I HATE TO BE THE GUY NOBODY INVITED BUT THIS DISCUSSION IS REALLY INTERESTING TO ME AND I WANTED TO GIVE MY 2 CENTS. ( i am retyping all of this because my phone died last time so you know im dead serious )
to me, the problem with labeling mother gooseberry as a pedophile is not that it is an inherently wrong statement, and ill elaborate on that in a bit. but the common misconception with characters like her is that being a child groomer or child predator is synonymous with being a pedophile or sexual child predator, which is wrong.
mother gooseberry specifically did not outright prey upon children because she wanted to pursue them sexually, unlike her father, she, in her shattered psyche, was trying to “protect” them, to “save” them.
that being said, unfortunately, because of the sexual abuse brought onto her by her father and him likely forcing her to assist him in the sexual abuse of other children, pedophilic thought patterns, sexual urges, and intrusive thoughts are not going to be necessarily obscure to her.
when you think about the way she refers to the reagents, calling them children, treating them like children, pretending they are children, or genuinely believing that they are children, the way she delights at the thought of “punishing” or “disciplining” them ( in some voicelines you can hear her voice tremble with pure excitement and vague arousal when patrolling or snatching up a reagent ) or more honestly torturing or harming them outright, it has a certain… undertone.
when you think about the way she refers to franco, ( i want to make it abundantly clear that franco is a grown man and not a little boy, so mother gooseberry expressing sexual interest or attraction toward him is not inherently pedophilic or predatory, as he is still an adult capable of consent and reciprocation, it is her language and approach that raises questions ) calling him a little boy, making purposefully “innocent” innuendos and once again looking for an excuse to discipline or punish him in a way that is exposing, and may or may not bring her sexual arousal.. again.. the undertone.
she’s kind of a parallel to him in that way, franco having a fetish for acting like a baby, and gooseberry, while more plausibly deniable, having a fetish for acting like a mother. ( i feel like it is important to note here that not all fetishes are sexual and some people don’t even realize that their fetish MAY be sexual ) both of which being the cause of incestuous sexual and general parental abuse.
that is all to say, mother gooseberry does denounce pedophile and predators. she actively hates the idea of any predator or pervert trying to prey on HER children. but… so does Dr. Futterman, a headmate who is actively sourced from her abusive, child molesting, pedophile father, and makes similar innuendos. more often then not, child predators WILL actively denounce child predation, just as pedophiles who do not want to confront their nature or want to be considered “safe” to parents will denounce pedophilia. no sexual predator is just going to go outside and scream “I AM A RAPIST” and expect to trick people into jumping into their white van.
that is ALSO to say that while these desires may be existent, that doesn’t mean that gooseberry wants them or even realizes that they’re there. if anything, her hatred of perverts, predators, pedophiles, etc, might be motivated by the fact she is terrified of being seen as one. the fact she is trying to hide them in the first place is evidence she at least knows that these wants are immoral.
… im not sure where to tie this off. i really just wanted to toss my thoughts out here cause i love mother gooseberry and i love her writing and her representation for sexual abuse victims…. i hope this is interesting …
