Essay 2 JC by Joey Chen

Introduction

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:24:09 UTC

Classic fairytales have always been viewed as heteronormative scripts for love and identity; a happy ending is rewarded with a true love kiss between the boy and the girl after they pass a challenge. In recent years, creators of marginalized communities practice "restorying", a term coined by literacy experts Thomas and Stornaiulo, changing the narrative to better fit a wider diversity of experiences. This work not only occurs in literature, but across all platforms of media. With this shared goal of inclusivity, how can different forms of media negotiate queer identity under the confinement of fairy tales? In this essay, I argue that "Beauty and the Chad" and The Magic Fish represent a spectrum of strategies for queer negotiation: one that forces their own characters to question the traditional narrative and one that uses metaphors to repurpose the existing structure.

Beauty and the Chad

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:30:41 UTC

Uses comedy to negotiate queer identity

18th century aristocrat Beauty vs 21st century frat bro Chad
a subversion of "true love" seen when Chad asks for a stable boy and was willing to marry "him"
the setting is just a modern frat house instead of a magical and romantic castle

This violent clash of aesthetics force the reader to question the traditional narrative. Chad has queer potential and Beauty questions her own identity.

This argument is the subversion part of the spectrum; destroying the narrative to build a new tale.

The Magic Fish

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:36:06 UTC

Uses integration to negotiate queer identity

fairy tales are used between Tien and his mother as a linguistic bridge: Tien only knows English and doesn't know the term in Vietnamese while his mother only knows Vietnamese.
usage of the "Little Mermaid" tale as a direct metaphor for losing something important and fear of coming out

The theme of transformation is universal and Nguyen reveals the potential of fairy tales to be a more empathetic approach of acceptance. This is the integration side of the spectrum; using fairy tales as the structure to convey a new message.

Similarity

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:49:20 UTC

While the two stories are polar opposites of each other, both show that queer stories belong in fairy tales as much as heteronormative ones. In both stories, the protagonist's desire go beyond the original tales expectations. Chad as a frat boy doesn't seem interested in girls, Beauty as an aristocratic women isn't interested with being passive, and the Little Mermaid finds her happy ending with the woman who taught her to dance instead of the prince. Both also redefine the "happy ending"; Tien being accepted by his mother, Chad understanding his sexuality, and Beauty noticing her queer identity.

Beauty and the Chad is a critic that shows how the fairy tale's heteronormative structure is broken, but The Magic Fish is the healer that shows it can be fixed. By examining both tales, we can see the true range of restorying.

Argument A

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:54:29 UTC

Readers may argue that the graphic novel, given its length and inclusion of other fairy tales, should be taken more serious than the short meme.

I would argue that we should judge the efficiency of texts within its own medium. For a meme, the short and clear critical idea serves a role in the way the argument is delivered. Meanwhile, the length of the graphic novel builds character and we are able to better understand the two characters through both their stories included in the fairy tales.

Also, Beauty and the Chad is an obvious retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and such stories depend on the reader already understanding and being familiar with the original tale.

Argument B

ioeychen — 2025-10-19 23:57:58 UTC

Critics may argue that the Magic Fish is not truly a "queer story", but rather a tale of the mother-son relationship and immigration.

I would argue that this tale shows how identity is multifaceted. Tien's queer identity is a personal challenge and his cultural identity, along with his mothers, is the environment that he must navigate through. In other words, because being gay may not be widely accepted and therefore not have a specific term for it in Vietnamese, Tien and his mother have to work together.