#13 discourse

quakerhobbit replied to your post “I just want to thank you for putting it the way you did. I've seen...”

I think genital comments in this context specifically are gross, at least to me, because it's not canon that the Doctor has human genitalia. The Doctor played by male actors doesn't necessarily have a penis, and the doctor played by a female actress doesn't necessarily have a vulva and vagina. Genitalia shouldn't even be part of the discussion because in terms of physical presentation all we know for sure is secondary characteristics (voice, chest, etc.)

Thank you! I’m glad you’re excited. If this is something you’ve been waiting for, you should be excited. 

I just wanted to voice the other side, like you say. This is not as simple as, “the Doctor is now a woman and that’s great and if you don’t think so you’re sexist.” There are real issues involved in changing the gender of a character mid-show. We talk a lot about representation on Tumblr, and the truth is, there aren’t any gender nonbinary face-changing aliens who will be able to relate directly to the Doctor’s experience watching the show. There are humans who don’t fit the gender binary watching the show, and I hope that this regeneration is done in a way that is respectful to them. 

Thank you for sending such a lovely message! 

This definitely could be done in a positive way. Like I said, I would really love it if the Doctor corrected people who said they’re a girl and chose gender neutral pronouns. I think the show could really pull off the idea that the Doctor has been nonbinary their whole life and have just gone along with human pronouns until now. 

I’m glad you’re optimistic about it. Certainly, the fact that Chibnall will be writing it and not Moffat gives me more hope than I’d have otherwise. (As in, otherwise I would have no hope.)

It’s been pointed out that my post could sound like I was talking for trans people. That was not my intent at all. I’ve edited the language in one spot where I could see definite confusion entering the post. 

To clarify, the message I hear when people talk about how the Doctor is a girl now is that gender is defined by appearance. It is a belief I have had to unlearn, and one that I see frequently frustrating trans/gender nonconforming people I know, so it is one I have been trained to understand is transphobic. 

That is my understanding, and my opinion. It is also a reservation I have heard from trans/gender nonconforming people, so I at least know I’m not completely out there in the way I’m understanding it. However, I don’t think that every trans person will hear it that way. Everyone is an individual and will have their own, individual opinions. 

To compare, there are things some women find sexist that I don’t, and vice versa. And a lot of the time, neither of us is right or wrong--it’s just what happens to hit me wrong, and what happens to hit them wrong. 

But because this is the message I hear, and because I have heard trans people say, point blank, that this message is hurtful, I am concerned for my friends. That’s not me thinking I need to pave the way and be the saviour and protector of trans people. That is me, on a personal level, not wanting people I know and care for to be hurt.