WTF review of 'Brave': EW article says "Girl not wanting arranged marriage=LESBIAN"

[brendala.livejournal.com]

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).

Comments

[kataoi.livejournal.com]

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.

[oronoda.livejournal.com]

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.

This! Okay, so rainbows mean lesbian? I guess Punky Brewster must have been a lesbian too along with everyone in the 80's.

As for Toph, it is pretty clear that she has a crush on Sokka.

As I said before, there is nothing wrong with thinking "I like the idea of..." but when you start to think it is true in canon, that is when there are problems.

Also, I really wish we had MLP as a kid. Maybe I wouldn't have run into as many bitch cliches as I did.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

As for Toph, it is pretty clear that she has a crush on Sokka.

Plus, she had a kid. So she must have been with a guy at some point. ~_^

[animenutcase.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, her crush on Sokka doesn't necessarily prove anything, but it does suggest that yes, Toph does have an interest in men.

Don't be silly. The character chart shows Toph as Lin's only parent. She clearly earthbended her into existence.

Having MLP when I was little. GOD, YES.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Don't be silly. The character chart shows Toph as Lin's only parent. She clearly earthbended her into existence.

So Lin has the same origin as Wonder Woman?
THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE AND IS NOW MY HEAD-CANON!!!!! :)

[kataoi.livejournal.com]

I do want to throw in my pennies and say yeah I know Toph had a crush on Sokka. And I thought it was cute. 8( But fandom gonna fandom and make me flip tables.

[brendala.livejournal.com]

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".

I loved Sora, too. Too bad Season 02 happened. :P


I was an extreme tomboy when I was 11-14 years old. And the "lol ur a dyke" jokes were endless. I also wish that shows like Avatar and Friendship is Magic existed back then so that more people could see examples of female characters who don't act and look like super-powered Barbie dolls.

[kataoi.livejournal.com]

I originally had a line about "and then season 2 happened" but I ended up taking it out. XD; Yeah, season 2 upset a lot of people. ...It made nine-year-old me really happy though.

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.