Hello, Sweetie! Today’s topic, requested by beelovespuppycat, is Doctor Who, sexism, and my thoughts on the topic. I hope you all are having a DOOWEEOOOOO day. I don’t even know what that means but I hope you’re having that kind of day. (Note: this essay may trigger you if you don’t like reading about feminism, sexism, or Moffat.)
All right then. Let me just state this: I’m sorry, but I’m not very passionate about this subject. I’m very neutral on it and don’t know very much about it; however, I will try to state and support my thoughts on the subject as clearly as possible. Forgive me if I miss a thing or two.
So first off is the question of whether I believe there even is sexism in Doctor Who. My answer is yes; I do believe that Moffat is sexist and that his writing in this show portrays that very well. One obvious example is Amy; she has the potential to do so much yet she depends on everyone else. Though yes, there are some people like this, every female character fits in with some kind of trope. Amy is lovable and one of my favorite characters, but there’s literally nothing she’s done without someone else to support her or to be by her side. I can’t think of one thing about her life that doesn’t include the Doctor or Rory. She’s “strong” and likable, but she isn’t independent. She’s portrayed as useless when she’s pregnant, which is not true. My mother did all the work when she was pregnant with me and my father didn’t really help out much with anything. There are many things that should’ve shaped Amy as a person, but we only see these things in relation to the Doctor and/or Rory.
There’s also the case of River. River had so much potential but ends up being only a (very sassy) plot device. Yes, there are many things about her that makes her a great woman, but nothing about her is truly explored. Sometimes, it feels as if she was only put there to wreck havoc/help the Doctor/be the Doctor’s wife. So yes, while she can be amazing at times and I absolutely love River, the way she was written is so very flawed.
However, let me also state that not all the women on Doctor Who are like this. Martha, Rose, and Donna were all not only “strong” female characters (notice how I put “strong” in quotations; this is because apparently this is all females can be, which is stupid, because females can be so much more), but they are characters with background stories and realistic flaws. We learn to love them and they are awesome and adorable and freaking epic at the same time. Though sometimes the way they’re portrayed can be a bit off, at least they were more than females that fit into tropes. They were characters that we knew, bonded with, loved, and understood. They were independent, strong-willed, funny, sassy, intelligent, and so much more.
So, yes. There is sexism in Doctor Who under Moffat’s writing. He isn’t a horrendous writer or a storyteller, but he is sexist and a misogynist and I don’t really like him. However, the show and its story is still valuable and beautiful to me.
The next question: how can we fix this? One, we could probably get a different writer, or at least, another writer. An added bonus would be that the next writer, or maybe Moffat’s writing partner if it came down to that, is female. We haven’t had a female writer for the show since 2008, which is a huge problem within itself. We won’t be able to have any realistically flawed yet amazing female characters until another writer helps create the show. If they’re female, this could potentially help a lot (some female writers stick to tropes, as well; remember that not all female writers understand or believe that sexism is realistic in TV shows in this “modern era”). There are male writers out there, such as George R.R. Martin and Joss Whedon (I don’t know if they should write for Doctor Who, they’re just examples), who do a brilliant job writing and portraying women as more than society makes us out to be.
Another way to fix it? Let the actresses have more say how their character acts and should be portrayed. Sometimes writers only include tropes, but it’s the actors that really create their characters. Some are more limited than others. If actresses were able to create and mold their character’s flaws more and show how their character grows, then perhaps we could have more realistic women. I know sometimes this can’t happen, but it’s a simple thought.
A bit off, but I need to state a very important point, though: while I would like the Doctor to be of a different race, have ginger hair, etc., it is impossible for the Doctor to change sex. It has been established in Classic Who that Time Lords are born as either male or female and cannot regenerate into the opposite sex. I know RTD was thinking of getting a female doctor, but I believe that’d go against canon. So while it’d be great to have a female Doctor (and we can totally have on in an AU), it wouldn’t be canon. So while I’d love a female Doctor, I honestly don’t think it’s possible unless they explain it somehow, but I don’t think they can find a way without contradicting what has already been stated.
I view myself as a feminist (or a growing one, as I’m still learning new things each and every day), but I’m at a rather neutral stance here. Yes, there is sexism in Doctor Who. Yes, the female characters could be written much better. No, I’m not a huge fan of Moffat at all. But does that make me detest the show? No! I’ve seen so many posts that say “I’m going to stop watching if Moffat makes this character —” or “I hate the show now because the females are all horribly written.” While true, I still love the show. I love the story and the wibbly wobbly timey wimey. I don’t know what this makes me in the minds of others. I don’t know what you all think about me right now, and I don’t know if you guys understand what I’m trying to say. But I hope you all understand that I do care about making the show less sexist despite the fact that I’m not all that passionate about the subject.
That’s my stand on things.
Thank you for reading this all! I’m not sure, but this seems like my longest essay so far. If you got here to the end, thank you! If you spot any grammar mistakes, please alert me to it. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say and please message me with any questions you may have. I know I’ve said a lot of things that don’t make sense or sound weird, so please ask me if you’re confused.
Don’t forget to be awesome!
~Dom
P.S. I’m sorry I didn’t really talk about Clara. I agree that she’s a step in the right direction to resolve this issue, but because I haven’t really been able to assess her character in the show yet, I can’t really say much. Whenever I did try to type about her, it just never came out right. Forgive me.
“Imagine you were dying. Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the Devil himself.”
![“In the shadow of your hearts” - Doctor Who [x]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/21162062046dce26b35f57e63e8a5c36/tumblr_msay3uJFYj1sff208o1_1280.jpg "“In the shadow of your hearts” - Doctor Who [x]")
