Last Woman?

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

I had a shower thought while I was getting ready this morning. I wonder how different the general fan population response to Lister/Rimmer shipping would be, if Lister were a female.

Imagine the show is still exactly the same, the same plots, the same scripts (with a few modifications here and there for pronouns obviously), but Lister is played by a woman, and is a female character. How different, do you think the responses of the general fandom would be, to the idea of the two characters becoming romantic with one another? I'm sure there would still be naysayers and those who couldn't get past Lister's slobbiness and the surface dislike the characters have for one another, but I have a feeling that loads more people would be champing at the bit to see the two of them get together, and hoping that the ultimate end of the show would involve the two of them realizing that they can be happily ever after together.

Imagine how differently the state-of-the art sarnie scene would read to an average heterosexual crowd, if Lister had been a woman instead of a man. I doubt you'd have anyone saying that we were "reaching" to imply some sexual overtones in Rimmer's comparison. Not to mention Lister pining for Rimmer in series VII. Or the love that High Lister and Rimmer express for one another in Demons and Angels.

My thought is, if you would be willing to except romance between two characters if they were of opposite genders, then probably the only reason why you're NOT ok with romance happening between the two of them, is because they're of the same gender. As someone wisely said on Tumblr, it's not about making everything gay, it's about not having heterosexuality be the default.

Comments

[wolfy-writing.livejournal.com]

Interesting thing about that - I've noticed a lot of romantic comedies write a severely uptight perfectionist career-driven women paired off with slovenly, disorganized, ultimately-quite-sweet guys. I haven't seen nearly as much in terms of slobby women and uptight guys. (At least not in American media.)

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

You know I did think about posing the opposite scenario where Lister is still a man and Rimmer is a woman, but that felt like it would just be mirroring the similar dynamic that happened with Lister and KK2.

[wolfy-writing.livejournal.com]

Yeah, female!Lister and male Rimmer would be more interestingly original.

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

You've probably read this, but I never miss a chance to link to it as it's really good. :) http://diminua.livejournal.com/31604.html

[rosecathy1.livejournal.com]

I was just going to say -- KK2 is the Last Woman in her universe. You can see from the flashbacks that she and her Dave had compatibility issues to start, so much so that she dumped him in favour of her ex. Yet their getting back together after the accident is just accepted because what, they're a man and a woman? (Yes, I realise that out-of-universe, it had to be that way for Series VII plot reasons.)

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought of the significance of KK2's alternate universe, because yes that's the stereotypical situation isn't it? Last woman alive, of COURSE she winds up becoming romantically involved with her hologramatic male companion, even though they previously dated and found they weren't compatible. Because with no other options, of course the last two differently-gendered people in the universe will eventually connect romantically and sexually. It's just human nature!

If the last two people in the universe are same-gendered though? Oh, no chance. Nope, not happening. Because it's never expressly said at any point on the show that either of them are gay, and everyone knows that sexuality is completely black and white, and there's only like 10% of the population who are gay anyway, so who needs to see that?

Bah.

The more I think about it, the more it becomes clear that it's all about heterosexuality being the default. Lister and Rimmer can't possibly be interpreted as being bisexual or gay, because everyone is 100% straight unless they're written as being what would probably be some sort of over-the-top gay stereotype. The fact that characters could fall somewhere in the middle doesn't even seem to occur to a lot of people.