Doctor Who On Feminism

Doctor Who On Feminism is a one-page essay by Martin Wiggins.
It was originally published in 1981 in an unknown issue of Fendahl, a UK fanzine.
The essay was reprinted in 1982 with the author’s permission “I thank Simon & Frank Danes, editors of FENDAHL, as well as Martin Wiggins for permission to reprint a portion of these thought-provoking essays.” – from the editorial of Dimension Four #1 in the US zine, Dimension Four #1 where it was accompanied by line drawings by Vale Verse portraying two of the female characters mentioned in the essay: Sarah Jane Smith and Leela.
A fan's comments about the essay in Dimension Four stated that it was “very close to scholarly, as you consider Martin Wiggin’s essays.” from a letter of comment by Mark A. Caldera in Dimension Four #2 
The essay is part of a broader discussion taking place in fandom on the role of women in fandom, feminism, and how women were being - and should be - depicted in popular culture.
The views presented by the author in the essay - along with those who commented on the essay - may no longer reflect their current views or opinions regarding Doctor Who or about the themes the essay discussed.
==Context Within the Zine, "Dimension Four"==
The essay was one of a series of short essays by Martin Wiggins, originally published in many issues of the British fanzine Fendahl (1980-81), analyzing philosophical themes in the Doctor Who television series. The third essay in the series was included in issue #9, and the last one appeared in #17 (possibly #18).
Several of the essays were subsequently reprinted in the first issue of U.S. fanzine Dimension Four with authorial permission (although at least one factual error was inadvertently inserted in the U.S. version). Besides the one on feminism, other essays in the series addressed religion, ecology, war, law, capital punishment, the individual (#9), racialism (#10), patriotism (#17), and bureaucracy.
The first essay in the series, which was not selected for US reprint, specified that the objective of the series was to identify and analyse Doctor Who's take on these themes, and that the series did not necessarily reflect the author's personal opinions, beliefs, or prejudices regarding the topics.
==Context Within Doctor Who Fandom==
Doctor Who fandom hasn't always been, and sometimes still isn't, friendly to female fans. Leslie McMurtry, the editor of The Terrible Zodin zine, estimates that male fans outnumbered female fans around three to one during the classic series' run.How Fanzines Helped Put Doctor Who Fans in Charge of Doctor Who by Nolan Feeney, published in The Atlantic on December 24, 2013
A fan in 2009 observed at a public Doctor Who gathering that she “saw that the 5:1 male-female ratio of Who Who fans held true…” by Leslie McMurtry, from “One Fan, Two Fan, Girl Fan, Who Fan on the Fringes of Swansea Regenerations,” from The Terrible Zodin #5 
A female fan wrote in 2009: 
As a long running, contemporary TV series in active production spanning decades, Doctor Who fandom is uniquely positioned to reflect the shifts in popular culture's depiction of women and showcase the various waves of feminist theories.
In recent years, Doctor Who’s characters and scripts have been reevaluated and repositioned in context of these waves, specifically the second vs third waves of feminism.The waves of feminism, and why people keep fighting over them, explained by Constance Grady published by Vox (2018)
The second wave of feminism focused on political and social equality, rejecting gender stereotypes of women as housewives and providing sex and free labor to men. In this context, the episodes of Doctor Who that aired in the 1970s featured female characters advocating for the kinds of political and social equality that is often labeled “second wave feminism."
The third wave of feminism which arose in the 1990s, argued that women should embrace the freedom to choose their own paths - effective feminism requires supporting women who choose traditional roles as well as those who choose to live outside of tradition. It acknowledges that women have different experiences, come from different economic and social backgrounds and therefore should have the freedom to make different choices.TV Tropes, Useful Notes / Feminism (accessed May 10, 2024. 
In 2015, Whovian FeminismTumblr explored the episode “The Time Monster” using a third wave feminism perspective that fondly looked back on the second wave feminism depicted in 1970s Doctor Who episodes: 
Unlike Star Trek and other media fandoms where fanzine publications were written and published mainly by women, Doctor Who’s initial fanzine era - which began in the UK in the 1970s- was more predominantly written by men. In contrast, North American fanzines published in the 1980s like Dimension Four were most often written by women. See Do it yourself: women, fanzines, and Doctor Who (2013) . 
Without access to surviving copies of the UK fanzine Fendahl where the essay was originally published, it is difficult to gauge how the essay was received in UK Doctor Who fandom. The essay’s cautious reception in Dimension Four may be a reflection of changes taking place in the United States Doctor Who fanzine world in the 1980s.
Limited access to Doctor Who episodes in the United States until the 1980s also meant that North American fanzine publications with its stronger female presence remained under-represented in comparison to the longer history of UK fanzine publications with a more male-dominated perspective. That, and the lack of online access and difficulties of international communication meant that substantive discussions about feminism in Doctor Who were limited and fragmented.
Finally, because of Doctor Who fandom origin as a British TV show, cultural differences may have impacted how the essay was received; the editor of the Dimension Four zine warns its American readers that “what we Americans believe to be misspellings of certain words Martin Wiggins' DOCTOR WHO ON are actually the British spellings . These things entirely relative, you know.“
==Some Topics Discussed in the Essay==
* Wiggins argued that the series often cast The Doctor’s female companions as "stooges,” aka underlings/assistants, so writers try to bypass this by having them parrot feminist beliefs: "One problem with the Doctor's female companions is that they can become stooges. One of Malcolm Hulke's more common gambits to avoid this was to make them profess a form of feminism.”
* Wiggins asserted that the series' feminism often focused on language, and Jo Grant’s "The Green Death" (19 May to 23 June 1973) "growing feeling of independence from the Doctor is symbolised in her insinuation that the English language is part of a conspiracy against womanhood, repeatedly insisting that people abandon a perfectly legitimate nuance of the word 'man' and substitute 'human being'."
 
* Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that women rejecting the traditional female roles should create new roles instead of usurping "traditional masculine" roles. Sarah Jane Smith in the episode “The Time Monster” (20 May to 24 June 1972) where Sarah Jane's This represents an error that was apparently inadvertently inserted in the U.S. version of the essay. The episode 'The Time Monster,' referred to in the U.S. version of the essay, actually featured a different companion - Jo Grant. The essay was likely referring to the 1973 episode “The Time Warrior,” which was not released into the U.S. until 1983, one year after U.S. publication of the essay. choice to wear male clothing instead of contemporary female clothing is an example of women usurping male roles.
* Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that there is no conflict between the sexes in our society.
* Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that held up a medieval servant as an example of the 'wise women' who 'know their own place'. Meg, a kitchen servant from the episode, “The Time Warrior” (15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974). 
* Wiggins argued that the series used medieval aristocratic social structure to illustrate the argument that although men have the "monopoly on the use of force", intelligent women have feminine tools such as "female cunning." This enables them to become "first-rate political schemers." Lady Eleanor, a noble woman in the episode, “The Time Warrior” (15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974). 
* Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that feminism is a "distorted perception of society" because it confuses the natural desire to be independent and self-sufficient with a desire to be free of "male domination." Sarah Jane Smith in the episode “The Time Warrior” (15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974). 
*Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that self-sufficiency is not possible in modern society - we all need help from time to time. Even Drahva, the feminist utopia shown on Doctor Who, one where men are enslaved and used as breeding stock, was a place where feminists would always be dissatisfied because they still would need help to succeed.
* Wiggins identified an attitude traceable to the series that many other intelligent women characters did not "waste time complaining of female subservience to men" and instead "get on with looking after themselves."
* Wiggins concluded that according to the series, "Feminists, in 'Dr. Who' at least, are straining at shackles of their own forging."
==Fan Comments==
==Further Reading==
* Timeline of Feminism Meta and Timeline of Gender Meta.
* Feminism in Treklit (1976 panel_discussion)
* Care to Debate That? Anti-Feminism in Treklit (1978)
* Feminism in Trek-Lit (1980 essay)
* Feminism (Or the Lack of It) in Trek-Lit (1980)
* Doctor Who and Feminism (2012)
* Doctor Who and Feminism (2015)
* Whovian Feminsim Tumblr
* The Doctor Who Toolkit: Feminism by Amanda Neumann (2018)
* The Role of Female Characters in Doctor Who from 1960-Present by CARSON HULSEY (2018);
* The Female Companions of Doctor Who and Their Reflections of Feminist Trends: Annotated Bibliography by ALEXANDRA JUNGREIS (2018)
* Parallel Franchises and Keeping Them Alive: Star Trek and Doctor Who (2020)
==References==
Category: Doctor Who Meta
Category:1981 Meta
Category:1982 Meta
Category:Sexism & Fandom Meta
Category:Meta in Print