isiscaughey speaks some truths in Only Men Are Allowed To Be Perfect.

You know, I'm disturbed by how often the male characters who treat people (especially women) like crap are the fandom darlings. They become the woobie who can do no wrong, because he's deep, he has layers, he's had bad things happen to him, he's misunderstood (especially by all those evil female characters). They often have huge communities devoted to them and metric tons of fic describing how wonderful and perfect they are. I'm not trying to criticize people for loving the characters they love. We all have our preferences, and deeply complex characters are interesting, and often feel more real.

What's really bothering me here are the gender politics that go on in fandom, and the double standard between the way female characters are treated versus male characters.

Let's take Tony DiNozzo from NCIS. Yes, I like him too. He is a complex character, he's had some wonderful moments of heroism, and he has struggled with some tough times in his life. But let's be honest: he's rude, he's dismissive, he bullies people, he objectifies women constantly, and he also tends to blame women ("it's always the wife "). Before anyone jumps in to accuse me of misunderstanding poor Tony, let's take a step back and deconstruct things a bit.

Take some time and really, truly, and honestly think about this: if Tony was instead a woman, let's say Tonia, what would you think about her? When she constantly objectified men while simultaneously dismissing and blaming them, how would you feel? When she bullied, belittled, and tormented Tim, would it seem just as funny (because, after all, she really does love Tim like a brother, right)?

Well, it mostly takes into account white cis women vs white cis men (or racially privileged characters inside the show in question), I have to admit the Rose Tyler example made me twitch because all the people I know who dislike Rose do so due to the contrast/opposition the show and the fandom made with Martha. But I admit it, this is due to my circle, I don't doubt Rose is victim to misogyny (comparing her to the Doctor, for example) inside the fandom. (Heck, it's not like I haven't seen it happen in hundreds of other fandoms, the woman who is called a Mary Sue. Analogous male characters? Extremely popular).

The OP also said:

But what does it matter if we bash female characters? They're only fictional, after all. I'll just say this- I don't think it's a good idea to spend a lot of time disparaging and despising women, even if they aren't real, as that's the sort of thing that can become a habit.

And it's a lot more than that. Since the she already made a point how people will perceive a character differently (and will be portrayed differently) due to gender, I think it's pretty safe to say that the "hating women, loving men" reflects (and feedbacks) into gender perceptions. Yeah, gender, race, ability, sexual orientation, in our society those things aren't overlooked. No matter how much "those things don't matter to you," oh special snowflake, they have an impact.

PS: Gente del chan! Ayer mi internet murió. Como que toda la noche! ;;

MUY FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!

Te deseo lo mejor, hon, que la pases excelente, y que tengas un excelente año! <333