People Are Sharing Hated Female Characters Who Would Be Loved If They Were Male, And It's Eye-Opening
Recently, Reddit user u/marcinere asked people to share hated female characters who would be loved if they were male, and people brought up some valid points you might not have realized about iconic female TV and movie roles.
Freeform / Via giphy.com
Here are some of the best responses:
1.Skyler White from Breaking Bad.
"I was always dumbfounded at the hate Skyler White on Breaking Bad got. If my husband were cooking meth and getting involved in drug cartels without my knowledge then I'd be furious. Especially if they showed up at my house, then what? Instead, she gets labelled as a controlling bitch and Walter White who did all sorts of terrible things gets pretty much a full pass because he was seen as the 'cool dad.'"
2.Guinevere Beck from You.
"Evidenced by how viewers still find issue with her treatment of Joe (namely, her cheating) when no one ever bashes Joe for his treatment of Karen (namely, his cheating). Somehow, Joe did not deserve to be cheated on, but Beck deserved to be murdered. Joe’s affair gets a pass while Beck is condemned for hers and the only meaningful difference is their gender. Viewers still actually root for Joe, the male character who has committed 10x the atrocities that Beck did."
3.Captain Marvel from Captain Marvel.
"People, especially men, see her attitude as arrogant and egotistic, but if she were a man or if Thor acted like her, he would not have been as scrutinized as much as she had been."
4.Pam Beesly from The Office.
"People were always saying that Pam should’ve supported Jim with Athlead instead of making it about herself because Jim supported her when she went to art school. But that was before they had kids, it’s different than what he did with Athlead. She was taking care and raising two kids on her own. That’s exhausting. Plus, he’s always doing stuff behind her back (buying the house, joining Athlead) and people criticize her when she gets upset about that. If anything, Pam is patient as hell and I hate how much criticism she gets for literally everything."
5.Diane Nguyen from BoJack Horseman.
"I can’t go to a single BoJack video comment section on YouTube without hordes of people, mostly dudes, bashing Diane. I don’t really get it, in a show full of fucked up people Diane is the hill you’ll die on? She seemed super realistic and relatable to me and a lot of my friends."
6.Jessica Jones from Jessica Jones.
"Jessica Jones is a hard-boiled Noir detective, but instead of being a grizzled middle-aged man she's played by a hot chick. That's kinda her schtick. If you're in a world with superheroes you don't have to be a depressive alcoholic ex-cop with five o'clock shadow, you can be a depressive alcoholic teeny bopper with eye shadow. So for people who think she 'seems like a bitch,' go watch/read any hard-boiled detective stories and see how you like the protagonist. If you think they're bitches then yeah, fair enough. But if you think they're cool, and JJ is a bitch then you've got double standards."
7.Carole Baskin from Tiger King.
"She isn’t doing anything wrong when she tries to shut down his 'sanctuary.' He’s a notorious animal abuser who only cares about money. He abused his power to force a heterosexual man to marry him, and most likely burned down his alligator hut. Carole Baskin was never proven guilty in a court of law, and her husband was recently (allegedly) found alive in Costa Rica. She just got hate because she’s a woman standing up to a mildly entertaining man."
8.Amy Elliott Dunne from Gone Girl.
"The author, Gillian Flynn, has even said something along the lines of how people hate Amy for her actions, but they would cheer on a man for his. She said something like, 'Amy isn’t likable, but neither are the men from The Sopranos.'"
9.Betty Draper from Mad Men.
"Betty is a woman who is trapped in her own eternal adolescence by the world that produced her. She was taught that her only worth was her attractiveness and utility for the men in her life, and her own needs were secondary. She never was able to grow up because she could never understand who she was. This made her angry, but it was the anger of a child who can't figure out why they are lashing out. She has moments of clarity (when she chucked Don out finally), but she runs back to her persona and never achieves any growth. Betty is the psycho-social result of a society which condemns women to be decorative utilities, without any space for their own feelings, interests, or opinions."
10.Korra from Legend of Korra.
"The headstrong, rebellious trope is used constantly in male characters and they’re praised as monuments of good writing and character development, but the second you get a female character the exact same way, such as Korra, she’s too overbearing or selfish or unrealistic."
11.Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter.
"If we had a male version of an extremely strict teacher that tried breaking down his students, forced them to injure themselves, had way more authority than he should have had, and outright threatened to torture the main character who later on is given a role in the government where he can essentially decide who lives and who dies? The same people who find Snape and Lucius Malfoy appealing would be all over this character. But Umbridge is an annoying bitch, so everyone hates her."
12.Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones.
"I used to dislike Sansa as a character, but realized years later it was internalized misogyny. People, including women, have always had a problem with female characters that aren’t empowered badasses. People won’t like feminine characters unless they display masculine traits and it’s sad. I love Daenerys, but Sansa sadly isn’t in a position to be as awesome as Daenerys. And the fact people loved Arya so much and hated Sansa in this context rubs me the wrong way so bad. Because Arya completely rejects her femininity. Did Sansa get into her position because she was a clueless sheltered teenager who wanted to marry Joffrey? Yes. But did she deserved to be abused, tortured, held captive, and raped for it? What is wrong with y’all?"
13.Peggy Hill from King of the Hill.
"Peggy Hill most definitely. People shit on her while loving Dale at the same time."
14.Lois Wilkerson from Malcolm in the Middle.
"I believe a lot of people are split on their opinions of Lois, much more than Hal, even labeling her a 'Karen'. Personally, I think she's fantastic though. I've also found that some people generally disliked her while watching as kids, but have changed their minds watching the show again through an adult lens."
15.Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.
"Everyone acts like she just lost her shit out of nowhere at the end as if it wasn't a psychotic break Martin was building up to the entire damn series."
"If this character were male, people would be like, 'Yes, burn them all!'"
16.Sakura from Naruto.
"I've realized that everyone loves the mean men, because it makes them seem hot, but they hate the mean women."
17.And, Vice-Admiral Holdo from Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi.
"I hated that character the first time and like most other people thought, 'Why wouldn’t she just tell Poe the plan?' Then a friend said, 'Watch it again, and instead picture her as a hard nosed military superior. Imagine her as Maverick’s superior in Top Gun, and Maverick is asking for info on a military operation.' I scoffed and insisted it had nothing to do with her being a woman. But, after rewatching it, I’m sad to say, they were right. No one would have blinked an eye at any hard nosed male commander character telling Poe that the plan is none of his god damn business, he’s out of line, and 'Get off my bridge, Captain!'"
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
