Why is this even a question?
Aug. 22nd, 2006 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojSo, probably a lot of people have already seen and linked to this, but hey, I live under a rock. I know (roughly) who Joss Whedon is, but having never seen Buffy or Firefly or anything else of his, I missed this speech when it came out.
On the Road To Equality, Honouring Men On the Front Lines (May 15, 2006): Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech
The most courageous thing that I've ever done is something called a press junket, um, which is actually pretty courageous, believe me, because they ask you the same question over and over and over and over and over and over. I've done as many as 48 in a day, of these interviews, and they really, they don't come up with the fresh stuff. So there is one question that I've been asked almost every time I've been interviewed. So I thought tonight, briefly, I would share with you one question and a few of my responses, because when you're asked something five hundred times, you really start to think about the answer. So now I will become a reporter, it's gonna be a little transformation.
So, Joss, I, a reporter, would like to know: why do you write these strong women characters?
I think it's because of my mother. Uh, she really was an extraordinary, inspirational, tough, cool, sexy, funny woman, and that's the kind of woman I've always surrounded myself with, it's my friends, particularly my wife who is not only smarter and stronger than I am, but occasionally taller, too – but only sometimes. And uh, I think it, you know, goes back to my mother.
So, why do you write these strong women characters?
Because of my father. My father and my stepfather had a lot to do with it, because they prized wit and resolve in the women they were with above all things. And they were among the rare men who understood that recognizing somebody else's power does not diminish your own. When I created Buffy I wanted to create a female icon but I also wanted to be very careful to surround her with men who not only had no problem with the idea of a female leader, but were in fact engaged and even attracted to the idea. That came from my father and stepfather, the men who created this man, who created those men, if you can follow that.
So, uh, why do you create these strong, how you say, ze women (I'm in Europe now, it's a very, international - I don't know where, but) zese strong women characters?
Um, well, because the stories give people strength, and I've heard it from a number people and I've felt it myself, and it's not just women, it's men, and I think there is something particular about a female protagonist that allows a man to identify with her. That opens up something that he might... an aspect of himself, he might be unable to express. Hopes and desires, he might be uncomfortable expressing through a male identification figure. So it really crosses, across both, and I think it helps people you know, in that way.
So why do you create these strong women characters?
... 'cause they're hot...
But these strong women charact-
Why are you even asking me this? (This is like interview number 50 in a row.) How is this possible that this is even a question? Honestly. Seriously? Why are you ask – why did you write that down? Why do you - why aren't you asking a hundred other guys why they don't write strong women characters?
I believe that what I'm doing should not be remarked upon, let alone honoured, and there are other people doing it, but seriously, this question, is ridiculous, and you've just got to stop.
So, why do you write these strong women characters?
Because. Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be 'striving' for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth, as men and women.
And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition, it is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it.
We need equality. Kinda now.
So why do you write these strong female characters?
Because you're still asking that question.
On the Road To Equality, Honouring Men On the Front Lines (May 15, 2006): Joss Whedon's Equality Now speech
The most courageous thing that I've ever done is something called a press junket, um, which is actually pretty courageous, believe me, because they ask you the same question over and over and over and over and over and over. I've done as many as 48 in a day, of these interviews, and they really, they don't come up with the fresh stuff. So there is one question that I've been asked almost every time I've been interviewed. So I thought tonight, briefly, I would share with you one question and a few of my responses, because when you're asked something five hundred times, you really start to think about the answer. So now I will become a reporter, it's gonna be a little transformation.
So, Joss, I, a reporter, would like to know: why do you write these strong women characters?
I think it's because of my mother. Uh, she really was an extraordinary, inspirational, tough, cool, sexy, funny woman, and that's the kind of woman I've always surrounded myself with, it's my friends, particularly my wife who is not only smarter and stronger than I am, but occasionally taller, too – but only sometimes. And uh, I think it, you know, goes back to my mother.
So, why do you write these strong women characters?
Because of my father. My father and my stepfather had a lot to do with it, because they prized wit and resolve in the women they were with above all things. And they were among the rare men who understood that recognizing somebody else's power does not diminish your own. When I created Buffy I wanted to create a female icon but I also wanted to be very careful to surround her with men who not only had no problem with the idea of a female leader, but were in fact engaged and even attracted to the idea. That came from my father and stepfather, the men who created this man, who created those men, if you can follow that.
So, uh, why do you create these strong, how you say, ze women (I'm in Europe now, it's a very, international - I don't know where, but) zese strong women characters?
Um, well, because the stories give people strength, and I've heard it from a number people and I've felt it myself, and it's not just women, it's men, and I think there is something particular about a female protagonist that allows a man to identify with her. That opens up something that he might... an aspect of himself, he might be unable to express. Hopes and desires, he might be uncomfortable expressing through a male identification figure. So it really crosses, across both, and I think it helps people you know, in that way.
So why do you create these strong women characters?
... 'cause they're hot...
But these strong women charact-
Why are you even asking me this? (This is like interview number 50 in a row.) How is this possible that this is even a question? Honestly. Seriously? Why are you ask – why did you write that down? Why do you - why aren't you asking a hundred other guys why they don't write strong women characters?
I believe that what I'm doing should not be remarked upon, let alone honoured, and there are other people doing it, but seriously, this question, is ridiculous, and you've just got to stop.
So, why do you write these strong women characters?
Because. Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be 'striving' for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth, as men and women.
And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition, it is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it.
We need equality. Kinda now.
So why do you write these strong female characters?
Because you're still asking that question.
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 02:23 am (UTC)I ♥ Joss Whedon, if for no other reason, Zoë.
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Date: 2006-08-24 02:05 am (UTC)BTW, your icon always cracks me up :D :D
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Date: 2006-08-23 11:29 am (UTC)A certain episode of Buffy is the funniest TV I think I've ever seen, although it does help to be familiar with the characters before you get to it.
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Date: 2006-08-24 02:06 am (UTC)Hee, yeah, I get that feeling. Just about everybody I know is/was a huge Buffy fan, and I've always felt like I'm missing a vital piece of our culture.
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Date: 2006-08-24 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 03:40 pm (UTC)It's not easy to be a woman in Joss's 'verses, either, but it's not b/c you're a woman there. It's b/c his worlds are hard, frightening places, and everyone's got to stand together to fight whatever's coming down the line. What's interesting, too, is that the best of his villains--Glory, Angelus, Spike, the Operative in Serenity--don't care about gender, either.
There need to be more writers like him in the entertainment industry.
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Date: 2006-08-24 02:09 am (UTC)Yeah, no kidding :)
He doesn't do what, say, Chris Carter tended to do--create an amazing female character, and then hamstring her repeatedly.
OMG, yeah.
There need to be more writers like him in the entertainment industry.
Biggest applause in his speech (of course) followed "why aren't you asking a hundred other guys why they don't write strong women characters?" And of course I'm sitting here alone in front of my computer and feeling like bursting into applause too ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-25 12:49 am (UTC)Mr. Ninja-Kat
PS. I also have the unaired pilot for Buffy kicking around on my computer somewhere... different actress playing Willow, mostly the same plot from the air pilot (but shorter). Not that I'm a fanboy or anything... :)