Brace yourselves - I rattle on
So, yesterday's Women Appreciation Week challenge was meta. *crickets*
[See previous remarks in re: my inability to natter on effectively on a blank screen]
And today's is Day 6: Find a redeeming quality in a female character you dislike.
I started trying to come up with that female character I dislike. I've been surprised at how difficult I'm finding it.
I mean, there's Victoria, from due South. She's capable to the nth degree, smart, has gorgeous hair, and, well, evil. She breaks Fraser's heart, she shoots his dog wolf (and some people, whatever), and she nearly costs the Vecchios their house and Fraser his freedom. I'm not supposed to like her, am I? And I believe the point of this particular day's challenge is partly to rethink why I react negatively to certain characters.
I do tend to exaggerate in memory the characteristics I dislike in female characters. But I'm aware of the tendency, so I often avoid saying I HATE a character. I remember Frannie as flightier and even more Benton-crazed than she is... which means I'm repeatedly surprised while watching an episode to realize that hey, I like her in this one (and this one, oh! and this one). She follows her heart in so many other ways, besides her unrequited crush. And although I'm irritated that during the final seasons of due South Thatcher's ... thing with Fraser becomes something of a running joke, I don't actually dislike Thatcher herself. She's tough. She's holding her own in a world of men without being one of the guys. (I could use some lessons in finding that balance.)
... alright, so I don't hate the ladies of due South except the villainess. Who else might I hate?
Lirin, from Saiyuki? Well, kinda. But I'd hate her as much if she were a boy. (The voice might be at a more bearable pitch, though. I suppose that might help.) I dislike comic relief characters, and that's a good deal of her role until she becomes the MacGuffin. "Lirin is here!" - Lirin is always announcing her arrivals, talking big when she can't quite back it up, playing tagalong to her older, angstier brother. It's the overgrown kid behaviour that I can't stomache and not specifically feminine traits - she's a total tomboy with OMG!huge boobs. She's Goku's most obnoxious traits in a second body. But Lirin is also incredibly loyal and strong - even if she's not on par with the other main characters - and I have to admit, she's doing remarkably well in a truly screwed up family.
So, I dislike her, but not necessarily for a specifically female reason. Okay, so closing in on a feminine-coded female character whom I dislike, then.
In my Gundam Wing lurker days, I hated Relena. Queen Bee of her private school with the concomitant inflated sense of self-importance, spoiled brat, and honestly kinda weird... but then she matures so much over the course of the series that I started qualifying my hate with "at the beginning of the series, but...." And then someone pointed out on a ML that she is the only teen character acting her/his age in the series. And I thought, yes! That explains so much! Relena grows up quickly, takes on huge amounts of responsibility, and becomes something of a moral compass. And while her early behaviour still annoys me... I am more upset by the fanfiction that reduces her to caricature to get her out of the way of the slash OTP.
...
Ultimately, I don't think enough female characters make a strong impression on me - good or bad - outside of a select few shows. And I don't think that's because I'm a slasher, since that's true of my pre-discovering-slash pop culture memories - if any causal relationship exists, I expect it runs the other direction.
You see, I grew up on a lot of shows which were adventures about a bunch of guys... and a girl. Just the one recurring girl. And as the only girl, it usually seemed she was meant to stand in for all girls. And that made her kind of bland, really.
There were the Smurfs. Smurfette. The girl Smurf was created in a lab by the show's villain Gargamel - as a trap. Of course, she became good instead thanks to Papa Smurf. And, well... Here, let me quote the official website: She's one of a kind, full of feminine grace and frivolous. She can also be very much a woman, playing with the feelings of her sweethearts. Oh, please, can I be just like her? /sarcasm. Seriously, though. Being a girl was her defining characteristic: she wasn't Brainy or Handy or Jokey or even Grouchy. She was -ette.
He-Man. Teela. She should be cool. I mean, she's a woman warrior and the unwitting successor to Grayskull... who consistently fails to recognize He-Man. Well, the loincloth is distracting. And I know, I know, his secret identity worked for no real reason on everyone, but I remember her looking like an idiot for chastising 'Prince Adam' more than most.
Thundercats. Cheetara. Eh. She's fast. She has Goku's nyoibo an expandable bo for pole vaulting. I never much liked her, though at least she didn't end up playing damsel in distress more than the guys. (I'm ignoring WilyKit or WilyKat until she goes away. She's not a girl; she's half of a unit.)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Boy turtles. Male mentor. Mostly male baddies. And April O'Neil, intrepid girl reporter. April was a decent character in many ways - curious, brave, clever. But utterly lacking in ninjitsu in a martial arts show.
I'm sure I could remember more if I worked at it. There were adventure cartoons that were exceptions (I particularly liked Dungeons and Dragons). And even in the shows I listed, I vaguely remember a couple other women, though they were generally filling in as oracular or mother figures. But most of the time, if I wanted adventures, I was going to be watching a bunch of guys and a token girl. And most of the time, I identified more strongly with one of the male characters. Maybe because there were enough male characters that they had defining characteristics beyond male-ness.
Over the top? Well, possibly. But let me throw one more eighties cartoon into consideration: She-Ra. The He-Man spin-off was almost an inverse of the show that sparked it. The heroine was the rebel leader, not the daughter of the reigning king. She even started out evil, which is awesome. And most of the major characters were women, not men, landing Bow in the unusual position of being the token boy.
Did you know anyone whose favorite She-Ra character was Bow? I didn't.
[See previous remarks in re: my inability to natter on effectively on a blank screen]
And today's is Day 6: Find a redeeming quality in a female character you dislike.
I started trying to come up with that female character I dislike. I've been surprised at how difficult I'm finding it.
I mean, there's Victoria, from due South. She's capable to the nth degree, smart, has gorgeous hair, and, well, evil. She breaks Fraser's heart, she shoots his dog wolf (and some people, whatever), and she nearly costs the Vecchios their house and Fraser his freedom. I'm not supposed to like her, am I? And I believe the point of this particular day's challenge is partly to rethink why I react negatively to certain characters.
I do tend to exaggerate in memory the characteristics I dislike in female characters. But I'm aware of the tendency, so I often avoid saying I HATE a character. I remember Frannie as flightier and even more Benton-crazed than she is... which means I'm repeatedly surprised while watching an episode to realize that hey, I like her in this one (and this one, oh! and this one). She follows her heart in so many other ways, besides her unrequited crush. And although I'm irritated that during the final seasons of due South Thatcher's ... thing with Fraser becomes something of a running joke, I don't actually dislike Thatcher herself. She's tough. She's holding her own in a world of men without being one of the guys. (I could use some lessons in finding that balance.)
... alright, so I don't hate the ladies of due South except the villainess. Who else might I hate?
Lirin, from Saiyuki? Well, kinda. But I'd hate her as much if she were a boy. (The voice might be at a more bearable pitch, though. I suppose that might help.) I dislike comic relief characters, and that's a good deal of her role until she becomes the MacGuffin. "Lirin is here!" - Lirin is always announcing her arrivals, talking big when she can't quite back it up, playing tagalong to her older, angstier brother. It's the overgrown kid behaviour that I can't stomache and not specifically feminine traits - she's a total tomboy with OMG!huge boobs. She's Goku's most obnoxious traits in a second body. But Lirin is also incredibly loyal and strong - even if she's not on par with the other main characters - and I have to admit, she's doing remarkably well in a truly screwed up family.
So, I dislike her, but not necessarily for a specifically female reason. Okay, so closing in on a feminine-coded female character whom I dislike, then.
In my Gundam Wing lurker days, I hated Relena. Queen Bee of her private school with the concomitant inflated sense of self-importance, spoiled brat, and honestly kinda weird... but then she matures so much over the course of the series that I started qualifying my hate with "at the beginning of the series, but...." And then someone pointed out on a ML that she is the only teen character acting her/his age in the series. And I thought, yes! That explains so much! Relena grows up quickly, takes on huge amounts of responsibility, and becomes something of a moral compass. And while her early behaviour still annoys me... I am more upset by the fanfiction that reduces her to caricature to get her out of the way of the slash OTP.
...
Ultimately, I don't think enough female characters make a strong impression on me - good or bad - outside of a select few shows. And I don't think that's because I'm a slasher, since that's true of my pre-discovering-slash pop culture memories - if any causal relationship exists, I expect it runs the other direction.
You see, I grew up on a lot of shows which were adventures about a bunch of guys... and a girl. Just the one recurring girl. And as the only girl, it usually seemed she was meant to stand in for all girls. And that made her kind of bland, really.
There were the Smurfs. Smurfette. The girl Smurf was created in a lab by the show's villain Gargamel - as a trap. Of course, she became good instead thanks to Papa Smurf. And, well... Here, let me quote the official website: She's one of a kind, full of feminine grace and frivolous. She can also be very much a woman, playing with the feelings of her sweethearts. Oh, please, can I be just like her? /sarcasm. Seriously, though. Being a girl was her defining characteristic: she wasn't Brainy or Handy or Jokey or even Grouchy. She was -ette.
He-Man. Teela. She should be cool. I mean, she's a woman warrior and the unwitting successor to Grayskull... who consistently fails to recognize He-Man. Well, the loincloth is distracting. And I know, I know, his secret identity worked for no real reason on everyone, but I remember her looking like an idiot for chastising 'Prince Adam' more than most.
Thundercats. Cheetara. Eh. She's fast. She has Goku's nyoibo an expandable bo for pole vaulting. I never much liked her, though at least she didn't end up playing damsel in distress more than the guys. (I'm ignoring WilyKit or WilyKat until she goes away. She's not a girl; she's half of a unit.)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Boy turtles. Male mentor. Mostly male baddies. And April O'Neil, intrepid girl reporter. April was a decent character in many ways - curious, brave, clever. But utterly lacking in ninjitsu in a martial arts show.
I'm sure I could remember more if I worked at it. There were adventure cartoons that were exceptions (I particularly liked Dungeons and Dragons). And even in the shows I listed, I vaguely remember a couple other women, though they were generally filling in as oracular or mother figures. But most of the time, if I wanted adventures, I was going to be watching a bunch of guys and a token girl. And most of the time, I identified more strongly with one of the male characters. Maybe because there were enough male characters that they had defining characteristics beyond male-ness.
Over the top? Well, possibly. But let me throw one more eighties cartoon into consideration: She-Ra. The He-Man spin-off was almost an inverse of the show that sparked it. The heroine was the rebel leader, not the daughter of the reigning king. She even started out evil, which is awesome. And most of the major characters were women, not men, landing Bow in the unusual position of being the token boy.
Did you know anyone whose favorite She-Ra character was Bow? I didn't.