Is Doctor Who Transgender Now? A video essay

Didn't the Doctor transition? Twice? But why is the show suddenly obsessed with pronouns? And what is the deal with Rose Noble? With Russell T Davies and Ncuti Gatwa's new series coming up with guest stars such as Jinkx Monsoon and Mary Malone, it's time to ask the question...is Doctor Who transgender now?
Video by Verity Ritchie with additional material by Ada Černoša
Patreon: / verityritchie
Verity's Twitter: / verilybitchie
Verity's Instagram: / verityritchie
Ada's Twitter: / theliterarybi
Ada's website about bisexual books: theliterarybisexual.neocities...

[@verilybitchie]

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[@theforgetfulalchemist]

"The mentality of a homosexual civil servant" SENT ME

[@gorecrystalhellfire3770]

like what the FUCK does that mean

[@xymaryai8283]

who has the mentality of a homosexual civil servant? what is the mentality of a civil servant? loyal? principled? or the opposite? righteous? dignified? civil servant has kinda been corrupted by toxic politics, are we talking administrative staff or activists or librarians? teachers? garbage collectors? soldiers? now for the kicker, WHAT CHANGES WHEN THEY'RE GAY? Fruity Righteousness? On Fleek Dignity? Zesty Communalism?

[@bdm483]

Quentin Crisp, I know that's you! The Naked Civil Servant really stuck with the Doctor writing team, it seems

[@lays5277]

​@@xymaryai8283 zesty communalism has me in tears btw

[@hilosky]

The exaggerated swagger of a homosexual civil servant

[@xaviermarican4557]

Tenants clothes being regenerated to avoid him being in drag in the same set of episodes where the master wears Jodie Whittakers outfit in a male incarnation is so wack. Like yeah the villain can be in drag, but not the good guy Edit: the doctor regenerates into the master who wears her clothes in the same episode where the doctor regenerates into ten and doesn’t wear her clothes. For all the people genuinely confused and in the dark about what I’m talking about for some reason.

[@THOMAS_VANN]

what ever reason rtd has is stupid but i assume they just weren't able to get 13s costume for tennant to wear so went with what they did

[@olivertomkins503]

i mean rtd didn't put the villain in drag though did he?

[@somerandomguy2073]

You are aware that Chibnall and RTD are different people, aren't you? It was the same episode, but those moments were written by two completely different people with completely different views. I don't really understand what you're trying to say here?

[@R_SENAL]

I had the same thought, that it was good enough for Snidley Whiplash Master, why not 14? I think it bugs me because it is an appeasement gesture, when trolls try to find something to be offended by even if you self-censor, so why bother? Let the rightwing whiners whine and not care seems to me to be the best course to me.

[@ZachMatthews-bz1dj]

No one wants tennant looking like a poof 😂👍🏻

[@multi.instrumentalist]

“And a very merry Pronouns to all of you at home!”

[@FloofMother]

The thing is that’s something the first doctor would absolutely say. The whole “he was a misogynist” is such character assassination of him

[@thedeliveryboy1123]

happy estrogen everyone

[@ButIamAStick]

@@thedeliveryboy1123 Or testoterone

[@4203105]

I think K9 being assigned male, specifically to ruin JK Rowling's childhood, fits very well into the lore if the doctor being a time traveler.

[@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o]

Then he must’ve missed all the bit about JKR‘s transphobia because Ten surely forgot about it when he met Shakespeare.

[@tomkatt8274]

@@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o ever magic user is trans.

[@DrBagPhD]

@@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o That episode has aged so damn poorly because of that hateful anus.

[@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o]

@@siobhannoble8545 How can you seriously defend her after she has denied Nazi crimes??? 🤨 Also, your understanding of sex and gender seems to be incredibly basic. Also, comparing two genders with two different species is not a good comparison, try better!

[@tacitblack4732]

@@siobhannoble8545 Of course men aren't women, no one is arguing that they are. Rowling is transphobic because she denies that trans women are women. She also claims not to be a TERF despite subscribing to every TERF argument, and palling around with numerous well-known TERFs, so she may not be the most honest or rational person on this subject.

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

The "male presenting time lord" scene would have been vastly improved on if it had been more about how the last time The Doctor had this particular face, he was refusing to let go and accept his fate of regeneration

[@tardisinformationsystem]

THIS EXACTLY!! JUST A TINY TWEAK WOULD MAKE IT FIT PERFECTLY

[@erikahuber6617]

Like it was right there 😭

[@draksus]

I read that "male presenting time lord" scene as a knock on how 10, 11, 12, and 1 took forever to regenerate because they didn't want to let go of being the Doctor, whereas 13, Donna, and Rose were able to let go almost immediately.

[@I.____.....__...__]

That scene was nonsense no matter what they did with it because the Doctor was JUST a woman, so saying the Doctor can't understand because he was male-presenting when he'd just spent an entire cycle as female-presenting and experiencing all of that made no sense (and yes, the Doctor did tell Donna about being a woman). If anything, it was an ANTI-trans scene by saying the Doctor wasn't REALLY a woman. 😒 🤦

[@avocadothecat]

YES EXACTLY

[@cipherhex]

"The pure voice of a young boy with the mentality of a homosexual civil servant" is a truly *wild* statement! And I'm all here for it!

[@benjamintillema3572]

17:42

[@jalpat2272]

i dont know something so creepy that could pass as a satire two decades ago but become a reality in current time.

[@yumegaze]

as a non binary trans dude, the "male-presenting time lord would never understand" line made me feel like i was thanos snapped. i understand the intention behind it i guess but lol

[@illybee3]

saying "male-presenting" just makes it 1 million times more confusing too, because its like we've upgraded from biological essentialism to- "gender presentation essentialism"?? does a cis butch woman suddenly not understand how to let things go because she dresses as a man? 😭

[@diccchocolate416]

It's quite a terrible line isn't it.

[@yumegaze]

​@@diccchocolate416 truly a testament of how trans representation on media defaults to women and femmes. which is better than no trans representation, of course, but y'know... quite alienating to me sometimes

[@klg9549]

I'm a cis woman and it made me feel super patronised. Having a sudden weird lack of empathy towards someone for their gender isn't empowering, ffs. Also hits some of those annoying glorification-of-motherhood notes. I'm sorry you've had to sit through all sorts of invalidating crap. You deserve to be heard.

[@panickedshears]

@@yumegazeit’s always been kinda frustrating, as a trans dude, that we don’t get as much representation. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy that there’s representation at all, and trans women do deserve to be seen, but like, trans men are very rarely involved in anything trans related. Whether that be political discourse, or representation in media. Most of our representation is made by transmen in the form of small indie creations, like comics, short stories, and animations. Which is awesome! But usually not as wide reaching, even if it deserves it.

[@nkosig4995]

My ass who loved every moment of cassandra lmao one of my favorite characters

[@koboldcatgirl]

"Trans person goes back in time to comfort their younger self" is such a powerful, potent, painful trope and I want more of it.

[@starlydonati2008]

@@koboldcatgirlsame. I might just have to write it myself if there’s not enough people doing it.

[@stitchthelilo]

same! i’ve always loved her, she’s a great villain

[@PlaylistGeneral]

@@koboldcatgirl I've been wanting to write a story where the opposite happens. You see yourself in 10 years, and you're an absolute fucking wreck. Future you is transitioning, but it's fucking nightmarish and hard. Their life is hard, it's not just the transitioning. It looks like it's been hard for a very long time. They don't want to tell you how things got this way, and they don't have the confidence to tell you that life will get better. In spite of everything, in spite of the grim(?) future you face ahead, you wanna hug them and tell them things will be fine. Maybe in 20 years. It has to. Future you is trying so hard for their happiness.

[@mercurialrose]

No literally she was so iconic. I made a whole damn KZbin video about her when rose was announced because I didn’t want her robbed of her title as the first trans doctor who character lol. Flawed but an important step worth recognising!

[@SeanJackson-gw4wg]

The thing about the whole 'male presenting timelord' line that really bothered me was the implication that he couldn't just imagine giving up power, despite being proclaimed president of Gallifrey twice, and abandoning the position, twice. It just doesn't make any sense for the doctors character.

[@unclekarl5219]

But it's an entirely in character line for Rose. It was just a joke, the true resolution to the meta crisis was explained

[@madikin]

@@unclekarl5219 what was the actual resolution?

[@unclekarl5219]

@@madikin that being the metacrisis was passed on between two people (two hearts) rather than one, allowing for it to be released before it causes damage.

[@redactedredacted6656]

as deeply 70s as the phrase "pure voice of a young boy and the mentality of a homosexual civil servant" is it also perfectly describes my gender. I have no notes

[@Raven-Woods]

At one point, Jodie said that she had wanted a pixie cut for her Doctor, but Chibnall (and possibly studio execs) said no to it. Interestingly, her hair has gotten shorter in subsequent roles. Ray Holman (costume designer) also said in a podcast (Who Corner to Corner) that he was VERY constrained on what he could do with Jodie’s outfit because the studio didn’t want the original approved costume changed at all because they liked the silhouette.

[@mantistoboggan1503]

Her hair looks so much more 'doctor' since she left the show it makes me so sad

[@ooooneeee]

The BBC have robbed us.

[@benjamintillema3572]

I will defend that costume, it's up there frankly in the Doctor's outfits, old and new Who included. It has a personality without looking ridiculous. It's colorful and fun but not so out there that she would stick out wherever she goes. It certainly isn't generic like a lot of the costumes before it. Baker is obviously the top of the list, Tenant is also good, and then I'd put Whittaker's next.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

@@benjamintillema3572 I really liked her outfit, too. I think it was one of the better aspects of her run.

[@vincentgeiszler3749]

@@benjamintillema3572I love her outfit so much, it just fits her so well. Hell, I like it more than Ten’s.

[@adisakditantimedh331]

At the New York Comic Con panel that premiered Jodie Whittaker's first episode, Chris Chibnall declared on stage that "The Doctor is nonbinary." Direct quote. I was there. I texted my editors immediately. But no news outlet, not even LGBTQ ones, ever picked up on that or ran any commentary or speculation, ever.

[@andrewyang3917]

😮😮😮

[@misirtere9836]

Wouldn't it me more accurate to say they're genderfluid? Or I guess given the rate of change, gendermolasses?

[@adisakditantimedh331]

@@misirtere9836 Probably. And what nobody has pointed out is Jodie Whittaker also played The Doctor as ace, as in actually asexual, the most misunderstood people on the LGBTQ spectrum. Her performance through her entire three years bears that out.

[@verilybitchie]

So, I heard about this when I was researching the video, and the best source I found for it was via the Wayback Machine, which said, 'As Chibnall reminded everyone, the Doctor is a symbol of unity. The character, as Chibnall says, can be “male, female,” or “gender non-binary.”' - web.archive.org/web/20220829080852/www.destructoid.com/nycc-doctor-who-panel-premiered-new-episode-promoted-inclusivity-and-lasting-change/ Other references I found to it seemed to be referring back to this or other deleted articles. Couldn't find any video of it.

[@adisakditantimedh331]

@@verilybitchie Yes, there was no video of that panel, but I and over a hundred punters were there, and Chibnall directly and unambiguously declared, "The Doctor is nonbinary" with Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gil sitting right next to him, a few years before that began a more prominent topic in the media. I thought it was a big deal and should be a big deal, but have since seen absolutely no discussion of it anywhere. Chibnall said it in a very matter-of-fact way and not in any way crass or attention-seeking.

[@Jeff-qk7jj]

7:40 "...and the Sixth Doctor's outfit says quite cleverly and quite brilliantly that the producer is an idiot and needs sacking" That fucking sent me.

[@zellalaing5439]

Same

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

I love that outfit though.

[@stark_harshly]

JNT kinda wanted to be sacked, or at least wanted to move on, but knew the BBC would have cancelled the show rather than replace him

[@gota7738]

It can be MESSY, especially in the 2000's, but I always did find this resonance in the way the future was frequently imagined as place where gender fluidity and queerness was so normalised that it flew by in passing remarks. Like it was presented as "Oh isn't it alien and different" but it felt like a wink and nod saying "Hang in there kids, one day this can be yours". Well hopefully not the giant killer space road crabs, but the show never made them feel linked. I think it's partially why I can tolerate the cringe with a bit of fondness, even knowing it probably won't age well. Because I remember that feeling of being seen back then and I can recognise the feeling now.

[@illybee3]

i feel like this is one of the reasons why captain jack is so beloved, hes pretty much the embodiment of this. it feels like more than just a cheap joke when its put into a character with depth

[@KindredBrujah]

Age well? It didn't even make it to the screen before it had withered and crumbled to dust.

[@equidistanthoneyjoy7600]

I'm pretty sure it's in the bible somewhere that every time two men kiss all crabs on earth become 1% bigger, so I dunno you might wanna read up on your theology before saying they aren't linked.

[@caspenbee]

The line about letting it go was indeed confusingly cringe and I laughed about it for months. But I will always love Davies for his genuine care, which comes across even when he's trying too hard. I trust him. He's in the struggle with us. And thank god Doctor Who is trans-friendly, because Britain REALLY needs that in the culture right now. Also your singing voice is beautiful!

[@I.____.....__...__]

Trying too hard? 🤨 If anything, it's the opposite, it feels more like he's just phoning it in now.

[@driedfruitoni632]

Same. While i roll my eyes at the "male presenting" line every time i genuinely love what RTD unapologetically wrote and clearly with so much love and willingness to be supportive. I rather have that than nothing (out of fear of getting it wrong) Dude's got his heart in the right place, i'll take the awkwardness happily (and sooome complaining xp) Anyway, love the video! (and this channel in general, good stuff~)

[@4203105]

The Jo Martin doctor was the female doctor we should have gotten in general. Better costume, better writing, better acting.

[@nighttimevideo]

And proven right bcause the Character Options website literally crashed when her loooooong overdue figure went into stock. Jo should have been 13.

[@stitchthelilo]

i don’t know if i’d say better acting as the way i see it the writing was the downfall of 13’s era rather than the actors, if anything the actors are what made it bearable. i do think she would’ve been an AMAZING female doctor though, rather than just an incarnation that appears from time to time.. i don’t like how she was wrapped up in the timeless child thing, but, eh, i just don’t like that plotline

[@etherealtb6021]

Better backstory too!

[@AC-dk4fp]

@@stitchthelilo There's also a direction issue if I'm remembering Jodie Whitaker's complaints correctly. She didn't feel like she was able to give the character her all and that weakened her ability to act. Colin Baker had a similar problem and gives the worst Doctor performance because of that.

[@stitchthelilo]

@@AC-dk4fp ah ok ok that makes way more sense

[@4203105]

That's why Tennant's clothes regenerated? Well that was a weird as hell decision. I guess I kinda get it. DW was close to getting cancelled, so RTD wanted to be super safe, but still... I wish he had had the balls to have Tennant in Jodie's clothes for a bit (and I don't even like her doctor).

[@sep.s]

I must admit I assumed it was actually a plot thing so The Doctor didn’t spend screen time trying to find a new outfit.

[@PlatinumAltaria]

I assumed it was because Whittaker is so much shorter than Tennant, so you either have to tailor new clothes to fit or have him squeezed into something several sizes too small.

[@Chochy1000]

@@PlatinumAltaria preety sure they usually have to do that anyway though, they just tailor them to look oversised or tattered and stuff for the new actor

[@haydnwr]

I just assumed it was so they could get the shot of Tennant looking recognisable / iconic at the end of the episode. I didn't like it as it seemed to be inconsistent with all the other previous regenerations I'd seen.

[@sinenomine2681]

@@PlatinumAltaria Tailoring new clothes would be cowardly. Have him waddle around with a humungous mooseknuckle until he found new clothes -- that would be true art.

[@arambles1]

I was under the impression that the doctor was british

[@joshuajoshua2732]

No he's an alien Time Lord.

[@ZelphTheWebmancer]

The doctor was scottish once

[@ConQuixote]

NGL... Not my favourite gender.

[@alansmithee419]

@@ZelphTheWebmancer Like... five times now. Though two of them put on a British accent. 7, 10, 12, 14, 15, all Scots (at least in part).

[@D-Dae]

@@alansmithee419 You do realise Scotland is part of Great Britain right? As is England (to name just two of the United Kingdoms parts), and each has a variety of regional accents, all of which are counted as 'British'.

[@meganvincent5381]

Honestly Jodie Whittaker forgetting her gender is very relatable, but by the second season it starts to feel like she doesn't want to be a woman lol

[@withincode6848]

I think it would have been better if like you described over time they became more accepting of the transition. Like it makes sense that someone who has been a man for thousands (maybe billions because of heaven sent but I don't think they doctor remembers that) of years would automatically default to thinking they're a man for some time, but just like the video says it feels like the 13th doctor has very little character development throughout the whole run. While 12 had to deal with becoming a kind person, 10 had the whole power trip to get over, it would have been interesting to see 13 have to grip with a transition like that. Instead they went for the "it's no big deal" kind of thing but constantly forgetting they are a woman makes it seems like it is a big deal. Either way I feel like it was very poorly executed.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

@@withincode6848 Jodie's era suffered from poor writing. She was a great doctor. They just had a terrible time writing for her.

[@vincentgeiszler3749]

@@ZiddersRooFurryperfectlly said. Such a a cool character ruined by shit writing.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

@@vincentgeiszler3749 I still thought she was decent. Certainly better than some of the goofier Tom Baker episodes I grew up with.

[@hs4619]

fr fr. been a woman all my life, still such at gendering myself and others correctly. tbf tho, in my native language a heck ton of ways to refer to people in your life is gender neutral, even including the word for your SO, we literally don't have a word for boyfriend or girlfriend, we have the word, "most cared" so if i way to introduce my partner to someone i would say "this is --- my most cared for" so i sometimes get tripped up when referring to someone. It's literally hell when hanging out with one of my friends who's trans, he literally get's so mad when someone misgendres him all the while i just mix them up accidentally even when referring to myself. Tbf i also just don't care about what people refer to me as, throughout my life people tend to not vene refer to me by my actual name so why would i care what people refer to my gender as.

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

'Watching feminist paint dry' is also a summation of so many large budget superhero movies coming out these days. The inspo is fine, but OOOF the product is rough

[@resourceress7]

YES

[@SunniestAutumn]

I feel like this is about The Marvels, since it's the most recent one, but I'd argue that it's miles better than the original Captain Marvel was. That one was during the Marvel hype era and still managed to be dull.

[@hs4619]

@@SunniestAutumn oh god yeah, she was so emotionless the entire time. There's a different to being the modern understanding of what stoic is and being just empty of any meaningful characterisation, and she was unfortunately the latter

[@gatts205]

It would be interesting to have Jodie's doctor just always have a different "charity shop" outfit each episode. The doctor who just kept hitting random when making their outfit. A different reference every episode. Unfortunately that isn't what we got.

[@ohdarah]

agreed! would have given her some texture.

[@karolkozik5918]

Yeah, it's a fun premise. One where the character would end up wearing crappy print T-shirts and inevitably some crappy event T-shirt someone gave to the charity shop because they couldn't find a reason to wear it (could be a fun way of cross promoting events, if the show designers knew roughly when the episode would air).

[@Eddafred]

The Fugitive Doctor's outfit was truly fabulous. An island of drip trapped in an ocean of boring outfits.

[@KindredBrujah]

I'd like to... wait, I think I misunderstood. If you were criticising tweed, then I disagree. Tweed has _connotations_ but is definitely not boring. If you were criticising the entirety of outfits worn by other characters through most of the Whittaker era, then yes.

[@Eddafred]

@@KindredBrujah The latter.

[@kieran465]

God that haunted Tennnat glare into the middle distance when Cassandra dies. Chefs kiss. Divine.

[@KindredBrujah]

He does do a lot with a middle distance stare, does our Davey.

[@JulieTheReader]

“She didn’t pick her jacket because it looked like the colours of the sky. [cheeky whisper] Which one?” …I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.

[@lucyinchat]

I like your shoelaces

[@bingusbongus9807]

@@lucyinchat president prime minister ate my shoes or something idk i dont use tumblr

[@guy-sl3kr]

Hold on... has Meep from Phineas and Ferb been a Doctor Who reference this whole time??!?!

[@seguaye]

i had no idea lmao

[@pj5115]

if anything it’s the other way around which is adorable

[@gingganggoolie]

​@@pj5115unless Phineas and Ferb has some deep history i don't know about, The Meep is older. There's a sweet moment where David Tennant brings his original copy of the comic from his childhood to the set to get it signed by the authors

[@BulbasaurRepresent]

@@pj5115 No, Beep the Meep is from a comic strip in the 80s

[@harisbisevac4578]

I'm sorry but next to the Fugitive Doctor Jodie looks like a companion.

[@kurathchibicrystalkitty5146]

"--and the Sixth Doctor's outfit says quite cleverly and quite brilliantly-" Me: Uh, oh. "--that the producer is an idiot and needs sacking." 😆 I don't know if it's just being enby or neurodivergent that does it, but most clothing looks gender neutral to me by default, so I just get even more confused by pointless gendered things. To me, it's just clothes. \__(**)__/ Also, if Good Omens proved anything, it's that David Tennant looks great in drag, so I don't know what Russel T. Davis was on about.

[@Cobalt163]

RTD wasn’t scared that Tennant in drag would look crunchy, he was scared that the British press would make a bunch of transphobic jokes about it. Similarly to Verilybitchie I have mixed feelings about that thought process

[@BrigitteEmpire]

I love people watching the first show I ever saw explicitly gay characters in when I was growing up and screaming that it went woke, my friend, were you watching?

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

This. All of this. Clearly they were not watching the same show that we were.

[@drawingsticks5333]

As a Trekkie and Discworld fan I have seen so many interactions of this discourse. It's like people have selective amnesia and forget that this was all woke stuff when it came out because now it's just so normal.

[@etherealtb6021]

Well, people bitched about Jack at the time too, but there was no Twitter. Or it isn't what it is now.

[@etherealtb6021]

@@wardjunior1450 Are you kidding? They did. I was there. People complained about RTD "pushing his gay agenda" with Jack (and other storylines). SOS, just different wording. There were many articles about it. I argued with many people saying this online in 2006+. The majority didn't care, but as with now, there was a loud but small, close-minded group complaining about children watching. 🤷‍♀️

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

i just started watching this series in the midst of the "ooo it turned woke/political" drama, got to the episode where two men casually kiss or all the episodes that are not even subtle about being societal commentary and i'm like. huh??? what have y'all been watching😭

[@swiftlyaswiftie]

Whenever people complain that Doctor Who's 'gone woke' , I just point them towards "everyone is bisexual" Torchwood

[@horizon5417]

i see what you’re saying but calling torchwood woke is a huge stretch lmao

[@commanderfreakkz5688]

Doctor who is actually gone woke

[@johnderat2652]

Thing with early NuWho is that the gay and trans stuff was WRITTEN WELL. But here...? it's atrocious. Something is "woke" when it tries to be representative but fails completely. So yes, Doctor Who has gone woke.

[@commanderfreakkz5688]

@@johnderat2652 yea

[@cultofcffee2378]

Talking with my friend, he said that the whole 'let it go' felt like it came from a place of good intentions, and the gesture was nice, but overall felt quite shoved in. What he DID like was Donna! She supports, accepts and sticks up for her kid in a way that he wishes his parents did (and its Donna, what's there not to love?)

[@nkosig4995]

AMAZING I LITTERALY SAID "what?" out loud at the EXACT same time you did at the male presenting timelord part

[@ishathakor]

also just like. jodie's doctor costume is SO damn mainstream 21st century all things considered. the only thing that looks doctor-y in any way to me is the freaking boots. nothing about it is unique interesting or special and it doesn't convey any personality at all. six's coat is ugly as hell but like.... at least it says something. thirteen's outfit is hard to hate because it's so bland there's nothing there. it's like a screensaver.

[@Adrianovaz2007]

And Six's costume varied, his blue coat outfit is amazing

[@etherealtb6021]

The only thing it reminded me of was Mork from Ork! I honestly thought that had to have been a partial inspiration!

[@drtaverner]

It certainly lacked style.

[@benjamintillema3572]

Capaldi just wore various black and white ensembles and Eccleston was running around in a leather coat. At least Whittaker had a colorful outfit.

[@drtaverner]

@@benjamintillema3572 Eccleston was wearing what McGann had been wearing in the Radio promos.

[@johnsmith2875]

You are so right Jodi looks like a soccer mom with that haircut 😭

[@Radignostic]

"nessie big naturals" sent me

[@electric_whelk1653]

In defense of Jodie Whittaker's "come to daddy! Well, mommy" lines, that is absolutely how I talk. The closest I've ever come to regretting transition was when I introduced myself as "Uncle" and someone pointed out I was an Aunt.

[@mercurialrose]

I’m very passionate about Cassandra, I made a video myself when rose was announced because I really didn’t want her to be forgotten as the actual first trans character for a number of reasons. She’s flawed definitely but I think the reason she doesn’t make me cringe in the same way “a male presenting time lord could never understand” does is that she’s like so unapologetically deranged. She doesn’t feel like she’s there to check off a representation quota or like she’s walking on eggshells to be as artificially progressive as possible. I say this in the video I made but I kind of appreciate the strange immunity to rainbow capitalism problematic queer representation often has just by way of it being so so not designed to sell to a queer audience. It’s easier for me to reclaim weird characters than it is for me to convince my cynical self that a lot of trans representation isn’t just pandering superficial trash.

[@mercurialrose]

To clarify though I still loved Rose! She had some cringe moments but just like Cassandra I think she’s an important step in her own right, flaws and all.

[@5000_People]

I'm glad that you not only mentioned that the 'male presenting timelord' line was cringe, but that it's gender essentialist in a really counter-productive way. It felt like Moffatt had come along to write a single line in his 'It's feminist if the women slap men' way. I loved the analysis, the work you did making notes of gender usage did not go wasted. There's so little I disagree with at all here. (I thought the meep pronouns were both reasonable for an alien and funny in the way learning about complicated alien personalities could be, I think that we should wholeheartedly retcon Gallifrey being a bunch of dudes and instead re-establish it as the nb utopia that Capaldi's doctor describes, and I think that doesn't require nb actors, but would still benefit from them). But yeah, love the video, love the history, have been waiting for this ever since the specials. I'm a little worried that doctor who going forward may try to be so loose, cartoony and free flowing that it doesn't have anything interesting to dig into, and I'm dreading the potential further returns of previous doctors. Low expectations are still standard and have been since 2010.

[@ShanB666]

A Tumblr ‘colours of the sky’ post reference?! In 2024?! Great touch! (The reference is around 10:35ish)

[@julianjaffe8739]

I genuinely had to pause the video to recover after seeing that!! Such a great meme

[@benjamintillema3572]

10:33

[@davidkane2001]

AAAAAHAHAH ok I howled when Ysanne Churchman described what they wanted for their voice 17:50 “the pure voice of a young boy with the mentality of a homosexual civil servant” 😂😂

[@squeerrel-j]

I SCREAMED with joy when I opened the video and saw Cassandra

[@PlatinumAltaria]

I'd much rather the community be discussing whether our representation is good or bad, than to not have any representation at all. The fact that RTD is upsetting the right wing "fans" of the show is kinda refreshing. I am gonna have to dislike and unsubscribe for you forcing my innocent ears to hear the phrase "Nessie big naturals".

[@LordOfRibena]

Personally, I think representation is usually great, but it only works if it isn't forced. I think Bill was the perfect balance, it was representation, but it didn't hinder the story or feel like it was prioritised over the entertainment value of daleks and tardises (that's the plural right?). Anyway tldr: there should be rep, but not forced. Does that make sense? That's the best way for me to explain I think.

[@noheterotho179]

Personally, I think 'Nessie big naturals' is a gift bestowed upon us by verily, and I support this agenda

[@maegor-targaryen]

Awful representation fuels bigotry. If I was queer, I’d prefer far right maniacs not knowing I exist, than be hate-crimed by them.

[@v_6302]

​​@@LordOfRibenaAny representation is somewhat forced. There are always mysoginists, bigots etc.. Sometimes the majority of average people are bigoted or racist or whatever. If that would mean not showing representation, then we would advance very very slowly. Sometimes its good that someone gets offended, because it also means they have to get in contact with something. I get your point, i just want to show you that this line of when something is forced is very subjective. Where do we draw it?

[@damianoakes2592]

Ironically, I think Peter Capaldi's Doctor is more genderfluid than Jodie Whittaker's. His closest relationships are all with queer women (all of whom express at least some level of romantic, if not necessarily sexual, feelings for him-even Bill says in one of the COVID specials that she'd kiss the Doctor if they were a woman), the Master-who typically serves as a mirror to the Doctor-is a woman during his tenure, and while he's grumpy and doesn't suffer fools in general, he's typically more dismissive of men. (EDIT: River also says he reminds her of her second wife.) Twelve is a nonbinary lesbian! And I read the Doctor talking about the Time Lords' gender progressiveness as him thinking of his people as he'd like them to be, not how they actually are (although we do see women in Trial of a Time Lord), especially since Bill immediately calls him out on it. In terms of single sex aliens, there are the Asari from Mass Effect, whom are all she/her. They're also all pansexual, since gender is meaningless to them, and as such are stereotyped by other species as promiscuous, however the two Asari we get to know best are demisexual Liara, and Samara (voiced by Billie Eilish's mom), a warrior monk whom has forsworn all attachments. The only Asari who really fits the stereotype is essentially the Mass Effect universe's take on a vampire.

[@KillahMate]

Yeah this was always my headcanon - the Doctor every so often likes to get all puffed up about how awesome Time Lords are and how cool their civilization is, but it always comes across as a kind of ideal in the Doctor's mind of what they love about their people. When dealing with _actual_ live Time Lords the Doctor is _very_ cynical (if not openly hostile) about more or less everything to do with them.

[@damianoakes2592]

@@KillahMate Exactly! And this is made pretty much explicit in The End of Time, where the Ten tells Wilf that he remembers his people how he'd like, but the prospect of Rassilon and the High Council returning from the Time War is one of the few things against which the Doctor is willing to take up arms.

[@4203105]

"Something a male presenting timelord will never understand" was peak cringe and made me question if RTD had suffered some brain damage in the last few years. It basically destroyed any good he had done in that episode.

[@klg9549]

It sounds more like something Moffat would've thrown in. "Empowering" but really patronising instead.

[@Shchipljeljishchitj]

@@klg9549 Well, Moffat is coming back to write some episodes, as well, so I'm sure he'll get plenty opportunities to do that 😅

[@marzicainbutterdie3379]

Honestly I'm getting the impression rtd was always kinda an idiot, seems like he always did weird ass shit even in 2005. Being a good TV writer a sane person it does not make u

[@thatpeskyrat]

@klg9549 I completely get what you mean but also I think it’s time we stop acting like RTD never pulled shit like this before. his first era was plenty full of characters talking about how the doctor is a Man so he does Man Things. moffat had some particularly egregious examples but i think it’s wilful ignorance to pretend RTD was a saint who never slipped up. In fact I would say that Moffat’s last series on dr who proved massive improvement-all the stuff about gender and sexuality was actually handled gracefully and not-cringe, imo. so somehow i actually might have more faith in moffat than rtd right now… hope this doesn’t age like milk…

[@AxeBearingVoyager]

I think all of the issues highlighted can be summarised simply in showrunners thinking, overthinking and caring too much about what their decisions are implying rather than just focusing on telling a compelling story. I thought some of the 13th Doctor episodes were great actually. The issue is that there is a chronic, constant anxiety in almost every episode where all points and turns in the narrative are punctuated with an overly careful, contemporary platitude. Guaranteed if they'd handled the character and season properly you'd have forgotten that 13 is played by a woman because at the end of the day the entire point of the character is that the Doctor's appearance is even less central to their core being than a human.

[@agilemind6241]

Honestly, I didn't even mind the Doctor's character in 13, it was just the blandness of the stories and the over-full cast which meant there was no time for character development for anyone. I wish we'd had a season with just 13 and Jaz as the main characters, where Jaz was the black-and-white slightly conservative police officer next to the gender-confused alternative-perspective having Doctor.

[@littlemissmello]

I really enjoyed a lot of the historical episodes on the 13th's series. I was also just relieved because I despised Moffat's run of the show. They didn't have any experienced scifi writers in the group which was a shame; made them get really lost in scifi mumbo jumbo but when it came to genuine drama, they could nail it. There just wasn't enough room for it most of the time.

[@agent57]

Honestly I guess I prefer them overthinking it rather than not giving it any thought at all. Of course I wish they'd taken it further, but I guess I kinda understand the stress around making any change to a franchise that has been running for 61 years. Also, I guess I'm the only one who liked 13's outfit? 😆

[@AxeBearingVoyager]

@@agent57 I mean yeah on the whole overthinking it means they care… maybe to a fault! Also - agreed! I enjoyed the costume I think it would have been absolutely perfect with a shirt and bow tie instead of T-shirt though!

[@Lavender_menace_]

"Cassandra was a con artist who transitioned back and forth to kill and steal across the galaxy" That's awesome tbh love that for her

[@f1shze4lot]

Yeah a character who steals identities to do crime. What author was trying to say? lmao

[@Alex-gr3ko]

When there were flasbacks between donna and rose and binary and non-binary i honestly cringed 😭. Like im non-binary but the line delivery just killed me. Also i felt like they cast the only trans actress they know as rose even though rose should be at max 15 and the actress makes it look like shes 20+

[@wunderwalze]

Like it’s nice to have her but I don’t think having a non trans actor instead would’ve been any different lol

[@MerlinFromBerlin_]

@@wunderwalze Having a non-trans actor playing Rose would have made a big difference for several reasons. - As is said in the video, you kinda needed a n actual trans actor in the episode to strengthen it’s themes. Focusing so heavily on themes od genderfluidity and transending gender binaries would have felt absolutely shallow if there hadn’t been a trans actor involved, but only cis actors. - At least to me, having a trans character be played by a cis actor always has a weird undertone. It’s like, yeah, you can be a bit gender-non-conforming, but only as long as you don’t go to far with it and still stay in the lane of what society expects of you. - Lastly, trans characters - if they happened to be portrayed on screen at all - have historically always been played by cis actors. Therefore, trans actors have been under-represented in the filmmaking industry. It’s important to change that and give trans actors the chances that would have historically been denied to them. True inclusion needs to happen with the characters in our story as well as with the people behind the scenes and in front of the cameras.

[@AurinneA]

​@MerlinFromBerlin_ Yeah I think that, artistically, it shouldn't matter who plays what provided they can act it convincingly - but if we are not even letting trans actors play trans characters then we need to put that "anyone can play any role" ideal on the backburner. If cis men are predominantly played my cis men and cis women are predominantly played by cis women then we at least need to start with having trans characters played by trans actors etc., and have massively more well-written diverse roles available for diverse actors to play generally.

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

yeah lol the binary-nonbinary thing honestly read more like a bad pun than the revelation of an important plot point to me which is what it was supposed to be😭

[@wunderwalze]

@@MerlinFromBerlin_ To me it just seems like more of a societal statement than an artistic choice, bcs as Alex-gr3co said, she seems a little old for the role. No biggie tho that stuff happens all the time. Just looks like they couldn’t find a 15 year old trans girl (and from what I know, many are still mid-transition or questioning their gender at that age anyway). I mean usually you can’t tell from the outside anyway if someone has transitioned, so while deliberately not choosing a trans actor would be messed up, in general I think everyone should be allowed to play anyone if they put in the effort for a good representation. The message should be strong and clear through the writing and acting you see on screen, regardless of external trivia about the actor. Just my view as a cis person tho

[@tobithomas789]

I actually forgot about this scene till now, I also sobbed like a baby watching this scene and it still dared to draw a tear from my eyes.....the Cassandra Dying while holding herself scene

[@initiatinreallife]

Cassandra being the person who called herself beautiful is one of the most profound moments in all of doctor who.

[@diplomog]

Im glad RTD doesnt use twitter tbh

[@miss_conduct.]

"she's a flap of skin attached to a frame" Don't talk about me like I'm not here. Cassandra is one of the funniest characters, I don't care what ppl say! 🙌

[@athenathemself]

Oh gosh I cried just watching Cassandra be with herself as she died---just watching the clip. It is burnt on my heart, oh dear.

[@Whiteythereaper]

There's something so odd about RTD deciding not to have David wearing Jodie's outfit even after Sacha Dhawan had worn it earlier in that episode, and then immediately having Ncuti show up and casually wear a skirt to a club in his first proper appearance in his first lead episode. I do wonder if David was also part of the choice to regenerate the clothing too, or if it came from RTD's desire to jump straight into the story upon the beginning of the episode and not wanting to have to reveal the outfit in that episode like with David choosing his outfit the first time around in Christmas Invasion, as well as showing it in the BBC centenary episode that aired right before Christmas, and allowing merchandise to immediately release to sell for the upcoming Christmas, before the full release the following year once the episodes had aired and plot points were known. There is a part of me that wished they'd not changed the clothes but they probably would have been right about the Tory gammon being up in arms, but given what we've heard about Ncuti's upcoming series, It pushes me more toward wishing they'd let it rip and ignored the tabloids with each passing day. I'm hopeful that the new series continues to kick down the walls of possibility and Russell surrounds himself with more people in the community and actually gives them a platform to speak rather than speaking for them.

[@nb_nb]

That was a kilt, not a skirt, and kilts are considered traditionally masculine.

[@Whiteythereaper]

@nb_nb I'm pretty sure it was a regular skirt, though I might be wrong, it is a dark scene and I've only watched it once on a large screen and it does make sense with Ncuti's Scottish upbringing. However, he is definitely wearing a FAB zip up vest underneath the coat in his regular outfit, the cut and and shape are clearly designed for AFAB. Then you have the hug and forehead kiss of 14 in The Giggle. My whole point is if the 15th Doctor is going to openly oppose traditional gender norms and depict an emotionally open, healthy and caring attitude, unashamed to show platonic affection toward others regardless of gender, why only make that change for the upcoming incarnation and not have David show that growth himself, outside of the brief moments of emotional growth like when he admits to Donna that losing her like that broke him. Why have the lines where there's mentions of 13 being a woman if 14 is going to immediately pick up the masculine authority role and start talking down to humans from his Gallifreyan High Horse and have all of that emotional growth offscreen during retirement? How much of 15's new outward attitude is Ncuti's input, and are they specifically only writing that attitude in because of Ncuti's sexuality and presumed comfort with it, much like how affectionate Jack was outside of his sexuality in series 1 and on Torchwood? I guess my whole point is, how much of the representation here is natural, and what is being artificially pushed for in order to market the series to those communities, regardless of how positive their intentions are? We already saw it with Chibnall's era with the Fam & making Ryan's dyspraxia seem like a way bigger problem in the first episode than it was ever shown, and the endless queerbaiting of Thasmin with absolutely zero intention of paying that off, in a bid to try and play into Shipping culture & stay popular that way through Twitter and Tumblr teenagers, rather than making good episodes that appeal to all. Is it going to be the "Disney's first gay character" trope over and over again, putting the most basic, safe and boring of representation front & center for brownie points, with no consideration of making _good_ representation that will help to normalise these things with the viewers that are on the fence regarding their feelings toward gender identity.

[@nb_nb]

@@Whiteythereaper I'm pretty sure Ncuti did say it was a kilt. But yeah I'm not disagreeing with anything else you're saying at all, it's just like.... at my age I've seen so much of the "ohhh men in skirts" thing from the english when they don't want to take into account the cultural differences between masculine and feminine clothing between the two nations so you get used to just correcting people.

[@ooooneeee]

I Can't imagine David being unwilling to wear Jodie's outfit. This was RTD being a coward.

[@SaveDisk]

oh thank GOD someone acknowledged those rose scenes. as a trans person my entire face wrinkled up like a vacuum seal bag having to sit through it when it aired. the new doctor's wardrobe screams nonbinary to me so much more than jodie's, too, so im already relating to him more! amazing video and great sentiment lol

[@100lizards8]

this is how i find out jinx is gonna be on dr who and i wouldn't have it any other way

[@Adrianovaz2007]

Where the hell have you been this is probably the biggest news in the DW/RPDR overlap since it was announced!

[@samscarfone8104]

Tangentily related, but as a gray-ace person who is only occasionally attracted to men and is surprised by it every time, the little moment in the second special when Tenant Doctor was like 'yeah Isaac Newton was hot- oh! that was interesting!' was maybe the most seen I've ever felt, like YES that is EXACTLY how that feels

[@jessjohnson998]

As soon as I saw the Fugitive Doctor I was like can't wait till she's the regeneration- she looked ICONIC.

[@Feteronii]

THE DO YOU LOVE THE COLORS OF THE SKY REFERENCE 😭

[@cecilily]

I'm a very small creator and I coincidentally released a video with this exact same title two weeks ago 😅 I do think we discuss it in very different ways though, mostly the deep dive into Jodie's doctor and costume! Great points and super well put together!

[@verilybitchie]

I haven't seen your video, but I used to have a video on my old Doctor Who channel back in 2017 called "Doctor Who is Transgender Now" from when Jodie Whittaker was first announced as the Doctor, so that's where this title came from, because I have been obsessed with this topic for 7 years lmao. But that is a hell of a coincidence...I guess we should watch out for goblins...? 👀

[@cecilily]

@verilybitchie I WONDER WHY we might be obsessed with this topic!! Hahaha 😅 It's the zeitgeist, there is no running away from it!

[@nihilasta2661]

I feel bad for Jodie Whitaker, her era got burned like a dragon roasts a knight during this 😅

[@etherealtb6021]

I hope RTD brings her back, so she can get a decent script!

[@nihilasta2661]

@@etherealtb6021 same she deserves a chance with someone who seems actually capable of writing a decent script

[@etherealtb6021]

@@nihilasta2661 Right? She's a great actress. RTD has *already* improved the Timeless Child idea. As others have said, Chibnall had some truly interesting ideas, but never "stuck the landing".

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

Always has been

[@why3994]

Literally, tom baker has gone on record saying the doctor is enby iirc

[@bestbrostar]

fr

[@ab-mc2nq]

even in 1963?

[@SirStrangefolk]

"Gender neutral men" also makes me think of the Gorons from Zelda. Though of course there they also have the all-women Gerudo.

[@fossilfighters101]

okay but everyone in canon makes such a big deal about the gerudo being all women and i don't know if a single character has commented on the gorons' gender

[@diccchocolate416]

​@@fossilfighters101because they're just bros being dudes, no bones about it.

[@apples6684]

@@fossilfighters101 they're just dudes who roll around and discover the tasty rocks everyone else is too scared to try, what else is there to say

[@britt6184]

​@@fossilfighters101In Breath of the Wild there is a Goron in Gerudo Town who is confused about why he was let in to the town while males usually aren't. It was kind of funny while bringing into question of what Gorons are in that regard. I mean they all call each other brother and use the appropriate pronouns. They all have male voices. They might reproduce asexually. I love the Gorons but they are one of the more confusing races biologically. At least the Gerudo make sense in how they are all or mostly female without dying out yet. They seek out male Hylians to marry or at least mate with.

[@panickedshears]

@@britt6184I always just assumed they did have male and female gorons, and there just any sexual dimorphism between the sexes. I do kinda like the idea of them reproducing asexually and not really having much of a biological sex, though.

[@one_for_one]

Okay but personally I still think the meep pronoun joke was perfect tbh. It's comedy derived from tension, some people are just getting stuck on the part that's supposed to make you cringe slightly and missing the punchline.

[@Orynae]

Personally I feel like, with the awkward "did you assume its gender" line combined with how clumsily the gender stuff wrapped up at the end of the episode, it just felt way too much like the writers didn't understand pronouns. I mean, I don't _actually_ think it was an unintentional grammar mistake, I just think the joke is _very_ clumsily written. Tbh my first gut reaction when watching the scene was actually to wonder if they were trying to make a joke swinging the other way, in the "attack helicopter" vein, since "the" very obviously is not the meep's pronouns. (Clearly this was not their intention since they cast a trans actress and tried to center her voice)

[@thejunecooperative]

Haven't seen this episode just the clips in the video but they should have just had The Meep say no to the question and then say the next line about only being called the Meep. Like just imagine "Oh what are your pronouns?" "No. I only want to be called the Meep" or however that scene went generally.

[@alinachrist8416]

​@@Orynaeyup. Her abrupt comment felt a little too much like the conservatives inserting 'did you just assume their pronouns' as a gotcha to anyone who uses a person's preferred pronouns.

[@KindredBrujah]

@@alinachrist8416 Indeed. That's a mocking phrase used by the right, not a legitimate approach of progressives or trans people in my experience. It's the 'might get away with this joke at work' version of the attack helicopter.

[@one_for_one]

The meep isn't a human they're an alien. Rose isn't saying, "DiD yOu JuSt-" she's making a legitimate critique on the doctor for using a human binary conception of gender for the meep. She is the best character in the room to deliver that critique. And the tension it provokes serves the punchline. The meep uses the definite article as a pronoun. That's super confusing. Except it's not. We've been doing it already for half a century for the doctor. The punchline is an audience who gets uncomfortable at the mention of pronouns in casual conversation is actually capable of understanding and using even something as complex as a self referential neopronoun, and are pearl clutching.

[@Natakupl]

Do we want to retake the shot? The alpha centauri's helment keeps falling over and exposing the actor underneath. No? Keep rolling? Alright whatever you say, boss.

[@whitherwhence]

-Please be nice to Old Who their budget was whatever coins they found on the sidewalk- Edit: apparently this is false. Oops

[@AC-dk4fp]

@@whitherwhence This isn't true they had a massive budget for a TV show just too many things they wanted to spend it on. Additional takes are a time issue for broadcast not a budget one.

[@whitherwhence]

@@AC-dk4fp oh. Um. Oops

[@elise205]

​@@AC-dk4fp what? Mate go look at interviews from the classic run. The show had a shoestring budget, it wasn't a case of "too much to spend it on" - it was a case of low budget. Compared to other BBC shows in the early 70s? Yeah sure it was high, but the budget was still tiny compared to other sci-fi shows of the day.

[@AC-dk4fp]

@@elise205 Its the longest running SF show for decades so saying 'other shows of its day' is meaningless do you mean Blake 7? OG Star Trek? Lost in Space? Battlestar Galactica? Time Tunnel? The Tomorrow Children? Joe 90? Space 1999? Ultraman? Karmen Rider? Some Turkish TV show I've never heard of? It had a low budget for telling the stories they wanted to tell that's all I mean by "too much to spend it on" I don't mean they were extravagant or wasteful.

[@Lia-zw1ls7tz7o]

12:23 ironically, Jodie would later cut her hair after finishing her filming of Doctor Who. And the fans immediately said: this should’ve been her hairstyle all along.

[@asliwins337]

I will always say; they should have said the reason they could let it go was their humanity. The original episode Donna mentioned that her humanity mixed with Time Lord would allow her to do more than any Time Lord could imagine; great, work with that. As a companion Donna was a protector. She was always calling on the Doctor to save people, to help. That is a fundamental part of her. And if Rose and Donna were able to give up the power because of their humanity that also speaks to the humanity of trans people at the same time without being so cringe.

[@LegitFUry]

As someone who identifies as Non-binary, and who grew up in RTD's first run on Doctor Who, looking back in it, both Tenant and Eccleston were a big part in formulating that identity for me. Sure, they present male, as I often do, and people assume they are male, but in reality, gender is rarely ever something that wholly affects who they are. They're a space alien. Gender and even sexuality doesn't even really have to apply to them.😊

[@eepyJay]

The roasting of 13s outfit TICKLED me😂

[@bookswithike3256]

Romana's outfit in The Horns of Nimon is possibly my favourite costume in any tv show or movie ever. It's such a shame it was in _The Horns of Nimon._

[@TheTechOrc]

That explains everything! Not telling your writers important details about the main character how on earth do we expect them to write a good story?

[@basilbrush9075]

Staying for the whispery reading of patreon names

[@maxjackson1579]

My read on the "something a male presenting Timelord could never understand" scene is that it was meant to be a comment on (sorry for the cringe wording) male privilege/power in the context of transitioning male to female. Donna got a piece of the 10th Doctor - a very CIS male portrayal of the Doctor - and back then neither of them knew how to deal with that. Donna even fights to keep it and die rather than give it up. Rose however had already dealt with that problem before. She had already transitioned and dealt with the loss of the status and perks being male presenting gives you. So when the metacrisis reawakens she can just "let it go". She's done it before and its not her. To hold on to the piece of the 10th Doctor would be to cling to a masculinity she doesn't identify with. And Donna can do the same because of how deeply she understands Rose, her true gender, and the impact and understanding that comes with loving a trans person. Which if I'm right means that all the claims that Rose is only trans because she had a timelord proclivity to gender fluidity is wrong. Rose gets to be trans, in spite of having the metacrisis in her head, and being trans gets to save the day.

[@helamsirrine]

I agree that the metaphor for 'letting go' is about abandoning a part of her identity imposed on her since birth. In the text, the doctor's supressed conciousness, but also a metaphor for abandoning internalised societal expectations of masculinity. The problem I have is the way that the episode muddles those two things. She expresses that she's always felt out of place in her 'from another planet' comments to the meep. There's the whole exchange about being non-binary because the Doctor is both male and female. It's just muddled enough to allow room for an interpretation that non-binary people are all wierd space aliens like the Meep, the Doctor, and Rose and that she was trans because of a contagion of the doctor's alien conciousness "making" her trans. Laypeople do not draw any sort of distinctions between 'the queers,' be they nb, trans, etc. and bigots will winge about 'social contagion.' I don't think this is the intended theming or messaging of the episode at all... which is why it's kind of annoying that it can so easily be read ass backwards. It's just muddled enough that it can read opposite of it's intent. I agree with Verity that the scene reads as using a trans character played by a trans actress to validate the idea of a trans Doctor. Like switching back to male presentation doesn't mean they've 'de-transitioned.' The Doc is still kinda gender fluid, see... a trans person said so. But ya, it's all just messy and vague enough so that yer like wait... is the doctor trans? Is Rose non-biney? Did his subconcious 'make' her trans? We see his alien brain effect her habits elsewhere. She describes what sounds like trans alienation to the meep in a way that invokes the alien-ness of the Doctor. What is this metaphor? Well intentioned. Positive representation. Credit where due. BUT... it's kind of a mess.

[@maxjackson1579]

@@helamsirrine Oh yeah 100%. I don't think it was particularly well handled and you really feel in general the absence of a trans writer talking about trans people. Still I'd take a valiant failure over the Chibnal eras cowardly omission of trans considerations any day.

[@KarolKaru]

this is an excellent interpretation :O sadly yeah i dont think it comes through well enough for anyone to pick up on it without like. actually dwelling on it for a long time to come to this conclusion...

[@emmahobbs4552]

I'd like to also add and say that I think Deep Breath does a better job of being a trans allegory than any of Jodies era does!

[@harveyweir8061]

No way you just brushed over "the pure voice of a young boy, with the mentality of a homosexual civil servant" LMAO i'm dead

[@Casterborous]

I'm really Excited to see Mary Malone, she was fantastic in The Prince Also her character as Ruby's friend is called Trudy

[@Lauren-ny9pe]

interesting how the meep is implied to be transphobic and doesnt have pronouns (only the definite article)

[@chornethefirstborn1768]

As a trans man whose past experiences as a woman are still very important to me, the whole "as a male-presenting time lord you can't understand" thing did sting a bit. Sometimes it felt like the writing left no room for the Doctor to really BE anything beyond what they physically were at that precise moment. The Doctor could make jokes about once being a man or once being a woman, but those experiences of gender couldn't genuinely continue to be a part of them once that incarnation was over. Which... was a bit sad. I always skip that part of 'The Star Beast' on rewatch. But I am definitely enthusiastic about the new run and how much room it's making for transgender characters and transgender stories. >:) (And I've gotta say, just getting to see David "Transmasc Awakening" Tennant talk about transitioning his gender and discovering who he is now fucking SENT me)

[@ashismyname21]

I lost it at Nessie Big Naturals 😂😂😂

[@Logiwonk]

I love you used the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes clip - by far the best period version of Sherlock. Brett's work broadly was excellent. Many people don't know he had long term relationships with both men and women, although it's unclear how he identified. Under-recognized LGBT+ icon.

[@spacewhalemilk]

The new season is much better than the previous, but I will always be in a state of cringe and laughter everytime I hear that N O N - B I N A R Y line. This is prob the worst implementation of lgbtq into the plot of any media I've ever seen, it is soooooooo funny.

[@alansmithee419]

The two binary options of... binary and non-binary?

[@notyourjakey]

@@alansmithee419 I'm non-binary in the binary/non-binary binary

[@darkacadpresenceinblood]

sounded like a bad punchline/pun not a genuine plot point lmaoo, i like the whole concept of everything in Rose's personality and identity being because of the Doctor's memories but that one part could've been delivered better (also the Doctor's not even binary either? if they can regenerate as anything who says they can't become nonbinary lol it doesn't even make sense)

[@alansmithee419]

@@darkacadpresenceinblood Honestly it seems time lords are always non-binary, specifically agender. They've typically been shown to just use the pronouns of their outward appearance, which could suggest they don't have an internal sense of gender identity at all as they are willing to switch pronouns on a dime.

[@DSS712]

I'd totally forgotten about the "when I was a little boy" line from Cassandra! I always took that line to mean that in the future gender norms are so irrelevant that there isn't even a need for labels like "transgender." Therefore she can refer to herself as a little boy without feeling uncomfortable or dysphoric, because, well, there's nothing to be dysphoric about since anyone can present in any way. I really miss when Davies used the sci-fi genre as a way to explore diversity representation in a way that challenges the audience through the presentation of hypothetical social constructs. The diversity in the new season of Who is too rooted in the very restricted lens of the current political atmosphere of the English speaking world, which while well intentioned, mostly just breaks the suspension of disbelief about a time traveling alien who comes from a world with entirely foreign social constructs.

[@helamsirrine]

I think that sort of well meaning and very liberal but also kind of awkward and ham-fisted cringe is an essential element of Doctor Who... so I think that the Star Beast fits in perfectly with the history of the program in that way. Anyone who didn't know doccy who is cringe, hasn't been paying attention. When it hits, it hit's hard and genuine, so people overlook the times it didn't come together, but ya... my favorite show is very cringey. I always knew that. Also, I always like yer doccy who vidjas. Keep 'em coming... y'know... if you want.

[@dustind4694]

Well I'm definitely headcanoning K9 choosing to be a good boy just to short circuit JK's brain.

[@dustind4694]

And yeah, Le Guinn learned from LHoD and I like to think her readers did too... There are some assumptions that need to be ditched.

[@dustind4694]

Also this whole business has brought my Donna stanning to a middle.

[@ericahinman8416]

Outstanding commitment to reading/singing all our names. I was compelled to watch until the end😂 great work as always.

[@packman2321]

Not all the way through yet, but I really like the point about the clothing and visual language. I think with symbolism you have to build up, the more complex you want the symbol to be, the more things you have to point in the same direction to make that obvious. For example with the necklace you could show the Doctor using it as a pendulum and focus on the star at the start of the episode, have an arc about her struggling with her identity and connections with people, then focus closely on the hand hanging from hers at the end when she learns to trust her companions (to spitball an idea). I do think they do this surprisingly well in some of the season posters. Both Jodie's Second Season and the Flux posters I've seen really manage to use elements of Jodie's costume for symbolic purposes. The former puts a nebula under the tails of her long coat to imply the Doctor's cosmic/powerful/ancient vibe and I hink that blurs nicely with the colour of the shirt actually using the 'the colour is for space' idea to say something. The Flux one uses bands of colour similar to the ones across the Doctor's chest, and I think that does a good job of communicating the all consuming nature of the flux, and implying its origin inside or related to the Doctor (I haven't seen Flux so I am riffing off the poster alone here), meanwhile the grey coat still stands out very well against the colour in the first Flux poster and serves as an excellent field for the colours to invade and blur over in the latter. I think this is the thing, Doctors like Smith, Capaldi, McCoy or Martin all have very busy, very distinctive costumes that stand out, but that makes it hard to eccentuate them with environmental or aesthetic changes. Whittaker's, Eccleston's and some of Capaldi's are simple enough that they don't necessarily stand out on their own, but they can serve as baselayers to build greater meaning onto or over (because at their best their general flatness gives them a plain field with a few very clear focal ideas). I feel like the problem they've got with aesthetic is that they are imagining a busy and complex design, but the way the've made it actually makes it a good base layer for building ontop of or iterating on (hence why we don't end up focusing on the small details like the earring or the inner lining). It can work, it just needed someone like whoever designed the later posters to take a look at it and work with what they'd actually made and its unique advantages/disadvantages.

[@chaoticsilver8442]

0:49 "...who has transitioned back and forth over the years." Wouldn't that make her genderfluid then?

[@agent57]

I mean, this is kinda a good point? The doctor's he when he's he, she when she's she, might be/have been they at other times, having willing been, uh...

[@chaoticsilver8442]

@@agent57 Wasn't talking about the doctor, as that's not who is being talked about at the time stamp. That said- I'd say the doctor is male- Or at least, sees himself as masculine. I mean, again, he literally forgets he even is a woman half the time, as the video said. That said, that might change over time. I mean, were a cis person to suddenly swap genders, would they remain fully inline with their old gender throughout? Or would they perhaps grow a bit more accustomed to their new gender after a few years or decades, as one may grow accustomed to any change in their life with enough time? It's not like that kind of thing just normally happens- Sure, trans people exist, but trans people don't start off cis and spontaneously transition last I checked.

[@martianscienceenthusiast]

Well yeah, that's why she's always needing moisture. they're spraying her with the gender fluid.

[@ir2264]

I sobbed for Cassandra as a child, and when I rewatched the series I bawled my eyes out once again. She was a brilliant character, and spoke to me on the idea of being considered beautiful in your own eyes above others. I miss characters like that.

[@alexm7334]

the episode is extremely cringey but i can forgive it because you can tell RTD is genuinely trying. like, he a little confused but he got the spirit, you know? plus it's nice to have that kind of embarrassing sincerity back in DW. idk how new fans will handle it when the new season is cringe but i'm excited to see how it goes 🫡

[@multi.instrumentalist]

I love the idea that the 13th Doctor wears a period outfit, but from the period of the previous episode

[@GEONEgaming]

I think a big issue with how the show first portrays Cassandra is how the show seems to echo a common fear about transgender people. Like, at one point Rose (whom is the audience surrogate and we are supposed to generally agree with) tells Cassandra that she's gone through so much change and surgery that she's no longer human, which is a mentality that has long been used to dehumanize trans people, and it's really difficult to not see that as an allegory that the show seems to want the audience to agree with. 😬

[@ListlessLion]

Yeah, it definitely brings to mind transphobic fear-mongering about gender affirming surgery being a slippery slope to plastic surgery addiction.

[@queztocoaxial]

Romana was always one of my favorite characters and no one ever talks about her. I always thought she should come back to the new show. Early in the reboot they always made a big deal about the Doctor being the only Time Lord left after the Time War, and I was always like "but what about Romana and K-9? They've been in E-Space this whole time."

[@deaderontheinside6871]

Romana has a bad time with time wars. The poor woman was caught up in three separate ones in the expanded universe.

[@queztocoaxial]

@@deaderontheinside6871 Ah, I wasn't aware. I know nothing about the EU, just the show.

[@deaderontheinside6871]

@queztocoaxial theres a brilliant series from big finish called Galifrey that picks up both Romana and Leela's stories from their departures. It's pretty self-contained and well worth a listen.

[@Aegon6]

This is probably the only channel where I've stayed until the very end to hear the patron name read lmao amazing "Simon ... patience"

[@vampiresquid2635]

cassandra dying in the arms of her past self is so utterly gut wrenching, especially since shes like this joke character from silly episodes and then BOOM EMPATHY IS RUINING ME

[@maybeyourbaby6486]

I know it's silly and nonsensical (and might just be me projecting the way I acted before figuring out I was trans unto others) but I actually think Cassandra is really fun because I kind of picture her being genderfluid and just using the con artistry as an excuse? 😅 As if she's like, "oops the bouncer at the club wouldn't let me in.. whelp, guess I gotta trans my gender again 😩" just doing the absolute most completely unprompted lol

[@sidneypowelstock6812]

literally that's queen behavior

[@The_Jovian]

I love captain Angel in Star Trek who is a sexy transfem nonbinary villain who revels in deviousness. They also don't have a tragic backstory or languish in philosophical speeches about gender, except to give brief advice to Spock. They're trans and evil and fun. It's great

[@aliteralbrick]

Jody's Doctor genuinely looked better and more gender ambiguous in the *12th* Doctor's clothes then she did in her normal clothing.

[@kamalalsb7292]

My exact reaction to this episode was - so happy to have some representation, so mad they didn't get a single Trans Woman in the writing room. The thing I can at least say for RTD is the UK fucking sucks for Trans Women and having a prominent public figure who is openly and unashamedly pro Trans is EXTREMELY comforting, even if he doesn't get it right right out of the gate.

[@aceofblades6574]

I just need you to know that I have watched this video multiple times and the phrase "Nessie Big Naturals" is now permanently fried into my brain.

[@astralarmadillo]

I was really disappointed by the 13th Doctor's costume - don't tell me you're going for androgyny and then give me suburban auntie

[@coolfijiwater]

loved this video! i do have a small bit to add with ursula k. le guin's novel the left hand of darkness. the protagonist is the one using he/him pronouns for the gethenians because he views them as male even though they explain so many times that they're not gendered, no matter what stage of kemmer they're in. it's a very small point, and i'm glad le guin talked about how she would use they/them pronouns instead of he/him. idk where i'm going with this anymore, uhhhh. either way, good video!!