Doctor Who IV - Everything Whovian - Would you like a jelly baby?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Now I've support the idea of a female Doctor for a while Time Lords aren't human and thus aren't dedicated by human gender ideas and Tilda Swinton was my dream 13th Doctor for a while if I had to lose PC. But a friend of of mine well really acquaintance who I occasionally see at my local comic shop asked a interesting question when I ran into him whirling getting my comics this week. Now I haven't seen him since the New Doctor announcement so we talked about it because we're both Whovians and when we were discussing the new Doctor being a woman this was the question he brought up. Now science fiction and comics have long been an allegory for real life struggles and trangender rights is a big ongoing struggle now. So his question was is New Who's transphobic with it's gender swapping? He pointed out this isn't a case of a reboot like BSG where characters are reinterpreted as a different gender this is characters who have identified as one gender for lifetimes now accepting the identity of another gender because their body dictates it. I found it an interesting interpretation of what was happening in Who and had no real answer and don't believe for an instant the show is transphobic but did think it was an interesting question.

I don't think its transphobic but there is only so much you can do with a metaphor. To be truly diverse you actually have to touch upon a real issue.

Like the x-men works best when it using the mutant metaphor to reflect a real issue. For example Surge is a feminist but doesnt approve of Dust wearing a burqa and sees it as oppressive.

So in this case regeneration bypasses alot of the medical issues transgender people face so you have think of other ways to touch upon the transgender expierence.

[Cyke]

So in this case regeneration bypasses alot of the medical issues transgender people face so you have think of other ways to touch upon the transgender expierence.

Yeah. In the real world, it would be an incredible godsend if trans people didn't have to go through all those medical issues, and that's not even counting reassignment surgery. There's a very good reason why a trans person thinks long and hard about surgery, and why committing to it is such a huge step. Regeneration for the Doctor is a cakewalk compared to the mental and physical strain.

And of course, there are trans people who choose not to go through the surgery, but that doesn't invalidate their identities one iota, either.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I think focusing on how Doctor deals with the transition from being a man to a woman mentally could make for that. But would the writers want to deal with it? Should they?

Same thing goes with the doctor becoming another ethnicity, should their be an in story reason?

[Derek Metaltron]

Before it was actually shown I felt like changing gender with regeneration shouldn't be a simple thing and be explored at least somewhat, but given how the Time Lord General seemed to change gender and race without any fuss, I guess it shouldn't be too much for the Doctor either. End of the day she's going to have an entirely new companion who might have no context of her being a man previously.

[Carabas]

I think focusing on how Doctor deals with the transition from being a man to a woman mentally could make for that. But would the writers want to deal with it? Should they?

Same thing goes with the doctor becoming another ethnicity, should their be an in story reason?

I would say going from 3 to 4, or 11 to 12 or from 5 to 6 would be a much bigger difference in personality.

[Derek Metaltron]

Doctor Who Day Sale on Comixology! Kinda annoyed they're only including some of the New Series Doctors runs and not the minis for the Classic Doctors too.

https://www.comixology.co.uk/Doctor-...WxsQ2Fyb3VzZWw

[Somecrazyaussie]

I think focusing on how Doctor deals with the transition from being a man to a woman mentally could make for that. But would the writers want to deal with it? Should they?

Same thing goes with the doctor becoming another ethnicity, should their be an in story reason?

I think it is best to just hit the ground running. No dwelling on it or drawing attention to it. Otherwise the writers run the risk of preaching to the audience. Have the Doctor look in the mirror and go, "Oh...that's different. And I'm still not ginger!"

Just grab the sonic, fire up the TARDIS, and head towards the next adventure.

[BeastieRunner]

I think it is best to just hit the ground running. No dwelling on it or drawing attention to it. Otherwise the writers run the risk of preaching to the audience. Have the Doctor look in the mirror and go, "Oh...that's different. And I'm still not ginger!"

Just grab the sonic, fire up the TARDIS, and head towards the next adventure.

The one little rumor I've heard from the same place that nailed the "KIDNEYS!" rumor said, she smiles, says, "Finally ..." And off the Doctor goes!

[Dr. Ellingham]

I think it is best to just hit the ground running. No dwelling on it or drawing attention to it. Otherwise the writers run the risk of preaching to the audience.

I agree. Also, gender-bending isn't "groundbreaking" anymore. Or even unusual. Making a big deal out of it will just perplex future audiences who discover the show 20 years down the line.

Good stories are all that matter.

[Flyattractor]

I "lol'ed"

[Somecrazyaussie]

The one little rumor I've heard from the same place that nailed the "KIDNEYS!" rumor said, she smiles, says, "Finally ..." And off the Doctor goes!

That's all you need. Drawing attention to the fact The Doctor is now a female, and making it a central aspect to the story, really would be overkill.

[Enigma]

I "lol'ed"

Haha, I think my neighbours heard me laughing!

[ChrisIII]

Curious thing about the General is that he/she didn't seem to have any post-regeneration disorientation. Then again, maybe regeneration is just something the Doctor's just not really good at-I think every other non-Doctor regeneration we've seen in the series-K'anpo, Romana, The Master(His "Utopia" one) River (although she's technically not a time lord) etc. has the character up and about right away (Although apart from his "taste test" and some twitchiness, the Eleventh's was pretty trauma-free).

Or maybe it's just that he's on Gallifrey, so I'm guessing the whole place is sort of like the Zero room from Castrovalva, or the TARDIS, which apparently helps with some of the regeneration trauma.


I'm curious to see what approach they're going to take with Jodie. I'm guessing we'll have something like "Eleventh Hour", since Chibnall will probably want to establish the new Doctor and tone of the show quickly like Moffat did (There was no producer turnover/fresh start for "Christmas Invasion" and "Deep Breath" so the Doctor remained out of action for a portion of those episodes).


Also curious about the final costume, which I expect will probably be revealed around or after Christmas, when filming for season 11 is supposed to begin. I'm sure she'll be wearing her predecessor's outfit for a bit when she starts out. I wonder if he'll wear his sunglasses when regenerating?

[Somecrazyaussie]

Curious thing about the General is that he/she didn't seem to have any post-regeneration disorientation. Then again, maybe regeneration is just something the Doctor's just not really good at-I think every other non-Doctor regeneration we've seen in the series-K'anpo, Romana, The Master(His "Utopia" one) River (although she's technically not a time lord) etc. has the character up and about right away (Although apart from his "taste test" and some twitchiness, the Eleventh's was pretty trauma-free).

Or maybe it's just that he's on Gallifrey, so I'm guessing the whole place is sort of like the Zero room from Castrovalva, or the TARDIS, which apparently helps with some of the regeneration trauma.


I'm curious to see what approach they're going to take with Jodie. I'm guessing we'll have something like "Eleventh Hour", since Chibnall will probably want to establish the new Doctor and tone of the show quickly like Moffat did (There was no producer turnover/fresh start for "Christmas Invasion" and "Deep Breath" so the Doctor remained out of action for a portion of those episodes).


Also curious about the final costume, which I expect will probably be revealed around or after Christmas, when filming for season 11 is supposed to begin. I'm sure she'll be wearing her predecessor's outfit for a bit when she starts out. I wonder if he'll wear his sunglasses when regenerating?

I thought what Jodie wore in the announcement clip would be her costume moving forward. It is certainly very gender neutral. I don't expect the Doctor to suddenly be wearing extravagant skirts or dresses. We shall see though.

As for Regeneration, it was never meant as a means to deal with mortal injuries. Which is why the Doctor's regenerations have never been smooth for him (apart from the First and the War Doctor.) although, Gallifrey having a soothing effect like a zero room would be logical. I feel that a Tardis, zero room and/or Gallifrey are needed to ensure the process is as easy as possible.

[jbmasta]

I thought what Jodie wore in the announcement clip would be her costume moving forward. It is certainly very gender neutral. I don't expect the Doctor to suddenly be wearing extravagant skirts or dresses. We shall see though.

As for Regeneration, it was never meant as a means to deal with mortal injuries. Which is why the Doctor's regenerations have never been smooth for him (apart from the First and the War Doctor.) although, Gallifrey having a soothing effect like a zero room would be logical. I feel that a Tardis, zero room and/or Gallifrey are needed to ensure the process is as easy as possible.

What would her formal-wear be though? Ten had the bad luck tux. I'm not expecting a flowing period dress or anything.