Thought-Provoking Discussion Found on Bizarro K-Site
Late last week, after adding almost a dozen people to my ignore list, I decided to give K-site another shot. Every once in a while something interesting does happen there and I figured with the folks who most consistently raise my blood pressure hidden from view, I could take the risk. And lo and behold, I found this: Major Problem(s) with Lois Lane: A Gender-Based Character Analysis.
I just... wow. An acknowledgment of the show's sexism - from a Cloiser.** And thoughtful, well-written rebuttals. Also from Cloisers. I actually had to take a few people temporarily off the ignore list because I wanted to read what they had to say. It was all a little humbling. And ironic, especially after reading the original poster protesting several times that in spite of writing something that could double as a paper for "Women's Studies 350: Women in Film", she was NOT a feminist!
*headdesk*
I was sooooooo tempted to post, but I didn't have anything to say that wouldn't have been trollish and disrespectful.* Because for me, the fact is not that Lois is being regressed to fit a traditional female stereotype: her entire purpose on the show from Day 1 has been to act out a traditional female stereotype. She has always been the innocent, supportive female who never "pries", who secretly likes being man-handled and ordered around by the Man in Charge, and whose abrasive defense mechanisms are meant to be conquered by said Alpha Male / Substitute Father Figure. Isn't that what the fun "Taming of the Shrew" dynamic between her and Clark was about all these years? Isn't that what makes her different from and "refreshing" in comparison to Control Freak Lana? Isn't that why the Lois fanboys have been saying she's so freakin' perfect for Clark?
Yes, it's sexist. But it's always been sexist.
I'm still sorta tempted to say something, but a) it appears the discussion is mostly over and b) I feel a little defensive posting with a Chloe avatar. Because in spite of this one point of intriguing commonality, there are so many other things that would load up the dialogue on both sides, and mostly on my side. Obviously I need a little more Savage Death Islandism to get my head straight.
*Not a worry I normally have on k-site, but this wasn't just a group of venom-spewers spewing.
**From other reading I realize britas isn't strictly a Cloiser. At least, I'm not sure she'd describe herself as such.
I just... wow. An acknowledgment of the show's sexism - from a Cloiser.** And thoughtful, well-written rebuttals. Also from Cloisers. I actually had to take a few people temporarily off the ignore list because I wanted to read what they had to say. It was all a little humbling. And ironic, especially after reading the original poster protesting several times that in spite of writing something that could double as a paper for "Women's Studies 350: Women in Film", she was NOT a feminist!
*headdesk*
I was sooooooo tempted to post, but I didn't have anything to say that wouldn't have been trollish and disrespectful.* Because for me, the fact is not that Lois is being regressed to fit a traditional female stereotype: her entire purpose on the show from Day 1 has been to act out a traditional female stereotype. She has always been the innocent, supportive female who never "pries", who secretly likes being man-handled and ordered around by the Man in Charge, and whose abrasive defense mechanisms are meant to be conquered by said Alpha Male / Substitute Father Figure. Isn't that what the fun "Taming of the Shrew" dynamic between her and Clark was about all these years? Isn't that what makes her different from and "refreshing" in comparison to Control Freak Lana? Isn't that why the Lois fanboys have been saying she's so freakin' perfect for Clark?
Yes, it's sexist. But it's always been sexist.
I'm still sorta tempted to say something, but a) it appears the discussion is mostly over and b) I feel a little defensive posting with a Chloe avatar. Because in spite of this one point of intriguing commonality, there are so many other things that would load up the dialogue on both sides, and mostly on my side. Obviously I need a little more Savage Death Islandism to get my head straight.
*Not a worry I normally have on k-site, but this wasn't just a group of venom-spewers spewing.
**From other reading I realize britas isn't strictly a Cloiser. At least, I'm not sure she'd describe herself as such.