A few days ago when they finally announced the Doctor's thirteenth regeneration, protagonist character of the historical series Doctor Who, I was on the train and I was waiting for the event with some emotion. I actually initially thought not to spoil the surprise and wait for Christmas to find out, but since Facebook has existed none of us are safe and not even the most powerful anti spoiler plugin in the world could have saved me from the inevitable. But I was happy with the news anyway, given my passion for the series, and yet I also felt a little scared. It's never easy to accept a Doctor's goodbye, but at that moment I felt something particularly loud was going to happen.
And indeed, it happened.
The new Doctor is a woman!
Jodie whittaker, I'm so sorry! You are just the right person at the right time and in the right show. Yet not all users are happy to see you. The reason? "The Doctor has always been a man, so I don't want her!". Unfortunately, the feeling I was feeling while waiting for the presentation trailer had come true and a question emerged again, the same one, which I have been asking myself for a long time. Why is the genderswap (usually male to female and not vice versa) so much pilloried, even when it shouldn't be as in the case of Doctor Who? The Doctor has the ability to change his appearance once mortally wounded, to continue living in a new form. Since the classic series it has always been made clear that he could have regenerated himself even in a woman. So why are many outraged? On the other hand, this change is perfectly consistent with the series and with the character. Do users dislike radical changes? Perhaps, but I am convinced that the problem is much older and more rooted in time. The real question is: because the female figures (whether they are video gamers, readers or simply fictional characters) are they still not fully accepted in nerdy culture?
I already see a large group of angry girls under my house, but without turning too much around there is an uncomfortable thing to say: the nerdy world (expression I hate, but will use often) it has always been associated with the male sex. At least until a few years ago, when we talked about nerd a little boy who was a bit nerdy, often withdrawn, great gamer of video games and role-playing games, very intelligent and dressed in social suicide shirts and pants. For some time the situation has changed and some passions associated with this "character" have become all the rage. This sparked the ire of the self-styled "real nerds" (I swear, using these epithets makes me go back to middle school) who did not accept that their small clique would expand like this. Many say that something like this has never happened, yet they do not know that in the 70s thanks to the success of a gentleman called Woody Allen, our bespectacled friends have had their revenge. So there is always a period of recession and then of splendor. But this time it's different. There is a new factor that is a little uncomfortable, namely the inclusion of women in this category.
During the years female characters in nerd culture, and in video games in particular, have undergone a remarkable evolution. We went from "the princess to be saved" to Santa Lara Croft, followed by many other strong figures and very far from the typical female stereotype that we are weak and defenseless. The introduction of these characters, in unsuspecting times, has also attracted us little brats with the (horrendous) braids bowed by mum. I confess, I loved identifying myself with characters like Sniper Wolf or Samus Aran, despite being two brave and skilled women, which is the opposite of the weak and whining girl that I was. But they were other times and we were holed up in our corner, for fear of being accused of heresy and put on a stake made of pads and books by Asimov. For some time now, things have changed and women have also begun to play a role in this vast universe. Self before Princess Leia never owned a lightsaber despite being Force sensitive, now we have Rey showing Kylo Ren stars. Also thanks to them many other girls have approached science fiction and video games, but just like all the people who are passionate about everything "for fashion", as if it were the worst of sins, they too have often been judged. By making a general picture of the various judgments affixed to the fair sex we can say that passionate veterans are defined a priori incapable, while newcomers are simply insulted for free. For this reason, many girls tend to self-ghettoize. It is almost a defense mechanism. In fact, I believe the creation of the expression gamer girl is certainly a captivating way to attract audiences for better or for worse, but also a way to affirm female identity in a typically male culture that has not given us (and does not give us) easy life.
All this hatred is closely related to one stereotype from which we cannot free ourselves: every genre has rules to follow. In these papier-mâché rules there are also passions associated exclusively with males or females. On the other hand, since childhood, pink is for girls and blue for boys; my nephew plays football and your daughter plays mom; the Tansformers for Antongiulio and Sbrodolina for Maria Oronza. So video games are "men's stuff" and you woman go shopping. I believe that in 2017 we can no longer afford to remain anchored to an old and useless mentality. With parity we can only gain all. Also because, if we want to think in a very cynical and cold way, trying to include all genres in any field can only increase audience and earnings. As well as the arrival of a female Doctor. A breath of fresh air that earns the market a few more bucks and a few more points to parity (as long as the plots of the episodes are well written, but that's another story). In light of all this we can say that gender equality is starting to trend, so what's wrong with that? We really need to continue to criticize the entertainment market just because it has decided to ride the wave girl power? They certainly aren't promoting the nuclear bomb or terrorism. Why heat up so much for a female regeneration? Maybe, going on like this many things can change, for example there will no longer be a division between male and female teams in eSports tournaments, or users will stop insulting poor streamers on Twitch just because they are female and maybe even attractive.
Quiet guys, none of us want to prove that women are better than men and gne gne gne, also because in this case we would not speak of equality but of disgusting misandry. It would simply be sexism in response to more sexism. So, it's time to make some space on your table in the school canteen and include us in "your" conversations.
