The Future Has Regenerated — A history of women in Doctor Who
OPINION | Mandy Chew explains why the casting of the first female Doctor is so important, and discusses Doctor Who’s attitude to gender in its historical stories.
A figure in dark clothing walks by, cloaked in mystery. Ambient noise in the background. The sound of footsteps crunching on the forest floor…
— The viewers hold their breath in anticipation.
Two hands reach up and to pull a hoodie just slightly backward, revealing the face of the newest Doctor: Jodie Whittaker.
So goes the new Doctor Who announcement that has divided the world into opposing states of ecstasy and uproar (I seriously wonder if World War III is about to start over this).
While some people think the Doctor should be played by a man and a man only, others think a gender change is just what the show needs (and some people just think the Doctor should hurry up and be a ginger already).
As a female, I understand why people are excited about this gender change. It represents something. It’s progress. It’s a future we’ve been striving for.
When I was a kid I remember creating a lemonade stand with some boys that I played with who lived near me. At the end of the long hard lemonade-working day, the boys split the money evenly among themselves and gave me a quarter. I remember being SO angry. I had put in just as much hard work as them. The only problem? I was a girl they said. (I later went to the money jar and just took the money I thought I was rightfully owed.)
I guess that was my first lesson in realizing life presents us sometimes with weird double-standards when it comes to gender.
It’s happened in Hollywood, even with the most of talented celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence. In spite of winning an Academy Award, she was paid a fraction of what her male co-stars were paid in her next movie.
Why?
From a historical standpoint, women have had to come a long way. Seen as property, married only for a dowry, no right to vote — and even worse — women have had to overcome a lot of barriers to gain equality.
In Doctor Who, there tends to be a bit of an optimistic approach to looking backward at history: there are plenty of powerful females who take command of their social circumstances.
There’s a scene in the episode The Shakespeare Code (2007), where Martha Jones pauses after stepping out of the TARDIS.
“Hold on. Am I all right?” she asks.
“Just walk about like you own the place,” the Doctor advises.
And this seems to work for the duration of the episode. It doesn’t matter the social circumstances of the time, Martha Jones is safe as a black woman in 1599 London — for the most part. She does have to endure the many advances from Shakespeare himself, though I fear women will never be able to overcome this particular barrier of getting hit on wherever (and whenever) we go.
I do enjoy the rose-colored glasses approach to history that Doctor Who often takes. And I hope we’ll put them on for the future as well — so much so that we’ll forget the rose-colored glasses are even on to begin with…
I personally love the idea of bringing Jodie on to take on the role of the 13th Doctor. But not just because she’s a woman. Repeat, not just because she’s a woman.
Because of one thing and one thing only:
She is a damn good actor.
I personally have just adored her in the show Broadchurch as Beth Latimer (did you know she’s even doing a completely different accent for that role?!). I can tell she is a master of her craft, a commander of her emotions, and I can’t wait to see what nuisances she brings to Doctor Who.
I think the more we categorize people into boxes of gender, the more we limit them. Can’t we just take a non-categorial optimistic approach to History, to life?
You know what I want to see in Doctor Who?
Good storytelling. Good acting. Good sci-fi. Be it male or female or whatever in the world or universes you want to call it.
I’ve really loved the companion this past season on Doctor Who. Her name’s Bill Potts, played by actress Pearl Mackie. Bill is a gay black girl with a warmth and energy that makes my heart melt every time she’s on screen. I don’t feel like her character is defined solely by any labels or categories. She is who she is. Being a female or being gay is just a piece of what makes her unique. I love her for her bubbly personality, the quirky questions she asks, her spunk, her herness.
I’m grateful sci-fi shows like Doctor Who think about the future, progress, and social change. Good science fiction should always do this. It should always open doors and pave a new path for others to follow.
With no one to push boundaries, to correct the injustices, the bad parts of history would just get repeated over and over again…
I can’t wait for the day where we can finally stop thinking about gender in a categorical way.
Are we there yet?
Based on the mixed reaction to a female Doctor, not yet.
But I have hope for the future!
Good luck Jodie, we’re rooting for you! Just walk about like you own the place!
