Thoughts on “What’s in a Name? — Time Lord vs. Time Lady”
I have never been so certain that I want the Doctor to call herself a “time lady” ever before. It doesn’t happen that often that an argument is so convincing of the opposite view.
I am unsurprised to see that this is the same author who wrote “5 reasons why we need a female Doctor”, i.e. possibly the worst argument I’ve ever seen for that, which disregarded inspiring female narratives left and right.
I actually don’t think this one deserves the same level of derision, but something about it really rubs me the wrong way, so here I am.
The argument for ambiguity in canon seems to be built around two instances which just read like default male language to me (”Time Lords of Gallifrey!”, Time Lord Academy”). Particularly in plural, that tends to happen in many languages, unless feminists have insisted otheriwse.
I do not find canon to be particular helpful in any case. Doctor Who doesn’t have a canon. New Who has deliberately muddled through the “Time Lord/Lady” (I’d suggest “time noble” or “gentry” as a gender neutral version) vs. Gallifreyan issue. This is a decision about the future.
If the "the phrase Time Lady makes [your] skin crawl” and comes across as subservient to you, it seems time to challenge that perception, instead of banning female equivalents from the language we use.
It had never occurred to me before that people with native languages which do not include a lot of gendered language might consider it a feminist move to reject female terms, because the dominant school of thought here is to fight to include them.
I found a new appreciation for the way in which Missy’s character brings that to the forefront. She never let’s the viewer forget she’s a woman, she not only claims “the Mistress” but a diminutive for herself and, yes, she asserts that she is a “Time Lady”.
For both Missy and the Doctor, that is and would be the opposite of demeaning. There is nothing subserving in that. Neither of them is ladylike. Nothing about this reasserts negative connotations. (Having only Missy call herself that, however, might.)
There is power in claiming an identity. There is power in her name. But that name is the Doctor. And I fully expect Jody Whittaker to lay claim to that. And look forward to it.
“Time Lord” has never had that meaning for them. The Doctor is only ever going to stay long enough on Gallifrey to steal a TARDIS.
We’re already changing what the Doctor can look like, who she can be. We’re already challenging what a female character can be like. She won’t be a Time Lady. She will be the Time Lady, the Doctor herself. And I, for one, am ready for that.