Okay, fine, I'll do it. I'll write a post about Doctor Who becoming a woman.
I know it's been a little while since I last posted. It's not that I've not had things to post, it's that I've not really had the time to post them. But I'm here now and hopefully I'll also find the time to post all the other entries I've been wanting to make.
For now though, I guess Doctor Who is as a good a subject as any, to come back on.
I know it's been a little while since I last posted. It's not that I've not had things to post, it's that I've not really had the time to post them. But I'm here now and hopefully I'll also find the time to post all the other entries I've been wanting to make.
For now though, I guess Doctor Who is as a good a subject as any, to come back on.
A Woman! with girl bits and everything!
Yes, for those of you that missed it, The Doctor has now regenerated into a woman.
Yes, for those of you that missed it, The Doctor has now regenerated into a woman.
Needless to say, this change to the character has been met with both joy and horror. There are those who are positively delighted at the news, usually because they either think it is "about time" or because they like the actress (Jodie Whittaker) and think she will do a good job in the role. On the other side of things, there are those who are genuinely angry at the change - and it is these people that I'm going to talk about.
So, how about all those misogynist man-babies, huh?
It's fairly obvious that this change was going to ruffle feathers, even though the show has clearly been paving the way for this for a fair while now. Nothing was going to stop the complaints. Twitter, Facebook, etc. has seen comments such as long-time viewers of classic Who, saying that they'll "never watch it again", to others declaring that this is the death of the show.
As one might expect, this has also led a lot of people to throw around accusations of misogyny and how sad all the butt-hurt man-babies are. Things like "fragile, fragile, little men ...proving why we still need feminism", "Are the strong men intimidated/ afraid of a woman doctor who? Seriously men GROW UP", "The man-babies filling their online diapers... are an embarrassment to Doctor Who fans in general and their gender specifically."
All the misogynist men are really bad.
But, here's the thing, from what I can see, actual sexist comments and objections, are very few. Of course, there are a few, but not many.
I've watched closely and the reality is that the people objecting to the change are both male and female (in fairly equal numbers) and the majority of their objections fall into one of two camps (or sometimes both):
It's fairly obvious that this change was going to ruffle feathers, even though the show has clearly been paving the way for this for a fair while now. Nothing was going to stop the complaints. Twitter, Facebook, etc. has seen comments such as long-time viewers of classic Who, saying that they'll "never watch it again", to others declaring that this is the death of the show.
As one might expect, this has also led a lot of people to throw around accusations of misogyny and how sad all the butt-hurt man-babies are. Things like "fragile, fragile, little men ...proving why we still need feminism", "Are the strong men intimidated/ afraid of a woman doctor who? Seriously men GROW UP", "The man-babies filling their online diapers... are an embarrassment to Doctor Who fans in general and their gender specifically."
All the misogynist men are really bad.
But, here's the thing, from what I can see, actual sexist comments and objections, are very few. Of course, there are a few, but not many.
I've watched closely and the reality is that the people objecting to the change are both male and female (in fairly equal numbers) and the majority of their objections fall into one of two camps (or sometimes both):
Structure
Half the objections to the Doctor's change of gender, were based around taste. It wasn't an objection to women, women characters or female leads. The complaint was instead that the show had always had a certain formula to it, which was a fundamental part of what it is. These people liked that formula. For them, the man in the blue box having adventures in time and space, was what made Doctor Who the show that it is. It was part of a certain style that the show has always had, even with updated special effects.
Just as many women as men, have had this complaint. For them, the Doctor becoming a woman is such a divergence from the formula that they enjoy, that it has spoiled the show for them.
I can understand this. There are certain shows, movies and books which I like and would not like to see their essential formula change. I was a bit like that with the remake of Total Recall. A fair movie in and off itself, but for me it was so divergent from the storyline of the original, that (to me) it hardly constituted being called a remake of that film.
It's just a matter of taste. It's knowing what you like and not wanting its basic make-up to change. That's not sexist, it's just preference. It's the character has always been this and that is what I like.
Half the objections to the Doctor's change of gender, were based around taste. It wasn't an objection to women, women characters or female leads. The complaint was instead that the show had always had a certain formula to it, which was a fundamental part of what it is. These people liked that formula. For them, the man in the blue box having adventures in time and space, was what made Doctor Who the show that it is. It was part of a certain style that the show has always had, even with updated special effects.
Just as many women as men, have had this complaint. For them, the Doctor becoming a woman is such a divergence from the formula that they enjoy, that it has spoiled the show for them.
I can understand this. There are certain shows, movies and books which I like and would not like to see their essential formula change. I was a bit like that with the remake of Total Recall. A fair movie in and off itself, but for me it was so divergent from the storyline of the original, that (to me) it hardly constituted being called a remake of that film.
It's just a matter of taste. It's knowing what you like and not wanting its basic make-up to change. That's not sexist, it's just preference. It's the character has always been this and that is what I like.
Grrr SJWs, Rrrr Feminism
The other objection I have noted, tends to essentially be 'I have no problem with the Doctor being a woman, I just don't like why its being done, which is to push an SJW agenda.'
In this complaint, people (again more or less equally male and female) view the move to change the character's gender, as part of an increasingly in your face social justice message being written into the show. More often, it seems the case that the majority of the people making this complaint, don't actually object to the content of that message, but instead that the message is being artificially forced into the show in a way that has overshadowed the storytelling.
For these people, they want changes and developments to be driven by good story lines, rather than just thrown in there for their own sake.
I've noted that many feel the same way about the character of Bill, on the show. With people saying things to the effect of having no issue with the Doctor having a gay companion, but that the character came across as if they were there simply to be "a gay companion", rather than being a fully fleshed out and interesting character who is gay.
Of course, I can't comment on the motivations of the writers and producers of the show, as I lack those kinds of amazing mind-reading abilities. However, I think it is fair to say that the reactions under this banner aren't necessarily sexist. Certainly, some are. But it's not inherent to this complaint.
Wanting to have the show driven by the plot and a desire to tell good stories, rather than being driven by a desire to relay a certain political message (even if you happen to agree with that message), is not sexist.
There are, of course, those who fall under this heading who disagree with the message being relayed and the (perceived) prominence of it as a driver for the show. These people may well be sexist (or homophobic or whatever else). I'll leave that to your judgment.
The other objection I have noted, tends to essentially be 'I have no problem with the Doctor being a woman, I just don't like why its being done, which is to push an SJW agenda.'
In this complaint, people (again more or less equally male and female) view the move to change the character's gender, as part of an increasingly in your face social justice message being written into the show. More often, it seems the case that the majority of the people making this complaint, don't actually object to the content of that message, but instead that the message is being artificially forced into the show in a way that has overshadowed the storytelling.
For these people, they want changes and developments to be driven by good story lines, rather than just thrown in there for their own sake.
I've noted that many feel the same way about the character of Bill, on the show. With people saying things to the effect of having no issue with the Doctor having a gay companion, but that the character came across as if they were there simply to be "a gay companion", rather than being a fully fleshed out and interesting character who is gay.
Of course, I can't comment on the motivations of the writers and producers of the show, as I lack those kinds of amazing mind-reading abilities. However, I think it is fair to say that the reactions under this banner aren't necessarily sexist. Certainly, some are. But it's not inherent to this complaint.
Wanting to have the show driven by the plot and a desire to tell good stories, rather than being driven by a desire to relay a certain political message (even if you happen to agree with that message), is not sexist.
There are, of course, those who fall under this heading who disagree with the message being relayed and the (perceived) prominence of it as a driver for the show. These people may well be sexist (or homophobic or whatever else). I'll leave that to your judgment.
Pop-Culture Gender Swaps
There are incidences where the gender of a beloved character can change and it is, to me at least, perfectly legitimate (even if I may prefer the original in some cases). A time traveling alien whose species can regenerate into new bodies of either sex - sure there's a legitimacy for the character changing genders. A magical hammer that grants anyone worthy the power of a God, gets picked up by a worthy woman who then becomes a female incarnation of that God - okay, that makes sense. A classic franchise about some scientists who learn how to catch ghosts, re-imagined with female leads - sure, it's an alternate version after all, not an attempt to change the original.
Okay, you may or may not like these, but at least the gender changes makes sense in terms of the worlds they are set in.
However, I do think that there are also instances where changing the gender of a character would be distinctly nonsensical.
I read recently that there is currently a lot of people calling for Charlize Theron to be the next James Bond. To me, that makes no sense. James Bond is a human man, with his own back story. There's no legitimacy to changing the character's gender. It's one thing to have the position of "M" be passed to a new person, male or female, as "M" is the title for the character and it can be inherited by successors. But James Bond is not.
Granted, there is a popular fan theory that the name "James Bond" and the agent number 007, are passed to new agents as a previous one dies, explaining the different actors playing the role. But issues of continuity in the character's history tend to make that idea difficult to work. However, even if that were the case, it wouldn't make much sense to have a female secret agent named "James". That would be the kind of detail that would make a spy stand out more than they'd want to. Definitely a poor choice for a female code name.
Likewise, there are certain female characters I would hate to see gender swapped.
I wouldn't want to see a male Buffy, Ripley or Hermione.
Could we have a male Harley Quinn? With him and the Joker in a twisted gay relationship?
That could actually be interesting. I wouldn't mind reading an Elseworld story that featured that variant. But I wouldn't want to see it as a canon change to the character.
Some changes make sense, some don't.
New Doctor: My View
When it comes to my view of the Doctor regenerating into a woman, to be honest, I don't currently have a view on it. They've obviously spent a long time setting it up. Honestly, if you didn't foresee that they were going to do it, you haven't really been watching the show. But my view will depend entirely on how good Jodie Whittaker is in the role. Lots of people have been saying that she is a great actress, but I actually don't think I have seen her anything, so I don't really have anything to go by. I do like the look of her, though and am curious to see what her Doctor's outfit will be.
I do have a couple of concern, though. Specifically, this is going to be the first female Doctor and if it doesn't go well, it may well leave a mark on future female incarnations. But that isn't a concern about the actress. It's more a concern about the writing. Peter Capaldi is a great actor, but in his term as the Doctor, there has been some real dodgy writing. The episode with the eye-gunk monsters? That was god awful.
So, I do hope that the writing is up to scratch for the new season.
My other concern, now that they have a female incarnation of the Doctor, is that they do it too many times in future regenerations. Having female incarnations of the Doctor is fine, it just seems that the way they have set it up, that gender-swaps are not common through a Timelord's regenerations. Over the course of 13 regenerations, this will be the first time it's happened to the Doctor. The character of the Master, as far as we know, appears to have only been female once, despite having had even more regenerations than the Doctor. And the first gender swap we saw, from a regenerating Timelord was done in such a way as to imply that the character was glad to get back to being a woman (as if she normally was).
So, it would just be a bit odd, given that set-up, if the Doctor was suddenly switching back and forth between genders every other regeneration.
Though, with everything else, it all depends on how well its done and written, really.
But ultimately, I'm looking forward to seeing what Jodie Whittaker does with the role and I wish her the best.
It does appear, though, that those who dislike the Doctor's gender change, are in the minority. So, it seems like as long as the program's quality keeps up, the series has a lot of life (or regenerations) left in it.
Who knows, maybe one day the Doctor will even be ginger!
When it comes to my view of the Doctor regenerating into a woman, to be honest, I don't currently have a view on it. They've obviously spent a long time setting it up. Honestly, if you didn't foresee that they were going to do it, you haven't really been watching the show. But my view will depend entirely on how good Jodie Whittaker is in the role. Lots of people have been saying that she is a great actress, but I actually don't think I have seen her anything, so I don't really have anything to go by. I do like the look of her, though and am curious to see what her Doctor's outfit will be.
I do have a couple of concern, though. Specifically, this is going to be the first female Doctor and if it doesn't go well, it may well leave a mark on future female incarnations. But that isn't a concern about the actress. It's more a concern about the writing. Peter Capaldi is a great actor, but in his term as the Doctor, there has been some real dodgy writing. The episode with the eye-gunk monsters? That was god awful.
So, I do hope that the writing is up to scratch for the new season.
My other concern, now that they have a female incarnation of the Doctor, is that they do it too many times in future regenerations. Having female incarnations of the Doctor is fine, it just seems that the way they have set it up, that gender-swaps are not common through a Timelord's regenerations. Over the course of 13 regenerations, this will be the first time it's happened to the Doctor. The character of the Master, as far as we know, appears to have only been female once, despite having had even more regenerations than the Doctor. And the first gender swap we saw, from a regenerating Timelord was done in such a way as to imply that the character was glad to get back to being a woman (as if she normally was).
So, it would just be a bit odd, given that set-up, if the Doctor was suddenly switching back and forth between genders every other regeneration.
Though, with everything else, it all depends on how well its done and written, really.
But ultimately, I'm looking forward to seeing what Jodie Whittaker does with the role and I wish her the best.
It does appear, though, that those who dislike the Doctor's gender change, are in the minority. So, it seems like as long as the program's quality keeps up, the series has a lot of life (or regenerations) left in it.
Who knows, maybe one day the Doctor will even be ginger!