There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Joss Whedon and his feminist credentials. Is he a feminist icon, or a horrid misogynistic racist masquerading as an ally? It’s usually safe to say the answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but I have a slightly more specific response.

When we talk about whether someone deserves a feminist cookie, what we’re asking is not so much whether they did a good thing or are a nice person as whether or not they deserve ...Read More

The recent bout of feminist critique of Firefly has finally roused me from my prolonged inability to write anything at all about television, which will hopefully translate not only into some posts on that show that I’ve been mulling for a while, but also into some more regular content from me. Consider yourselves warned.

As is covered in the linked post, although Joss Whedon’s work is beloved by many feminists and is definitely leaps and bounds beyond the bulk of television, ...Read More

Wash and Zoe’s marriage in Firefly/Serenity has GOT to be one of the best marriages around. They’re equals, they often do mundane everyday things, many of their fights are professional, not personal. So here’s Scarlett’s guide to How to Write Good Ship That Doesn’t Demean the Woman:

#1 Introduce her as a strong, capable character with an important – and platonic – backstory with at least one other character (in this case, Mal). Maintain her existence as a strong, capable character ...Read More

I’ve been trying for ages to pin down what doesn’t quite work for me about Inara on Firefly.

I love the idea of sex workers who are respected, highly trained, and in control of their trade. One thing I knew bothered me was how Mal introduced her to Sheppard Book as “a whore” and often referred to her as such – but that wasn’t what didn’t work. He never gets called on it to my satisfaction, but I can write it ...Read More

Kaylee from Firefly/Serenity is a woman doing a man’s job, but she never comes across as either the stereotyped beautiful-tomboy or the butch-tomboy that we see so often in film and television. Rather, she’s a reasonably attractive woman who loves her job, which just happens to be a mechanic for a spaceship.

And a damn competent mechanic she is, too. In a flashback episode , she is introduced as the fling of Serenity’s initial mechanic, a somewhat incompetent guy. While this ...Read More

Spoilers for Firefly/Serenity

Inara Serra is a Companion. According to Mal, that’s just a high-class prostitute; according to Inara and pretty much every other character, a Companion is like the glamorous older cousin to the Japanese Geisha (appropriate, given the series/movie uses a lot of references to eastern cultures). Sexual services are one of the many she provides as a companion – among others, a partner, conversationalist, confidante, listener, builder (not propper-up) of self-esteem. Her teaching and nursing skills are excellent.

She’s ...Read More