Sexist? Y/N/?

[imaginarycircus]

I still get the rss feed for whedonesque even though the comments over there are veering into ever more uncomfortable places. Note: I downloaded Dr. Horrible but haven't seen it yet. Please don't spoil me! But I gather there has been fandom upset over it

Comments

[lilaia]

Whedon has a thing for fragile sweet young women - Willow, River Tam, and I think he applied the same treatment to Kitty Pryde of X-Men but my X-Men historical knowledge is weak. It would be nice if he'd try to branch out some but he did throw one in Dr Horrible. I thought it was rather funny and my feminist alarm bells didn't go off but it could have been better.

[imaginarycircus]

Well, he also has women who kick serious ass and are smart. But I haven't seen Dr. Horrible yet.

But am I reading the comment by a poster the wrong way? It just came off as offensive to me.

[lilaia]

Sorry I misunderstood what you meant there. Yeah that comment is pretty dumb, kind of "girlz can play too!", as if Whedon's works don't have tons and tons of female fans already. Maybe it's also that the poster seems to imply that the existing female fans aren't girlie types in a Sex and the City demographic. Maybe we're just trolls or something.

[imaginarycircus]

I get my hackles up when I hear women talking about things women like as if it is all just frivolous nonsense *giggle*! *GAG*

[bradamant]

It doesn't seem sexist to me. I don't subscribe to it, but people forward it to me occasionally, and it *does* seem very girly to me. It's not like reading DailyCandy is compulsory for women or anything.

[imaginarycircus]

I know. Something just hit a nerve. I think it is the way that women talk about things that women like as if they are of course frivolous nonsense. I don't read Daily Candy anymore, but there is often stuff about protests and gatherings and new restaurants. It isn't all purses and facials. Or maybe it is these days.

[patchfire]

Not oversensitive. Of course, I just read this last night so I am in more of a mood to 'notice.'

[imaginarycircus]

Right. I am noticing more and more about the way women talk about themselves and feminine interests to men.

[imaginarycircus]

I like pink shoes! I dunno I guess I am just weird today and off. I find women often talk about stuff girls like in a dismissive way as if pink shoes are not a worthy topic of conversation.

You know it is part of a double standard I was talking about with someone else yesterday. She was saying her little sister will read books with strong female characters and male characters. But boys (especially 12 year olds) won't read books with strong female characters because they are for girls. O_o

[ext_100315]

Thank you for identifying why I get myself into trouble by dismissing chick-lit to my straight friends! (I've been trying to figure that out, actually.) I mainly do consider books about"family and children and mother/daughter relationships" ... Not frivolous, exactly, but boring. Beneath my notice most of the time.

I suppose that could be construed as a dismissal; most of the time it is. Not that such things aren't a valid interest, but A) they're not mine, and B) the content of such novels never seems particularly fresh or new.

I suppose I should just keep my mouth shut and dismiss the junk from inside my own head.

[ext_100315]

I wouldn't say it's particularly unfeminist of the writer at Whedonesque. Many blogs/sites cater to a specific demographic with information on shopping, beauty, travel, restaurants, and entertainment - that's bread and butter. I would say the analogy to Seaworld dolphins going after Mackeral is unflattering, but not derogatory.

[imaginarycircus]

I guess it bothered me because it is a woman talking in a dismissive way about things women like, things she likes to a primarily male audience and that pisses me off.