Persephone's (Gothic) Insights

This excerpt—originally from my book series, Sex Positivity —discusses the differences between "anti-Semitism" and "antisemitism," and why I favor the former over the latter in my own academic work. It's part of a larger book section, but given its application outside my own material, I wanted to supply it here, on my old blog (which is intended for a more general audience). Originally posted on December 30th, 2024, in " Idle Hands, part three: Goblins, Anti-Semitism, and Monster-Fucking ": Inside this book sample, I reference an archived video about my grandfather, interviewed in 2005, talking largely about his experiences during WWII: as a Dutch liberation fighter and Holocaust survivor. I didn't have time to go into the video, here, so I recorded a response video where I think about the interview as a third-generation trans Communist Dutch girl writing a book series on goblins and other anti-Semitic monsters (Persephone van der Waard's ...

A small announcement and a couple days late, but the fourth book in my Sex Positivity (2023) is live: the Undead Module! Check it out, here ! Blogger's being lame about censored images, so here's an image (not the censored covers) of my cover model,  Harmony Corrupted ! As for the module, it's a monster (so to speak) sub-volume. Over 1,000 pages and 800 unique images, it explores the poetic history of undead, covering zombies, vampires and ghosts in exhaustive detail; e.g., apocalypses, hauntings, castles and more! The module has taken four months to write, but is actually based on an older manuscript—a Humanities primer I wrote two years ago. Having since written my PhD and two other books, I returned to the primer and expanded on it big time! I'm very proud of this one! Book details: My name is Persephone van der Waard and I am currently writing and illustrating a non-profit book series on sex positivity and the Gothic. About the project: Made in collaboration with o...

Previously I mentioned that I had written a three-part chapter  on Metroidvania for my  Sex Positivity   book series, " She Fucks Back " (2024). Already the culmination of my life's work, I wanted to cap off my magnum opus with a fun little announcement, letting you all know that the last part of that chapter is now up on my website: " Sleeping Beauties: Policing the Whore; or, Topping from Below to Rise from the Ashes "!  Update, 1/4/2025: I've decided to release the entirety of my work on Metroidvania in one single place: " From Master's to PhD (and Beyond): My Entire Work on Metroidvania " (2025). This includes my master's thesis and early postgraduate work (re: "Mazes and Labyrinths"), my PhD (released in 2023), further essays released after my postgraduate work in my larger book series,  Sex Positivity . You can also ask me questions about Metroidvania on the r/Metroidvania subreddit: " From Master's to PhD (and Beyo...

Another Alien: Romulus post! This time, it's my response and breakdown to the final trailer! tl;dr—I fucking loved what I saw! Final trailer link . Here's the link to my video response . In connection with Romulus and its Promethean themes,   I've written a three-part book chapter on Metroidvania for my  Sex Positivity   book series: "' She Fucks Back'; or, Revisiting The Modern Prometheus through Astronoetics: the Man of Reason and Cartesian Hubris versus the Womb of Nature in Metroidvania" (2024).  Said chapter  concerns  Frankenstein   (aka  The Modern Prometheus ) and talks extensively about the  Promethean Quest as it appears in popular media after Shelley's novel; it focuses on Metroidvania, of course (with close-reads of  Hollow Knight  and  Axiom Verge) , but I also talk about movies like  Forbidden Planet  and  Alien .  Click here to read the entire chapter on my website book sample series.  ...

Raising funds for my partner's healthcare! Bay Ryan has a degenerative disease of their teeth, and will need to pay for extractions out-of-pocket (not covered by their insurance), but also aftercare expenses. We're trying to raise $500-$1000 NZD (~$310-620USD)! The original Twitter post: https://x.com/vanderwaardart/status/1801096072049111303 Bay is disabled and gets partial aid through the state; they do sex work, but rely on donations to get by. You can support Bay on OnlyFans, but also through their Ko-Fi! His portfolio: https://vanderwaardart.com/my_partner/bay-ryan OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/barkingonmain Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/tiddyshibe I realize that not everyone can donate and I wouldn't expect that. However, if anyone can share the above links to help get Bay the care they need, it would mean the world! ***   Persephone van der Waard is the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series,  Sex Positivity —its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator a...

Decided to do an Alien  Romulus reaction/breakdown; i.e., super  low-effort material I can put quickly on my old blog in the spirit of looking at Alien -rated content!  Here's the link to my video response  (excuse the uneven audio on my end; recording goof and I'm too lazy to rerecord, haha). Note: Normally I would do an extended respond with an image breakdown, but I'm currently in the middle of proofreading and releasing book samples during Pride month; i.e.,  for Volume Two, part two of my  Sex Positivity ( 2023) book project, featured in my second, very NSFW book sample series, " Searching for Secrets " (2024) . So this half-assed approach is all you're getting! Gorgeous-looking film! Not sure how much plot it will have apart from the usual Gothic thrills (the black genderqueer monster chasing the straight white lady around the Gothic-castle-style spaceship), but at least it's well put together!  Happy Pride, bitches! ***   Persephone van de...