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Does your role model have to be your own gender?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by Odahingum, Jun 10, 2013.

  1. Odahingum

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    Recently a British newspaper article complained about the rumors that the next incarnation of Doctor Who could be an actress instead of an actor. The writer said that a male Doctor had served as the role model of countless generations of children who got inspired to follow a smart, kind, fun and successful model of non-muscled masculinity, and went on to speculate that a female Doctor would kill the franchise.

    But why? As a little kid, my superheroic role models were Jem, She-Ra, Wonder Woman, and Sailor Mercury. Now I get inspiration from Delenn, Laura Roslyn, and Avatar Korra. Why do people assume that a boy has nothing to learn from a woman? Why do your role models have necessarily to be your own gender for you to be able to follow their example?

    ---------- Post added 10th Jun 2013 at 09:14 PM ----------

    (Note: I did have male role models as well, namely the first Blue Power Ranger, Dinobot, and Inspector Gadget. But in my country She-Ra was on another channel at the same time that Inspector Gadget aired, and to me, flying unicorn beat helicopter hat.)

    ---------- Post added 10th Jun 2013 at 09:19 PM ----------

    (Another note: I happen to have recently read the story of how watching Lt. Uhura on the Enterprise moved Whoopi Goldberg to pursue an acting career. While watching your own demographic group can be inspirational, I don't think the casting choice for Lt. Uhura harmed any black boys, white boys, or white girls.)
     
    #1 Odahingum, Jun 10, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2013
  2. Monocle

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    The idea is that women can relate to either a female or male protagonist, but a man could never relate to a female protagonist. So movies/TV shows/video games have male protagonists... reinforcing the idea that women should be able to relate to both, but men should only identify with men... it's a vicious cycle!

    Personally, as a woman, I grew up watching Static Shock (main character Virgil was a black male from the inner city, pretty much the exact opposite of my experience) and I had no trouble relating to him. He was my favorite character. There are others (Nightcrawler, Inuyasha, etc.), but he stands out 'cause I didn't just admire him, I wanted to be him. I looked up to him the way little boys do, but maybe that's another case of "women are allowed to identify with both, but not men!"

    As for Doctor Who... I really don't understand why having a female hero would kill the franchise, and I don't like the implication that it would. Who says she won't be subversive in her depiction of femininity? Haters are nuts.
     
  3. biggayguy

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    That's just entrenched sexism for you. "Just because we've always done it this way it must continue this way." That sounds like the thinking of one of the villains on Dr. Who. The Dr. traveling in different time lines; it seems inevitable that at least one incarnation would be female.
     
  4. Ettina

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    I have both male and female role models.

    Seriously, one of my role models is David Attenborough, who is not only a man but also far older than me and from a different country. But we both love animals and I'd love to do what he does someday.
     
  5. A lot of my role models are male merely because a lot of what I'm interested in is kind of an old boy's club. That's changing a bit, but yeah role models don't have to be your gender.
     
  6. Theodora

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    The ridiculous resistance to there being a female Doctor is exactly why there should be one.

    :grin:
     
  7. Hexagon

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    No way. Men and women and GQs all have good qualities, and there is no reason I can't aspire to be like someone of a different gender from me.