Pomeny

Luo Binghe.

Binghe.

Bingge.

Bingmei.

Bingbing.

Bingjie.

Bingy.

Bingdi.

What a wonderful nicknaming scheme we’ve created to refer to the little sun of SVSSS!

Each and every iteration (including the venerable Luo Bingzu) all encompass different versions of our beloved bleating sheep (please ignore the wolf fangs-- our child doesn’t bite!).

But a question lingers in my mind, gnawing with the hunger of a person deprived of nutrition: why did it take us so long to create our dear Bingdi?

Granted, I’m housed in the Twitter (RIP) and Bsky side of the SV fandom, but Bingdi is a relatively new iteration of Binghe. Bingdi is about a year old versus Bingjie, who is (as far I’m aware) a couple of years old, ready to attend elementary school. Hell, she may even be old enough to be in middle school, yet our little didi is barely a toddler.

We have often discussed how Gender bingqiu are. It’s one of the most appealing things about them as characters; the ability to encompass the wide spectrum of the human condition that is gender. It’s also the reason I don’t mind them being ‘straight-bent’ (too much) despite absolutely hating when queer couples are bent in that manner (but I digress).

Of course, the answer to this question is not quite simple. If we take a look at Bingge, we see the obvious, blaring depiction of toxic masculinity. If we were to do the inverse-- to acknowledge the gender binary most societies still function on and therefore acknowledge its twin-- toxic femininity AKA Bingjie.

To be a feminine (the standard, the original, the expectation) woman is to be alienated from the natural human form: no body hair (because even though humans are mammals it’s unacceptable for a woman to remain in her natural form. why? because ew! hygiene!), plucked and neat eyebrows (until they become Trendy again), eyelashes the length of our student-debt loans (did you know the glue used for eyelash extensions can cause you to go blind?), and a face treated like an imperfect canvas (after all, a woman’s natural face is unsightly-- eyebags, which look wonderful on men, makes a woman look tired and/or ill, and we can’t have that!).

We live in patriarchal and capitalistic societies that have a vetted interest in what a woman should be: available, obedient, and beautiful. Some characteristics are contested while others are widely accepted even amongst women; the amount of times women have insisted they shave/wax/laser off their body hair because of sensory issues (often said with an adamant and defensive tone) is much too high for me to believe they are being truthful.

There is nothing wrong with admitting to succumbing to the pressure of beauty standards (after all, women who refuse to have a hairless body have expressed instances in which they were harassed or attacked by strangers or their own loved ones for not conforming), yet for the societies we live in, it is not enough to bend to their will-- we must act as though their demands are biological impulses. We must behave as though we are following human instincts with a smile.

We must smile as these beauty standards are enforced upon us; we must smile while being told we exist for the consumption of men (because of course we want to have a husband and children in a perfect little white picket-fenced house!); we must smile while being told to consume the products promising to turn us into our best selves (so long as we continue to buy buy buy!).

This smile must be stunning; pearly-whites on full display and lips shiny with lipgloss or matte with lipstick (preferably red-- after all, studies show that men prefer red lipstick!). The rest of the face ought to match as well; from poreless, porcelain skin to eyelashes and eyebrows befitting of a woman, the face-- the mask-- must be immaculate.

Who else could and would wear this kind of mask with ruthless perfection other than Bingjie?

However, her dominance as the only cisswap/genderbent Binghe until recently still makes me question: why did it take us so long to create our dear Bingdi?

Yet another answer to my question lingers in my brain: when we think of ‘a woman,’ more often than not, our brain imagines one that is undeniably feminine. We are all too used to one kind of woman; a pretty, doll-like face (of which Bingy has); one with long, luscious hair flowing down to her itty-bitty waist (another thing Bingy possesses); the eyelashes of an angel (Shen Qingqiu has certainly said much about Bingy’s); and the final cherry on top, she’s the owner of a beautiful glass heart (ding-ding-ding-ding! homerun!)

If we were to compare Bingmei, Bingge, and Bingjie, Bingmei and Bingjie have more in common: in regards to appearance (focusing on fanon here), Bingmei is often depicted with a softness (for example, Bingmei’s wavy hair versus Bingge’s straight hair) that Bingjie wears like an intoxicating yet artificially sweet perfume. Bingmei does not hesitate to cry to get what he wants, and likewise, Bingjie would also cry ghibli-esque tears to get her way. Both would look cute and pitiful on purpose if it means accomplishing their goals. While Bingmei only behaves like this with the love of his life because 1) Shen Qingqiu loves babying him and Binghe is his baby and 2) because he feels comfortable showcasing vulnerability to his husband-wife-father-mother-shizun even as an act, Bingjie would do this with anyone and especially with men (until Shen Yuan comes and ruins her for life, but I digress yet again).

Bingjie is the ideal woman. She maintains herself as expected and exists in the unrealistic realm of femininity like a blooming flower, ready to be admired and plucked. She’s cognizant of this and utilizes her position in society as she sees fit; stealing boyfriends or using her charm to sway others to do her bidding. Of course, she is not always portrayed as such, since some opt to adopt Bingmei’s personality in their depiction of Bingjie, but in this case, I am emphasizing her characterization when she is Bingge’s counterpart.

Bingdi is not the ideal woman. Pretty face, yes, but without any makeup to compensate for the shortness of her hair and possessing a masculine wardrobe, she is the kind of woman society hates the most. Women are not treated with dignity nor respect in patriarchal and capitalistic societies, yet Bingdi opts out of performing the kind of femininity society tolerates.

A little over a year ago, I asked on Bsky: i know we default to bingjie when we talk ab bingjie but ive been thinking about bingmeimei or does that not work. i would like to know . And a dear mutual responded: i like to use bingjie for bingge and bingdi for bingmei in my head but this is also related to my butch sv binghe agenda.

Despite my love and exploration of Bingdidi, what past-me asked lingers in my head-- I defaulted to a (more) feminine nickname for Bingmei’s counterpart; not because I was unfamiliar with didi, but because I could not imagine on my own a non-feminine cisswapped/genderbent Binghe.

Gender and gender expression are concepts I’ve always thought about, tormented as I have been by unrealistic beauty standards, yet this brief fandom moment of my life highlighted that I still had much to unlearn. Primarily, I had to unlearn my expectations of what a woman should look like.

In the midst of this, I was working on my helter skelter AU and I ended up completely re-vamping my outline. In the end, the themes I explored and am exploring in that AU were inspired not only by the movie (which I highly recommend please watch Helter Skelter (2012)) but by the fact that Bingdi did not exist until recently. Even at this point in time, (please correct me if I’m wrong because I have to confess, I have not read any Bingqiu/Bingyuan fic written this year #imsosorry) writers have not explored Bingdification the same way as they have Bingmeification (and if someone has please send me the link!!!)

This casual essay is not meant as an accusation against the SV fandom, but rather a potential explanation for why it took us so long to embrace Bingdi-- not only is Bingy (our Bingy, Bingmei) feminine, but society has influenced us to only ever imagine one kind of woman: the ideal woman.

Bingjie neatly fits such an ideal: she is the woman of your dreams. A siren stepping away from the sea. An angel descending into the human world. A succubus promising to blow your mind. A beautiful maiden waiting for her true soulmate.

Bingjie can be the kind of woman you want her to be: a pretty doll customized to your tastes.

Bingdi is the kind of woman we want to be: free and unrestrained by society.

Nevertheless, I’m so glad for the birth of Bingdi! Thank you wifebeam for having such a winkly, juicy brain!