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Yes but this is also a biased perspective from a character whoâs reflecting on their actions. This IS what Sunday THOUGHT he was doing but what REALLY MATTERS is how Robin FELT about his actions. This is why he ISNT a misogynist but WAS influenced by patriarchal values. A đ§ľsorry
Femininity is important to Robinâs character and is what drives her âperfect idol imageâ and âinnocenceâ this is a reflection of how it is in real life with idols so I think gender is super important to her character since itâs a uniquely femme celebrity experience
Same thing with the âcaged birdâ motif being typically associated with women. Itâs why the audience is expected to assume Robin is the caged bird and not Sunday. Gender plays a part in this subversion and makes it much more interesting imo
But anyway, one look at Robinâs lines about Sunday clearly show the actual effect of his actions have not only made her feel like she thinks heâs a child but has also caused her to question her own maturity compared to him.
This is textbook infantilization and is again, NOT INTENTIONAL on Sundayâs part. He does genuinely believe heâs helping Robin and protecting her. But while sheâs expected to be an innocent child sheâs still being marketed and perceived as a grown woman without issue from Sunday.
Obv Sunday doesnât have sole control over how the media and public view her but itâs really telling in the ways he âallowsâ her to be an adult in his mind (in his MIND heâs not literally giving her permission im talking about what parts of her he accepts vs ignores)
Heâs perfectly fine with her being an idol who models fashion, performs for crowds, markets with her body and her looks. And heâs even fine with her having fans that are in love with her. He has concerns for her safety ofc but heâs also a fan of her idol persona too.
All of these things require him to acknowledge that Robin is very much an adult in some capacity. If it truly were just plainly that he saw her as a child he wouldnât be so proud of her for doing these adult things. He would be saying Robin is too young to do ads or model ect.
So why is his mindset at peace with Robin being a pretty image on a billboard for people to look up to but the minute she wants to try and help him with serious issues or running the family sheâs suddenly âtoo innocent?â this stuff (to me) makes it clear that what he deems Robinâ
To be âtoo innocentâ for are the things that are typically considered âmanâs work.â And he literally does this so Robin can focus on being the idol persona that objectifies her as an adult woman. He doesnât do it cuz he wants Robin being objectified but he deems that positionâ
More fitting for her despite her having many problems with that life even if she loves the good she gets to do because of it. Even if she herself is telling him that she wants to do more. He believes he knows what is best for her (which is a big brother thing) but the positionâ
Heâs put her in within his mind is one only an adult woman could be. He acknowledges her achievements and doesnât think she is inferior in any way but he does believe that things that are more involved are âtoo muchâ for her and Robin tells us how that makes her feel.
It makes her feel like a child when in other areas sheâs fully viewed as an adult and thatâs frustrating to her. And while that doesnât make Sunday a bad person it does very explicitly have ties to a womanâs traditional role and her voice not being heard âfor her own goodâ
I think itâs impossible to separate their genders from this discussion even if thatâs not ALL the nuance to their relationship. And we can blame the fact Sunday was groomed into a lot of this thinking as a young boy. This wasnât just the writers making Sunday âevilâ
It was to show the audience his skewed thinking due to the way he was being influenced by others, isolating him from the one person who really cared about him by making him believe she wasnât mature enough to understand. (All through the guise of protecting his sister)
His love for her was weaponized. Sunday is a victim in this too and his reflections on the AE are him processing his trauma and how his behavior influenced his relationship with his sister in ways he didnât intend for. And how he was blinded by this mindset to the point whereâ
His image of Robin was skewed from who she actually was because he desperately wanted to believe he was protecting her by keeping her âinnocentâ when in reality he was digging himself a deeper hole. He realizes this himself. He admits he is not worried abt her for the first time
Robin knows this too! She even tells him so (technically) she doesnât hate her brother or think heâs a bad person but she acknowledges that sheâs stronger than he thinks and he has some learning to do
Itâs even reflected in his lines about her as well. He admits that he wanted to protect her from the âdark side of adulthoodâ but only actually did so in very specific ways that (unintentionally) involved stripping her of agency and dismissing her intelligence and strength.
SUNDAY IS SAYING THIS HIMSELF AND THAT HE NOW KNOWS HE WAS WRONG!!! He has healed and grown from this and Robin said herself that she believes in him and that they will unite again. This is a good example of someone taking accountability and realizing giving Robinâ
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