Ok, I’ve been doing some rewatching of some of my favorite scifi television shows, including Sanctuary, Stargate SG1, and Battlestar Galactica, and I came across an interesting trend. This then led me to really think about more mainstream scifi television such as “V” or “Lost” or “Fringe” (you know, the shows that are on, at least in the US, the “free channels”) and I found that in V, at least, the trend continues, but in others it somewhat dies down.
Now, what is this trend you may be asking yourself and forgive me for not being explicit from the beginning, but what I’m referring to is this notion that women, who are portrayed as “evil” often are “sexier” than others. Now, I’ve heard quite a few people argue that so are the heroines, but if you were to examine, for instance, the wardrobe choices of the G’hould, or Adria in SG1 vs the wardrobe seen worn by Carter or Vala, you’ll find that the outfits differ in that more often than not the less clothes a person wears, the more they’re likely to be “bad”. If you want to follow my train of thought for a moment, as Carter went more and more “animalistic” in Broca Divide, she lost more and more clothes. Sure, I’m equating this to SG1, but think back, even in 1968, in Barbarella, The Great Tyrant is in gogo boots, and sexy tight-fitting clothes.
So what is it about evil and being a villainess that appeals to the more “sexier” side of things? This then lends itself to another whole other range of speculation in that “sexier” means “more sinful” which could mean “being bad”. And of course, with any television, advertising, or anything else that is mass media, “sex sells” and “fame sells” and nothing sells better than “sex+fame”… but I always wondered how this decision is reached. Is it a wardrobe choice? Director choice? Producer choice? Maybe it’s an actress’s choice. Or, maybe it’s a media buyer’s choice.
One of the reasons I really like Stargate SG1 and Battlestar Galactica, is because the heroines from both of those shows are more often than not strong, without being overtly feminine. They are, undoubtedly, more feminine than their male counterparts, but somehow, whether its because of the direction, the acting, or the writing, or some kind of combination of the three, they provide a female presence without being “a girly girl”.
Then again, you also get the “ambiguous” siders… The people such as Dr. Helen Magnus who seems to gray the lines between good and evil. For most accounts, she’s quite good, but think about this deeper. She’s good to the things and people she loves, or who proves necessary, to anyone else, she’s quite willing to allow them to suffer. She has harbored a mass murderous criminal, a vampire, and numerous sentient beings, along with nearly unleashing the fury of the worst abnormal possible into the world, just because she didn’t kill it when she had the chance. She also exudes a different kind of sexiness, one that is darker…
But this is a character that I really enjoy in science fiction. The one of ambiguity. And all of them have that dark prowess to them… Think number 6 (BSG), Anna (V the series), D’Anna (BSG), Amara (Riese), etc… Where you’re not entirely sure if they’re good or bad, but they seem to do both… (save I suppose for Caprica 6, who is more sexy their her other 6’s).
I suppose it’s just more difficult in Science Fiction to ask them to tone down the “sexy” evilness… because then we’ll be left with female villains such as the Alien Queen from “Aliens” or the Borg Queen from Star Trek and then we’ve got another whole other problem on our hand… the idea that women as villains must be ugly, a different species, or downright “non-feminine”.
Now, as a female, and someone who enjoys science fiction, I find that this genre allows itself to the “sexiness” moreso than other genres… ie, you wouldn’t find extremely sexy villainesses in shows like ER or The Office) I’m a bit torn about whether or not I like the ability to use female sexuality to make a show better. On one end, it allows women to be subjugated once more as simply “objects” instead of based on their merit; however, on the other end, if a woman is ok with it, it gives her the ability to truly exude power.
Tell me what you think, or tell me about your favorite scifi villainess.
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