The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: LGBTQ Inclusion in Doctor Who – The Bad

I should preface this by saying that most of the examples I’ll be discussing in this post are more “disappointing” than outright “bad.”  Despite its lack of LGBTQ regulars, Who is more queer-friendly than a lot of shows out there.  The instances that really rankle are being saved for the “ugly” post next week, and so, today’s write-up is more about things that could have been better.

I mentioned last week that I like Canton, as well as Vastra and Jenny (though I’ve discussed my conflicting feelings about that pair,) and I do.  However, I think that all three are written a bit insensitively for their time periods, especially where marriage is concerned.  I fully believe that Canton would’ve wanted to be married, and the extreme illegality of it at the time wouldn’t have changed his longing for equality.  That said, “I just wanted to get married” doesn’t make sense as a reason for being kicked out of the FBI.  One, I doubt Canton was actively attempting to marry, two, I doubt he would’ve told anyone at the FBI about his dream, and three, it’s not like they would’ve kept him on if he hadn’t wanted to get married in particular.  He was dismissed for being gay, and to tie it specifically to marriage seems a bit too contemporary for what the gay community was experiencing in the ‘60s (plus, it feels worded that way mainly to facilitate the “gay reveal” at the end of the two-parter.)  Similarly, it’s entirely reasonable that Vastra and Jenny would consider themselves spouses and treat each other as such, but again, the wording seems strange for the period.  I’d appreciate even one line to the effect of, “England’s church and lawmakers may dictate as they please, but Jenny is my wife and they cannot take that,” acknowledging the inequality of the time while celebrating Vastra and Jenny’s defiance of it. 

Both Canton and Vastra/Jenny tie into my next point, so I’ll stick with them.  In the last few seasons, orientation has become a bit more of a Thing on Who, in that it’s more likely to be revealed rather than incorporated.  What I mean is, lately, we’ve been getting less of that casual inclusion that I talked about last week.  Instead, Canton’s dismissal from the FBI is discussed with only this vague marriage explanation, until he finally comes out at the end of his last scene on the show.  It’s set-up like a Moment, a gotcha! line.  In this way, his orientation isn’t a facet of his character – it’s his “twist.”  And while we’ve of course known about Vastra and Jenny’s relationship since their first episode, “The Snowmen” (the first to mention their marriage) seems to relish scenes of them telling the stuffy, pearl-clutching Victorians that they’re married.  They’re not allowed to just be; it almost feels like the marriage is there, not due to their love for each other, but so they can shock people.  To be fair, the show also leans pretty hard on the “lizard woman” card, but my point is, their relationship shouldn’t be for anyone else.  It’s for them, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always feel that way.

This last point is more of a quibble, but it’s still a little bothersome.  It also seems that, more recently, the show has a greater tendency to use LGBTQ references as jokes.  There’s stuff I’ve mentioned, like “Good evening – I’m a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife” (cue fainting Victorian,) but others, too.  I think of the running gag of Val thinking the Doctor and Craig are a couple in “Closing Time.”  The Doctor is as unruffled as ever and Craig is only mildly discomfited when he realizes she’s thinking, and truthfully, I don’t find the gag offensive or anything.  It’s just that it’s part of what feels like a more general trend of viewing queerness as something a bit funny, a bit shocking, or a bit “other.”  And after being used to the show viewing queerness as something normal, that’s disappointing to me.