The BBC expertly shut down sexist complaints about the new Doctor in “Doctor Who”
Deftly hitting back at the sexist comments about the casting of a female Doctor, the BBC shut down any complaints about Doctor Who in the best way possible.
In case you missed it, it was announced that the 13th Doctor in the long-running science fiction show Doctor Who is going to be a woman!
Like many, we were completely overjoyed by the news of Jodie Whittaker’s casting, especially after we saw just how much of an impact it would have on future generations of fans of the show.
However, because it’s 2017 and we can’t have nice things, there were many disparaging comments made online about how the Doctor, who has typically been played by a cis man, couldn’t regenerate into a woman (many of these people seem to forget that the Doctor is actually an alien from the planet Gallifrey and has two hearts), and how “childhoods” had been ruined by the casting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1IczjLYCIM?feature=oembed
What’s more, certain British tabloids took an equally sexist and misogynistic approach to the casting, opting to publish nude stills of Whittaker taken from other TV shows, a move which has been branded “irresponsible” by the organization Equal Representation for Actresses.
I took Daily Mail comments from people angry about a possible Female Dr Who and turned them into episode titles for the new series pic.twitter.com/k586EeVpld
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) July 15, 2017
Now the BBC has thrown its hat in the ring to address complaints received about the casting of a female doctor in Doctor Who.
In a statement released on the British broadcaster’s website, those who had complained were reminded that the Doctor was an alien who could, in fact, switch genders.
“Since the first Doctor regenerated back in 1966, the concept of the Doctor as a constantly evolving being has been central to the programme,” the statement reads. “The continual input of fresh ideas and new voices across the cast and the writing and production teams has been key to the longevity of the series.”
"The Doctor is an alien from the planet Gallifrey and it has been established in the show that Time Lords can switch gender," it continues.
Finally, the statement paraphrases the Controller of BBC Drama.
“Jodie is not just a talented actor but she has a bold and brilliant vision for her Doctor,” the statement finishes. “She aced it in her audition both technically and with the powerful female life force she brings to the role. She is destined to be an utterly iconic Doctor.”
Indeed, those who have all caught up with the latest season of Doctor Who will know that, actually, the Doctor themselves said that Time Lords and Time Ladies were outside of gender.
“We’re the most civilized civilization in the universe,” the 12th Doctor says. “We’re billions of years beyond your petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes.”
Time Lords = genderfluid!
🌈#Pride2017 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/isSTjMZIeg— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) June 28, 2017
Cementing that a female Doctor is the greatest thing to happen to the show was everyone’s favorite sassy online dictionary Merriam-Webster, who tweeted out simple, “‘Doctor’ has no gender in English.”
'Doctor' has no gender in English.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) July 17, 2017
Given that a poll of readers from the Radio Times voted overwhelmingly positively about the news that Jodie Whittaker’s casting (only 1,978 out of 12,000 said that the casting was “terrible”), hopefully we can put a rest to all the sexist and misogynist comments about having a female Doctor once and for all.
We can’t wait to see Jodie in the TARDIS.
