Comments on: Battlestar Galactica continues Gynocide

By: Rebekah

Rebekah — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:00:25 +0000

It’s really fun how some of you argue that the show was genderblind, but not genderblind enough, and then say how it could’ve been more genderblind by focusing on the very issues it ignores in order to be as genderblind as it was.

Everyone loved to hate Gaius Baltar, but if he’d been a woman too, you’d all have found a way to call that casting decision sexist.

By: Impressions: Heavy Rain « Delayed Responsibility

Impressions: Heavy Rain « Delayed Responsibility — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:25:21 +0000

[...] or in post-shower underwear again. It’s so obviously, cheaply about the threat of gynocide (BSG example linky) and rape. It really telegraphs the level of sophistication that went into writing parts (or all?) [...]

By: NN

NN — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:07:44 +0000

There seems to be general agreement that this “gender-blind” show has 2/3 of the main cast male.

Some “gender-blind”ness. Not. That’s statistically in the “probably not by chance” category.

By: Charles S

Charles S — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:57:04 +0000

Actually, I can’t come up with a single relationship between two women that has remained moderately significant throughout the entire series, and there are several non-Bill Adama centered relationships between men that have remained significant throughout the series. Lee Adama-Zarek started in the third episode, and has come up over and over again, including in the current arc. Likewise, Baltar-Gaeta started in the second episode, and has remained significant through the current arc. Neither Kara or Roslin, characters who are definitely in the same tier of importance as Baltar and Lee, have any series spanning relationships with other female characters. So I don’t think it can be put down simply to the center of the show being Bill Adama.

I agree that the cylon’s have better same sex interactions than the humans.

By: Silviamg

Silviamg — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:31:42 +0000

They are big, but both of them involve Adama. Adama-centric. I think any other positive male-male relationships are brushed off. Lee, for example, has no male friends.

The people who have the best same sex interactions consistently are the Cylons.

By: Charles S

Charles S — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:07:11 +0000

“Do you think that maybe same sex relationships between both sexes receive little attention? Perhaps even less so if its female-female.”

Well, the two major male-male relationships receive a huge amount of attention, so it hard to describe the show as giving little attention to male-male relationships.

By: Silviamg

Silviamg — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:52:31 +0000

“There may be no healthy relationships at all on BSG, but the significant relationships that have lasted seasons instead of episodes do not include a single relationship between 2 women.”

Many of the relationships you mentioned were heterosexual romance. I only counted two male-male relationships. Do you think that maybe same sex relationships between both sexes receive little attention? Perhaps even less so if its female-female.

“When I’ve done rough counts of the main cast before”

Who constitutes the main cast? I counted another dead man last episode (Laird, from Pegasus) which ups to 11 dead women out of 20 if we follow the dead character link seen above. This will probably shift with next’s episode, putting the count up to par with a 50/50 split.

By: Charles S

Charles S — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:08:15 +0000

There may be no healthy relationships at all on BSG, but the significant relationships that have lasted seasons instead of episodes do not include a single relationship between 2 women. What are the relationships that drive the show? Lee – Adama, Kara – Lee, Kara – Adama, Adama – Tigh, Adama – Roslin, Roslin – Baltar, Helo – Athena, Baltar – Six. In the shorter run and less important relationships, we start to get a few relationships between women: Roslin – Elosha, Roslin – Tory, Roslin – Kara (in seasons 1 and 2), Six – Eight, Six – Lucy Lawless’s cylon, Kara – Kat, but even at that level they are swamped by het and male-male relationships (like Tyrol – Boomer, Tyrol – Callie, Kara – Anders, Billy – Dee, Dee – Lee, etc, etc). Women’s relationships with women just don’t seem to be that important to the writers.

On the death thing, when I’ve done rough counts of the main cast before, I’ve come up with around 2/3 male, 1/3 female, so the chance of 11 out of 19 deaths being randomly drawn is closer to 20%. That still is not statistically significant, but pedants shouldn’t be sloppy.

By: Harlemjd

Harlemjd — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:28:27 +0000

MS – while I agree that Kara and Ellen are definitely abusive to their partners, I don’t think Kara repeatedly killing Leoben when he’s trapped her in his own little sex prison is an example of HER being abusive.

By: Silviamg

Silviamg — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:57:25 +0000

I agree that the female Cylons have better roles than their male counterparts. Right now the Cylon pro-human faction is overwhelmingly female.

I chuckled when Adama said recently that they were going to change the hyperdrives and the would need some “Sharons, some Sixes … maybe even some Leobens.” LOL. The male model was almost an afterthought.