The Devil's Sister, Feminism, Diversity and Doctor Who

Apparently 'feminism' is the "word of the year" according to Merriam-Webster, the US dictionary [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42337596].

• "A BBC Radio 5 live survey of 2,038 adults has suggested 48% of women would not describe themselves as feminist, but a quarter of men would."
  

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-38033364/would-you-call-yourself-a-feminist]

It's interesting how some people are still expressing the old fashioned wrong view that all 'feminists' are aggressive 'man-hating' women.  I'll express I'm a feminist and I'm a man - let's face it having an MA Gender Studies would be a give away of my feminist standpoint.  Thing is, my feminist perspective is that I see 'misogynism' as often about 'male insecurity'. 

Let's face it, if you're happy in yourself why would you EVER want to make somebody else unhappy?

This is the same argument for almost any prejudice.  (Like 'hate crimes'.]

So where does this fit in with my factual or fiction writing?

Without consciously thinking, my novel is obviously influenced by my views.  As many authors' writings are.

And yes, The Devil's Sister approaches stereotypes in very different ways.  (Let's face it, this would be a boring book if it didn't do things differently.)

My view is to both reinterpret mythical writings (while not contradicting them) and to play with what you might think of what you see around you.

.Plus, I write short chapters and every chapter has a cliff-hanger.  Certainly makes stimulating reading!  (Of course I'd say that 'cause I'm prejudiced!)

Of course, feminist views often link with Diversity championing standpoints.  Not universal though.  There are some people who describe themselves as anti-trans* feminists.

Personally, I think they're shooting themselves in the foot.

The prejudices transgender/trans* people face derive exactly from misogynism.

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So you might ask where does Doctor Who come into this?

This series has been running since 1963 and has always expressed pro-female issues (often limited before 2005).

The most significant early issue was the first producer for this show, a young woman called Verity Lambert.  (There was also the first Indian born director Waris Hussein so anti-racist views were major as well.)  So Doctor Who was influenced from the start by Diversity awareness.

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Of course this wasn't uniform during television shaped by patriarchal  viewpoints.

But in some respects that outlook has always surfaced.  Perhaps it was reflecting the changes  happening in UK society at that time - the 60s. So, from the first episode, you had the Doctor's teenage granddaughter being influenced by 60s pop music but also very overtly showing her intellectual abilities.  And then, erratically, several of the doctors companions reflected the struggle towards anti-sexism and, with that, pro-Diversity.

So the second Doctor had a companion Zoe Heriot who saw herself as brighter than the Doctor.  There was Liz Shaw, a companion for the third Doctor, who was extremely bright but the writers for the Doctor Who programme seemed unable to develop her character.

Again reflecting current contemporary events during 1973, the makers of the show added Sarah Jane Smith who was defined as 'an ardent feminist' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jane_Smith].  It could be argued that as she was so popular in Doctor Who her standpoint shaped several later companions.

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That feminist stance wasn't consistent until the renewed Doctor Who series from 2005 onwards.

Again the series reflects contemporary situations.

My novels do that as well.

Deprivations centers on a bisexual woman searching for her baby son.

But I also include details about a trans-woman.  Talking about transgender issues are still controversial.  This includes the trans-women who were tortured and murdered due to prejudices deriving from misogyny.

The transgender identity of the trans-woman in my novel isn't significant in the book but her personality is.

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The present-day Doctor Who series has touched on transgender identities in a different way.  a Time Lord's body doesn't get surgically altered but can be changed by regen(d)eration. 

This alteration is being favorably anticipated to by many people.  Alterations of gender in mainstream society is rarely positively regarded.  Perhaps the 13th Doctor can positively affect mainstream attitudes to Diversity.

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