More digging through old Avatar discussion posts... I found a rant against Katara's character. Now, Katara isn't my favorite character, but she's at least as well-developed as any of the others, and she is actually pretty neat. The story went out of its way to provide her with the opportunity to learn healing specifically so that she could reject it and learn to fight instead. She may not exactly be a revolutionary female protagonist, but at least she has a believably flawed personality, a strong will, and a desire to fight and protect those she loves that is as strong as any male character's.
The person who posted the rant is one step above "KATARA SUCKS OMG" (and it's a very small step). The main point of the rant: Katara is a "poorly written, blob of cliche" while all the male characters are wonderfully developed. If the OP posted this without expecting any dissention, then I believe they are a moron. Personally, I think they were looking for wank. Several commenters agree with me.
In any case, the rant can be found here:
http://community.livejournal.com/avatar_fans/437135.htmlIt quickly turns to wank, and was even featured on Fandom Wank, but there were some great comments coming from people responding to the rant that I wholly agree with and would like to quote here. They all make the same basic point, but I couldn't resist quoting all of them.
"This kind of rant is what irritates me. Not so much because I, personally, love Katara, but because this just shows that no matter how well written or how well rounded a female character is, they are always always heavily (and mostly unfairly) criticized."Source:
http://community.livejournal.com/avatar_fans/437135.html?thread=6935439#t6935439"I get tired of reading posts like these-- I see them in every fandom, from Naruto to Gundam Wing. Usually comming from female fans who display this bizarre venom against the main female character. If the main female is smart or capable or strong, she's a Mary Sue. If she's got character flaws or actually acts her age sometimes, she's stupid or insane."Source:
http://community.livejournal.com/avatar_fans/437135.html?thread=6948495#t6948495"I hate seeing this kind of rant on fandom communities - where female characters are mercilessly bashed for traits that a male character would be considered as having a lot of character depth."Source:
http://community.livejournal.com/avatar_fans/437135.html?thread=6963343#t6963343This isn't exactly new or anything (female fans have been bashing female characters since fandom existed), but I felt like it was a good opportunity to post something about it.
I've noticed it in shipping more than anything. To use an Avatar example: the majority of Zuko/Katara fans hate Mai (Zuko's canon love interest) with a freakin' unholy passion. And why, you ask? Because she loves Zuko. Holy hot damn, if that's a crime, you're ALL guilty, bitches!
I've also noticed that, although there is some hatred of Aang (Katara's canon love interest), he's typically treated with more respect. Is it because there's Toph available to shove him off on while Mai has no one (at least not for strictly het shippers)? Possible, but I think it's more related to this tendency of females to hate hate HATE the woman who "steals" the man away from her. It's kind of sad.
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