"We need more 'X'" Y'all can't even handle 'Y'

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Meme
Synonyms:
Date Started: pre-2021?
Related:
See Also: Fanon characterization, Yeah we put your girl in the fandom and they villainized her beyond comprehension., The men start wars, yet Troy hates Helen
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"We need more 'X'" Y'all can't even handle 'Y' is a phrase often used to make brief commentary about how fandoms at times call for more of a certain type of character or media, yet have either displayed a lack of nuance about or previously widely condemned a character or media that already falls into that category.

Examples of the meme tend to be found more frequently on Tumblr and Twitter, with examples from 2021 and possibly earlier. Many of the usage examples in fandom tend to focus on female characters:

[mylordshesacactus[1]]
“we need more evil female characters” you guys cant even handle a traumatized teenage girl making a mistake
[joanna-lannister[2]]
"we need more morally grey female characters" you can't even handle cersei lannister

While others focus commentary on queer media or fandoms:

[raysbian[3]]
Yall be like we need more toxic yuri but cant even handle steven universe
[godmodebeginswithlesbians[4]]
“we need less sanitized queer stories” yall keep saying fucking she-ra romanticizes abuse. you couldnt possibly handle less sanitized queer stories

Or on specific plot points in a show or series:

[fearandhatred[5]]
"we need more nuanced and complex characters" y'all can't even handle the possibility that aziraphale chose to go back to heaven freely

In the comments, reblogs, or replies of the post, especially on wider reaching posts, people tend to add the character(s) from their fandoms who they feel are subject to regular criticism, despite matching the desired 'X' expressed in the first half of the phrase.

Criticism

If a version of this phrase gets shared often enough on social media, there will likely be pushback or criticism in the form of justifying why the 'Y' example used in the second half of the phrase is not a good version of 'X', or angry and vitriolic responses attacking the original poster for the position they took.

For example, this response to the She-Ra phrase above:

Hi, you can have unsanitary LGBT stories without making one of the characters in the lead relationship a serial abuser and fetishizing woman on woman violence.

Or also literally be raised as siblings. What the fuck Nate

GIRose, Archived version

Or this response to the phrase referencing traumatized teenage girls:

Asshole she was going to destroy reality. Seriously, you dumbasses don’t understand why we think these characters are badly written when they do crappy stuff then you play devil’s advocate when you guys would bash them if they were male.

bottlepiecemuses, Archived version

Examples of other uses

[Anon on real-total-drama-takes[6]]
people will be all 'ohhh we want mean female characters!!" and like,,, you can't even handle courtney total drama

Courtney from Total Drama is often the subject of this meme within the fandom.

Resources

References

  1. ^ mylordshesacactus (Sep 4, 2023). "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 9 Dec 2023.
  2. ^ joanna-lannister (Sep 21, 2023). "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 9 Dec 2023.
  3. ^ raysbian (Oct 23, 2023). "Twitter post". Archived from the original on 9 Dec 2023.
  4. ^ godmodebeginswithlesbians. "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 9 Dec 2023.
  5. ^ fearandhatred (Dec 6, 2023). "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 9 Dec 2023.
  6. ^ Anon (Jan 1, 2024). "Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 28 Feb 2024.