Rec: Meta - The Real Woman? Why Molly Hooper is the One Who Counts
This is sort of a follow-up to my previous post about Women, Sex, and Power in relation to Sherlock (and Sherlock fandom)...in that rant, I stated the following:
How about we stop making every single female on television the representative for all women? Is Sherlock the representative for all men? No? Why not? Oh, because he's a possible asexual sociopath and most men aren't. Well, most women aren't dominatrixes that want to blackmail the British government, so how about we stop forcing Irene to represent our ideal of the perfect woman. Why aren't we talking the same way about Mrs. Hudson? She's pretty badass...
Now, my lovely rant was written before The Reichenbach Fall aired...and, I, like Sherlock, overlooked a lovely example of a woman that was under my nose the whole time: Molly Hooper.
Okay, maybe I didn't overlook her - I did mention her in the original rant, but then erased her, because I had already seen the fandom complaining about how Molly was "a doormat" and "weak"...and I just didn't want to open that can of worms. Luckily, I don't have to, because Miss Transmission does it for me!
In The Real Woman? Why Molly Hooper is the One Who Counts, Miss Transmission does a great job of pointing out how absolutely awesome Molly is as actually representing women. How we were so distracted by "The Woman" that we forgot that other female characters were also female.
The truth is that I think film and television do as much of a disservice to women by making every single female character the epitome of a "strong female character", as they would do if we went back to the days of I Dream of Jeannie. (Personally, I think it's very similar to the "noble Indian" trope, it still fails to represent the subject as a complex/normal/relate-able person). Women come in all shapes and sizes and personalities...and you may hate Molly for being a doormat, but I bet it's because you hate yourself for all the times you were a doormat...and the fact is, that in the end, Molly counted the most. She was the most important person. She saved Sherlock's life...and she did it all while still being a 3 dimensional person with just as many faults as features. I'm not saying she represents all women, because my whole point with my previous statement was that NO woman should be charged with representing all women...but she does represent a PORTION of women, and she does it extraordinarily well.
Anyway...yeah, I guess this is kind of another crazy rant too. But, guys, I just...have a lot of feelings, okay! Plus, my landlord is being a prick (again) so I'm in ranty-mood tonight. (T-minus 13 days until I am rid of him).
How about we stop making every single female on television the representative for all women? Is Sherlock the representative for all men? No? Why not? Oh, because he's a possible asexual sociopath and most men aren't. Well, most women aren't dominatrixes that want to blackmail the British government, so how about we stop forcing Irene to represent our ideal of the perfect woman. Why aren't we talking the same way about Mrs. Hudson? She's pretty badass...
Now, my lovely rant was written before The Reichenbach Fall aired...and, I, like Sherlock, overlooked a lovely example of a woman that was under my nose the whole time: Molly Hooper.
Okay, maybe I didn't overlook her - I did mention her in the original rant, but then erased her, because I had already seen the fandom complaining about how Molly was "a doormat" and "weak"...and I just didn't want to open that can of worms. Luckily, I don't have to, because Miss Transmission does it for me!
In The Real Woman? Why Molly Hooper is the One Who Counts, Miss Transmission does a great job of pointing out how absolutely awesome Molly is as actually representing women. How we were so distracted by "The Woman" that we forgot that other female characters were also female.
The truth is that I think film and television do as much of a disservice to women by making every single female character the epitome of a "strong female character", as they would do if we went back to the days of I Dream of Jeannie. (Personally, I think it's very similar to the "noble Indian" trope, it still fails to represent the subject as a complex/normal/relate-able person). Women come in all shapes and sizes and personalities...and you may hate Molly for being a doormat, but I bet it's because you hate yourself for all the times you were a doormat...and the fact is, that in the end, Molly counted the most. She was the most important person. She saved Sherlock's life...and she did it all while still being a 3 dimensional person with just as many faults as features. I'm not saying she represents all women, because my whole point with my previous statement was that NO woman should be charged with representing all women...but she does represent a PORTION of women, and she does it extraordinarily well.
Anyway...yeah, I guess this is kind of another crazy rant too. But, guys, I just...have a lot of feelings, okay! Plus, my landlord is being a prick (again) so I'm in ranty-mood tonight. (T-minus 13 days until I am rid of him).