To be fair to whoever said it, and to vaguely recall a discussion I saw on LJ awhile ago, "bitch" to some people IS becoming gender-neutral. But yes, I don't like it when folks call anyone an "emasculating bitch" or "PMSing" because EVEN IN REAL LIFE they are usually used by people who have an overdeveloped sense of their own masculinity and importance. Think about it: would a woman ever call someone an emasculating bitch? Emasculating, of course, means that she somehow takes some power away from you, as a man? What power is this, and why do you have it, exactly?
And as much as I wasn't particularly taken by Ashe's character, I did think that she was perfectly in-character and acting very much like I'd expect anyone, male or female to act after going through what she did.
ha ha icon is funnyjpegasusJune 10 2007, 17:34:57 UTC
I have a hard time buying that the people who use "bitch" as an insult on everyone believe it's gender-neutral. When they use bitch on a woman, what it means is "angry, unreasonable, ice-queen, emasculating, generally unpleasant" and for some reason on guys it's "Angry, unreasonable, whiny, scared, un-masculine" ie: girl. So I'll believe it's not a gendered insult in the way that the don't ascribe the CALLING to one gender, but I will not believe that they are not referencing stereotypical un-desirable female traits when they call someone that.
Kiwi kind of covered above why I view "bitch" as an insult that reinforces stereotyped gender roles, so yeah. I'll just give her a big word.
And you've really hit the nail on the head about the sheer entitlement that accompanies these sorts of insults. It's grating and it's utterly baseless.
Color my mind blown. There are people out there who dislike Ashe because she's an emasculating bitch? That's precisely the reason why I like her so much! XD
Seriously, though, I think Ashe is the sort of person who's hard to warm up to and also the sort that some can never feel very sympathetic for because, well, she really is kind of a raging harpy at many points. She has her reasons and I find her pretty ridiculously entertaining (a leading woman who kicks ass without apologizing for it always will e for me!) but... I can see why people would dislike her. (Though oddly enough, the one time I tried to write her as an insane meglomaniac, people ended up loving her. Go figure
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I'm ridiculously fond of Ashe, but I can see why many people aren't -- I just can't see why their dislike of her has to be gendered. Dislike her because of the actions she takes, sure, but don't dislike her because you think that the actions she takes are inappropriate for a woman. That shit pisses me right off.
And the double standards are ridiculous and annoying, yes. When a male character does something, he's badass and cool and mysterious; a female character doing the same thing is an ice bitch or a harpy or a shrew. Gyaaaah. It's one of those "augh fandom WHY" moments for me, especially since fandom (or the sections of it that I frequent) is predominantly female.
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And as much as I wasn't particularly taken by Ashe's character, I did think that she was perfectly in-character and acting very much like I'd expect anyone, male or female to act after going through what she did.
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And you've really hit the nail on the head about the sheer entitlement that accompanies these sorts of insults. It's grating and it's utterly baseless.
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Seriously, though, I think Ashe is the sort of person who's hard to warm up to and also the sort that some can never feel very sympathetic for because, well, she really is kind of a raging harpy at many points. She has her reasons and I find her pretty ridiculously entertaining (a leading woman who kicks ass without apologizing for it always will e for me!) but... I can see why people would dislike her. (Though oddly enough, the one time I tried to write her as an insane meglomaniac, people ended up loving her. Go figure ( ... )
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I'm ridiculously fond of Ashe, but I can see why many people aren't -- I just can't see why their dislike of her has to be gendered. Dislike her because of the actions she takes, sure, but don't dislike her because you think that the actions she takes are inappropriate for a woman. That shit pisses me right off.
And the double standards are ridiculous and annoying, yes. When a male character does something, he's badass and cool and mysterious; a female character doing the same thing is an ice bitch or a harpy or a shrew. Gyaaaah. It's one of those "augh fandom WHY" moments for me, especially since fandom (or the sections of it that I frequent) is predominantly female.
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