A question

[azziria]

Reading discussions on various boards about the introduction of the new female character on Hawaii Five-0 has got me thinking: What makes you like a character on a show who is not of the gender you're sexually attracted to? Which characters appeal to you and which don't, and why?

I've seen the opinion stated that Lori Weston was added to appeal to the male viewers; I've also seen it stated that she was added to increase the show's attraction for female viewers. Personally I find her just that little bit too perfect and doll-like to appeal to me as a female viewer, although I suspect that it's the lack of character so far that's really making me see her like that, not her undeniable beauty. I'm not sure that I can identify too closely with a female character who is presented as completely unflawed. I like to feel that my heroines are people I'd be interested in hanging out with.

So, who do you like and why?

Comments

[portraitofafool.livejournal.com]

I um... don't really like other women as a rule. Period. Which you know. However, there are some women I do like and there are female characters I like, too. Lori Weston is not one of them. For one thing, she's not attractive to me at all and that's the 100% "I readily admit it" shallow truth of it. For another thing (and you know this already) she looks like a complete and utter bitch and I want to punch her in the face every single time I see her. When looking at someone pisses me off then we've got a problem.

She sort of embodies a lot of things I hate about women (in the general, pop culture mainstream sense) with her character because for one thing, she's not capable and even if she had the potential to be so, she's too damned skinny and not well toned enough to manage much when something actually would require upper body strength for example. Her legs look like toothpicks, too, which again says "lack of muscle tone" so there goes that, too. She's one of those bony girls that I can't stand and what people call a lollipop head--her head is bigger than her neck and it makes her look disproportionate.

The other thing about her character that I despise is that what little bit of character she has; she actually IS a complete bitch and not the cool kind. She's the snarky, borderline passive aggressive bitch that I hate on or offscreen.

Kono, otoh, really is capable, she's tough while still being believable. She's thin, but she looks healthy and has wonderful muscle tone and shape and because of all that, I can buy her being able to kick someone's ass. Jenna, I didn't like for certain reasons, but as she was around more I started liking her for other reasons though. Such as the fact she was intelligent, she was real--like I could imagine a girl like her existing outside of TV Land--and she was flawed. Neither her or Kono were/are spun glass ice queens with personalities equivalent to that of an angry piece of plywood. Nor are they a Carpenter's Dream. They look like Real People and act like them, too.

Lori just needs to gtfo. Ugh.

As for other shows, I like Alicia Florrick because she grew a spine, kicked her adultering husband to the curb and truly shows--to me--a modern woman capable of overcoming stereotypes still in place today. In fact, I like every female main on that show simply for those reasons--they all show different women with different personalities as being strong, capable and able to make it to the top in "a man's world" and do so in a believable fashion.

On SPN there haven't been many female characters I've liked simply because they fall into the pit of Cliché so, so badly. I love Missouri though and want her BACK. I like Mary Winchester--young and the ever-returning deceased version when she's not being made evil by asshat angels. I liked Pamela until they raped her characterization so hardcore in S5 and then I was DONE with her likethat. But my favorite of all would have to be Ellen; she was absolutely wonderful in every way they showed her--tough as nails and believably so and a complete bitch, but of the absolutely cool and awesome variety. And an honorable mention goes to Meg in all of her incarnations because she is forever a bad ass senorita. Otoh, I fucking CHEERED when Anna bit it and Ruby 2.0, too. Ruby 1.0 was awesomesauce. Genevieve Cortese, while a very cool and intelligent woman IRL (seems to be anyway) is a truly terrible actress and ruined the character for me. Oh well though.

And there we go. I really have no idea if I answered your questions at all. Fail? *thinks on*

[azziria.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd forgotten Ellen - wonderful character :)