officialnatasharomanoff:

officialnatasharomanoff:

ok but

• peggy carter using her femininity to help her
• peggy carter threatening misogynistic men
• peggy carter re-applying her lipstick before she kicks ass
• peggy carter using her lipstick as a weapon
• peggy carter running for her life in high heels
• peggy carter protecting other women
• peggy carter calling out men who stand up for her and making it known that she can do it herself
• peggy carter being unashamed over her feminist standards
• peggy carter

(tags via llynchians)

but that’s literally missing the entire point of this post. to take away the weaponization of peggy’s femininity is to take away a part of her integrity, her character, and her skill not only as a woman but as an agent.  stereotypically and by societal standards, femininity (particularly in the 1940s when gender roles/gender stereotypes were much more strongly enforced) is something that’s seen as gentle and soft. ladies don’t run in high heels. ladies wear lipstick and dresses. ladies wear make up and do their hair up perfectly.  peggy carter’s lipstick with the sedative in it is her using her femininity, again, like i said, something that’s supposed to be sweet and sensitive and for aesthetic purposes only, and she’s using it as a weapon.

when she runs for her life in high heels—and yes, she’s running for her life several times to avoid getting shot to death or blown up in an explosion—she’s again taking a feminine symbol and smashing it to the ground.  yes, she can run like hell in those heels.  she might be wearing heels, but she will complete her mission like the competent agent she is without letting them hindering her.  she works with her feminity—not against it.

this “weaponized femininity bullshit” is important bullshit. it’s essential bullshit.  to dismiss peggy’s ability to use her own feminine qualities to her advantage is to dismiss peggy herself.  i don’t have time for people who downplay the importance of peggy carter turning feminine symbols and objects into weapons.