Feminism, Sexism, and the Unnecessary Politics of Telling Stories

A couple of days ago, I linked to a meta on S1 that I thought was great, save for the unnecessary bit at the end when the author goes on about whether or not the show passes the test on feminism. I stated the following:

Naturally, I like the first part of the meta - because I don't tend to see sexism where others see it, so I tend to be far easier on shows than most feminists. (My general rule is that if I can replace the female character with a male character (and vice versa) in my brain, and still believe their motivations/characterization, then the role isn't sexist. I'm well aware that all this exercise might prove is that I think men are "girly".) In terms of the complaint that women are marginalized on the show - "women exist only to serve the mens’ story" complaint - I disregard it completely, since every single character other than Sam and Dean exist only to serve Sam and Dean's story. (Notable exceptions: Castiel, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo in S5). Even John only existed to serve Sam and Dean's story. Again, I may just have a completely different view on what is sexist/misogynistic...and that's either a post I've already done, or one I should do in the future (which will no doubt alienate me from my entire flist, so maybe I won't at all.)

A couple of you expressed interest in hearing more of my thoughts on this subject. So, here goes. This is going to be flocked, because I don't really want to be alienated by everyone.

( Cut for length, because this took me 1.5 hours to type out )

I'm not saying Supernatural is NEVER sexist. I'm just saying that I really don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be...and I'm also saying that even when it is sexist, quite frankly, I don't give a damn.

Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled

 I'm giving in and doing this meme...mainly, because I want to introduce you all to my love when I get down to the "favorite male character" day.

Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled:

Firefly

Typical answer, I know - but it had great potential and an excellent cast. I also absolutely adored Jayne, and not just because I'm a sucker for dudes with girly names. It's because I also really like people with hidden arsenals.

Now, who knows what would have happened had it not been cancelled, maybe I would have lost interest (I often do with one-hour shows.) Plus, besides the "Grr Arrg!" at the end of his shows, I never actually liked any of Whedon's stuff. The exception being Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog..and Firefly.