ficwize | Making the Grade: Gender and Race on Television

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Making the Grade: Gender and Race on Television

So, about two weeks ago,

handyhunter put up this test-

From theangryblackwoman.com: The Bechdel Test and Race in Popular Fiction

1. It has to have two POC in it.

2. Who talk to each other.

3. About something other than a white person.

Clearly, it is taken from the Bechdel Test that relates to Gender:

1. It has to have two women in it.

2. Who talk to each other.

3. About something other than a man.

The Angry Black Woman (and

handyhunter) then proceeded to talk about various fandoms and do a basic "measure" of them. I was so fascinated by this idea that I've decided to copy it and apply both tests to my fandoms, just to see what there is to see.

I'm increasingly curious as to what fandoms actually pass these tests, especially given all of the recent commentary about Supernatural and Glee, which are both shows that I enjoy, but neither show generally inspires me to fic.

Anyway, onto the tests. These are all shows that I watch regularly. I really want to do this for other forms of fandom, too – comics, manga/anime, but I don't have time at the moment. I will come back to it though.

Shows (These are basically the shows that I like, even though I am not fannish about some of them. And after listing them, I'm really glad that they're not all on at the same time.) Also, for purposes of this little project, I'm not going to consider background characters as recurring characters, even if they appear in several episodes, unless they have fairly large speaking roles.

30 Rock

I am about halfway through the first season, and this show definitely passes both the Race and Gender Bechdel tests. It is also one of the only shows that stars a female lead. Regardless, there are two recurring women characters, who often discuss their careers with each other, as well as their fears and individual personality quirks.

There are three minority recurring characters (two black and one Indian). There have been episodes where these characters talk to each other about their careers, their talents, their abilities, and even the effects of racism on them personally.

So, in sum, in addition to being funny, this show gets an A for both tests.

Being Human

This stars two white men and one black woman. By virtue of that alone, I think it fails both tests. I am wracking my brain to think whether it ever passes the test, and despite my love for all the characters, I don't think it does. The only conversation I recall Annie having with another woman revolves around Annie's ex-boyfriend.

So, for purposes of this project, it's a double F for this show.

Big Bang Theory

Let's see – three white men, one Indian man, and one white woman make up the central cast of characters. I've only seen the first season, so if things change in season 2, please don't spoil me!

That said, there are instances where Penny is talking to other women, but I'm 95% sure that it always either about one of the boys, or about someone's boyfriend. I'm not sure that I'm aware of Raj ever speaking to another character of color. It's been a while since I've seen this show, but I'm fairly sure that I'm right.

So, another double F. At least for season one.

Burn Notice

This hurts me, because I adore this show, but the main cast is two white men and a white woman, with a strong secondary cast consisting of another white woman and another white man. Then there is a recurring cast made up of yet more white women and men, with one detective played by Moon Bloodgood (Irish, Dutch, South Korean heritage).

I haven't finished the third season yet, but as far as I can recall, any conversation Fiona has with another woman is usually about a man, either Micheal or some abuser that Fiona and Michael are going to protect the woman from. While there are a fair number of strong women characters, I do not think that this show will pass the Bechdel test.

I would love to be wrong about that, so if someone remembers something that I'm forgetting, please tell me. However, I think by virtue of the fact that I’m forgetting it, it is pretty much a done deal.

Double F.

Doctor Who

The cast for this show is huge, but generally speaking, the Doctor and his companion make up the recurring cast. Since they do not alone pass either test, I'm considering for this show episodes that feature casts coming and going.

Martha Jones – one of my favorite characters ever – is both black and a woman. She speaks with other women about many things, including the Doctor, but not solely about the Doctor. She also speaks with her family about her career, although not with any great detail that I recall.

Rose has her mother. Donna has her mother. All of the women talk to other women about other things, even if it is not the point of the episodes. So, while it does pass the Gender Bechdel test, I'm not sure it passes with flying colors, as these discussions seem to be more sporadic than as a result of any significant plot point.

Gender: B Race: C

Dollhouse

Oh, people are going to hate me for this one, but there are multiple characters of color who talk to each other (Paul, Victor, Sierra, Boyd, Ivy) about things other than white folk and the women talk to each other about a variety of issues other than men.

On the surface of it, I'd have to say that this show passes both tests. Of course, the squick factor surrounding all these characters is problematic, but…

Gender: A, Race: A

Glee

As a show causing a great deal of stir at the moment, the cast is large and fairly even between men and women, with a good number of characters being minorities. Since there have only been two episodes when I'm writing this, I'm only judging the two episodes, and this is subject to change pretty much immediately.

There are women who talk to each other, but… I think it's almost always about men. Unless you consider Sue and the Cheerios and then it's about cheerleading and their desire to cause problems for the Glee Club, which does count, so this show passes the Gender Bechdel test, but not with any kind of flying colors.

I am wracking my brain to see if I can recall any scenes at all where any of the characters of color spoke to each other. Other than the general scenes of the Glee Club members talking all together, I can't recall a single one. Does this count? I'm skeptical that it does, but it does at least appear in the show.

So, Gender: C, Race: D.

Grey's Anatomy

Much to my surprise, since the quality of this show often leaves something to be desired in my opinion, this show passes both tests with flying colors.

Gender: A, Race: A

House

Oh, House. You hurt me so. Various seasons of this show would fail the race portion of this test. However, if I look at last season, there were several episodes that passed the test with flying colors. Kutner and Foreman spoke frequently about patients and the job. For the purposes of this test, I do not think that discussing a white patient equates to failing.

It passes the gender portion of the test easily. Cuddy, 13, Cameron – all of them have discussed various issues (not about men) with each other and with female patients.

Gender: A, Race: A

Law & Order: SVU

In ten years, this show has managed to pass both tests. But not well, I don't think, especially the race test. While there have been multiple occasions where minority characters worked together and spoke with each other about the case, their lives, and random other details, in ten years I don't believe it has happened that often.

There are several women characters who recur, although not as many as I would have suspected given the longevity of the show. They do speak with each other about a great deal, but most of the show revolves around sex crimes, so I'm not 100% sure that a discussion about their job is completely above board for the purposes of this test. Still, there have been instances of the women talking about issues ranging from mental illness to religious rights and freedoms.

Gender: B, Race: B

Leverage

As much as I love this show, it doesn't pass the Race portion of this test. It has one of the best characters of color in it – Hardison! – but he rarely interacts with other characters of color. In fact, while I'm wracking my brain here, I'm not positive he ever does. Help me out, if you're still reading? Does he?

There are two women in the cast, and they do discuss the job with each other, although more often than not, they're discussing Nate or one of the other male characters, or a female "victims" situation.

Gender: C, Race: F

Primeval

I quit watching after season 2 and am not sure I will ever watch season 3, but I include this show because I really loved it when I loved it. And having said all that, I must now say that I'm not sure that show ever had a character of color on it, and certainly not one in the main cast.

There were two women on the show, but I don't recall if they ever spoke to each other about anything, even a man. As much as I love the women on the show, I do not believe it passes the test.

Gender: F, Race F-

Private Practice

Like Grey's Anatomy, this show passes both tests with flying colors. Like Grey's Anatomy, I have serious reservations about the value of this show, only I can't stop watching it.

Gender: A, Race: A

Psych

A main cast of two, one white guy* and one black guy. *For the purpose of this analysis, I will ignore the fact that James Rhoday is actually a person of color, and focus on the fact that Shawn Spencer is most certainly not a character of color.

The additional support cast includes two women and two men. The two women are shown talking to each other about work, including about being women in a predominantly male (police) work force.

Gus is black and he has frequent conversations with his family, as well as with various girlfriends who are not white. While a good number of these conversations do focus on the fact that Shawn is a nutcase and/or Psych, they also focus on Gus's life independent of Shawn and, therefore, pass the test.

Gender: B, Race: B+

Supernatural

I really feel there is little point in even discussing this show with much detail. Two white men, and now a white man angel, the women and characters of color usually die. I do not recall ever seeing the women talk to each other about something other than one of the boys, either.

Gender: F, Race: F

Sanctuary

A main cast of 5, two white men, two white women, and a Bigfoot. There are two more recurring white male characters. There are no significant characters of color. The women are the focus of the show, and this is one of the other shows where a woman is the lead. A mother and daughter pairing, both women often talk to each other about anything but men.

Gender: A, Race: F

Torchwood

So, if we look back in the day, we had three white men, one white woman and one Asian woman. I'm wracking my brain, but even when Martha is on the show, I don't know that she and Tosh ever spoke to each other in any meaningful way. Tosh and Gwen do speak to each other, but it is most often about men, although it is sometimes about the case of the week.

Gender: C, Race: F

Now, having gone through my own, completely unscientific analysis of these shows, I am curious as to why some of them receive a higher level of dispensation than others. I realize that my tastes are sort of varied, and there tends to be a bit of something in most categories in this list, but there is definitely a bewize-bias in everything on this list. This is the content of *my* tivo.

(If you read all that, I'd love to hear your comments on these shows, or comments on the shows that you watch. And I'd love to know why some shows engender more negative comments on race and gender issues than other shows that I don't watch.)

For example, and off the top of my head, I've heard Torchwood criticized for gender issues, but not race issues. I've rarely heard Doctor Who criticized for either. Both have room for improvement, from what I can see. Leverage seems to often be praised for having a character of color in the limelight, while from what I can see, it doesn't pass the Bechdel test in terms of race, when Dollhouse, which stirs nothing but fan controversy, does pass the test.

I realize that a lot of the problems can come about from exactly how the cast is portrayed (Dollhouse), or that problems can be soothed by having a minority character appear a central part of the cast (Psych, Leverage), but like I said – this is just a starting place for thinking.

And as always, there is tons of room for disagreement. Feel free to point out anything that I missed, please.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I almost feel like Supernatural is sort of outside the curve here, because it's so rare to have any show where there are literally only two regular characters. It's very unique like that.

They've had some strong female characters over the year, both sympathetic and not (Jo, Ellen, and Bella all come to mind), but race is a little more troublesome. I remember three recurring black characters, and two of them were villains.

The only other characters who have been major players were John, Bobby, and Castiel. So they could use a little more diversity, I'd say, but I'm a lot more willing to forgive this than I am something like, say, Dawson's Creek (an old guilty pleasure of mine) where they had a huge freaking rotating cast and not a single POC in the entire show.

Heh, fandom does not cut Supernatural any breaks, and I have to say that I agree with them. While the show does have a cast of two +, the + usually ends in death if it is a woman or a character of color. (Equally fascinating is the vehemence with which fandom hates women in this show. Bizarre.)

I never watched Dawson's Creek, but I can say that The OC, which I did watch, also fails on the race test, though it passes gender.

I want to do a comcis version of this analysis so badly! I'll try and get to it in the next week or so.

Ooh, I'll keep watching for it! These are mostly 50-year-old fandoms, so they'll likely fail a lot. The fandom that comes to mind as being the most likely to pass is probably X-men.

I started rereading the Utopia series, and figured I'd base some of my analysis on that run. I'll let you know my thought!

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SPN could've passed the race!Bechdel by casting two POC actors as the brothers. I'm just saying.

This makes me wonder what the show would have been like if they'd done that. It also makes me wonder if there are any mainstream shows at all staring an entirely POC cast... I can't think of any, but then (despite the way that list look), I don't actually watch that much television. *lol*

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Yeah, I really want to look at manga/anime, but I'm not sure that there is a point since they are generally based in Japan. Death Note clearly passes the race test and pretty blatantly fails the gender test.

The more you talk about sentai, the more I know that I'll like it. I'm going to have to just sit down and watch one soon. Also, I was wondering if you ever read/watched Blood Plus? There is a live action movie coming out and it looks so beautiful! I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Death Note clearly passes the race test and pretty blatantly fails the gender test.

Did Misa and Ren ever talk about anything besides Light ...? Probably not.

I've never seen or read that one -- I think it's been around for a long time, though.

I don't remember Misa and Rem talking about anything other than Light. And I don't remember Sayu and Light's mother talking about anything other than Light or Soichiro. Misa and Takada talked about Light, even if it was indirectly.

And I wonder why we didn't see any of Wammy's kids being girls. It's a shame...

I think I may try and watch some of Blood +, because it stars a girl character.

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Teaching would totally count! Being married, not so much...

It is hard! And it's a shame that it's so hard.

No worries about the account. You're welcome in whatever disguise you wish. *shifty eyes*

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I recorded TVD!! I'm going to watch it this weekend, and I'm terribly excited about it. I'll share thougts with you once I'm done. :)

I hope you like it more than we did. Michiru was excited too (being a big fan of the books) but they changed too much and she was disappointed. :(

Blood+ does a great job on all accounts... gender and racial in my simple estimation. Personally, I think Trinity Blood does excellent with gender too, but am struggling to think if it at all would pass on racial. I think not.

Oh DeathNote, how you betray the female gender?! So true... and yet I still love it. Although, demoralized as the girls were; they were not dumb by any measure and only influenced by their desire to attain a position of power, albeit by a "god-man's" side. If a man sleeps his way to the top, does he receive such condescension as a girl does? Just say, there's double standards even in our standards of judging.

Cool! I shall definitely be watching Blood + then!

And Death Note - I have to say I didn't like any of the women in that very much. They weren't stupid, no, but they all seemed to have to use their looks to get ahead in the world. Even Takada was a news anchor and not a journalist.

I wonder why the authors didn't consider casting a girl Mello or Near. It's an interesting question.

I thought Wedy was cool, but they didn't use her enough.

Wow, I was always under the impression that Gina Bellman had some Indian blood in her. The jury episode in Season 1 where she played Indian really threw me, I guess. And you covered most of the shows I wanted to consider for these tests. Sanctuary, so sad. :( But 30 Rock is a definite, definite pass. Yay Tracy, Toofer, Dot Com, Grizz... hm. Maybe they get points deducted for the names of their POCs... ;-D

But Stargate SG-1 passes both! Sam and Janet often spoke about science and Cassandra, and things that didn't relate to their male cohorts. Teal'c often spoke with other Jaffa about their fight for freedom, like Bra'tac and Rak'nor, etc. So I would say SG-1 gets a pass while SGA... passes, too, I think. Teyla, Ronon, Ford... they talked about missions, right? Teyla and Weir also talked about things involving being leaders (or I may just be wishfully thinking... :D)

James Roday is half-Mexican? Wow, I had no idea! The things you learn while reading about fandom fail. ;-D

Well... I am going from what I could glean from Wikipedia for a lot of the actors/actresses. And sometimes I made guesses, which I hope won't show my backside...

Gina Bellman seems to be English and Russian (and maybe Jewish?), but I didn't see any Indian ancestry. Of course, this means nothing and she might be. And you're right, she truly pulled it off in that episode.

Sanctuary was kind of a sad realization. I think the show does so well with women, and the allegory of race is there, but it doesn't carry through. In my opinion it's a bit like District 9, and I wonder what the strength of a show about race issues is when none of the characters are people of color.

I will still watch it and now I'll hope that it will change.

LOL. I worry that some of my analysis will prove to be wishful thinking, too. It was a shocking look to break apart my fandoms like this. But, I think it's a good idea. It makes me really realize how much time I wrap my mind in subliminal messages that I really don't agree with. :(

I also now want to know where the progressive shows are. Surely, there are more out there than the Stargates and Grey's Anatomies of the world...

Gina Bellman seems to be English and Russian (and maybe Jewish?), but I didn't see any Indian ancestry. Of course, this means nothing and she might be. And you're right, she truly pulled it off in that episode.

~nods~ I went to Wiki, too. I was sure there was something! Half, quarter... but hey, maybe she just tans a lot. ;-D

Sanctuary was kind of a sad realization. I think the show does so well with women, and the allegory of race is there, but it doesn't carry through. In my opinion it's a bit like District 9, and I wonder what the strength of a show about race issues is when none of the characters are people of color.
I will still watch it and now I'll hope that it will change.

Me too! Sanctuary did have a POC, when they recast the weapons designer from the webisodes. But he died rather quickly, which was sad. I wanted to see more of him.

I also now want to know where the progressive shows are. Surely, there are more out there than the Stargates and Grey's Anatomies of the world...

There must be! I would hate to think Grey's Anatomy is the goal. ;-D There's another show on ABC called "Defying Gravity," which has people of color (One Hispanic woman, and a black couple), but they rarely interact one on one. Plus I hate the Hispanic woman because she exists only to dumb things down for the audience and narrate what's happening. But I digress. ;-D

It's sad how few shows really pass both tests! Dead Like Me had three women, who frequently talked to each other about everything, and talk about boys were a rarity. But even though Roxy was Jasmine Guy, everyone else was lily white.

Oh! Speaking of Lily... Cold Case passes both. Cat and Jeffries are black, Scotty is Cuban, and they often talk about the cases and - now and then - personal problems. Go, Cold Case! :D

Sanctuary did have a POC, when they recast the weapons designer from the webisodes. But he died rather quickly, which was sad. I wanted to see more of him.

Sanctuary had webisodes??? Fail! How did I miss that. Well then, everything I said doesn't apply to the webisodes, since I didn't ever see them.

I never saw Dead Like Me, alhtough I've got the first disc ready to stream on Netflix.

Cold Case - I don't know that show. What's it about?

Sanctuary started with webisodes! They were rewritten/reshot and turned into the first two episodes of the series. It's kind of like an AU for the pilot. Will gets to the Sanctuary a different way (Bigfoot kidnaps him from the shower :D), but most of the stuff is the same. Except, you know, the end... ;-D

Dead Like Me... if the first season doesn't grab you, give it time. Season 2 is BRILLIANT.

Cold Case! It's about a team of detectives who investigate cases that have gone cold. It really brilliantly cast two people to play the victims/witnesses/suspects in each time frame. Present Day and Back When It Happened. It's a really nifty show, and they took a few episodes working out the kinks changing the squad from "We're homicide" to "We're homicide, but we mainly investigate cold cases now." I suggest checking it out!

I had no idea... lol. Sounds fascinating... I shall look them up.

Also, thanks for the recs.

I was going to point out that the actress playing Suzie in Torchwood - Indira Varma - is actually part Indian. I don't know if that means Suzie the character qualifies as a POC though, since Varma can easily pass as white. And then thinking about it, I don't think we ever see her talk to Tosh anyway. Poor Tosh doesn't get to speak to anyone.

Some of these shows are kind of problematic by their set up - for example, Doctor Who having the dynamic it does, with only one male and one female regular in every episode, it is going to struggle. I do feel that both DW and TW do female characters very well for the most part, so I'm prepared to give them some kudos on that front, though I recognise that's a subjective judgment (and I wouldn't say they're utterly beyond criticism).

Being Human, again, with Annie being a ghost it's the nature of her character that she's not going to be hugely gregarious, but it is interesting that the "invisible" role went to the woman of colour when any one of the three could have been designated the female during the show's conception. But no, the two beings who are aggressive by their very nature are male, while the intangible one is female. Which is kind of disappointing, because actually I like Being Human a lot.

Gah. Now I really wish Annie had been the vampire. That would have been just incredible. Boo.

I really like Being Human, too. I actually really like quite a few of the shows that fail across the board (Burn Notice). But it's an interesting exercise to dissect them like this.

It makes me realize all the subliminal messages I get that I don't really agree with.

I do feel that both DW and TW do female characters very well for the most part, so I'm prepared to give them some kudos on that front, though I recognize that's a subjective judgment (and I wouldn't say they're utterly beyond criticism).

This is another interesting point. I would agree that TW and DW (and even Primeval) have really well thought out and fantastic women characters. I cannot even express how awesome I think Donna is, or Martha, or Gwen, or Abby! But, in terms of the test, if they aren't speaking with other women about something other than men, the shows don't pass the Bechdel test.

I don't think this is really a commentary on the characters as much as it is a commentary on the show or writers.

I'm wishing that re Annie too now. And on the flipside, I think Mitchell would be a really interesting ghost, because he's quite a physical and sensual person - to have him lose all that would be interesting to explore. Trick missed there.

I don't think this is really a commentary on the characters as much as it is a commentary on the show or writers.

Definitely, I think you're right, because I don't think Annie is a bad character per se, but it's interesting to think about what decision making process, even subconsciously, lead them to give the female character the "softer" role, for want of a better word. And actually, last night I watched that episode where she's trying to haunt her ex and fails because he's scarier than she is - at the end, when she is finally able to stand up to him and intimidate him, it's only with Mitchell and George at her back she can find the strength to do that. Which I know is probably supposed to be a message about friendship and unity, but doesn't necessarily come over like that.

As for Donna and Gwen, they're two of my favourite female characters of all time ever. It makes me so sad and angry that Gwen gets bashed so much, and bashed essentially because she's confident and sexual and all the things women shouldn't be allowed to be.

I actually like Annie. I think that she is awesome and she kicked serious vamp ass once she got riled. The other two don't have anything on her in the ass kicking department!

Mitchell would have made a very interesting ghost. Urg. Now I want AUs! *lol*

at the end, when she is finally able to stand up to him and intimidate him, it's only with Mitchell and George at her back she can find the strength to do that.

She absolutely terrified me in that scene. My hair stood up. And I really want to know what she told Owen that she then wouldn't tell George.

I looked for an icon of the three of them, but haven't found one that I really like yet. I shall keep looking. (Also, they are one of the few OT3s that I can really see working potentially.)

Gwen bashing... I will confess that I didn't like Gwen much for part of season 1. Then I stopped, because I read a post suggesting that people give her a second chance, and I really thought about her, and her decisions.

And suddenly, I just got her. And she quickly became one of my favorite characters of all time. In CoE, I thought she was far and away the most... just, gah. I love love love love her.

More than that, I want to be her. *lol*

And I've loved Donna from the minute she screamed at the Doctor about the people in Pompeii, forever sealed when she wouldn't let the Doctor bear the burden of Pompeii alone. She is frigging epic. Even talking about that scene puts tears in my eyes ~~because I am that much of a dork~~.

Okay. I've fangirled the girls in the Whoniverse enough now. ~~Not true.~~ For now, anyway.

I would qualify Suzie (Indian-Swiss actress) as a character of colour as they cast her father with an Indian actor, indicating to me that they weren't casting Suzie as white. She did talk to him, which I suppose is a technical pass. But no, she doesn't talk to Tosh!

I didn't think about Suzie because I didn't really include her as a part of the main cast since she dies in ep 1 and then is later only in 1 more (2?) eps.

But, you're right! Her father was cast as an Indian.

Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Well, Tolkien fails on both counts!

Yes. Alas. :(

Although, Tolkein wrote Eowyn, which is one of my favorite women characters ever.

Were all of his CoC the bad guys?

Trust me, there were HUGE race issues surrounding Doctor Who, and the treatment of PoC in it. Just remembering it makes my head hurt. The issues surrounding the portrayal of Martha and MIckey come immediately to mind, And a lot of their minor PoC characters were so stereotyped, as to be a mockery.

Edited 2009-09-11 20:46 (UTC)

Wow, the things I missed by being a latecomer to the Whoniverse. It's interesting. What did the critique of Martha say? I love her!

Honestly, I can see the argument about the minor POC characters.

Thanks for your thoughts!

With Martha, it was a matter of context. She was the companion that came straight after Rose and, during the entire series, the Doctor kept comparing Martha to Rose - a white character - and making her feel like second best; the whole subtext got pretty icky.

In fact, on the BBC website, there is a special category that published the kids reactions to episode previews. One poor girls reaction when it was inferred that Martha and Jack weren't blonde enough to interest the Doctor (Utopia) was rather sad.

This problem was mirrored in the Mickey/Rose/Doctor dynamic, so a lot of people felt it was becoming too much of trend.

Edited 2009-09-11 22:51 (UTC)

Ahh. I guess I did it all backwards. Martha was teh first companion I really got to know. I only started watching the episode with Rose and the Doctor and the Cyberman at the Battle of Canary Wharf. It was for a Torchwood ficathon, asking about Ianto during that battle.

I had to watch to figure out what the prompt was asking... *lol* And then I was hooked.

But I loved Martha and I loved the fact that in the end, she was strong enough to look for what would make her happy.

I see the world through Death Note fandom-tinted goggles, so when I saw the gender-based test... I lol'd. -______-

Hee. I know.

Alas.

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Wow, I did not realize that about Christian Kane. I wonder if it's something that the show would ever play with. And that episode with the abused kid is one of my favorites ever. I loved Hardison in that, and Eliot of course. My favorite Hardison episode is the one where he is so clearly ~~in love with~~ worried about Parker and together they override Nate to help those kids in the orphanage.

Always, "what would Hardison do". ♥

Sophie and Parker should talk more about their lives. They're women in a predominantly boys club, it seems, and I would love to see more about how they got to their present positions.

Grey's. I wish I could quit you. *sighs*

I noted that this test isn't an indicator of quality - Yes you did, and no it isn't. But like I said to

geonncannon, where are all the progressive shows? Surely we've got more options than Grey's or Stargate?

Although, I will now definitely be looking for Middleman. It seems to be made of pure win!

Victor (Enver Gjokaj) on Dollhouse is a tricky one - he's Albanian, which could make him white (southern European, which can be problematic in itself in mostly Anglo areas), but many Albanians are also Muslim and/or have Turkish heritage, which may make him non-white.

Every time I see this list, I always go to my happy Middleman place - passes the gender test every single episode, and the race test every episode (I think - there's one I'm not sure about!) I think the important thing is to have more than one woman and more than one person of colour in the *main cast* and then - like House, Dollhouse and Grey's Anatomy - even when the writing is hostile or problematic, they're still there, and their concerns and stories are visible, at a very minimum.

Victor is one of the characters that I was unsure of, because I wasn't sure about Enver Gjokaj. I would be interested in knowing whether or not he ever identifies as a person of color or not.

If I met him in real life, I don't know that I would consider him a person of color, but then... I'm not sure it's my impression that counts.

I will definitely check out Middleman.

I think the important thing is to have more than one woman and more than one person of colour in the *main cast*

I agree. It would solve all the problems inherent in the test, and it would be left up to the writers to write something worth watching.

I watch many of the shows you listed and it was an interesting to see how the shows I like the most are least liekly to pass the test.
One show I watch is Eureka and it wasn't on you list. I think it passes both tests. Alison and Henry are POC who are scientists and talk about that all the time. Many of the women are also scientists and those are the things they talk about.

It is tough to pass this test without a larger cast which is why Supernatural will never pass it.

it was an interesting to see how the shows I like the most are least likely to pass the test.

Yeah, it was kind of sad. I like all the shows I listed, too, otherwise I wouldn't watch them, but...

Why shows, why? Is it really so hard to have women in the cast? Or characters of color?

It is tough to pass this test without a larger cast which is why Supernatural will never pass it.

This is true. I think that a lot of the problem people have with Supernatural comes from the way it portrays women and CoC when they are in the show.

What happened to Missouri? Or Ellen? These were great characters that could have (should have?) easily be incorporated into more of the show. I loved them both.

Supernatural is one of those shows that I enjoy when I watch, but I haven't watched an episode on time in three years and didn't watch season 3 at all. I wish it could take all the things it does right (and it does a lot of things right!) and just fix the few problems it does have. Give me hot boys and kick ass women (who aren't bad guys/don't die).

Oh, well. Rise on Lucifer! I'm going to see what happens next!

I don't understand why its so hard for shows to meet this criteria.

I wish that Supernatural hadn't killed so many great characters along the way like Victor Hendrickson - loved that guy! I don't understand why Ellen and Jo couldn't be around more - thought they'd probably be dead by now if they were.

Yeah, I did like Hendrickson. It's too bad they offed him. XD

I have heard some spoilers about a female character but I don't want to mention them if you're spoiler free... but it interests me a lot!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Making the Grade: Gender and Race on Television

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