“The universe shows its true face when it asks for help, we show ours by how we respond.”
Jodie Whittaker is the new Doctor in Doctor Who. The news is everywhere. A shape changing alien is going to change shape again. But it's different this time. Because now she's a woman! After 54 years of the show presenting the character as a man suddenly she's a woman.
It's change! And not a moment too soon! The very root of Doctor Who. Change is the reason it has lasted for such an improbable amount of time – let's be honest shows about lunatics fighting papier-mache monsters aren't supposed to be this good, or mean this much. And yet somehow this one has transcended the naff set dressing and absurd stories and become something on a par with billion dollar franchises from America. And it is has done so because of it's heart(s). It has done so because it embraces new and it embraces different. Because it rejects prejudice. And because it changes. All the time.
But change is hard, and we all process it in vastly different ways.
Some of us - most of us, I think - have accepted Jodie Whittaker into the Doctor Who family with open arms. She is a new Doctor and we have been through this many times before. And it is always exciting and nerve-racking.
Others, though, are less positive. Among the blatant sexism and privilege and predictions of doom that can be safely ignored are a few with honest doubts. How can the show still be the same?
“Never be cruel. And never be cowardly. And if you are, always make amends.” - The Twelfth Doctor.
My first instinct was to deride all of these people. To dismiss their opinions as archaic and to hope they go away. But perhaps I can try to help them instead. Because it is what The Doctor would do. He'd hope that amongst all the hate and negativity there are a few who just need a little help. And I hope I can do that.
I think about Doctor Who a lot you see. Too much perhaps. Probably more than you do. Okay, maybe not you... but definitely you. And all that thinking and weighing up of it's values and themes has led me to accepting The Doctor as a woman without even a moments hesitation. It has never occurred to me that it would be anything other than fascinating and exciting. There are political and social reasons why it is a great statement too; ones The Doctor would champion. Ones that other people are better placed to dissect and put into perspective.
Maybe I should prefix all of this by saying I am a white, working-class 30-year-old man who is a bit weird. And when I say a bit I mean quite a lot. This is only important because I am right in the stereotypical profile of a Doctor Who fan. Our fandom is far wider than that of course, but it is still the overriding image of Doctor Who fans, rightly or wrongly. All I can speak of is my own relationship with the show.
One important part of that relationship is that I have never related to or loved The Doctor because he, like me, is a white man. That has never been a characteristic that felt important at all. The important part is that he is a bit weird. He is an outsider. Someone who turns up and faces scorn and derision only to earn respect by being the cleverest and kindest person in the universe. We can all aspire to that! That doesn't preclude anyone. He is a hero to so many diverse people precisely because he doesn't represent anything but being a good-hearted individual. Whatever our race, religion or gender most of us can relate to being different to some degree and looking in from the outside. We can all aspire to be cleverer and kinder. We can all hope to be braver and more willing to stand up for what we believe in.
And yet to so many, it seems, his gender is the crux of his powers. Beyond his personality and his compassion it seems manliness was a factor that is more important than I ever expected it was. There is an idea that he is commanding and takes control because of his innate man-powers. As a man who has always been surrounded by very intelligent and commanding women this was an idea that was alien to me. I have always known women to be intelligent, capable and brave. Yet I have seen it crop up as the basis of many arguments against a female Doctor.
All the ideas that The Doctor can't canonically be a female are wrong, we know that (Hello, Missy. I love you.) The Jane Bond or Mr Marple arguments are irrelevant. But this idea, from actual fans, that The Doctor can't be 'in charge' any more are also dead wrong. And because they come from real fans I believe I can allay these fears and assure you Doctor Who is still Doctor Who. It would be easy to dismiss it as sexist and move on. But the world has created this skewed vision of men and women, and ignoring it will only exacerbate it.
So if you are a genuine fan then I offer this;
The Doctor has never taken charge and been commanding because he is a man.
The Doctor takes charge because he is the cleverest being in the universe. The Doctor becomes a leader because he shows himself to know more than everyone else. And even then the leadership The Doctor earns is always challenged and fought against.
That won't change. Nothing has to change. The role has never been rooted in male-specific traits. The Doctor's permanent characteristics, the ones that exist across all incarnations are; kindness, bravery, intelligence and being mysterious. None of those things are gender specific.
I appreciate that you might struggle to picture The Doctor as a woman. But think about this: What is it that you like about The Doctor? Picture it, recall a specific moment or a particular scene. Imagine it as vividly as you can; and then ask yourself honestly 'is that only possible of a man?' The answer is almost certainly 'no'.
Of course sometimes the Thirteenth Doctor will turn up to eras and societies in which women are second-class. In which she will have things other than her weirdness and buffoonery to overcome. And of course in these situations a male incarnation might have a small advantage. But I would argue strongly that The Doctor's sex has never been a factor in his own mind. And this is the secret of the show. We see a man taking control and put that alongside all the other patriarchal images of man-power we are shown. We see The Doctor and assume he is strong because he is a man. But The Doctor doesn't think that way. He is taking control because he's clever. That will still be the case with Thirteen.
The Doctor is a character that has always had to face and overcome derision and scorn from people who see him as different and out of place. A grumpy and weak-looking old man; a cosmic tramp who plays a bloody recorder; a preening dandy in a velvet jacket; a daft wide-eyed idiot in a fourteen-foot scarf; an unassuming cricketer; a twat in a technicolour jacket; a buffoon with an umbrella; a romantic; a miserable northern sailor, a skinny weirdo with cool hair; a big chinned, big haired man-child; an angry magician. The Doctor has always been at an immediate disadvantage when trying to take charge. Being a man probably helped gain him a platform in some cases, I am not denying that privilege. But being a woman will stand as just another barrier for the character to kick down using her brain. She will have many interesting quirks and eccentricities to distract people with. She is more than up to this task! She will be doing what she has always been doing. Proving that everyone's first impressions are wrong.
And yet I don't believe her gender should be ignored either. I simply think the underlying theme will be that competence and intelligence are what is important. That is the message the show has always sent us, and should always be sending. Kindness, compassion, intelligence and bravery are what save us. Not violence and prejudice. And that will continue to be true; only now perhaps sometimes it will be presented through the filter of her being a woman.
I hope that anyone who is against the idea is just experiencing the usual 'New Doctor anxiety' and will come out the other side. In four or five years you will probably be devastated when she announces she is leaving. It is a familiar cycle we all go through.
It is part of the struggle of our fandom!
What I really wish is that anyone who is struggling with Thirteen's gender could feel the joy I am feeling about it. But if you aren't all I can do is offer encouragement. I truly hope you realise the show is still what it always was and it is still for you. The Doctor is still The Doctor.
“It means remembering everyone I used to be, while stepping forward to embrace everything the Doctor stands for: hope. I can’t wait.” - Jodie Whittaker.
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