It may be that there two different things going on here. The first I absolutely agree with, that characters be viewed on their own merits within a work without having to symbolize anything outside the work, that diversity in portrayal of female characters is a good thing, and that there should be more female characters and more diversity.
However, the works these characters are in exist in a social context, and society changes, however slowly. Whether or not I agree about Disney princesses (I've probably only watched one Disney movie in my life), they were created in specific times and places, and to some extent, reflect a society trying to grapple with women's roles and statuses in those times and places. People are probably hard-wired to see trends and to group things together, e.g., women in refrigerators, Smurfettes, etc. (see http://tinyurl.com/3ne7lmg). Without being aware of the particulars of the conversation about Disney princesses, I still wonder if this isn't what is going on with those who want characters to measure up to a "perfect" standard. People experiencing the revolution of rising expectations want to see characters who reflect their aspirations. For many reasons, the characters they get fall short and it makes them angry. But, of course, you know all this.
It's sort of the way I talk about women in Harry Potter books not being paragons of female empowerment despite so many and the author insisting they are, and someone coming along and saying, yes, but in the Ring Trilogy books, women were hardly present at all, and mostly as objects of desire or awe. In her view, HP women represent Progress. So, I suggest that in the A Song of Ice and Fire books, women are powerful and motivated for their own sakes, but for my friend, they still don't quite represent an ideal she'd like to cheer and pass on to her kids. She may want a perfect female character. For me, such a thing can never exist, so I appreciate what's there in a book context, but still criticize the depiction in a social context.
In a social context, there will never be a perfect female character any more than there will be a perfect male character. The target is always moving. Perfection would seem impossible to define as a standard, because while its perception is socialized (men are supposed to want a shorter blond woman with childlike features as a mate, for example), it is realized on a personal level (that standard doesn't work for a whole lot of men).
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Date: 2011-04-26 07:40 pm (UTC)However, the works these characters are in exist in a social context, and society changes, however slowly. Whether or not I agree about Disney princesses (I've probably only watched one Disney movie in my life), they were created in specific times and places, and to some extent, reflect a society trying to grapple with women's roles and statuses in those times and places. People are probably hard-wired to see trends and to group things together, e.g., women in refrigerators, Smurfettes, etc. (see http://tinyurl.com/3ne7lmg). Without being aware of the particulars of the conversation about Disney princesses, I still wonder if this isn't what is going on with those who want characters to measure up to a "perfect" standard. People experiencing the revolution of rising expectations want to see characters who reflect their aspirations. For many reasons, the characters they get fall short and it makes them angry. But, of course, you know all this.
It's sort of the way I talk about women in Harry Potter books not being paragons of female empowerment despite so many and the author insisting they are, and someone coming along and saying, yes, but in the Ring Trilogy books, women were hardly present at all, and mostly as objects of desire or awe. In her view, HP women represent Progress. So, I suggest that in the A Song of Ice and Fire books, women are powerful and motivated for their own sakes, but for my friend, they still don't quite represent an ideal she'd like to cheer and pass on to her kids. She may want a perfect female character. For me, such a thing can never exist, so I appreciate what's there in a book context, but still criticize the depiction in a social context.
In a social context, there will never be a perfect female character any more than there will be a perfect male character. The target is always moving. Perfection would seem impossible to define as a standard, because while its perception is socialized (men are supposed to want a shorter blond woman with childlike features as a mate, for example), it is realized on a personal level (that standard doesn't work for a whole lot of men).