(no subject)

[fan_eunice]

Watching more Ghost Whisperer has led to an inexplicable crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt. Inexplicable because my reaction to her in the past has ranged from indifference to irritation, so suddenly finding myself all, oh hey is...odd.

But mostly, I am really enjoying this show y'all. And being reminded how satisfying it is on multiple levels when a show I am enjoying has a female centered narrative. It isn't that I don't have mad love for my many shows that are dude centric, 'cause I do and I wouldn't give them up for the world. But it troubles me that almost subconsciously I sometimes pass over or dismiss shows right in my zone that are female centered, even though they give me this hit. Like, okay, look Charmed is an incredibly cheestastic show of often questionable writing. But that describes a number of shows I've handwaved those same qualities because they have SPACE or MAGIC and are fun. It has MAGIC, and it's fun, and a has a number of the exact same draws to it as other shows I have loved. I have sat and had cheestastic glee watching it in the same way. And yet? I'm more likely to scoff at it or dismiss it...and if I'm being honest, I am led to wonder how much of that has to do with it having a primarily female cast. Like...I'm more self conscious about enjoying, and less likely to just kinda wave my hands and go 'flaws, whatever, Piper just blew some shit up with her *hands*' Or in this case, 'flaws, whatever, there are GHOST STORIES'

Not sure where I'm going with this other than to ponder that I may be locking myself out of experiences I enjoy by not pulling myself up on this. Which is stupid. I'm not going to force myself to watch something that isn't fun for me or that I'm not interested in for the sake of feminism. But seeing a pattern of being internally and/or externally dismissive of things I do enjoy that hold a common factor of 'centers women' is...bugging me. I do not have the same standards for dudely shows that I do female ones. That kinda sucks.

Comments

[franzeska]

Little pint-sized me was always really fascinated by Charlie's Angels despite it nominally being about T&A for a straight guy audience. (Little pint-sized me also had a not so pint-sized crush on Sabrina, often described as "the thinking man's angel", but probably better described as "the one with all the lesbian subtext". Hellooooo, Kate Jackson.) It pains me to see how many fans of other bad, old crime shows assume Charlie's Angels must be so offensively cheesecake-y that a female audience couldn't even sit through it. Not that it isn't ridiculous and full of bikini shots, but since there are almost no guys at all, aside from disposable love interests of the episode, many of whom turn out to be evil, the women spend a lot of time saving themselves and each other, and it just never did most of the things that annoy me about female characters on crime shows about guys. And yet, the shows I own on DVD and have done fandomy things for lately are all of the guy shows. Oops?

[fan_eunice]

Yup yup. It is the 'and yet' that bugs me about myself. When presented with two equally cheestastic or flawed shows I really am more likely to be critical or dismissive of the one with vaginas front and center. Or to glom on to the women in dude-centric shows while not speaking up about the ones playing first fiddle on their own. Which, yes those women who are supporting characters are awesome and deserve my clappy hands of glee, it should along with, instead of. Not to prove a point, but because it's actually true in terms of what I enjoy, what hits my buttons, what makes me happy. I'm troubled that my own reaction to that is to immediately start tearing it down, or assuming no one wants to hear about it or cares, and stomping on my own squee to myself.

[franzeska]

Hah. Well, I for one am much more likely to want to hear about Ghost Whisperer or Charmed just because people haven't already pestered me about them for years on end. ;-P

...And I am totally buying and rewatching Charlie's Angels. The one where Sabrina's apartment gets blown up! Oh my god! Unsubtle pretending to be dead fakeouts! Awful Most Dangerous Game episode! Undercover at the circus!