A feminist analysis of Firefly

[denny]

Reposting this link from a friends-only post elsewhere: I have to say that now that I have subjected myself to the horror that is Firefly, I really am beyond worried about how much men hate us, given that this was written by a man who calls himself a feminist.


Highlights:

* The first scene opens in a war with Mal and Zoe. Zoe runs around calling Mal ‘sir’ and taking orders off him. I roll my eyes. Not a good start.

* Zoe is not shown to have a personality of her own. (we interrupt your edited highlights for a hysterical giggling fit)

* Given the fact that women are largely absent from the action and the dialogue of the majority of scenes it is unsurprising that the action onscreen is highly homoerotic. [...] This intense homoeroticism is present from the outset as Mal asserts his rights as alpha male on the ship. [...] Violence is a part of the landscape throughout the whole series and Mal is often the instigator. He is constantly rubbing himself up against other men ...

* The women who ‘choose’ to be ‘Companions’ are shown as being intelligent, accomplished, educated, well-respected and presumably from good families. If a woman had all of these qualities and opportunities then why the fuck would she ‘choose’ to be a man’s fuck toy? Would being a fuck toy for hundreds of men give a woman like Inara personal fulfillment? Job satisfaction? A sense of purpose? Fulfill her dreams? Ambitions? Money doesn’t seem to be the motivation behind Inara’s ‘choice’ to be a ‘Companion’, presumably she just ‘enjoys’ swanning around in ridiculous outfits. And being used as a fuck toy by men is seemingly a small price to pay for the pleasure.

* Let me just say now that I have never personally known of a healthy relationship between a white man and a woman of colour. [...] So you will forgive me for believing that the character, Wash, is a rapist and an abuser, particularly considering that he treats Zoe like an object and possession.


And from the comments:

* I think you've missed a massive bit of misogynistic symbolism. The ship itself. The ship is characterised as female throughout the series [...] The name of the ship by itself "Serenity" suggests a demure, submissive role. But, more than that, they all live off her, they all live *in* her, symbolically raping her, while staying safe and cosy inside her womb.

* I cannot think of even 1 person I know in real life who would be happy to take on the job of "Companion". [...] The argument in "Firefly" is that she wants to share her love with everyone... this is a very MALE point of view of sexuality. Not female. Women are not like that.

Comments

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

It's very strange, isn't it?

I read it a week or so ago. I *do* think that Inara is a problematic character and that there are some legitimate gender and race wibbles with Joss Whedon's work (though he's still a darn sight better than most other Hollywood tv writers). But the author of that rant not only makes some very not-so-legitimate wibblings, she also seems to miss most of the real problems. Just - really, dude. Not helpful.

And the last point that you quote... wtf? Racist herself much?

All in all it reminds me of Why I Am Not A Radical Feminist. Although it also reminds me of why I should probably be a bit louder in being the sort of feminist that I am, to remind people that we can be reasonably sane...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I've added a particularly choice quote from the comments now, so you're referring to the last quote from the post's author herself (just for clarity when anyone else reads this).

Obviously I have trimmed a middle section out of that quote which makes it sound a touch more directly insane than it does in her post (she gives her reasons for believing such a thing), but even so, yeah... wtf? This lady is way beyond a bit biased.

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

This lady is way beyond a bit biased.

Heh, indeed.

And let's not even get in to her conviction that Joss Whedon rapes his wife. W.T.F.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was... interesting...

[mirukux.livejournal.com]

All in all it reminds me of Why I Am Not A Radical Feminist

apologies to barge into denny's lj, but i just wanted to note that 'radical feminism' can cover both 'sex-positive' and 'sex-negative' stances.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Barging Considered Helpful!

I was hoping for a bit more input from the 'sane' feminists who are part of my friends-of-friends network, but most of them seem to have just said "oh god she's making us all look like fucking lunatics" and left it at that. Which is fair, but not very informative for those of us who are basically well-intentioned but fairly confused by the details of what is and isn't feminist/sexist/right/wrong/left/etc even on a good day, let alone with this kind of thing :)

This woman does seem to have a lot of other people agreeing with some or all of her points, both in her own journal and in others, so presumably she's not just making this stuff up wholesale, there's some kind of 'accepted' reasoning process behind it. That leaves me wondering if there's actually any room for me (given my apparently unfortunate gender) in the world-view of these people.

[samoth.livejournal.com]

I had a particularly amusing discussion about this with my (lesbian, feminist, firefly-fan) parents at the weekend. They thought the whole thing was hilarious!

[lee-chaos.livejournal.com]

I think it's really distressing. You get someone like Joss Whedon who's at least *trying* to write balanced fiction, and he gets a feminist kicking. Surely there are other targets more deserving of their unshaven rage? Like the whole rap genre, perhaps?!

My point being, if they attack people who are making steps forward, however fumbling, then they are less likely to bother doing so in the future.

Also, all that shit about all men being rapists can fuck off.

[samoth.livejournal.com]

I think this is 'feminist' in the same way that Al-Qaeda is 'muslim' :P

[arachne.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I do find it incredibly annoying that this kind of shit gets labelled "feminist" - gives actual feminism a bad name (as I believe I've ranted with you about before) ;)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Yeah - and people get so excited about debunking this sort of nonsense that it detracts attention from the actual issues. Growl.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

seconded

[earle.livejournal.com]

Score: 5, Insightful

[fire-brand.livejournal.com]

Some of this I agree with, some of this I don't. I'm not sure this person has spent enough time really watching Firefly to have gathered all the appropriate information.

Firstly, the last point, as mentioned above, I believe to be racist in itself, so I'm striking that one. Not the mention the highly problematic way this person has let her personal opinion cloud her analysis: "Let me just say now that I have never personally known of a healthy relationship between a white man and a woman of colour." While this may or may not be true - that doesn't rule out a "healthy" relationship existing in fiction.

As for the fact he treats Zoe like an object, I very much see Zoe as the dominant partner in that relationship, so I'd be interested to hear examples to the contrary.

Secondarily, Inara - yes, I agree she a is difficult character to resolve. I would like to point out that her reasoning for becoming a companion, as far as I remember, is to do with the freedom that it affords her. A few times they use Inara to get them into/out of more secured areas because she's actually far more respected than any of them.

I'd also like to point out that she has her choice of men - she is sent invitations and only takes up the men she has some interest in.

I'd also also like to point out that she was offered marriage at one stage by a very rich and influential partner of hers, and she turned it down - further suggesting that she chooses that path for her own freedom.

Now, I realise all of these points are problematic on many levels - she is still basically a prostitute. However, this is an overly extreme feminist reaction. Yes, it has its morally dubious points - but lets not forget that Firefly (like every other series) doesn't *just* represent gender. It's also a genre rehash, it looks at worldwide culture (the speaking of mandarin, the way Inara dresses etc), it looks at power structures, the movie looks at drug use, etc, etc. All of these things are going to effect the way that gender is represented because all of these things can only be analyzed in comparison to our own culture. And, in our culture - gender representation is flawed.

Just because Joss Whedon calls himself a feminist, doesn't mean he is bound to represent females in a flattering light. He certainly doesn't represent the men in Firefly in such a positive way.

I think the really sticky issue in Firefly is actually River Tam - she's taken away by (male) scientists and brainwashed until she's crazy and under their control. They literally insert things into her brain. She's then saved, and cared for, by her brother. Etc...

[fire-brand.livejournal.com]

Oh, and, bitches be crazy.

[anarquistador.livejournal.com]

You've gotta love beanheartbatman's comment: "That's the laziest interpretation of Whedon's work I ever read. It reads of a person who refuses to leave their biased nature behind and has watched with a view to hate it regardless of its content."

Oh, snap! She got told!

Seriously, how do people get like that? If I ever even acted a tenth that retarded I'm certain I'd have a dozen friends lining up to slap some sense back into me. Surely she didn't start spouting that feminazi crap overnight. She must have been relatively normal at one time, so when her views started to become more extreme and ridiculous, how did she escape her own peers firmly but kindly pointing out that she was talking complete bollocks? How did the voice of reason get shouted down so completely by the voice of blithering idiot? I suspect she has gradually shut out any real-life friends of intelligence and moderation and replaced them with an insular social circle of online yes-wymmyn whose zealous backslapping is the perfect antidote to all those real-life people that knew better than to take her seriously. I really wanted to believe that she was just an internet troll, or satirizing the archetypal "man-hating-bull-dyke", but I sadly suspect that here is a person who seriously believes not only that penis = evil, but who was looking so hard to find bigotry that she managed to read a rape/slave subtext into Zoe and Wash's relationship. Seriously, what the fuck?

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

As I've said elsewhere, I find it entirely plausible that Wash is Zoe's rape-slave ;)

[anarquistador.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I think the writer was suggesting that it was the other way around, and that it was Joss Weadon's subtext rather than a Zoe and Wash's role playing.

Hmmm, Zoe and Wash roleplaying.... I'll be in my bunk.

[cokephreak.livejournal.com]

feminazi

I like this term :)
I may steal it

how did she escape her own peers firmly but kindly pointing out that she was talking complete bollocks?
I always try to point it out when my friends are talking complete bollocks.
Sadley I think that on the Feminism Vs. Gender Equality issue I may have become a little over sensitive.

[anarquistador.livejournal.com]

You may as well steal it. I did.

[cokephreak.livejournal.com]

I always thought that Firefly showed the women to be the stronger characters.
They certainly are the more capable and heroic. Always always smarter than the men.

I can't think of a single example of one of them needing to be rescued, of them playing the damsel in distress.
The only possible exception would be River and Simon getting rescued in Safe and she never really appears to be a "victim" here.
A much stronger image is of Mal and Wash getting rescued from Niska in a heroic rescue led by ... Zoe.


As for the ship being refered to as a "she" : how does this line of reasoning (gendered object = sexism) fare in non-english speaking countries? France for instance, where *every-thing* has a gender.

[ulorin-vex.livejournal.com]

No offense to your friend (is it your friend?) but that's the biggest pile of bullsh*t I've read in ages. Is it even serious or is it meant to be a joke??? O_o It's kind of hilarious at the same time as being kind of sad if they actually believe what they've written

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I don't know her - I just saw the link in someone else's journal and thought it was worth sharing :)

I'm entirely sure that she's entirely serious, unfortunately.

[cokephreak.livejournal.com]

I had that problem looking through the comments.

I couldn't tell which are serious and whoch are heavily applying irony

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure the comment that says something about what a good job the original post author made of commenting 'without bias' was taking the piss, although I wouldn't want to bet real money on it. I'm fairly sure everyone else is painfully serious.

[uberredfraggle.livejournal.com]

We were talking about her last night. Going by other posts she lives here in Sydney right near cryx as she mentions shops and road names in this area.

I wonder if I ever walk past her in the street. Apparently she's a true lesbian which most women who sleep with women aren't. Heh.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

I wonder if that's "true lesbian" like some of those I've tried to go out with who turn out to be more keen to be seen as lesbians (shrill feminists) than actually, you know, liking to have sex with women.

/bitterness

[libellum.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, most of my queer lady friends are the opposite. We're all crap at the whole Being A Lesbian thing, we're just in it for the sex with the girls.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

This does tend to jibe rather more closely with my interpretation of "queer woman" though I know it's not a unanimous verdict.

What confuses me is the women who think they should identify as lesbian or bisexual because it's the more politically empowering and righteous thing to do. It's not a radical statement, for crying out loud; it's not a profession of support for women's rights - it's a way of putting words around liking pussy!

{grumbles incoherently}

[original-hell.livejournal.com]

well, y'know, sex is clearly an invasion of their personal space.

[pooloftrees.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, she really needs to switch off her reality warp field...

"The first scene opens in a war with Mal and Zoe. Zoe runs around calling Mal ‘sir’ and taking orders off him..."

Hmmm - so instead she should say 'military hierarchy be damned'?

"Wash, is a rapist and an abuser, particularly considering that he treats Zoe like an object and possession."

I won't dignify this stupid comment of hers with a rebuttal.

Wash is a generally weak and non-assertive character, which to me makes it even more visible that Zoe is definitely the stronger person in their relationship. Linking in to the above quote about taking orders - she definitely doesn't do so without question - if she has issues, she'll tell Mal, although generally out of earshot of the others, probably out of their long running experience of working together during the war and the military structures that formed the bond between them.

Inara indeed is controversial. As a guy, it is of course appealing to imagine someone as beautiful as her being prepared to sleep with you (keeping payment out of your mind) [note that my position on sex is that I would never pay anyone for it], but at the same time Mal's use of the term "whore" kind of reflects what what even the more gentlemanly characters seem to really be thinking, and certainly leaves me with confusing feelings, particularly in the way she seems to lie about her feelings to please her partner.

River, I could not see as a woman in the same way I did Zoe, Inara and Kaylee, rather more like I do my sister or a child - with feelings of caring affection and parental instincts. In this case I think this character had to be a woman to get this sort of response to what had happened to her, compare this to the response to the man who survived the Reavers by becoming one, even before we knew that.

As for the remaining characters, they each have different facets.
* Mal certainly isn't a charmer and comes right out with what he means, and damned how anyone takes it.
* Book is enigmatic, switching between being a man of the cloth, to something that hinted at a military/criminal background.
* Simon seems to be straight-forward, but struggles to express his feelings and cross the class divide.
* Jayne if anything is the most unflattering character, portraying a man who is greedy, unethical, and generally dim-witted - strangely though I haven't seen men jumping up and down over this character's portrayal, yet if this character had been a woman (e.g. a "dumb blonde"), then I suspect there would have been an outcry.
* Finally Kaylee seems to be the most pure and innocent of all of them, unabashed about her feelings and sexuality. When she's happy, she's like a ray of sunshine in the room...

[antihope.livejournal.com]

I think "companion" could be fun. It's just a high class hooker, like the chick that fucked that NY Governor. Personally, I get a kick out of guys that are so pathetic they have to spend money to have a girl hang out or have sex with them. (Granted, I spent a few years as a prostitute, but not such a high-class one, though not a street girl). She'd get to travel, and I'm sure she can deny any guy she wants.

I haven't seen Firefly in a while, but I think I liked it when I did see it.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

Well, she does get to refuse them: it's an incredibly high-class position in that society (though not without ambivalence), sort of more like being a priestess of Ishtar than a hooker.

[fayroberts.livejournal.com]

Oh, for the love of mercy. I'm really hoping that's an April Fool...

[original-hell.livejournal.com]

re: prostitution... i'm thinking of belle du jour?
i don't really have much to add to this debate, except to agree that no-one has analysed teh sexism in terms of the male characterisation... clearly all men are teh hormone rage yar?
also firefly is pretty. i think i was drawn in by the photography, and the wit. i've been meaning to re-watch anyway, so good excuse :)
x

[earle.livejournal.com]

"I would argue that most 'sex' between men and women, in the contemporary 'sex-positive', pornographic, male-supremacist culture, is rape."

This is Millie Tant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millie_Tant)'s blog, isn't it?