The Yandere Trope
This carrd is to explain how the fictional Yandere trope is harmful and why some people can reclaim it.
Some important TWs:
Ableism
Violence references
Abuse mentions
In general, this carrd may mention some heavier topics
Contents:
(1) What is the Yandere trope?
(2) Why is it harmful?
(3) Who can reclaim it?
(4) FAQ
What is the Yandere trope?
The Yandere trope refers to characters who are violently possessive over a love interest and would do anything to be with them. They are typically depicted as sweet, kind and innocent before showing extreme levels of devotion to a love interest - often in violent extremes. The word 'yandere' translates from Japanese as 'lovesick'.
Yandere characters are mostly portrayed as mentally unstable, dependent characters, playing off of the "mentally ill, deranged and violent" stereotype.
As well as this, many yandere tropes reference erotomania, the delusional belief that someone is in love with you, regardless of if that is true or not.
Finally, here are some examples of obsessive behaviours seen in the Yandere trope:
• Murdering/attacking love rivals out of jealousy
• Stalking their love interest
• Stealing their love interest's belongings
• Isolating/kidnapping their love interest
(so they're the only one their love interest sees/no one can 'steal' their love interest)
TL;DR:
Yandere trope = character obsessively in love to the point of violence.
Why is it harmful?
The Yandere trope is harmful for multiple reasons, mainly the stigmatizing depiction of mental illness and the romanticization of abuse.
Depiction of Mental Illness:
Yandere tropes portray mental illnesses, especially BPD, as inherently violent, abusive disorders which cause people to attack and abuse others.
By taking symptoms of BPD and extremizing them to the point of murder and abuse, it stigmatizes BPD even more as it creates a connection in peoples' brains that 'Oh! This person has [x] symptom, just like [yandere character]! This must mean that they're a [real life Yandere]/[abusive and violent]/[etc]".
Furthering this, some Yandere tropes use DID as a reason for the switch in personality from innocent to violent. Not only is this damaging due to the stigmatization mentioned above, it always vastly misrepresents DID, making uninformed viewers believe that DID is simply 'multiple personalities'. It can't even be classed as representation - it's used as a plot point/plot driver rather than an aspect of a character. As well as this, if a Yandere character's DID is named, it's usually called MPD, an outdated term.
TL;DR:
Yandere characters literally just have extremized BPD symptoms, stigmatizing the disorder. Also, DID is sometimes stigmatized in a similar way as well as being misrepresented
Romanticization of abuse:
Yandere tropes are also harmful because it takes real world trauma and twists it into a 'cute' expression of love.
With many Yandere characters attacking 'love rivals', it normalizes bullying and the more extreme attacking of someone a person may be jealous of. This could lead to people ignoring bullying as 'they like [x]'s crush, they deserve it!'.
As well as this, Yandere tropes romanticize the act of stalking or kidnapping love interests, ignoring the extremely traumatic aspects of the experiences. By taking actual peoples' trauma and saying that they were harassed/abused because they were loved is obviously incredibly disgusting.
Branching off of this point, another problem with Yandere tropes is that it treats the love interest as an object.
The media rarely corrects this behaviour or calls it out as wrong.
TL;DR:
Yandere tropes romanticize the abuse of 'love rivals' and especially the love interest.
Who can reclaim it?
Reclaiming the Yandere trope is often a controversial topic. Because of this, this carrd will present with three common opinions. This does not mean the creator of this carrd fully agrees with any of these stances; this is simply for information.
"Anyone can use" stance:
This stance is the concept that anyone can use, consume or otherwise enjoy the Yandere trope as long as they understand the implications. This means that, as long as the person recognizes all the issues above and criticizes harmful medias, they can indulge in said medias and the Yandere trope. This stance is widely disliked as it works based upon an honour system and assumes that people with BPD/etc are comfortable with this.
"Only people with BPD can reclaim" stance:
This stance is the concept that only people with BPD can use/consume/enjoy the Yandere trope because it is based upon their disorder and symptoms. This means that, whilst still critical of Yandere medias, people with BPD can find comfort and enjoy it. This stance, however, ignores the facts that some Yandere tropes are based upon other disorders, such as DID.
"People with BPD, DID, etc can reclaim" stance:
This stance is the concept that people with BPD, DID and other disorders used in Yandere tropes (OLD, Bipolar Disorder and psychotic disorders like Schizophrenia) can reclaim as it capitalizes and stigmatizes their disorders, similar to the previous stance. This stance is often countered with the fact that BPD is 99% the main disorder actively being stigmatized, even if there are psychotic elements (which can still be explained with BPD).
TL;DR
"Anyone can use": If critical of media and understand the harms of it fully, one can consume it. Widely disliked
"Only BPDers can use": Main victims of the Yandere trope. Most common opinion
"BPD/DID/etc can use": Other disorders are sometimes used in Yandere media. BPD is still main disorder harmed though. 2nd most common opinion
FAQ
Q: I have none of these disorders. Can I still use the Yandere trope?
A: See here
Q: But it's just fiction! Why does it matter?
A: Fiction still affects peoples' perceptions of real-world things - stigma can still be perpetuated through fiction, especially if people are unaware and uncritical of the media.
Q: I'm not sure if I have BPD, can I still reclaim this trope?
A: If you've researched enough and see yourself in this trope, yes!
Q: Why did you make a carrd?
A: Because this information is meant for Twitter. It's the easiest way to inform people on Twitter and other social media due to it's simplicity and how easy it is to make + spread.
Q: Who made this carrd?
A: I want to remain anonymous as my only account is my mainpriv (which I don't want random people seeing/requesting)
I will, however, say this:
I'm a 19 year old black ace lesbian. I have always found comfort, relatability and entertainment in the Yandere trope since I figured out what it was lol. I am personally affected by the stigmas perpetuated by it though as someone with BPD, DID and schizophrenia. I am obviously incredibly critical of all Yandere content I consume and never support the creators, especially monetarily.