Unexpected gem
Cut for spoilers of season 2 of 'True Detective' and talk of infertility.
So in episode 5 of this season, the strain between Jordan and Semyon comes to a head and we find out that Jordan cannot have children. I admit that I braced myself at this point, expecting tears and recrimination and the traditional outpouring of self-loathing that always seems to follow this revelation in media. Whilst I was not overwhelmed by Semyon's immediate reaction, it didn't immediately become the focus of the scene and things moved on. So far, so bearable.
Later on that episode, things seem to be going much better for them. They are lying in bed together and are just about to have sex when Semyon kisses Jordan to bring her back to the moment, and says "Hey, this is just between you and me". And I started crying.
Because that one throwaway line uttered by a male character in a show that doesn't have brilliant representation, contained more empowerment for infertile/sterile women than pretty much everything I have seen so far. I know that my circumstances are different from Jordan's, but it's about more than just being ok with not having children. It was about giving her ownership of her body again, and helping her realise what her relationship with it can be- pleasure and sensation as its main "purpose" rather than reproduction.
That's what I want to see in media when these storylines are used - no magical fix-its, no unending grief or using relationships as props, no "you're not the only monster".
That's what I need to see.
So in episode 5 of this season, the strain between Jordan and Semyon comes to a head and we find out that Jordan cannot have children. I admit that I braced myself at this point, expecting tears and recrimination and the traditional outpouring of self-loathing that always seems to follow this revelation in media. Whilst I was not overwhelmed by Semyon's immediate reaction, it didn't immediately become the focus of the scene and things moved on. So far, so bearable.
Later on that episode, things seem to be going much better for them. They are lying in bed together and are just about to have sex when Semyon kisses Jordan to bring her back to the moment, and says "Hey, this is just between you and me". And I started crying.
Because that one throwaway line uttered by a male character in a show that doesn't have brilliant representation, contained more empowerment for infertile/sterile women than pretty much everything I have seen so far. I know that my circumstances are different from Jordan's, but it's about more than just being ok with not having children. It was about giving her ownership of her body again, and helping her realise what her relationship with it can be- pleasure and sensation as its main "purpose" rather than reproduction.
That's what I want to see in media when these storylines are used - no magical fix-its, no unending grief or using relationships as props, no "you're not the only monster".
That's what I need to see.