IBARW Icons!

[nyssa23]

Not much, but I made them myself: four icons for IBARW. Zoe's a general IBARW icon, and the other three are some of my (least) favorite media PoC stereotypes: the Asian Nerd (Toshiko Sato from Torchwood), the Black Sidekick (Martha Jones from Doctor Who), and the Sexy Latina (Inara from Firefly.) Feel free to use. Crediting me would be greatly

Comments

[unrealfred]

I would not have thought of any of those characters as stereotypes, with the only slightly possible exception of Toshiko -- although even there, I think with the almost complete reboot of the character in the second season, she became a much more positive and strong character, far less "the nerd" and defined through only that. The others are very strong, smart and capable women. Martha maybe spends too much time mooning over the Doctor, but it's clear that what he likes about her is just how strong, smart and capable she is. And considering that Rebecca Gayheart was originally cast in the role of Inara, I think it was "sexy" more than "sexy Latina" that Whedon was going for there.

Or is that the point -- that these characters flip the stereotypes on their head?

[nyssa23]

Preliminary note: I'm totally behind on my Doctor Who & Torchwood watching. I haven't gotten to the end of DW season 3 yet and just finished TW season 1.

Your mileage, of course, may vary on how stereotyped the characters are. *shrug* I do think that these characters could have been better-written and could certainly have fallen more into stereotypes without the abilities of the actresses playing them. (I kind of hate how Martha's almost set up to fail. After the Doctor loses his beloved Rose, how could she possibly measure up? And that whole maid thing, don't get me started...)

But I realize I'm much more touchy about that sort of thing than a lot of folks. ^_^

[unrealfred]

I'll keep the conversation spoiler-free, then. (I will say that Torchwood season 2 is like a completely different show, for the better. I didn't much like S1.)

I think there are definitely issues with how Martha was sometimes written, but I don't think much if any of that has to do with her being a PoC. She's distinctly not the "black sidekick," but rather a new companion who happens to be black. If she doesn't measure up to Rose -- and, parenthetically, let me add that I loved Freema Ageyman considerably more than Billie Piper, who I thought had a much better chemistry with Eccleston than with Tennant -- it's only occasionally in the Doctor's eyes, and only because Russell T. Davies decided unwisely to go the unrequited love route again. I (and I suspect a fair percentage of DW's audience) see Martha as a smart, funny, capable, independent woman first. And, oh yeah, she happens to be black