the fandom might not be ready for this conversation but despite being fun and entertaining, sfth’s portrayals of women in stories is not particularly feminist
starting with the characters who are more thought out and planned, maureen and sarge.
maureen is revered and admired and while not exactly hyper feminine, she is defined by the stereotype of the femme fatale and (even if not intentionally at least implicitly) sexualized
sarge is also admired, crushed on, and respected deeply which is i think in large part because of her masculinity
then with long form characters, they are most often defined by their roles in other peoples lives (friends, sisters, mothers, wives, girlfriends, love interests) rather than by their own stories.
mary in murders in space is defined by her mission to rescue her husband, even if she is absolutely brilliant, and that is acknowledged right at the end. cindy campbell is reduced to a cheesy rom/com love interest and daughter despite having way better main character development potential than john james. alice laura is defined by being jimmys sister and john david’s daughter, even if she can summon a portal to hell its not about her. amanda in cdiyw is clarissa’s supportive friend, clarissa spends the whole story trying to win mark back.
the nature of sfth’s close knit unchanging group gives them the strength of knowing how to weave a perfect narrative together but it also is the weakness to their storytelling because they’re four cis men. they don’t have the lived experience to authentically represent other peoples’ stories
do they play women respectfully? yes. are their portrayals fun and engaging? yes. are the roles the women fall into within the stories limiting and a result of society being misogynistic? also yes.
this isn’t an unsolvable problem by any means. while the structural issue of being 4 cis men will remain, recognizing these patterns, studying up on feminist ideology, and staying mindful when coming up with characters and stories can go a long way for more feminist portrayals of women in their stories
dededos
2087
annaxmalina
yousharknotpass
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
