spares Apple and instead brings Faybelle the heart of a deer as proof of her "death"
- Upon hearing about Faybelle's plan she becomes an outlaw, and her capture is ordered for a grand reward.
- Word spreads to Faybelle that Apple is still alive. Angered...she stealthily makes 3 attempt to take her life. disguised as an old lady she attempts: strangulation with scarves, slitting of the throat, and of course the iconic poisoned apple lmao.
-Raven and Farrah place the queen in her coffin, assuming that her lover is one of the queen's suitors, He tries to wake her up, he fails. and a funeral is held in place. Eventually they are introduced to a FEMALE suitor, whom the queen had a secret intimate relationship with. she wakes her up.
-Faybelle is furious and is forced to wear hot glass slippers and dance until she drops dead. (like the original Snow White lol). Apple's relationship with Darling is cordially embraced.
and they all live.....you know the rest lol.
I loved your interpretation of Snow White's story, it's refreshing to hear a new perspective. Also, I've never watched Ever After High but now I definitely will
THIS VIDEO WAS AMAZING!It felt like a collage essay but better.
Never give up on making analyzes! You’re doing great
used to be a hyper fem lesbian now im transmasc 😭😭
Bisexual here but otherwise join the club :']
Apple White as a social enneagram 6, i love it
You made me really rethink Apple. She pushes her pain onto others yes, but the sacrifices she was forced to make didn’t really compute for me before. That’s before we even got into the sapphic section. Thanks.
I’m crying 😭 this is such a good video oh my goodness
I know it's not about the video topic, but can we talk for a moment about how stunning she looks! The hair, the make-up, the smile... so cute and gorgeous (I love the eyeliner)
Just me clicking on a video about gay headcanon stuff (as you do), only to get blown away
Btw I love the take on Apples and Ravens relationship. The poison take, like honestly how romantic it sounds...
This really works in the book The School for Good and Evil
thanks for making me cry at the fact that Disney ruined an incredible franchise for Descendants again. (even if Mattel pulled the plug themselves because they were too afraid to end in a lawsuit for characters in the public domain in a school setting, so original ofc Disney would've won even if Descendants came after and there are countless other very similar franchises 🙄 I'm fuming because they probably would've won if it happened & that's why Mattel chose to do that. I hate how the ones with more money always win, how is that fair.)
this video is incredibly amazing please make more of these❤❤
the fact that nayeon is in the thumbnail lolll
Welcome to Canada! Yes it has been raining forever here!
Really enjoyed your analysis! I love classic fairy tales and any twist or variations folks make on them!
Love eah glad this series raised so many sapphics🎉
Ngl since apple and ravens story is only the 2nd time this story is told, it never said the prince can be a princess since all snow white wanted was love,just love. Personally ship apple and darling but if you ship raven and apple it still can be the same, both are royalty,rich and have love and are kind soooooo yes the prince can be a princess
Before the theory about raven and apple being switched is confirmed, even then, Apple White is a blonde! Those two aspects are basically of the same importance.
I personally think the parents are also just a generation among many and the stories slightly change when they're retold with their kids. Maybe the apple was an orange once but then the apple became canon and then the next protagonist is blonde and then the prince is a lesbian and so on, minute changes
It isn’t the second time it’s being told. The stories have been retold hundreds of times through many generations