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therightfangirl2012-07-09 10:52 pm
brendala.livejournal.com) wrote in therightfangirl2012-07-09 10:52 pm
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WTF review of 'Brave': EW article says "Girl not wanting arranged marriage=LESBIAN"
A friend of mine pointed me to this article. It's Entertainment Weekly's review of Pixar's Brave. Well, it's not a "review" so much as a manifesto declaring that the main character is a lesbian because....she refused an arranged marriage and disliked wearing gowns that limited her mobility.
I think it's pretty telling that films starring single females who remain single for the entire film are so rare that, the moment a big studio makes one, everyone (including paid professional reviewers) goes nuts and assumes the girl MUST be gay or sexually confused or whatever.
I hate the implication that a girl who doesn't immediately want to date/marry once they hit the proper age must have some deep-rooted issue with her sexuality. Heck, Merida herself never said "I don't want to get married to a man EVER". She just hated the idea of being given out like a carnival prize to some bozo she's never met!
This article reminds me of how Velma from Scooby Doo (one of my favorite fictional characters, btw) has been pegged as a butch lesbian for ages simply because she's "ugly" (translation: she doesn't fit the Barbie mold that 90% of female protagonists fit into) and didn't act like a typical "token girl" character. Even as a kid, I never got why people pegged her as a tomboy (what self respecting "tomboy" would prance about in a red mini-skirt?). Her overall demeanor and behavior was rarely any less feminine than Daphne's. I guess it's because she had non-girl interests like....being smart. :P
While I sympathize with gay folks who want to find a character they can relate to; it still bugs the crap out of me when dumb stereotypes are used to prove that a character is a gay icon (even if their canon has established them as straight).
I think it's pretty telling that films starring single females who remain single for the entire film are so rare that, the moment a big studio makes one, everyone (including paid professional reviewers) goes nuts and assumes the girl MUST be gay or sexually confused or whatever.
I hate the implication that a girl who doesn't immediately want to date/marry once they hit the proper age must have some deep-rooted issue with her sexuality. Heck, Merida herself never said "I don't want to get married to a man EVER". She just hated the idea of being given out like a carnival prize to some bozo she's never met!
This article reminds me of how Velma from Scooby Doo (one of my favorite fictional characters, btw) has been pegged as a butch lesbian for ages simply because she's "ugly" (translation: she doesn't fit the Barbie mold that 90% of female protagonists fit into) and didn't act like a typical "token girl" character. Even as a kid, I never got why people pegged her as a tomboy (what self respecting "tomboy" would prance about in a red mini-skirt?). Her overall demeanor and behavior was rarely any less feminine than Daphne's. I guess it's because she had non-girl interests like....being smart. :P
While I sympathize with gay folks who want to find a character they can relate to; it still bugs the crap out of me when dumb stereotypes are used to prove that a character is a gay icon (even if their canon has established them as straight).
no subject
I was also a huge tomboy through grade school and middle school, although if there were any assumptions made about me then I never heard them. Avatar came out when I was in eighth grade, so I almost had great role models when I was a kid.