Doctor Who: 7 Supportive Women Seared Onto Our Hearts

By Mary Ogle / October 18, 2012

Theres a lot of talk in the virtual world lately about the rising popularity of Doctor Who among women. I find this rather amusing as judging from my own experience Doctor Who has always had plenty of female fans, its just that they werent recognized. Its fairly recent that society has decided that its actually OK for women to like science fiction. Quite a lot of them always did of course, they were just afraid to show it because of the cultural censure they experienced. Women have always been interested in and good at science, math, creativity and critical thinking. The fact that this was negated and denied by the people in charge for such a long time doesnt mean that women werent always involved in these things. It means they had to keep these talents and pursuits hidden in order to survive. Its interesting that in the current series the Doctor is trying to erase his accomplishments from history this is something women have experienced since time immemorial. There is a certain power in observing and manipulating from the shadows but invisibility has its own set of consequences. The Doctor is turning himself into a parody of the Silents(the species rather than the religious movement) influencing history and then wiping himself from collective memory. Its a disturbing course to take because it creates an imbalance. Pretending power doesnt exist is just as harmful as abusing it. I think a lot of women struggle with this. Weve been denied power for so long our accomplishments, our intelligence, our identities removed from the records we are wary of seizing it for fear of what we may become. All the new era female companions are powerful in their own way but there are also some very intriguing women in Doctor Who that are not central figures. Supporting characters play an important role in the Doctors story as they introduce different points of view and often lead the Doctor to insights and understanding he would not otherwise find. Its especially interesting when a character becomes so strong and identifiable that she steps out of the Doctors shadow and becomes a living, breathing person in her own right like these women did.

7. Kate Stewart

Episode: The Power of Three (series 7) The Power of Three introduced us to Kate Stewart, the daughter of a much beloved Classic Series character - Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Like the Brigadier before her, Kate is in charge of UNIT (Unified Intelligence Task Force) a military organization. Kates quiet strength, formidable intellect and gentle wisdom quickly endeared her to both the Doctor and the audience. Her appearance in the series is very short but people have been talking about her ever since. Kates strong personality is evident from the moment she walks on screen with her self-deprecating manner and air of authority. Shes a middle aged woman presented as smart, vital, attractive and commanding in the beginning. About halfway through the episode her strong presence is undercut with a bit of flawed writing that seems so out of character its almost ludicrous she falls apart at the first sign of hostility from the cubes and has to be propped up by the Doctor. Its ridiculous! I mean seriously, does this writer have any idea what women go through to obtain positions of authority? Obviously not. The thought that a woman who transformed a military organization into a science based one would immediately lose hope and turn to the male next to her for comfort beggars belief. Its a real testament to Jemma Redgraves gravitas that all the females in the audience dont burst into laughter. Kate is a fantastic character worthy of a lot more exploration. Lets hope she returns without the patronizing attitude of the writer getting in the way.