THE BACK TO SCHOOL SALES ARE STARTING AND I REALLY HATE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL BUT I FUCKING LOVE THOSE SALES THERE’S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT BUYING NOTEBOOKS AND PENS IN BULK THAT MAKES ME ALL TINGLY INSIDE
OKAY CHAPS LET’S TALK ABOUT LADY CHARACTERS WHO ARE WRITTEN BY DUDES
(We’re usually talking straight white cis dudes)
Because normally the thing goes, you have a character who is a good person! She’s kind! Principled! Intelligent! But then suddenly she strips to her undies (see: Carol Marcus) or falls head over heels in love (see: Martha Jones) or is rescued from something (see: Mako Mori, who’ve I’ve just met, hello Mako) and you’re suddenly like WELL THIS CANNOT BE RIGHT A TRUE FEMINIST CHARACTER WOULD NOT DO THAT, OH GOD THE MAN WRITING HER FUCKED UP AND NOW I CAN’T LIKE HER, SCREW YOU MALE WRITER YOU RUINED MY NICE THING (an allegory: that time your brother stole your favourite doll when you were eight and returned her with mangled hair and no shoes.)
But CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING!
–Are you getting sexism all up in your sexism? Ever said, for example, ‘so-and-so writer has turned X into a SLUT! She was a great character and now she’s all SLUTTY!“ Then you may be down with a case of Internalised Misogyny, my friend. It’s okay, most of us have done it. (Damn the patriarchy.) Because ‘slut’ is a word designed exclusively to shame women for having sex. Do not shame a character for having sex, folks, as women can have sex with whomever they like, provided all parties are consenting, and in a SHOCK TWIST she may not actually be having sex or dressing sexily for the benefit of a man
–Are you judging a female character far more harshly than you would judge a male one? When Black Widow wears her skintight outfit, they obviously just put her in it to make her eye candy! When Hawkeye wears his almost identical outfit, he’s just wearing it cos it’s easy to move in, dur!
–Are you remembering that white narratives aren’t the only narratives?/BE INTERSECTIONAL PLZ: Women of colour didn’t always get to be damsels in distress. Or get to be in relationships with white men (see: Uhura and Spock.) In fact I am white, so you probably shouldn’t be listening to me on this one, go do some further reading. (AND LISTEN WHEN PEOPLE CORRECT YOU FOR THE LOVE OF PETE AND BEAR IN MIND THEY MAY HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR NOT DOING IT POLITELY MMMKAY)
-Are you absolutely sure you’re not getting sexism all up in your sexism? Is Mako Mori – orphaned and seeking to eradicate what orphaned her – a Mary Sue while Batman is not? Is Carol Marcus a one dimensional sex kitten for ending up in her underwear but Jack Harkness is still a multifaceted character despite ending up in his more than once? Is [insert VIRTUALLY ANY FEMALE CHARACTER HERE] a Manic Pixie Dream Girl while the Doctor, who fits the trope perfectly, is somehow getting away with his manicpixiedreamness? QUESTION IT. QUESTION IT EPICLY
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED ALL THIS IF SO WELL DONE. Now the most important part: YOU CAN HAVE NICE THINGS! See, that male writer guy wrote a female character and maybe he messed up on a few things but once a writer releases a story into the wild and it hits the eyes/ears/computer of someone wanting to hear it that character can be YOURS, kids. Carol, Martha, Mako, Black Widow, Uhura, LADIES OF ALL KINDS ARE JUST COOL AND DESERVE OUR LOVE GUYS. (A continuing allegory: your pain in the ass brother gives back your doll and you’re like YEAH OKAY MY BRO CUT OFF HER HAIR AND KINDA MESSED HER UP BUT SHE’S STILL MY FAVOURITE DOLL AND ISN’T SHE FABULOUS.)