Women in Power: Scifi and the Gender Ratio in American Government

Amber Atalaya Evans Pinel

I’ve been reading a lot of criticism of science fiction television shows by those looking at it from a feminist perspective—specifically, my all-time favorite Scifi series Battlestar Galactica (2003 reboot.) Just because I happen to adore BSG, that doesn’t mean I’m blind to its flaws. But right now I’d rather talk about what the show is actually really good at: an equal ratio of male and female characters. Specifically, the universe of BSG has more female characters in positions of power than the US Government does. As of 2012, the United States ranked #84 in the number of women serving in congressional (or parliamentary) positions. We’re tied with San Marino at a whopping 18.3% of women in congress. Considering more than 50% of voters are women, this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. And this trend doesn’t just exist at the federal level, “Only 22% of all statewide elective executive office positions are currently held by women.” Even though we see only a handful of military and government officials on the show (due to the genocide of most of the human race), it is pretty evident that there’s solid equality of opportunity for both men and women to be in those positions. The universe of BSG one-ups the USA in the first episode when Laura Roslin becomes President of the twelve colonies. She is appointed due to the death of the former president and a large percentage of the cabinet. However, people who oppose her do so because of the way she came into power and her lack of experience before becoming the president (she was formerly secretary of education), not because she is a woman. Then Kara Thrace (“Starbuck”) is appointed CAG (Commander of the Air Group)

after Lee Adama (a male) goes into politics. And she is easily the best CAG we see on Battlestar Galactica. One of the best things about the show, however, is that their military is totally unbiased when it comes to gender. Both men and women serve equally in every branch of the military, including the front lines and as fighter pilots. On the Cylon side of things, our three driving characters who seem to hold quite a bit of political power are Number Six, Number Eight, and Number Three, and all of them are female. However, their society isn’t matriarchal in the slightest. They pretty much have a democratic republic: the models choose one of their kind to speak for them in their own sort-of congress. Out of the eight main characters in Battlestar Galactica, five of them are women. Once I started counting the supporting and minor characters (and there are a lot of them) it appeared to be a pretty good 50/50 split. Considering a lot of our media these days is failing the Bechdel Test, I’d say that ratio is pretty stellar. Not just because there are female characters in the show, but because every single one of them is of note. (Almost) all of them are fully-fleshed out with character development and believable story lines of their own. Further on in the series we meet Admiral Helena Cain, the commanding officer of Battlestar Pegasus. Cain is arguably the most complex of all the female characters on the show, and she ranks the absolute highest in the military over everyone else. She has a Kurtz/Heart of Darkness kind of attitude in which most conventional morals were tossed out the window when the Cylons attacked. But, more on her next week. Finally, the primary reason BSG beats the US in equal representation in positions of power: The Quorum of Twelve, the universe’s parliament. Those who serve on it change throughout the show, however, it always has an even ratio of male and female representatives. Not because they are required to have an even ratio, but because that’s how the elections go. The Quorum is elected by the people, and serves much like the United States Congress.

 (The Quorum of Twelve meeting with President Laura Roslin)

So, if it’s so easy for an American television show to get it right, why can’t our nation do it for real? Well, here are several reasons from an article titled “The Gender Gap: Percentage of Women in Government Worldwide. We’re Number One, Right? Not So Much…”

1. On average, women candidates raise less money than their male counterparts.

2. Redistricting appears to target female candidates more than male candidates.

3. Incumbency: Men were in office before women, and once a person is in office, they have serious advantages for reelection. Usually, the most “winnable” seats are already held by men.

4. Less Media Coverage: According to the Daily Beast, in media reports on women’s issues—like abortion and birth control—men are quoted some five times more than women are. And that affects the coverage of women in politics.

5. Stereotypes

In my opinion, both major political parties in this country have the ability to put more women forward in elections. Furthermore, voters need to take on some responsibility for the representation inequality in our government as well. Obviously I’m not condoning voting for someone solely based on their gender. However, it is true that there is a significant amount of social prejudice riding on the idea of women in government positions. And only constituents have the power to change how they feel about women in our government.

The Importance of Character Development: SciFi and the Bechdel Test

 

Amber Atalaya Evans Pinel

You may or may not be familiar with the Bechdel Test; it’s a strategy for looking at movies and TV shows in depth to determine whether or not they are featuring a realistic portrayal of women. Rather, the test asks three simple questions: Does it have at least two named female characters? Do these female characters talk to one another? And, if they do, do they talk about something other than a man?

This may sound ridiculous to you—of course movies feature women who talk to one another about something other than a man! Right? Actually, in most cases, wrong. As I continue to scrutinize my media, it becomes increasingly apparent that fully developed female characters are a rarity. It seems absurd, considering the number of women in our country alone who consume media. Obviously we do talk to one another, and we most certainly have more to talk about than men.

However, I was surprised to find that some of my own favorite movies fail the Bechdel Test. Underworld (2003), for example, the extremely popular Kate Beckinsale vampire vs. werewolf movie that started the vampire craze (in my opinion), totally fails. At first glance, it may appear that Selene is the most badass female character to ever grace the big screen with her presence. A few years ago I would have completely agreed. But let’s take the movie through the Bechdel Test.

Sure, there are quite a few female extras, but there are only three named female characters in the whole movie; Selene (the main character), Erika (her “female rival”), and Amelia (a royal elder of the vampires.) Amelia doesn’t even have lines, she only has two half-scenes where she is present. Erika is also completely lacking development; her only goal in the movie is to take Selene’s place as Kraven’s favorite hot vampire chick. Selene and Erika have a couple of scenes together, and in those scenes they only speak about Kraven and Michael (the other half of the love triangle.) For the rest of the movie, Selene is battling against men and speaking only with men. She appears to be the only female vampire in this world capable of fighting.

Not a whole lot of media passes the Bechdel Test, including everyone’s favorites. Doctor Who (2005 reboot) had a long standing reputation of fully developed companions. But recently I’ve been reading reviews from fans who are less than pleased about the direction the show is going in. Ever since Steven Moffat (co-creator of Sherlock) became the showrunner of Doctor Who, the development of female characters in that show has significantly dropped.

Moffat is receiving a lot of criticism for the direction he’s taken the show since Matt Smith became the Doctor. (Disclaimer: I haven’t seen more than a handful of episodes since Steven Moffat became the showrunner, so everything I am about to say is being reiterated from online blogs and columns I have read about the issue.)

A new companion was introduced–Amy Pond–who met the doctor when she was a child, and then meets him again as an adult. Basically, her entire life already revolved around the Doctor by the time she becomes his companion. However, this alone doesn’t make her a two dimensional character. The problem is that she was never really humanized. She faced numerous challenges and struggles throughout her time as the Doctor’s companion; things happened to her and her family that would be considered emotionally scarring by most psychologists. But by the time the next episode rolls around she seems to be totally un-phased emotionally. Her biggest struggle in the show is that she has to choose between the Doctor and her boyfriend/husband. Other than that decision, she has no goals in life, no prospects or dreams. She is totally governed as a character by the men around her. If you want a really in depth analysis of Steven Moffat’s Doctor Who, and Amy Pond as a character,  this one is the best you’ll ever find.

But Moffat isn’t just receiving criticism on Amy Pond; he’s well known for saying rather offensive things about women in general, including the female fans of Doctor Who and Sherlock. Not to mention the serious lack of developed LGBTQIA characters in his shows.

So, why is this a problem? A lot of people think that’s a dumb question, but Steven Moffat doesn’t. And neither do the all male writers and directors of Underworld. It’s a problem for several reasons: first of all, it’s not an accurate representation of real people. Women do have aspirations beyond choosing which man to follow around. Also, they do talk about other things besides men. Lot’s of other things. (Not to mention LGBTQIA people exist as real people in the real world.) But I think the biggest problem with popular TV shows like Doctor Who failing to show well developed female characters is that so many young people are getting social cues from media these days. Young people eat Doctor Who up. So if they see characters like Amy Pond, who only think about the men in their lives, what does that teach youth? It teaches them that women should only think about men, and that the biggest source of existential struggle they’ll ever have is always going to surround men.

Obviously, women will face a lot of challenges in their lives. Some of them may revolve around men. Many of those challenges will be overcoming gender-biased people trying to tell them they aren’t worth as much as their male counterparts. But what’s important is the media accurately reflect real people of all genders and sexual orientations, and that includes creating well developed characters that pass the Bechdel Test.

 

 

Female Genre-Fiction Characters: Q&A Exploration

In order to gain an understanding of the value of female characters in genre fiction, several people were asked about their favorite female characters. The answers as to why these characters matter are un-surprisingly fascinating.

Pure Blue Nudity: SciFi and the benefits of being naked

Amber Atalaya Evans Pinel

Trying to gain some peace and calm in your hectic life?
Wanting to feel grounded?
Feeling self-conscious or uncomfortable about your body when not clothed?
Well then, being naked is for you!

Meet Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan – She is a tenth level Pa’u (priest) in the Delvian Seek.
She enjoys basking in the sun and spending time in the nude. She and the Delvians are part of the known universe in the television series Farscape.

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Farscape takes place in a distant part of the universe. The main character, a human from earth, is shot through a wormhole and comes into contact with a space ship full of escaped prisoners.

Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan is one of the several alien prisoners on the ship. Zhaan is a Delvian – a blue humanoid species that is biologically plant-like. They life in a theocratic society ruled by Pa’u (priests) that follow the way of a gentle, healing Goddess. Zhaan studied to become a Pa’u of the Delvian Seek in order to master her dark emotions borne of her imprisonment.

Zhaan is kind, peaceful, and very powerful in her own right. She spends her free time dabbling in herbal medicines and meditating in her quarters – always nude.

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While I’m not an expert, I hear that meditation has fantastic affects on the body and mind. Generally, the purpose of meditation is to focus all of your attention inward. It can help you reduce anxiety and perhaps even increase happiness. I have used meditation to reduce my own anxiety and I agree that it is often times extremely helpful.

However, Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan would agree that the benefits of meditation are significantly heightened if the meditation is done in the nude.

It is my belief that nudity has a lot of benefits, whenever you choose to leave the clothes off. Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan enjoys being nude whenever she is in her private room and sometimes when she is not. In one episode of Farscape, she spends some time on a sand planet whose sun is having solar flares. Being a plant-like humanoid Zhaan relishes sunlight and has a literally orgasmic experience with the solar flares (whilst nude, of course.)

I used to be self-conscious about being nude, even in my own home. I spent several years bouncing between my parents house, dorms, and overcrowded apartments. It seemed like I never had any privacy to be nude, even for a moment out of the shower. Then I met my now girlfriend who is a partial nudist herself. She is not shy about the human body; and unless it’s in the dead of winter she spends all her time at home completely naked. At first this was unnerving to me. I had often been one to linger before dressing after a shower, but this was another matter entirely. She cooks, lounges, studies, and sleeps without clothing; and in our firmly-clothed culture that’s a total oddity.

However, while in her presence, I am part of her culture. Rather, we create a culture together, and that culture is a nude one. Since meeting her I’ve gotten over my timidity at being naked outside the bedroom, and I relish the opportunity to be around someone who encourages my nudity. I now stay nude more often when I am alone than I ever did before. And, it has definitely had its benefits. I feel less self-conscious about being nude, and more confident in my body. Hanging around in just my skin has solidified the normality of my body; I’m used to looking at my body. And the more I look at my body, the more I realize that I am beautiful. Being nude has helped me eliminate the gap between society’s expectations for my body and my body in its natural state. It has made me more confident when I’m wearing clothing, even. And I owe this all to some time spent in the nude.

There is an existing and constantly developing movement to use female nudity to empower and to protest. Women all over the world are marching partially nude and completely nude, and sometimes posting nude pictures of themselves to protest the exploitation of women’s bodies. Some journalists are arguing that using nudity in activism is one of the best tools to combat the body shaming of women who do not fit the “young, thin, and white” mold. In this article by Soraya Chemaly she lists six reasons female nudity can be powerful, most of them being ways to stand up to misogynist and sexist culture (and it’s a fascinating read, I highly recommend it.)

“Self-defined public female nudity is a challenge to capitalism and its uses of women as products, props, assets and distributable resources. Nothing on Earth is used to drive sales and profits and display male wealth and status like women’s, often naked and semi-naked, bodies,” wrote Chemaly.

However, not everyone agrees nudity is the best tactic to bring attention to important issues. Lorelei Vener writes in this article that nudity in campaigns can distract people from the purpose of the campaign. She says that when nude protests are covered by the media women are not reclaiming their nude bodies, they are only furthering the objectification of them.

Whether or not nudity is a helpful tactic in political activism, it certainly is beneficial to cultivating body positivity. People are scared of the unclothed human body, especially their own. But it’s not because we’re all scary looking underneath our garments: it’s because we don’t spend enough time looking at naked people. Sure, in the media we are bombarded with images of naked women constantly. But almost all of those images are of women who fit a very particular mold. Those women are beautiful, but the point is that all women are beautiful; and in order to cultivate the belief that we are all beautiful, we need to get down with our naked selves.

abeautifulbodyproject.com is dedicated to the mission of body positivity through nudity, and Jade Beall is one of their warriors. She takes pictures of her friends and strangers in the nude in order to show that we are all beautiful.

Nudity is a powerful tool: it can help us rebel, and it can help us make peace with ourselves. Whatever your reason, Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan recommends you spend some time naked.

Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan was played by the Australian actress and former model Virginia Hey. I think it’s worth mentioning that since her time on Farscape Hey has become a Pa’u in her own right: she opened her own perfume and soap company, and she teaches meditation and natural therapy.