Thoughts from a Cumberbitch

[pennswoods]

Below is the meta piece I wrote for Episode 8 of threepatch. I've copied it here in full below and for those who are on Tumblr, here's the original post.

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This is the last of three essays on the Cumberbitch Question featured in Episode 8 (What’s it Like in your Funny Little Brains?) of the Three Patch Podcast. In this

Comments

[ariadnechan]

I like your honesty and your point of view

[pennswoods]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I understand what you mean when you say your father can disarm you so easily but you fight on despite what he and other men say or do to you.

I too like the badness feeling of bitch. When men call women bitches, it can signal that they're afraid and threatened. It's nice not to be the one fearing for a change.

And I agree that Benedict's background and experiences with the word is going to be different. And as a man, he may need to be more careful about what words he uses to refer to women. I don't mind that he not use it, but I also am not afraid to disagree with his comment about it setting feminism back.

[junewilliams7]

To hear ‘bitch' used this way filled me with a sense of possibility and pleasure in my own potential strength and sexuality and autonomy. It became a word that made me aware of my strength and which I drew upon in the face of those who tried to deride or disempower me.

Yay, you!!!

[pennswoods]

Seriously, I feel this surge of energy in my when I hear it like this. It makes me laugh.

[daasgrrl]

I had a similar (private) chat with drinkingcocoa after her meta, so I'm just going to repeat most of it here.

I personally have always kind of adored the term 'Cumberbitch' - fandom reaction has made me feel a bit guilty over it, but the play on words is irresistible to me. Not just the name, the 'female' aspect of it, but the 'to be someone's bitch' connotations as well. It just works too well to pass up.

Reading your meta makes me feel less guilty about it, which I see as a good thing *g*

I don't think you were on my f-list when I took this straw poll, but the people who came out of the woodwork (weren't even on my f-list) just to call it 'heinous' quite surprised me and I haven't been quite game to use it in public since. Maybe I should...

http://daasgrrl.livejournal.com/130903.html

The fandom police do bother me, but I suppose I should just get over it.

[pennswoods]

Glad to hear this meta makes you feel less guilty. I wish there was less guilt in general in the fandom - this seems to come from shaming and policing each other. I also believe strongly that it's important to know where others are coming from when they same and do things and that our own personal experiences can lead to wrong assumptions (and shaming or policing of other fans).

I wasn't around for this straw poll and I almost have half a mind to do one of my own, but I think coming out with the above post would mean people wouldn't feel comfortable disagreeing with me.

The fandom police bother me too. Their methods remind me way too much of the ethical/religious policing of my youth.

[daasgrrl]

I think the thing that annoys me most (not from my f-list) is the "Benedict SAID so" argument, which just... Idk, I hope none of them read fanfic or look at porny art or read trashy Daily Mail articles, because I'm all of the above probably freak him out just as much. I think that yeah, I'm also a bit grumpy about being told what feminism is and isn't, whether it's true or not *g*

A poll from you would be interesting, even if it did show a certain amount of bias.

[sunnythirty3]

Just reporting in that I saw Benedict on two of my favourite shows this week, Top Gear and Graham Norton, and comes across as a very natural, self-effacing guy. And he was hilarious on Top Gear. Still haven't seen Sherlock. LOL. :D

[pennswoods]

Self-effacing is a brilliant word to describe him. I think a lot of his fans find this quality particularly endearing.