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how about all the ladies!
Feb. 3rd, 2012 10:14 amI was going to make a post the other day about the way that fandom pushes us to take sides in things that aren't even oppositional, and how weird and destructive I find that, all the Team this and Team that crap, the mine-is-better-than-yours. Then, it was about male characters, and the destruction of my (perhaps completely silly) idea that when favorites from two different fandoms come together in another film, that fandoms could come together in the spirit of fun and crossovers, rather than splitting apart even further. (If this is the trend, lord help us when Magic Mike comes out!)
I was reminded of this again today because there's a DW comm doing one of those "women fandom hates" memes and I really don't like that meme. I love plenty of "women fandom hates" like Sara on White Collar or Britta on Community or Uhura in the reboot. And yes, shipping exacerbates these problems, because some shippers get a little uncool in the defense of their ship and the dismissal of other ships, whether it's het shippers battling over canon or slashers saying "ew girly bits."
But it seems to me that all the "women fandom hates" meme really does is set up a new way to feel smug and superior, make a new list of women that you, as a feminist in fandom, should like, and if you don't you might want to check yourself. Which is silly--you're no more or less a feminist based on who your favorite female character is. Like so many other things that happen in social justice on the internet--not just fandom, mind you, but the internet in general--this leads us to all point fingers at each other, demanding greater and greater purity and orthodoxy, instead of pointing fingers at the canon creators for giving us these messy and problematic characters in the first place.
Can't we celebrate all the variety of female characters that we do have, while hoping for a much greater diversity in the future? Can't we make a space not just for the female characters that get a lot of attention AND the ones that are "hated" but ALSO the ones that are "ignored"? Can't we agree that it doesn't really matter if your favorite female sitcom character is Liz Lemon or Leslie Knope or Britta Perry or even Reagan Brinkley or Jess Day, no matter what various feminist television critics might say?
I know to a certain extent what we wanted to do was create an atmosphere where critique of female characters would be free of misogyny, but I worry that what we're actually doing is creating a space where it's okay to critique some characters and not okay to critique (or simply not care for) others. Often there's a disclaimer, stated after the fact: "I'm not talking about just not liking them, but saying lousy things about them" but I think we all can see how quickly that distinction gets lost. Not to mention, there's saying something about general fandom trends, and then applying that trend to individual people, another unfortunate thing that happens quite frequently (and is a big problem with doing cultural critique of the culture you are in during the moment the culture is being reacted to, and attaching a moral value to those reactions).
I watch White Collar and I love Sara, who fandom hates, and I love El, who fandom loves, and I love Diana, who fandom pretty much ignores. Ditto Annie, Britta and Shirley from Community. I watched ATLA and I loved Suki and Toph, had very little time for Azula, and thought Mai and Katara were fine but not my favorites. I never much liked Jackie on Veronica Mars, but I loved Mac and Veronica. These things should all be okay! Isn't the point of wanting lots of different female characters that there will be someone that appeals to anyone, not that we will pit them against each other to find the most perfect one?
I was reminded of this again today because there's a DW comm doing one of those "women fandom hates" memes and I really don't like that meme. I love plenty of "women fandom hates" like Sara on White Collar or Britta on Community or Uhura in the reboot. And yes, shipping exacerbates these problems, because some shippers get a little uncool in the defense of their ship and the dismissal of other ships, whether it's het shippers battling over canon or slashers saying "ew girly bits."
But it seems to me that all the "women fandom hates" meme really does is set up a new way to feel smug and superior, make a new list of women that you, as a feminist in fandom, should like, and if you don't you might want to check yourself. Which is silly--you're no more or less a feminist based on who your favorite female character is. Like so many other things that happen in social justice on the internet--not just fandom, mind you, but the internet in general--this leads us to all point fingers at each other, demanding greater and greater purity and orthodoxy, instead of pointing fingers at the canon creators for giving us these messy and problematic characters in the first place.
Can't we celebrate all the variety of female characters that we do have, while hoping for a much greater diversity in the future? Can't we make a space not just for the female characters that get a lot of attention AND the ones that are "hated" but ALSO the ones that are "ignored"? Can't we agree that it doesn't really matter if your favorite female sitcom character is Liz Lemon or Leslie Knope or Britta Perry or even Reagan Brinkley or Jess Day, no matter what various feminist television critics might say?
I know to a certain extent what we wanted to do was create an atmosphere where critique of female characters would be free of misogyny, but I worry that what we're actually doing is creating a space where it's okay to critique some characters and not okay to critique (or simply not care for) others. Often there's a disclaimer, stated after the fact: "I'm not talking about just not liking them, but saying lousy things about them" but I think we all can see how quickly that distinction gets lost. Not to mention, there's saying something about general fandom trends, and then applying that trend to individual people, another unfortunate thing that happens quite frequently (and is a big problem with doing cultural critique of the culture you are in during the moment the culture is being reacted to, and attaching a moral value to those reactions).
I watch White Collar and I love Sara, who fandom hates, and I love El, who fandom loves, and I love Diana, who fandom pretty much ignores. Ditto Annie, Britta and Shirley from Community. I watched ATLA and I loved Suki and Toph, had very little time for Azula, and thought Mai and Katara were fine but not my favorites. I never much liked Jackie on Veronica Mars, but I loved Mac and Veronica. These things should all be okay! Isn't the point of wanting lots of different female characters that there will be someone that appeals to anyone, not that we will pit them against each other to find the most perfect one?
