(no subject)

[sapote]

I had a great time rewatching this episode with the viewing chat today, but I also felt, well. Bitter. About Jeannie McKay. We can write all the genderswap we want, but within the world of SGA, it's possible we already have our answer to "what would have happened if Rodney Mckay was a woman?".

Answer:
He'd be better socialized.
He'd be prettier.
It's very likely he wouldn't be on Atlantis at all.

I recognize that the intent behind Jeannie's character is more to show the prodigal sibling or family black sheep who chose a different path than to go "hey look! Patriarchy!". And I don't want to knock "opting out", but it does seem sort of like "aliens made them do it": a small yes surrounded by a choice that's already been made for you.

Jeannie McKay is just as smart as Rodney, and she's sitting at home all day playing trains. In "McKay and Mrs. Miller", Rodney sees another way his life could have gone: he's not the only one. Jeannie sees it too. Jeannie could have gone to the stars. However she feels about her choices, it's bittersweet to contemplate the might-have-beens. Thus: vid!

Editorial opinion not necessary for, and possibly detrimental to, enjoying the vid.

Comments

[inkscribe.livejournal.com]

Soooo very true. It's an issue I struggle with daily, literally. We've got two kids, both very very smart. But it seems like things at school and gadding-about-town in general are accepted quite differently from the male than the female. How can I help her actualise herself as the brilliant scientist she seems to be born to be, without concurrently turning her into someone who cannot function with her peers? Or worse yet, how can I help her stick to her true self, when her peers are more interested in pushing themselves into 'girl stuff' that never interested her before, but might now, just to fit in?

Out there, my heart breaks when I notice:
He's judged on his brains. She's judged on how nicely her clothes fit. WTF?

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

It's a real thing, isn't it? I was definitely raised to be a smart-girl iconoclast, and I still struggle between behaving gender-appropriately and behaving like myself. It makes me cringe when I think about how much I've learned to keep quiet in class or put a "maybe" before every opinion. Rodney might be a pain in the ass, but I admire his ability to be a painstakingly honest pain in the ass. : )

A (male) professor of mine once said: the conflict women endure between being a person and being a visual spectacle is probably the most serious psychological crisis in our culture.

But you know, one of the things that has helped me navigate all this cultural weirdness is that my parents have always know it was out there and thought about it and talked about it, even (especially) when there was nothing they could do to change it. That does make a difference!