The endless alienation of media.

That sounds about how I felt about "Independence Day".

Re the prospect of rolling a d10 to figure out character gender: because I am a giant fucking nerd, I've actually drawn up a character generation system for use in fiction, so I can roll for gender, sexual orientation, age, and nationality/racial origin inclusive of every country on Earth, with bonus! side tables for rolling up parental status, number of siblings, relationship status and, if I'm feeling inclined to start a random story, the type of narrative, primary and secondary narrative arcs, primary setting, and then multiple side-types of SFF/magical trope to include. Because rolling dice to determine stories is FUN, and helps to generate some surprisingly awesome ideas. I could send you the docs, if you're ever interested!

This is exactly the reason why The Big Bang Theory only became bearable to me once they added somewhat dorky girls to the cast, and Penny actually turned into a bit of a geeky girl herself whose main purpose no longer was to point out what complete losers the guys were.

None of these characters—not a single fucking one—had such a gendered role that their character could not have been played by a member of the opposite sex

If the cast had been all female, would you still complain of the result?

I read today that one of Pluto's moons was given the name Vulcan by popular vote. Not Vulcan after the Roman god, but as in the planet Vulcan in Star Trek. Bill Shatner himself proposed the name. Geeks are taking over one moon at a time. And logic dictates some women must be involved in the process because otherwise geeks reproducing would be ... difficult.

That's of course ignoring the fact that I am a woman and a geek and hence living proof that the no-female-would-be-a-geek theory is babbling twaddle.

Ohhhh yay, my favorite soapbox to stand on and I get to share it with you Seanan!

As a consumer of movies (the bigger and noisier, the more explosions and space farers the better), and as a mom of at least one girl whose taste mirrors my own (at least in that respect - she is a person of her own strong opinions at 12), I am continually appalled by what we see on the big (and small) screens as far as gender modeling goes. </p>

Gender neutral casting? I call bullsh*t. Sure and all Katie and I can identify with some of the motivations of a male character, but when they're all - with the possible exception of one guys (Joss Whedon are you listening out there?), it's not really that neutral, now is it? Really ... ?

From the last few years worth of big budget action movies, Katie and I learned women could be: cold hearted schemers, whores, and secretaries (Bond); sex objects and support personnel (Star Trek); obscure and largely incomprehensible (Hobbit); and one of about six other male superheroes (Avengers).

It's appalling and I'm surprised Hollywood's women of power haven't stood up to demand change.

Once upon a time the movies' main audience may have been largely young white males but that was 50+ years ago. That was before Lucas handed Fisher a toy gun a said "Go get 'em." And Ridley Scott (oh I worship thee Sigourney Weaver). Also Michael Rymer. And (for fans of potboiler tv shows) Shondra Rimes.

So there's clearly a start, some progress. But like the civil rights activists learned, you can never stop pushing, because the first time we turn our backs, like Sisyphus' rock, our progress begins to fall backwards.

And that, I think, is how directors like Kathryn Bigelow, and writers like Joss Whedon (when he's paying attention) are going to make a difference: not just by making great movies, but more importantly by making them with gender parity (girls can be effective heroes and villains both, thanks) not so much an excuse for a party, but the norm for us - and our daughters - to expect.

There's so much media I want to love, but just can't get into because of this exact issue - the lack of representation. It's frustrating to see a movie or book or TV show that sounds really cool, that has an interesting plot or premise that grabs me from the get-go, only to find that hey, it's another story about dudes doing manly things and women are relegated to love interest/caretaker/secondary roles, if they're even present.

And it's really depressing, all the more so now that I have a daughter and know she's going to run into the same damn issue someday. :-/

Women: not a different species, not so hard to write, wish dudes would get their heads out of their butts and stop ignoring us already.

"How do you write a strong female character?"
"You take a character and make her female. This is not rocket science." (Though rocket science can be fun. Honestly, most of the scientists I know are female—and are in theater orchestras. It's apparently a thing to be a scientist and play an instrument.)

TESTIFY, SISTER.

I really believe it's getting close. One successful summer action blockbuster with all fully clothed female leads. Greenlighting it is the issue. Then, hopefully, the avalanche will begin.

Oh, and it has to also not outrageously suck. So Sucker Punch fails threefold.

I'm going to post this in hopes it is not misread and no one attacks me. I have only the best of intentions and am hopped on cold meds.

You bring up a very important and very real issue. I totally agree with you say.Here is my constant response to those movies - silly and stupid as this may come across I get mad because if these were accurate portrayals then why the hell was I single for so long? Why, as a fairly attractive female who once dated for personality and attraction regardless of sex or gender identification and loves many geek things, did I not have geek people asking me out every time I turned around?!

On a serious note though - you're totally correct and it's a good example of why you start making movies too. ^_^

As a geek guy of the sort who probably didn't ask you out, I'll respond. Here are some specific reasons I didn't ask out each of a number of the magnificent geeky girls I knew and adored and logically might have dated as I grew up.

I thought the first was too mature for me, and too good a friend to risk.

I thought the second was too dangerous and unpredictable.

The third, my best friend for many years, was kind and wise and wonderful and physically stunning, and yet somehow I was blessed (and I do mean that) with being the one male in our circle of friends who was not sexually attracted to her.

With the fourth, the first person with whom I actually fell in what I now recognize as love, I was a coward. At a very specific moment. I still try to tell myself that she didn't notice. I love my life now, but that one moment, small as it is, is still my biggest personal what-if.

I was too worried about potential conflicts with my family, and hers, to ask the fifth.

I was too busy chasing shadows to even notice the sixth. Dumbass.

The seventh, to my own surprise and confusion, I was just not attracted to. I felt terrible, because she was awesome, and I know she was attracted to me -- something which didn't happen often, by the way -- but I just didn't feel it. I still shake my head at myself about that one. At least the experience has helped me understand that rejection is not always the right word to use to describe someone not wanting to date someone else.


It's probably worth noting that in each case, it wasn't about them -- they were all people who would've probably been incredibly fun to date, and they were all objectively attractive enough and then some -- it was about me not feeling ready, or being afraid, or oblivious, or of all the above, and in a couple cases apparently just not being wired right.

In the end, one fantastic gorgeous geek lady did eventually agree to marry me. For what it's worth, she asked *me* out first. :)

This is sort of funny timing for me; I just recently had a whole conversation with my writer boyfriend about the fact that his male friends think it's sort of weird that he puts so many female characters in important or starring roles in his screenplays/books. (For example, the movie they're trying really hard to make right now is about a horror movie about a divorced, middle-aged woman who's the mother of a college-age kid. And she's the only developed, on-screen character in the whole thing.) He of course responds with the fact that it's stupid that they find it weird, and continues balancing the genders as best he can. :)

The problem for me is the assumption that, as a woman, I can only identify with a female character, when actually my identification with said character has far more to do with their struggles and their personality than whether they're male or female. If there was a male character that I really felt like I identified with, and that character was changed to female, I wouldn't identify with them more just because they were female, unless there had been other changes made in them as well.

Yes there are many girl geeks! In reality, there is no such thing as the fake geek girl.