The Queen's Gambit: Aro Movies Monday

Happy Aro Movies Monday! A weekly call on Aggresively Arospec's Tumbr for movies that "you identify with from an arospec perspective or the ones you think the community should avoid."

The original intention of Aro Movies Monday is to submit movies to Aggresively Arospec, but I like having the space dig deeper. 

[Image from The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, a white woman with red hair and an intense stare is moving a chess piece.]

This may not be a movie, but let's talk about it anyway! I assumed it was a movie, and when the credits played at the end of episode one with nothing resolved or connected, I was quite confused 😛

Reasons I connected to The Queen's Gambit
  • When Beth is invited to a social club, all they talk about is boys and Beth feels disconnected.
  • Beth is surrounded by men, which means she has a variety of relationships with men: quasi-romantic, sexual, adversarial, casual friends, put-your-life-back-together friends.
  • There is a man she's enamored with, but there's only one scene where that is potentially going to go somewhere but gets cut off, and later he supports her as a friend.
  • There is a man who is good for her, but she leaves, hits rock bottom, figures herself out without him, and then in the end he supports her as a friend.
  • There is a man who she trains with and has sex with, but seems only moderately fond of. Even after the relationship ends, he still shows concern for her.
  • Most of the time Beth seems to be using sex to fill a void, and a romantic/sexual relationship to not feel alone.
  • Beth dresses fashionably. Prioritizing chess and deprioritizing romantic relationships doesn't mean she can't look fantastic. 
  • Her romantic/sexual relationships are a sidenote to her passion for chess and her journey to happiness. The story explores several romantic/sexual relationships, and none of them are "the one."

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