distaff counterparts
Jan. 30th, 2010 10:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mustinvestigateThere's a new Nostalgia Chick up this morning called The Smurfette Principle, which has had the husband and me debating modern token chicks and chickification. He's hopeful that the mass brain-dump that is the internet, particularly youtube and the like, is establishing a lot more variety as the 'default' of both demographic groups and just 'human.' I'm a bit less hopeful, as it seems those who really want attention (and get the tap to join the ‘legitimate’ media family) usually revert to shrill, retrograde stereotypes of whatever demographic they fit.
Or, actually, I’m not as grim as all that. Like, I have fanatical love for the canon Sally and Laurie, because they’re legitimate crimefighters, entertaining, attractive in a sort of big-strong-manly-faced way, and there’s the whole meta where what limits or ruins their lives is the different limiting ruining definitions of ‘woman’ their two generations face. And I don’t care that probably wasn’t so much what was intended as just how two male writers might unthinkingly box up two female characters. (See several previous tealdeer natterings on the subject.)
Then there’s the fanon Jupiter/Juspeczyks, which is generally a whole different and even more awesome thing. Especially when I think back to what was available when I first discovered fanfic as a young ‘un (mostly on geocities and surrounded by animated gifs) – and the Harlequin treatments commonly given to Scully or Buffy or Dr Crusher in order to make them fit fannish plots that didn’t have to get approval of executives and advertisers…yeah. I’m actually getting quite hopeful for the future of fictional women, if these are our wish-fulfilment versions.
Or, actually, I’m not as grim as all that. Like, I have fanatical love for the canon Sally and Laurie, because they’re legitimate crimefighters, entertaining, attractive in a sort of big-strong-manly-faced way, and there’s the whole meta where what limits or ruins their lives is the different limiting ruining definitions of ‘woman’ their two generations face. And I don’t care that probably wasn’t so much what was intended as just how two male writers might unthinkingly box up two female characters. (See several previous tealdeer natterings on the subject.)
Then there’s the fanon Jupiter/Juspeczyks, which is generally a whole different and even more awesome thing. Especially when I think back to what was available when I first discovered fanfic as a young ‘un (mostly on geocities and surrounded by animated gifs) – and the Harlequin treatments commonly given to Scully or Buffy or Dr Crusher in order to make them fit fannish plots that didn’t have to get approval of executives and advertisers…yeah. I’m actually getting quite hopeful for the future of fictional women, if these are our wish-fulfilment versions.
