So, I've watched up to Avatar 2x02. This obviously does not make me an expert. I haven't even met Toph yet, or Mai and Ty Lee, and I'm sure I'll love all of them. But man, I love it already. ( Blah blah blaaaah. )
I'm a Zutara fan, but I really don't interact with the Avatar fandom much. Usually all I see of Avatar fandom is people fighting over Aang/Katara and Zuko/Katara. (And let me tell you, they come up with some of the BEST ARGUMENTS known to man. Really.)
But yeah. I love Zuko. You described him beautifully. He's such a friggin' idiot and a total drama queen, but that just makes him fun to like. I think the last episode of season 2 is when I really became attached to him (though I haven't seen most Avatar episodes, so, um...lol).
I think people say that Katara is a "mother" to Aang because, like you said, she's often the one forced into the adult role. I'm not sure it has much to do with her gender? I mean, I think if Katara was a boy who acted the same way, I think a lot of people would think of him as the "father" of the group (or maybe older brother, since a lot of people associate that with the protective role).
Personally? The Aang/Katara relationship does nothing for me. Which is weird, because the creators seem pretty invested in it. Oh well, Team 7 is like that a lot for me, too. :(
I can't see Zuko/Katara at all, but it doesn't bother me that other people do--just that so many people are batshit about it. XD
♥ Zuko. For many reasons, but mostly his total dorkitude. XD
I don't really think we'd be seeing "father" comparisons if Katara was male. "Older brother"? Yup. I think, again, this boils down to constricted roles for women. :/ Authoritative men in relationships can be lots of things in people's minds--father figures, older brothers, generic "leaders," even boyfriends. But if a woman starts showing emotional dominance in a relationship (as opposed to just verbal or physical dominance, which is often simply seen as teh_funnay), she gets pigeonholed into being the mother figure. It wouldn't bother me so much if more people thought Katara was more like an older sister figure, because I can buy that (although I think she's more a best-friend-with-a-crush than anything to Aang). But the mother thing? Bleah.
I'm not saying everyone has to like Aang/Katara. There are plenty of reasons not to--they might find it boring, they might not be interested in the individual characters, they might see it as too conventional or even cliched. And on and on. But the reason I usually see given isn't "it does nothing for me," but rather, "ewww, squick squick squick! She's like a mother to him!" Which is dumb.
Yeah, I keep Zutara fandom at arm's length because--yeah, batshit. The only ones I really know are the ones on my FList, like Muffy, and I know I don't have to worry about them. Plus my liking of all Avatar ships kind of waxes and wanes. I care much more about characters than ships (this usually goes hand in hand for me, but it's different with Avatar for some reason).
And yeah, I think of Katara as more "older sister" than anything.
But yeah. I love Zuko. You described him beautifully. He's such a friggin' idiot and a total drama queen, but that just makes him fun to like. I think the last episode of season 2 is when I really became attached to him (though I haven't seen most Avatar episodes, so, um...lol).
I think people say that Katara is a "mother" to Aang because, like you said, she's often the one forced into the adult role. I'm not sure it has much to do with her gender? I mean, I think if Katara was a boy who acted the same way, I think a lot of people would think of him as the "father" of the group (or maybe older brother, since a lot of people associate that with the protective role).
Personally? The Aang/Katara relationship does nothing for me. Which is weird, because the creators seem pretty invested in it. Oh well, Team 7 is like that a lot for me, too. :(
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♥ Zuko. For many reasons, but mostly his total dorkitude. XD
I don't really think we'd be seeing "father" comparisons if Katara was male. "Older brother"? Yup. I think, again, this boils down to constricted roles for women. :/ Authoritative men in relationships can be lots of things in people's minds--father figures, older brothers, generic "leaders," even boyfriends. But if a woman starts showing emotional dominance in a relationship (as opposed to just verbal or physical dominance, which is often simply seen as teh_funnay), she gets pigeonholed into being the mother figure. It wouldn't bother me so much if more people thought Katara was more like an older sister figure, because I can buy that (although I think she's more a best-friend-with-a-crush than anything to Aang). But the mother thing? Bleah.
I'm not saying everyone has to like Aang/Katara. There are plenty of reasons not to--they might find it boring, they might not be interested in the individual characters, they might see it as too conventional or even cliched. And on and on. But the reason I usually see given isn't "it does nothing for me," but rather, "ewww, squick squick squick! She's like a mother to him!" Which is dumb.
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And yeah, I think of Katara as more "older sister" than anything.
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