As a preface, I am fully aware that Love Quinn is a murderous psychopath and definitely not a model citizen, to say the least. I’m not here to defend her from any of the “crazy” accusations. I am, however, going to defend her when comparing her to Joe Goldberg. While he is praised for his stalking, killing, and overall gross habits, Love is tormented. 

While watching the latest season of the show and observing the feedback from the media, it became very apparent that there is a bias when it comes to psychopathic men over women. That is, of course, because, as a general rule, crazy women are just crazy, while crazy men are crazy in an “attractive” way. Whatever that means.

The number of memes on TikTok and Instagram that I have seen regarding people swooning for Joe Goldberg is alarming and must say something about this generation of teen girls, but that’s a topic for another time. What I haven’t seen is the same bizarre attraction towards Love. The only thing close to commentary on Love in a positive light is when I see people joking that they are “just like her” because she is utterly insane. I find it very alarming that people envy this couple in the first place, but I suppose that is what the show is all about. 

Taylor Swift said it perfectly in an interview from years ago, in which she explained that there is a different vocabulary when it comes to men and women. In times when women are bossy, men are only bosses. Men are allowed to react, whereas women can only overreact. This is seen clearly in people discussing the unorthodox couple that is Joe and Love. Joe is calculated, planned, methodical, and smart. Love is over-emotional, obsessive, and impulsive. I would argue that because they are both serial killers, they are on the same level on my morality scale. 

The issue is not necessarily how Love is represented, rather how she is received. People on the internet cannot stand her! Yet they quickly turn around and pine for Joe as if he is any better. Some could argue that he is worse. We can even see Joe make oddly misogynistic comments about Love while he is narrating. The entire ordeal is odd, and I think that this situation is a great example of modern-day misogyny. Even more disturbing, the majority of the offhand comments are coming from women! Internalized misogyny is real, and it needs to be addressed.