Women. Pfffft. Really! This is just too much, you give them the vote and what’s next? Only the bloody lead in a much loved BBC sci-fi show for children. Thank goodness men and Katie Hopkins are taking a stand because I for one do not want children growing up thinking TV aliens can be women.
Of course I was rooting for Susan Calman, who has been waging a campaign for the role of the Doctor for some time now. But, if it can’t be Susan I am still happy that the BBC have cast a woman as the 13th Doctor. I am alarmed at the negative response that so many people seem to have had about a woman portraying a fictional character.
Unless of course Doctor Who took a real turn for the blue since I last watched it and the three-hearted alien replaced the Sonic Screwdriver with some kind of sonic penis device I don’t see why the sex of who plays the Doctor matters.*
Christopher Stevens writes in the Daily Mail that this casting is “another politically correct blow to a TV show that was once simply a children’s favourite.” He also takes umbrage at Jodie Whittaker’s blonde hair, “the new protector of the galaxy dyes her hair, apparently.” A peculiar thing to pick up on, that would only really make sense if the previous 13 Doctors had travelled the stars sporting unkempt dreadlocks down to their knees because they had no time for haircuts.
Jodie herself has had to request that people not be afraid of her gender. Who knew the new big monster on Doctor Who would be gender?! Why am I talking about a children’s sci-fi show on a women’s comedy site? Because this is demonstrative of how afraid some men seem to be of women stepping into their sphere, comedy being one. When people argue that we have achieved gender equality, I now have yet another subject (you know, other than the pay gap) to cite.
Scrabbling for a solid argument comments and articles have sprung up lamenting the decline of male heroes – in this Daily Mail article Christopher Stevens argues that a departure from the traditional male lead with female sidekick narrows storyline options. How? I don’t know. I don’t think a female lead necessitates a didactic plot about gender roles. Or rather it wouldn’t if there wasn’t uproar every time a woman did something for the first time that society had originally marked down as masculine.
More women and people of colour need to be given these roles in order to reflect society. I don’t know what some men are afraid of when it comes to diversity in entertainment, especially when it comes to a children’s show because, well, it’s not real! But my biggest fear is that they know this much is true: if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. And make no mistake, we’re coming for you.
*I am aware they did replace the sonic screwdriver with sunglasses, which will no doubt be replaced. WITH A HANDBAG or sonic tampon or something I shouldn’t wonder.
