She's Really Badass But...

A very common complaint among the contemporary feminists with a penchant for popular culture and some level of geekery is that concerning the lack of strong female characters in the vast majority of TV shows and movies. In particular, the argument is often presented in the form of “there are female characters in shows and some of them are really badass but …” at which point character flaws and problems with the writing are pointed out. Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a typical example. While definitely being strong and empowered in her attempts to fight evil and be a somewhat normal teenager at the same time, Buffy’s character is often criticized as dependent on male guidance in the sense of the Watcher’s Council and the often troublesome nature of her sex life. A similar complaint is usually brought up in relation to Zoe Washburn from Firefly. While being calm, composed, competent, Zoe is criticized for relying on the captain of her ship as a male authority figure too much. Moreover, in the episode “Our Ms. Reynolds” she seems to be mocked for her lack of typically feminine virtues such as cooking and she seems to take this mockery rather personally. I have also recently come across some serious criticism of the way Irene Adler is depicted in BBC’s Sherlock. While I understand that she had indeed beaten Sherlock Holmes in the canon, the complaint about her being a sex worker and exhibiting emotions upon being defeated are clearly independent of the parallels between the show and the books and stems from a feminist analysis of the show. Relative to these and a variety of other examples I’d like to discuss the importance of female characters on film and television shows but also the possible problems with criticizing them in a seemingly feminist manner.

The importance of a fair representation of women in TV shows and movies is in some sense double. One part of the issue is the previously discussed idea of role models. Little girls watch TV and plan on growing up to be just like their favorite characters and if these characters are flawed or show women in a negative light then simple logic implies that the same little girls should not be exposed to them or perceive them as idols. On the other hand, the same process that seems to be roughly summed up by the idea of internalization happens for everyone else. The existence of a prominent female character that reflects poorly on women therefore modifies not only the women’s opinions of themselves in a negative way but also provides everyone else with a potential harmful idea of what women are like. Buffy or Zoe seeking guidance from male authority figures therefore impacts both the male and the female viewer in the sense that increases the chances of either of them naturally assuming to be fit for the position of the guidance-seeker and the guide, respectively.

The more interesting question seems to be that of how criticism of these characters should be handled given the psychological setup that is assumed to lead to their labeling as problematic. To be more specific, it seems important to consider whether the call for “real” strong or feminist female character can be as detrimental for the perception of women as the lack of these characters. It is kind of a given that a perfect feminist does not exist anywhere in the real world and it is hard to imagine what she (how come we never talk about male feminist characters in this context?) she would be like. The idea of what a ‘good’ or a ‘true’ feminist is like is rather vague and seems to be subjective more than anything. The same seems to apply to creating a ‘real’ strong female character. Real women tend to be plagued by all sorts of flaws and all sorts of doubts. A loud angry feminist might chose to spend hours in the kitchen cooking for her partner the same way a cheerleader might prove to be an expert on Judith Butler. Real women are complex and generally not even close to avoiding behaviors that could attract criticisms aimed in some variety of feminist theory. The problem with excessive criticism of female characters that do somewhat fit the bill of strong, independent or whatever else you think a good female character should be is exactly in the fact that these characters often mimic real women in ways that might seem too realistic or borderline uncomfortable. It is a peculiar twist to think about the characteristics of women that are critiqued through the critiques of fictional female characters. If young women and girls can be influenced by their fictional idols then they can definitely be influenced by the emphasizing of the flaws of these same idols. It seems rather silly to set up the stage for some variety of a stereotype threat for aspiring ‘real’ strong women or feminists.

I was personally somewhat relieved by the fact that Irene Adler did not end up being just a cold blooded, scheming dominatrix but managed to show some emotions. Considering the BBC series as an independent work or fiction, her character didn’t seem to get treated any more cruelly than that of anyone else Sherlock interacts with in the currently completed six episodes of the show. Similar things can be said of Buffy and Zoe. It seems implausible that they would break all power structures and riot instead of fighting their battles just because their superiors are men. It is problematic that there aren’t many women in traditional roles of power in either show bute neither Buffy nor Zoe seem to be such harmful role models as it sometime seems.

Finally, I want to stress that I am not trying to argue against recognizing hints of gender inequality in popular culture and various fandoms but voicing these concerns needs to be done in a way that does not reflect negatively on the fact that real women and real feminists are not perfect. At the end of the day most of these heroines get around attaining a happy ending and it seems great to know that one’s idols can make it there while sometimes suffering imperfection.

Stay tuned for a guest post on girls in gaming and the recent controversy about League of Legends and the all-female Team Siren.