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00:00The superhero genre, both on page and screen, explores otherness and how it fits into our
00:05world, specifically those with mutations and extraordinary abilities. But, as we often see,
00:11having superpowers can come at a dire cost. Whether it causes physical pain, psychological
00:16trauma, or usually both, these abilities often have more negative consequences than benefits.
00:22This is especially true for those with uncontrollable tactile powers. They have to
00:26build barriers between themselves and everyone else.
00:30I belong here, alone, where I can be who I am, without hurting anybody.
00:37And until they gain some control, they're a liability, often with little to no agency.
00:43And being a superpowered female with power incontinence adds another layer of unfair
00:47responsibility and oppression. So, let's take a look at the plight of the untouchable girl,
00:52how the limitations opposed upon her mirror society's contradictory expectations of women,
00:58and the ways this trope has evolved into something surprisingly empowering.
01:03The untouchable girl is cursed with unwanted powers that are out of her control,
01:07and often have fatal consequences. Legion centers on David Haller, the mutant son of
01:12X-Men's Professor Charles Xavier, whose omega-level psychic abilities present as paranoid schizophrenia.
01:18While at Clockwork Psychiatric Hospital, David meets Sidney Sid Barrett,
01:22a beautiful, standoffish woman who he quickly finds out hates to be touched.
01:27Do you want to be my girlfriend?
01:31Okay. But don't touch me.
01:35But he, and we, don't fully understand the extent of her aversion to physical contact
01:40until he ignores her very clear boundaries and kisses her,
01:44inadvertently transferring his consciousness into Sid's body and vice versa.
01:49And because she can't control David's immense powers, chaos ensues.
01:53And lives are lost.
01:55Sid reveals that it's not just the body swapping that plagues her.
01:59It's actually physically painful for her to be touched.
02:02Her introduction to us is through David's perspective.
02:04And like him, we see her as this attractive woman with quirks.
02:09A variation of the manic pixie dream girl who will change his life for the better.
02:12Their relationship is romanticized as star-crossed lovers who have to find creative ways to be intimate
02:18without skin-to-skin contact.
02:19Hand-holding through fabric, sharing a bed with pillows as barriers.
02:23But because we're experiencing everything through his perspective,
02:26we don't get as deep of an understanding of life from Sid's point of view.
02:31Sid is an original character created for the series,
02:33but given her involuntary intimacy-dampening touch power,
02:37she's often compared to fan-favorite mutant Rogue.
02:39In the 2000 live-action X-Men film, Anna Paquin played Marie D'Encanto, aka Rogue,
02:45a teen girl from Mississippi with latent mutant powers.
02:48She doesn't discover her ability to absorb the life force, mutant powers, memory,
02:53and personality traits of anyone she touches,
02:55until she accidentally incapacitates her boyfriend via kiss.
02:59The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks.
03:05I can still feel him inside my head.
03:08After the traumatic incident, she runs away from home,
03:11and eventually finds herself with Wolverine at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.
03:15This Rogue is younger than her comic and animated series counterpart,
03:18and has a timid personality, and an understandable amount of angst.
03:23She also dresses rather modestly compared to the iconic green and yellow sphandex
03:26her comic character is known for.
03:28Paquin's version of the character doesn't have the full Rogue power set either,
03:32something fans found disappointing.
03:33Instead of growing confident in her touch abilities,
03:36she ultimately seeks out a cure so she can be intimate with her mutant boyfriend,
03:40Bobby Drake, aka Iceman.
03:42Most fans consider Rogue from the comics and animated series to be the definitive Rogue,
03:46a very different version who's an energetic, sassy flirt with a thick Southern Belle accent.
03:51Although she certainly struggles with the lack of intimacy her power demands,
03:55she's mainly focused on being herself.
03:57That was when I first realized if I touched anybody, I'd absorb their strength right into me.
04:04Some power, huh?
04:05She has the same traumatic kiss.
04:07Cody, my first boyfriend.
04:10And we see her father's reaction in disgust after it's revealed that she's a mutant.
04:14My own flesh and blood, a mutant.
04:17Daddy, please!
04:19You're a disgrace!
04:20I'm ashamed to be seen with you.
04:22You ain't my daughter.
04:24Not anymore.
04:25But her life after this traumatic event differs.
04:29Raised by her adopted mutant mothers, Mystique and Destiny,
04:32she first becomes a villain.
04:34And it's easy to understand how suffering that trauma and shunning
04:37led her to embrace the dark side.
04:39But after she's forced to absorb powers from Ms. Marvel, aka Captain Marvel,
04:44Professor X helps her, and she eventually agrees to join the X-Men.
04:48Through Rogue's story, we can see a more multi-dimensional take
04:51on what it really means to be untouchable.
04:54And if we take a look at other untouchable girls on screen,
04:57we can see some patterns emerge.
04:59This untouchability has an inherently sexual undercurrent,
05:03a commentary on the unfair restrictions society inflicts upon women and girls
05:07and their intimate relationships.
05:09Rogue's story is a clear example of this.
05:11It's a kiss with a boy that sparks the beginning of her trauma and pain.
05:15But even when these stories aren't directly sexual,
05:18they of course still involve intimacy,
05:20particularly the way girls and women are told to avoid it.
05:24They're told to be good girls,
05:25which means prioritizing being likable, accommodating, and nice
05:29over letting yourself be an actual flawed human being.
05:32The idea of women as sexual gatekeepers is a large part of our culture,
05:37teaching girls from a young age that they're solely responsible
05:40for the way their bodies entice men,
05:42and allowing others to police what they wear and how they present themselves.
05:46Be attractive and likable, but not so attractive and likable that you send the wrong message,
05:51and trigger a man's so-called natural impulse.
05:54Because if you do, any consequences are your fault.
05:57Therefore, women have to both fear and strive for desirability,
06:01to stamp down their natural desire for intimate connection,
06:05in favor of a very particular, and essentially impossible to actually achieve,
06:10walking of the line between being standoffish and available.
06:13In Misfits, a group of young offenders sentenced to community service
06:17gain powers during an unprecedented ice storm.
06:20Their new abilities are connected to their insecurities.
06:23For example, the shy and ignored Simon can turn invisible,
06:26and Curtis, full of guilt and regret, can rewind time.
06:30Party girl Alicia Daniels is confident in her looks, sexuality,
06:33and unapologetically enjoys sex, despite being slut-shamed by others.
06:38She gains the power of tactile sexual arousal,
06:41making anyone who touches her skin uncontrollably sexually attracted to her.
06:45At first, having this instantly gratifying power to be desired is something that she embraces,
06:50but only because she's wielding it.
06:53But, as one would expect, this also has the downside of putting her in constant danger of being assaulted,
06:59something that unfortunately repeatedly happens in the first season.
07:03This means she needs to be an even more hyper-vigilant sexual gatekeeper,
07:07a punishment even non-superpowered women can relate to.
07:10It used to be a good thing, you know.
07:14People wanting to have sex with you, it was nice.
07:17Now it's s***.
07:18I don't know if someone actually wants to sleep with me, or if it's just this bulls***.
07:22The impersonal and often violent nature this power invites
07:26has the effect of lowering her once high self-esteem.
07:29When Alicia feels rejected by Curtis, who's cautious of getting involved with a bad girl,
07:34she misuses her powerful touch to get what she wants.
07:37And when it wears off, he's understandably angry.
07:40Not only because he feels violated, but also because he already likes her.
07:45When they do begin a consensual relationship, there's obvious strain because they can't be physical
07:50without igniting the intense reaction that Curtis would seemingly be completely unable to control.
07:56After her relationship with Curtis ends, she encounters someone who is immune to her powers.
08:01Super Hoodie, aka Simon from the future.
08:04Because he's not affected by her power, they're able to have a real intimate relationship without barriers.
08:10Similarly to Live Action Rogue, Alicia eventually seeks a way to get rid of her power,
08:15and ends up selling it to a power trader, and buys a new power to replace it.
08:20Clairvoyance.
08:20This not only allows her to have a physical relationship with present-day Simon,
08:25it also provides her with a different kind of intimacy with others,
08:28being able to see the world through their eyes.
08:31Similar to Rogue, Zoe Benson from American Horror Story, Coven,
08:35discovers her powers when she loses her virginity to her boyfriend, Charlie.
08:39During intercourse, he suffers a brain aneurysm and subsequently dies.
08:43It isn't until this terrifying moment that she learns she's a witch,
08:46like other women in her family, who had the same genetic affliction.
08:50I'm sorry, baby. We can't keep you here anymore. It's too dangerous.
08:55And because of this Black Widow curse she has no control over,
08:59she can't have the life she once had, or the future she anticipated.
09:03And though the morality of her actions is up for debate,
09:06Zoe weaponizes her affliction,
09:08exacting revenge on someone who assaulted her new coven sister,
09:12finding a new kind of power in this affliction that once seemed life-ruining.
09:16My mother was right.
09:18The world isn't safe for a girl like me.
09:21But maybe I'm not safe for the world either.
09:23More and more genre stories have begun taking the untouchable girl trope
09:26and creating nuanced, complex female characters with more agency.
09:30Yes, they still have to restrict themselves to protect others,
09:33but their stories often end with them more empowered and free of societal restraints.
09:37And the creators use these stories to not just unpack the societal pressures
09:42that this trope represents, but to also analyze the trope itself.
09:46When we first meet Gen V's Kate Dunlap,
09:48she's the gorgeous blonde popular college student
09:51dating the literal golden boy who everyone wants.
09:54But after a shocking death, we learn she's so much more than that.
09:58Kate is one of the most powerful soups on campus,
10:01and in the world of the boys.
10:03Her tactile mind control comes in handy several times,
10:05from getting into a club to saving Andre from a security guard.
10:10She can put people to sleep, read their minds, and erase their memories.
10:14But she didn't always see this as a power.
10:17When Kate was little, she discovered her latent abilities like seemingly everyone else,
10:21through a deeply traumatic incident.
10:23She pushed her little brother away, and he never came back.
10:27My mom never touched me again.
10:31Neither did my dad.
10:32Her parents, who were the ones who let Vought inject their baby with Compound V,
10:37as other parents did,
10:38completely shut her off from the world, even family.
10:41And because of the years of isolation, fear, and guilt,
10:44she was afraid of herself and what she could do,
10:47even wearing gloves to attempt to stop her powers.
10:50Until she was rescued by Indira Shetty,
10:52who gave her pills to control her abilities.
10:54You don't have to wear the gloves if you don't want to.
10:57I trust you.
10:58I'm supposed to wear them.
11:01Whenever anyone's here.
11:02But unfortunately, she wasn't really being rescued at all.
11:06She was being manipulated,
11:07and ended up wiping the minds of her boyfriend, his brother, and later her friends.
11:11Which ultimately leads to death, destruction, and broken trust.
11:15It's no surprise that, by the end of the season,
11:17Kate has become a villain, out for revenge on the humans.
11:21Kate's story unpacks the rage that the impossible standards placed upon women can create,
11:26and the deeply damaging effect that being manipulated by those you trust can have on you.
11:31In The Haunting of Hill House,
11:32Theodora Theo Crane develops touch telepathy as a kid living in a spirit-infested house.
11:38This sensitive ability forces her to absorb and experience other people's trauma.
11:42And like American Horror Story's Zoe,
11:44Theo's mother Olivia tells her that it runs in the family.
11:47But instead of ostracizing her,
11:49Olivia gives her daughter gloves to prevent accidental contact with people and objects
11:53that carry a haunted history.
11:55As an adult, Theo is detached, guarded, and resistant to serious relationships,
11:59opting for casual hookups instead.
12:02But as a child psychologist,
12:04she's able to use her power to find out what those kids are going through.
12:08It's kids like us, who've been through more than other kids.
12:12We're tougher than other kids.
12:14We're great builders.
12:15We make ourselves really safe.
12:20And no one ever gets in.
12:23Because she wasn't shunned by her family for her power,
12:26she was able to find a way to survive, and even thrive,
12:29with it even if she didn't love having it.
12:32Frozen's Elsa is notably one of the very few Disney princesses or queens
12:35who ghost an entire movie without any semblance of a romantic love interest.
12:39She was born with magical ice powers that are triggered by emotion.
12:43And after she accidentally harms her sister Anna,
12:46their parents immediately decide to seclude Elsa away from her
12:49and the entire rest of the kingdom.
12:51Although they're seemingly well-intentioned,
12:53isolating their daughter for something she can't control
12:56leads to years of fear, guilt, and loneliness.
12:59When the people of Ardendale find out about her powers,
13:02they turn against her,
13:03viewing her as an unstable monstrosity
13:06who can't and shouldn't be their queen.
13:08Her story isn't about finding a way to achieve romantic connection,
13:12but about sisterly bonds.
13:14Elsa and Anna rescue each other
13:15and work together to get a handle on Elsa's powers.
13:19She finds a way to live the life she wants
13:21without having to change who she is.
13:24Superhero powers have always been metaphors
13:26for our own human abilities,
13:28good and bad.
13:29So it's not surprising that we're able to find them deeply relatable,
13:33even when they at first might seem so different from us.
13:35The untouchable girl trope speaks to something
13:37that affects all girls and women in one way or another.
13:40And so these stories can help us unpack our own feelings
13:43around this seeming curse that society has put on us,
13:46but also give us insights into how we can cope with
13:49and fight to grow beyond those confines.
13:52She shows us how important it is
13:54to be able to live life as your true full self
13:56and what pain can come when you're not allowed to.
14:00She, above all else, touches our minds and hearts.
14:04That's the take.
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