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 ! Here's the front and rear covers, featuring the lovely-as-always 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 other sex workers, Sex Positivity is a four-volu...

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 Sex Positivity —its art director, sole invigilator, and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Ba...

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 der Waard...

Starting a second sample series for Volume Two, part two, "Searching for Secrets"! Part one's sample series, "Brace for Impact," explored the usage of Gothic poetics (monsters, magic and myth) when making new proletarian histories; part two reverses the arrangement, examining the history of monstrous poetics in two basic modules that future workers can learn from. Volume Two, part one (the Poetry Module) is out now (5/1/2024)!  I wrote a preface for the module along with its debut announcement.  Give that a look; then,  go to my book's 1-page promo to download the latest version of the full module (which will contain additions/corrections the original blog posts will not have)! Click here to see "Searching for Secrets'" Table of Contents and Full Disclaimer. (model and artist: Harmony Corrupted and Persephone van der Waard ) From the original 5/4/2024 post: "Searching for Secrets*" is a second book sample series, originally inspired ...