Livre d'Or

It's funny what is "like me". In some ways, it's determined by what OTHER people think is important about me as much as what I think is important about me. If I don't care much about characteristic X, I'll be happy to identify with characters who do or don't have characteristic X and not even notice a potential problem. But when I DO notice, I'll suddenly realise that lots of people think people with characteristic X are not normal, and not an obvious choice for being family members, protagonists, managers, etc, and then every time I see a protagonist without characteristic X I'll be reminded of that. And even if I don't care about characteristic X for itself, if lots of other people are anti-X, I want to make the case that X is normal and positive, even if my ideal world, no-one cares about X at all.

This, so very much.

I, who am female, spent my childhood identifying almost exclusively with male characters. And why shouldn't I?

I have never particularly needed female characters to identify with.

But it rankles, the endless implication by absence that people of my sex are not considered candidates for various roles, especially positions of authority or interest. I see the slight, and I am unamused. I see the disrespect it reflects, the disrespect it expresses, and the disrespect it cultivates. I do not care for immanent insult.