Ugh finally someone coming to the defense of Merida because of this stupid article. My friends and I saw Brave the day this article appeared, and one of them had read it, but at the end of the movie she was like "wtf was that article about I don't even". She and I vary on the political spectrum and even she didn't see it.
What gets me is that Merida is me. Growing up, I had very, very few female characters to look at and respect as role models, almost none. Anime gals tended to be better but they always defaulted in some way to being too girly for me. (Sora from Digimon was a favorite of mine - a tomboy who didn't follow her mother's wishes but still had the crest of Love but still wasn't stereotypically "girly".) It's sad that it wasn't until a few years ago when I see things made for kids now, with female protagonists who I wish existed when I was a kid.
I know there's a thing about making girls all ass-kicky which is reinforcing the stereotype that you need "manly" traits to be considered "strong" and therefore you still have a sexist character, but you know what? I want to see more lady ass-kickers who can take charge and lead a group. We call those traits "manly" because they've historically been used by males, but that doesn't make leadership an inherently manly thing. I get bothered by people who say a woman is conforming to men's standards by being a badass - isn't that you putting a limit on what a woman can be?
The Avatar universe is renown for having some of the best female characters around. It and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic are showing that girls come in all varieties and you should never be called out for being something a bit different. Toph and Rainbow Dash are oftentimes pegged as being lesbians (the latter more than the former, especially due to the color scheme, but have you HEARD of Lisa Frank?), while they're characters I pretty much identify with the most. Strong, kind of a jerk, but still a good heart - that's me. I wish they were around when I was growing up, where instead I was told to stop playing DBZ with my Barbie dolls.
I know we're trying to be all like, accepting and open and stuff, but at the risk of sounding like an insensitive ass, I'm a bit tired of it. Why is a girl not allowed to ride on a horse and shoot arrows and not want to wear a confining dress and not want to be forced into an arrange marriage - or be smart and not "attractive" - and so therefore MUST be a lesbian? Like, what? By forcing these interpretations, you're alienating the people who finally have someone they can look up to. I'm not saying you can't have a gay role model if you're straight, but on the same token, it's a limiting factor. "They're just like me except not, so I guess they're really not like me". Not all the time, but too often, I'm told by media that I can't have a male love interest in my life if I kick some asses and take charge along the way. And I'm really tired of it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-07-10 03:15 pm (UTC)What gets me is that Merida is me. Growing up, I had very, very few female characters to look at and respect as role models, almost none. Anime gals tended to be better but they always defaulted in some way to being too girly for me. (Sora from Digimon was a favorite of mine - a tomboy who didn't follow her mother's wishes but still had the crest of Love but still wasn't stereotypically "girly".) It's sad that it wasn't until a few years ago when I see things made for kids now, with female protagonists who I wish existed when I was a kid.
I know there's a thing about making girls all ass-kicky which is reinforcing the stereotype that you need "manly" traits to be considered "strong" and therefore you still have a sexist character, but you know what? I want to see more lady ass-kickers who can take charge and lead a group. We call those traits "manly" because they've historically been used by males, but that doesn't make leadership an inherently manly thing. I get bothered by people who say a woman is conforming to men's standards by being a badass - isn't that you putting a limit on what a woman can be?
The Avatar universe is renown for having some of the best female characters around. It and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic are showing that girls come in all varieties and you should never be called out for being something a bit different. Toph and Rainbow Dash are oftentimes pegged as being lesbians (the latter more than the former, especially due to the color scheme, but have you HEARD of Lisa Frank?), while they're characters I pretty much identify with the most. Strong, kind of a jerk, but still a good heart - that's me. I wish they were around when I was growing up, where instead I was told to stop playing DBZ with my Barbie dolls.
I know we're trying to be all like, accepting and open and stuff, but at the risk of sounding like an insensitive ass, I'm a bit tired of it. Why is a girl not allowed to ride on a horse and shoot arrows and not want to wear a confining dress and not want to be forced into an arrange marriage - or be smart and not "attractive" - and so therefore MUST be a lesbian? Like, what? By forcing these interpretations, you're alienating the people who finally have someone they can look up to. I'm not saying you can't have a gay role model if you're straight, but on the same token, it's a limiting factor. "They're just like me except not, so I guess they're really not like me". Not all the time, but too often, I'm told by media that I can't have a male love interest in my life if I kick some asses and take charge along the way. And I'm really tired of it.