Rec: Meta - The Real Woman? Why Molly Hooper is the One Who Counts

[hells_half_acre]

This is sort of a follow-up to my previous post about Women, Sex, and Power in relation to Sherlock (and Sherlock fandom)...in that rant, I stated the following:

           How about we stop making every single female on television the representative for all women? Is Sherlock the representative for all men? No? Why not? Oh, because he's a possible asexual sociopath and most men aren't. Well, most women aren't dominatrixes that want to blackmail the British government, so how about we stop forcing Irene to represent our ideal of the perfect woman. Why aren't we talking the same way about Mrs. Hudson? She's pretty badass...

Now, my lovely rant was written before The Reichenbach Fall aired...and, I, like Sherlock, overlooked a lovely example of a woman that was under my nose the whole time: Molly Hooper.

Okay, maybe I didn't overlook her - I did mention her in the original rant, but then erased her, because I had already seen the fandom complaining about how Molly was "a doormat" and "weak"...and I just didn't want to open that can of worms. Luckily, I don't have to, because Miss Transmission does it for me!

In The Real Woman? Why Molly Hooper is the One Who Counts, Miss Transmission does a great job of pointing out how absolutely awesome Molly is as actually representing women. How we were so distracted by "The Woman" that we forgot that other female characters were also female. 


The truth is that I think film and television do as much of a disservice to women by making every single female character the epitome of a "strong female character", as they would do if we went back to the days of I Dream of Jeannie. (Personally, I think it's very similar to the "noble Indian" trope, it still fails to represent the subject as a complex/normal/relate-able person). Women come in all shapes and sizes and personalities...and you may hate Molly for being a doormat, but I bet it's because you hate yourself for all the times you were a doormat...and the fact is, that in the end, Molly counted the most. She was the most important person. She saved Sherlock's life...and she did it all while still being a 3 dimensional person with just as many faults as features. I'm not saying she represents all women, because my whole point with my previous statement was that NO woman should be charged with representing all women...but she does represent a PORTION of women, and she does it extraordinarily well.


Anyway...yeah, I guess this is kind of another crazy rant too. But, guys, I just...have a lot of feelings, okay! Plus, my landlord is being a prick (again) so I'm in ranty-mood tonight. (T-minus 13 days until I am rid of him).

Comments

[mymuseandi.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. Besides, I think people judge female characters a little more harshly than than men, and that part of the reason is because it's like looking at yourself from a third person view and not liking what you saw and knowing that there's always something that you could have done that you didn't.

On another note, look forward to your new house!

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link; wonderful thoughtful article, and your thoughts; I so very much agree. This is a theme very much on my mind these days as I am gearing up to writing a large paper on why we don’t allow ourselves to see people as true individuals but instead see representations of gender and sexual orientation.

[majorshipper]

Yes. Just, yes. Everywhere. Everything. Molly is amazing, and, unfortunately, as is all-too-common with fandom, she's not liked. I mean, I know why. Fandom doesn't like women, and it especially doesn't like women who portray women as anything other than badass. It's like they can't grasp a woman who can be different and vulnerable and more like us that we want to admit. And Moffat and Gatiss did a wonderful job subverting what you expected by making Molly the most important.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS. Yes.

[dairygirl.livejournal.com]

Actually, Molly is a great example of a woman. We don't think much of her. She seems nice enough but tries too hard with Sherlock. But then when he needs her, Molly shines. She offers her help with no strings attached and is able to do something for Sherlock he cannot himself. How many people have I thought similar but then there is some situation that showcases the strength that is not readily seen?

[indusnm.livejournal.com]

I do see what you're saying, and I often argue with people about the fact that while I like badass women, and shows with them, my favorite character is often not the badass ones. I mean- why lie? I heart the sidekicks, the relatable characters who stand there and say- oh my god I don't want to die. But at the same time, I am guilty of this with Muslim characters- I don't want the terrorist stereotype. I also don't want the anti-terrorist stereotype- omg there are plenty of us that neither work for al Qaeda nor work for the secret government agency of your choice. So there is a part of me that looks at Molly at first and cringes at the thought of the cliche of the pining, helpful woman who loves the oblivious hero because aside from Earth mother, that was one of the most common portrayals of women until not so long ago. So I do get what you are saying, but I think, in all fairness, that is a very small part of me, and there are other issues with her.

Personally, I think part of the issue is also that she's not ACD canon, and people judge her more because she's been added. The other characters are different from ACD canon but still have some basic traits, especially your central people, so we judge them for their differences. But when they add her (and Donovan, because let's face it- ACD's time didn't have many female cops and coroners) it makes us think- why? what purpose does she have? Is it just so you can have women as recurring characters without having it be John Watson's girlfriend, who a vocal minority of your audience will hate because it takes away from slashing? And if she is just there to represent women, why not judge her as such? It's sort of that conundrum of adding characters to a story that's already written and loved- everyone is going to judge them, but they will also object if you give them a show where there are no women in those positions in this day and age (and rightfully so- I still look at Downton Abbey and think- where are all the people of color?)

Another part of the issue is that- I am Molly. I'm intelligent, and I'm good at what I can do (oddly I can say it but not hear it from other people), but one of the things I most remember someone saying about me (in a very shocked voice) is wow, you're actually really smart. Because I come off as an idiot in my daily life. I like my books and my typed up words but I say the wrong thing constantly and am the instigator of a million awkward pauses and have been since I was a child- and yes, I'm not that bad but I believe I am, and that makes me worse and it comes out to the same thing in the end. We (and by we I mean the average viewer) are all Molly, in a way that we can NEVER be Adler. Molly is our neuroses, the mirror that shows what we all see when we look at ourselves. Is she more than that- yes, we all know that because we are (we hope) more than that too, but in the meantime Molly breaks my heart a good dozen times. She is that most heart-breaking and overlooked of fictional characters- the completely relatable one. A lot of people think John is, but he's completely insane and very, very self-assured in his own right. Much more than I am, and more, I think, than most people are. But Molly is relatable to the flaws in us, and more than that, the humiliation we have all felt and hate to re-live.

Did Molly have to save Sherlock (and um, all presumption here that she does) in order to "redeem herself?" No, of course not, and most of us don't get a chance to save people's lives when no one else could in order to show ourselves that we are more than our worst moments. For some of us, it's that moment in high school when you are only the one who can solve a math problem that no one else can, or when you go to court and run circles around a lawyer who makes twice what you do and has 4 years of experience on you. Is it fantastic that she did? Yes, I cheered. Will I still forward through the Christmas scene? Oh God yes, it makes my heart hurt.