Gender and Race: 3 Things the new Who has got wrong, and 3 it's got right
As we pause to catch our breath between seasons, I wanted to jot a few notes about the new Who's record on race and gender. As with any TV show past or present, it's a mixed bag of "tick vg" and "must do better".
Gender and Race: 3 Things the New Who has got wrong
1. The Chino-planet of Shan Shen, which seems to have sprung fully formed from a 1940s adventure flick, complete with treacherous Dragon Lady. The hell?
2. Nagging mothers-in-law. Doubly irksome in the case of Francine Jones, who resembles the "Sapphire" stereotype of the shrewish, emasculating Black woman.
3. Proportional representation. Britain's non-White population is roughly 50% South Asian (that is, from an Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or similar background) and 25% Black. In Doctor Who, roughly 80% of all COC are Black, but only 12% are Asian. (My guess? This casting has the US market in mind. But if that's the case, where are the East Asian COC? ... other than on Shan Shen, obvs.)1
Gender and Race: 3 Things the New Who has got right
1. Major non-White characters who survive and prosper. Mickey starts as a buffoon, but almost immediately blossoms into ordinary-person-turned-hero (as is the Doctor Who way) and is invited aboard the TARDIS; ends up as kickass Torchwood agent. Martha pretty much starts as an ordinary-person-turned-hero and ends up saving the world; ends up as kickass UNIT operative.
2. Proportional representation. Britain's total population is about 8% non-White. The supporting cast in Doctor Who (omitting companions) is about 12.6% non-White. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think Who contrasts with other British-made programmes in having more roles, more important roles, and less stereotypical roles for non-White actors.)2
3. Strong and glamorous women past their twenties. TV and movies are not exactly crowded with women who are both attractive and sexy and anywhere near my age... but Doctor Who is. Powerful women, too. Compare the ages of the actresses in any of your other favourite shows.
Some possible ways forward for the show, then: keep the strong older women, but watch out for the nagging mum-in-law, and try to keep them alive more often. MOAR Desis. And let us never again visit a planet like Shan Shen. :)
This is not an exhaustive list, and I haven't considered Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures. I may be a gnarled old feminist, but I'm a newbie at anti-racism: your comments (and your own lists) gratefully received.
1 Two caveats: firstly, an increasing number of Britons identify as Mixed Race, which I think would increase the proportion of people a TV viewer would pick as Black, though without passing the proportion of Desis. The stats on Britain's population date from 2001; they're available as a PDF. Secondly, I haven't updated my census of Who to take S4 into account yet.
2 Cf the 2001 report Top Ten TV, which found that non-White Britons were underrepresented and sidelined in British-made shows.
Gender and Race: 3 Things the New Who has got wrong
1. The Chino-planet of Shan Shen, which seems to have sprung fully formed from a 1940s adventure flick, complete with treacherous Dragon Lady. The hell?
2. Nagging mothers-in-law. Doubly irksome in the case of Francine Jones, who resembles the "Sapphire" stereotype of the shrewish, emasculating Black woman.
3. Proportional representation. Britain's non-White population is roughly 50% South Asian (that is, from an Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or similar background) and 25% Black. In Doctor Who, roughly 80% of all COC are Black, but only 12% are Asian. (My guess? This casting has the US market in mind. But if that's the case, where are the East Asian COC? ... other than on Shan Shen, obvs.)1
Gender and Race: 3 Things the New Who has got right
1. Major non-White characters who survive and prosper. Mickey starts as a buffoon, but almost immediately blossoms into ordinary-person-turned-hero (as is the Doctor Who way) and is invited aboard the TARDIS; ends up as kickass Torchwood agent. Martha pretty much starts as an ordinary-person-turned-hero and ends up saving the world; ends up as kickass UNIT operative.
2. Proportional representation. Britain's total population is about 8% non-White. The supporting cast in Doctor Who (omitting companions) is about 12.6% non-White. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think Who contrasts with other British-made programmes in having more roles, more important roles, and less stereotypical roles for non-White actors.)2
3. Strong and glamorous women past their twenties. TV and movies are not exactly crowded with women who are both attractive and sexy and anywhere near my age... but Doctor Who is. Powerful women, too. Compare the ages of the actresses in any of your other favourite shows.
Some possible ways forward for the show, then: keep the strong older women, but watch out for the nagging mum-in-law, and try to keep them alive more often. MOAR Desis. And let us never again visit a planet like Shan Shen. :)
This is not an exhaustive list, and I haven't considered Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures. I may be a gnarled old feminist, but I'm a newbie at anti-racism: your comments (and your own lists) gratefully received.
1 Two caveats: firstly, an increasing number of Britons identify as Mixed Race, which I think would increase the proportion of people a TV viewer would pick as Black, though without passing the proportion of Desis. The stats on Britain's population date from 2001; they're available as a PDF. Secondly, I haven't updated my census of Who to take S4 into account yet.
2 Cf the 2001 report Top Ten TV, which found that non-White Britons were underrepresented and sidelined in British-made shows.