Some scholars have tried to equivocate Shakespeare's apparent ambivalence and distaste for women so as to downplay the homoerotic nature of the Fair Youth sequence. Others see Shakespeare's style as a response to Petrarchan sonnets in which an ideal female subject is lauded. Katherine Duncan-Jones writes "Instead of exploring the subtle and complex effect on the speaker of an obsession with a chaste and high-born lady who can never be possessed physically, 127-[1]52 offer backhanded praise of a manifestly non-aristocratic woman who is neither young, beautiful, intelligent nor chaste, but… provides a perfectly adequate outlet for male desire".
This debate has led some scholars to attempt to downplay Shakespeare's apparent dislike of women by minimizing the homoerotic undertones in the Fair Youth sequence. Others see Shakespeare's work as a response to traditional Petrarchan sonnets, which typically idealize female subjects. Katherine Duncan-Jones suggests that 127-152 presents backhanded praise for a woman who is unremarkable and unattractive, but still satisfies male desire.