SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO THE NEXT DOCTOR'S GOING TO BE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
So the new Doctor aka the actor who's playing the 13th Doctor has been announced two hours ago. And I really should say actress because yes, it is a woman. Jodie Whittaker is our new Doctor.
Now I, personally, couldn't be happier about that. Apart from having a strong and popular character like the Doctor being the same gender as me, the lead of the oldest Sci-Fi show in the world be the same bloody gender as me (which feels pretty good tbh), to me it just makes a lot of sense.
I mean, we are talking about an alien race that regenerates into completely random new forms, an alien race that can regenerate into literally everything - at this point I am kind of wondering why it never struck me as weird that even with those endless possibilities the Doctor has always been a white male. Thus, I was rooting for number 13 to be anything but a white male - a white woman, a man of colour or even a woman of colour (now wouldn't that be just extraordinary????), I'd love all of those, just give me a break from the same type all over again.
And here we are. Female Doctor. And with it, the backlash. Of bloody course.
Now I already explained why I think a female Doctor is a great idea. But I think I should also explain why I think it is definitely not a bad idea. Sounds like the same thing? Just wait...
Many people have voiced how they think that a female Doctor would change everything and it would not be the Doctor anymore. Personally, I don't think it would change anything about the character. Here's the thing: character traits rarely if ever are gender specific. I can't think of a character trait any of the former Doctors had that was inherently male. Jesus, I can't think of a character trait that I have that is in any way tied to me being a woman. I am actually pretty certain that I'd be the exact same person I am now if I was a man. Except maybe from me being socialized as a female and experiences I have made that are completely tied to be being female (as in, experiencing misogyny). Now we have been shown repeatedly that timelords don't seem to give two shits about gender. Not that they don't have gender or don't acknowledge it, they do understand the concept, but they just don't really make a fuss about it - mostly because, given female and male representations are a possibility for regenerations, it can be assumed that all time lords are inherently non-binary. So why would the Doctors behaviour and personaility change more than it usually does with this regeneration? She couldn't be socialized as a female because gender binary socialization isn't a thing on Gallifrey and the Doctor hasn't been a woman before (as far as we know). The only thing I can imagine actually changing is the reactions she gets from others. She could not be taken as seriously, she could experience all the misogyny a human woman faces, I guess more in episodes set in the past than in the future because if there's one thing Doctor Who has shown us then it is that the future and aliens are a lot more progressive, really. But I don't think her core characteristics change at all just because now she has a vagina. If she has a vagina, because I am not quite sure how similar human and timelord reproductve organs are. For all we'd know, we could see the same we see on a Barbie/Ken doll when a timelord ever pulls down their pants (and I bet that'll never happen, it's still a family show after all, for gods sake).
In general, I'd say wether or not a female Doctor works is down to the writers and wether or not they make it work. It is down to their ability to write a female character just as multifaceted as they write their males. But if it doesn't work out, I know who I am definitely not blaming: Jodie Whittaker. So let's just wait and see what they make of it. For now, all we have is a new face as always.
Edit: My friend Ryan wrote this amazing piece that you should definitely check out!
No comments:
Post a Comment