I mostly love how women are portrayed on it and the gay romance, of course!
How Hannibal Became A Major LGBTQ+ & Feminist Landmark Explained By Star
They are shown with respect. There is no rape or sexual violence.
Why is Hannibal's fanbase mostly women? : r/HannibalTV
The entire show is centered around a "feminine" man. Hannibal loves "aesthetic". He loves playing piano, drawing, sketching, painting, cooking, dressing up, being polite, hosting dinner parties, and he respects women. I would say only the Red Dragon and Mason are hinted at sexual violence but it is never shown. Many shows use rape as a catalyst for change or shock value. Or women have "sexual powers of seduction". Their value is sex or love interest. Hannibal would never sexually assault someone. I would like to think that if you told Hannibal to kill your abuser, he would do it out of glee. Aggressiveness is seen as rude. Honestly, the sexiest thing in the show is Hannibal cooking the food.
The show does a fantastic job at the female gaze. There are sex scenes shown but nothing explicit like zooming in on body parts. Instead, it becomes artsy and implied, zooming in on faces and emotion. None of the women are shown in sexualized outfits. The women in Hannibal will murder you just as much as the men. Abigail Hobbs, Freddie Lounds, and Alana Bloom all fierce women that Hannibal values for their intelligence and he actually respects when Alana grows a backbone in Season 3.
The entire show is also rooted in emotion. All the artsy serial killers are driven by emotion. Hannibal hates the rude. He kills Marissa because she was rude to her mother. He hates impoliteness and dirtiness. He loves skilled beauty. He doesn't discriminate and murders everyone equally. He is not afraid to cry and sees no shame in showing deep emotion. In fact, for killer, he cries a lot. He cried watching opera.
Hannibal is by all account very female-coded. He is the picture of a 1950's housewife if he was a woman. But that is what makes him appealing. He would rather go to an art museum with you than crack beer and watch the game. He listens and understands others. He prefers soft and quiet to "masculine" activities. Will is more male-coded as he fishes and likes being alone, but he has an empath disorder. He is so sensitive to people's emotions that it makes him mentally unstable.
Hannibal turns into a gothic fantasy world women can escape to. There is deep sensuality and intimacy that doesn't involve sex. There is not sex for the sake of sex. Especially for LGBT and Women who constantly think about assault and painful sexual experiences, Hannibal becomes a world of murder equality. A dark, romantic fantasy; not unlike the yearning and emotion in romance novels.
The Dark, Gruesome, and Oddly Feminist World of “Hannibal” – Her Story Arc
The show is dark gothic romance at its finest. I mean they almost adopted Abigail, unless she is still alive again somehow...
Hannibal fan art will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, and Bryan Fuller is loving it
P.S. if you are obsessed with the food on the show as I am, you have to check out: American Gods Table, Feeding Hannibal
EAT THE RUDE