#96: The Sonic Screwdriver
Why passing on the baton (or screwdriver) to a woman is important
For the first time, a woman shall take charge of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver and certain people have had a lot to say about it. This particular sonic isn’t even mine. It belongs to my brother. Perhaps that says everything.
I have been a fan of Doctor Who for a long time. Every Saturday I would eagerly sit in front of the television, at least five minutes early, ensuring I never missed those whirling opening titles. Between episodes, I would discuss, analyse and make predictions with any willing participant. I also read the Doctor Who Magazine, sparking my interest in magazine journalism, a field I am about to step into.
In all that time there was never a female Doctor and yet I still loved the show. It didn’t seem to matter to me that the Doctor was played by a man. He was fun, heroic, dangerous, and so much more. I would imagine that I could be his companion; that he would land his TARDIS in my bedroom and take me on adventures.
My brother had several Doctor Who figures, among them the ninth, tenth, and eleventh Doctors. I owned Rose Tyler, the ninth Doctor’s companion. Once, we even recorded a Doctor Who spoof together. I was an alien leader with a questionable costume choice (screenshot below), and my brother, of course, was the Doctor.
What I suppose I am trying to say, is that I have no recollection of ever playing the Doctor.
Perhaps I just didn’t want to. Perhaps I had more fun playing aliens or human companions. Perhaps I liked Rose’s sassiness better than Eccleston’s sarcasm. Or perhaps I never considered the possibility because I never saw a female Doctor.
It comes down to that age old issue of representation. If we see people like us achieving something, then we are more likely to go out and achieve it ourselves. We are more likely to want it, to think it possible. A young girl dressing up as an erratic alien with two hearts, you might think, is not the same as a young girl dressing up as an actual Doctor, and later deciding to pursue a medical profession. Yet maybe the Time Lord variety has a lot to teach.
The Doctor, among many obvious flaws, has admiral qualities. He is clever. He makes tough decisions. He has a sense of responsibility. He does not use violence. He leads. A young girl dressing up as a character that might do all these things has a good chance of emulating these qualities herself.
Yet the announcement that Jodie Whittaker is to play the thirteenth Doctor has, of course, been met with a certain amount of anger. Some of the most hatred-filled (and plain stupid) comments have been collected on this Twitter site. It is difficult to be reminded, with such sudden force, in relation to a show so close to my heart, that such sexism still exists.
Instead, however, I prefer to consider the joy this news has brought, something best summed up by this girl’s reaction. As many have said, it is for girls like her that this casting decision matters. For girls, perhaps, like I was, who love the show, but have never seen themselves represented centre stage.
Doctor Who is a fictional television programme about a time-travelling alien with two hearts, often very questionable dress sense, and the ability to change his body instead of dying. Over fifty years after his first appearance, thirteenth face in, it seems about time that a woman will pull the sonic from her pocket and save a planet. And maybe in the process, she will help save a few others from gender stereotypes.
