Doctor Who: 7 Reasons Jodie Whittaker Will Make A Great 13th Doctor
2. She Can Handle The Gender Debate
It’s not a debate that we should still be having, but sadly
we are where we are. It’s telling that instead of the usual discussion about
what kind of Doctor Jodie Whittaker might play, the reactions, both positive
and negative, have been predominantly about gender. It is of course a first (although
that depends on your definition of canon) and therefore worthy of some acknowledgement,
but we ought to be able to quickly move on to questions of characterisation:
What kind of hero will be she? What differences and similarities will she bring
from her predecessors?
The significance of the appointment is no better displayed than in the wonderful reactions of children that have been doing the rounds on social media, particular younger girls for whom this is an empowering moment. But inevitably it has led others to overreact as if the sky is falling down. But the vast majority of fans will be willing to come along for the ride, even those with anxieties. Whittaker has a simple message for the latter: "[Don’t] be scared of my gender.”
But whilst aware of the significance of her appointment, the actor is determined to ensure that she is judged and treated not as a voice for womanhood but as an actor playing a role: "It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you're told you can and can't be.”
For Whittaker, gender is unimportant. What matters are the stories that will be told. Speaking to The Telegraph well before her appointment, she said of characters like Eleven in Stranger Things:
“All those people, their age is irrelevant, their sex is irrelevant, their accent. It’s just about storytelling and it’s not restricted to what we think you can play.”