On Sam Carter in particular, I have a soft spot for her. While everyone was cringing over her "reproductive organs" line in the pilot, I *like* that woman. I love the woman who walked into a room of superior, dismissive officers and made them respect her. That line has become a joke but I honestly liked it. I'll take a year's worth of lines like that rather than the Samantha Carter who, I'm supposed to believe, as a military officer and veteran of the first contact team can't make a room filled with subordinate officers listen to her. I have nothing but pure contempt for what the writers did to MY Sam Carter.
To rediscover my love for the character, I had to seek out some extremely well written gen fic. Once she's freed from the relationship baggage and allowed to be defined by who she is, I find she's a very interesting woman. There are cool aspects to Sam that can be explored. If I can ignore Daniel's blithe comment to Sam that she should dress in native dress because that's what anthropologists do, if I can ignore Jack's making jokes with the Jaffa guards while an SGC member bleeds profusely in the prison cell, if I can ignore BOTH Daniel's and Teal'c's falling into bed with women despite their own marital status -- I can disregard some of the stupid things I hate so very much about what they did to Sam.
I am not saying that I like the Sam who makes blundering command decisions and is patted on the head afterwards by the men. I am not saying that it doesn't royally cheese me off when Sam folds under pressure that isn't even a tenth as bad as getting through the Air Force Academy would have been. I am not saying that I like the doe eyes of death. I really, really, really hate all of that shit. They continually undermine her and make her a sucky character when she isn't. Or, she didn't start out that way and she isn't crappy 100% of the time. I *can* find the woman I admire and respect inside that crap ("inside every crappily-wirtten major is a wonderful captain doctor waiting to get out!") and I have read the works of many authors who found it.
Again, the quote isn't about saying you HAVE to find a particular female character to your taste. It's to look at your reaction to a similarly written male character and compare the strength of your reactions.
no subject
To rediscover my love for the character, I had to seek out some extremely well written gen fic. Once she's freed from the relationship baggage and allowed to be defined by who she is, I find she's a very interesting woman. There are cool aspects to Sam that can be explored. If I can ignore Daniel's blithe comment to Sam that she should dress in native dress because that's what anthropologists do, if I can ignore Jack's making jokes with the Jaffa guards while an SGC member bleeds profusely in the prison cell, if I can ignore BOTH Daniel's and Teal'c's falling into bed with women despite their own marital status -- I can disregard some of the stupid things I hate so very much about what they did to Sam.
I am not saying that I like the Sam who makes blundering command decisions and is patted on the head afterwards by the men. I am not saying that it doesn't royally cheese me off when Sam folds under pressure that isn't even a tenth as bad as getting through the Air Force Academy would have been. I am not saying that I like the doe eyes of death. I really, really, really hate all of that shit. They continually undermine her and make her a sucky character when she isn't. Or, she didn't start out that way and she isn't crappy 100% of the time. I *can* find the woman I admire and respect inside that crap ("inside every crappily-wirtten major is a wonderful captain doctor waiting to get out!") and I have read the works of many authors who found it.
Again, the quote isn't about saying you HAVE to find a particular female character to your taste. It's to look at your reaction to a similarly written male character and compare the strength of your reactions.