Oh, I enjoyed it! Thanks for putting the ideas in my head. :)

I think sexuality is a very interesting subject, specifically with reference to OUaT. Setting the story in a traditional town that seems like it’s taken right from a storybook (no pun intended, heh) only serves to accentuate those norms, I think.

I think it was the opening sequence to the second episode that had everyone in Storybrooke waking up and going about their business. But they had lots of interaction - people meeting and greeting one another on the street; Graham going into Granny’s; Ruby and Granny setting up the diner for the day. It created an atmosphere of a rather tight-knit community, the likes of which don’t really exist in my experience of the world anymore. It seemed much more reminiscent of the kind of society my parents lived in, where everyone knew everyone else and nobody ever left the town where they were born. I know places like that still exist but people are much more transient these days and don’t “settle” in the way they used to, I think.

Having that as the background to the show makes it much easier to pigeon hole characters within stereotypes for the role of “woman”. I mean, there’s the virgin/whore dichotomy that crops up an awful lot. You could say that Ruby/MM fill those roles even though we’ve never seen either of them sexually active.

I have some difficulty analysing MM and David Nolan because I have pretty strong feelings of dislike for them and their situation. Him more than her, actually, which is a shame because that’s a perfect situation of the man “tainting” the purity of the woman, in a way. That aside, I think the show has used the townspeople to emphasise those societal norms and, as you say, only shown disapproval of MM.

The same could be said of Ruby - in that early episode where Granny mentions her “sleeping up and down the eastern seaboard”. And the way she dresses is provocative, but not necessarily approved of. That just brings me back to the whole “independence” theme I talked about, where Ruby clearly wants out of Storybrooke (and yes, I know she can’t leave or BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN) and the desire to leave is there, but it’s not encouraged in any way.

As for Emma, well it’s clear that she’s a woman of the world. Make of that what you will, but there have been hints that she was involved with some bad guys, and also a married man. But it’s never been expanded upon and I think, honestly, that if it were and situations or history came to light, the people of Storybrooke might think differently of her. Also, she’s been pretty asexual since she arrived in town - the only romantic situation she’s been in was with Graham, who promptly died. Keeping Emma “pure” and romantically unattached seems to be garnering her some approval in the town. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if/when a love interest is introduced for her.

Regina, on the other hand, is the only woman we’ve seen being sexually active. And she’s the “bad” one, right? You can take from that what you will, but it’s clear that her notion of sexuality is frowned upon, especially when she uses it to get what she wants from Sidney, for example. I’m curious as to whether she has other people under her spell, so to speak, and how she uses sex as a means to achieve her goals.

And that’s why SwanQueen will probably never happen. I’m pretty sure ABC’s audience’s heads would explode to see two independent, sexually active women with each other rather than a man… ;)