Is Stargate Universe sexist?
Most of the people that visit NFD are male, as a matter of fact. The reason is obvious; I post photos of very attractive celebrity women every day and like me, you readers have an appreciation for hotness.
If you're a fan of Stargate and you've been tuning in for the first three episodes of Stargate Universe that have already aired, you'll surely agree that last Friday's episode "Darkness" was distracting, for lack of a better term. Why was it distracting? If you look at the photo to the right, actress Julia Benson, to put it simply, has epic boobs! So yes, when she came on screen her assets removed me from the episode as I was focused on one thing, ... well, two things actually. The point being, as the question is asked and pointed out on Television Without Pity and io9.com, is Stargate Universe sexist?
Let me be very clear before I even get into the article; Normally, I don't give a damn about sexist claims on television shows because A) I love women and B) what's wrong with sexuality? Women are beautiful and most men appreciate the display of that beauty even if it's in a tank top. I know there are a lot of cliche's and sterotypes that scifi fans oogle over hot women in SF or fantasy shows - it's true, but if you didn't, more than likely you're hitting for the other team. Most people I know, who love beautiful women, usually look more towards the art, depth and story of a certain television series or film and as far as I'm concerned, folks who complain about female characters that aren't strong or are shown in a sexual light have their own personal issues that they need to deal with.
As io9.com says, Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan pointed the way to Television Without Pity as many people are angry and disappointed at the role of women on SGU. As a reader on TWP points out speaking about low ratings and male demos, "I really don't think its the Friday night graveyard per se - its the slavish worship of anything that brings in that male 18-34 demo no matter how offensive/stupid/blah blah blah it might be to anyone else who happens to watch regardless of what time its on. IMO this show would be just as boob oriented & generically clueless on how to write female characters on Wednesday night! Different networks do seem to have different philosophies on how aggressively they go after that demo..."
"They seemed astounded that women watched BSG and loved the female demo's for Warehouse 13 and yet for SGU we have - boob shots and shower shots and so far every women seems to be defined in same way by a male, either through sex in a closet, or needing some guy for comfort or apparently a prior affair," says another reader on TWP. "Oh except for Ming Na, our lesbian character who we've only briefly seen acting like a bitch before she left again. There should have been or should be a strong female character in every single episode and virtually all scenes but we get Eli and Rush and Young and Scott and of course dear, helpless Chloe. Honestly, in a weird way SGU seems very 'dated' in it's viewpoints and set ups for the female characters; I almost feel like I'm watching scifi from the 70's."
To read more of the SGU grips, visit Television Without Pity.
The argument is interesting to say the least. As I skimmed through the message board and read some of the arguments, I can say that I'm not buying most of it. In fact, I say to those people "GROW THE HELL UP!" All claims of sexism are ridiculous. The claims that the writers don't know how to write female characters is wrong as these are the same writers who wrote for Colonel Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping), Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) and Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell) who all had command over the male characters during their respective series run. Not for nothing, we're only three episodes in the series. What can you possibly claim at this point. By seasons end, if people feel the same way, than their arguments may be more valid, however, at this point all we saw was some minor supporting character in a tank top. People wouldn't be saying these things if Julia Benson had a small chest - the only reason they're angry is because her boobs are very noticeable and they jump out at the screen.
The actress, Benson, actually made a comment regarding this outburst in her first post at her new blog JuliaBensonOnline.com. "I play 2nd Lt. Vanessa James and for all the talk about my natural (and believe me they are 100%) assets I promise you that there is much more to my character," she said. "Who knew that a tank top could cause such a stir. LOL!! Our show is about people and people having sexuality. The creators are not exploiting it, they are exploring it. That is what writers, actors and directors do."
Right on Julia!
The one thing I do agree with is the little screen time some of the female characters do get, specifically Alaina Huffman's character Tamara Johansen. In the pilot, Johansen along with Rush was my favorite character because I felt a lot of good story telling ahead and a great performance from Huffman. No, there's no real reason behind that; she just jumped out at me as I saw a strength in her character. Again, however, as I said earlier, we're only three episodes in so we'll just have to wait and see what they do with her character.
I can go on about this subject but I think I've gotten my point across. As much as I'd like to see more screen time for the female characters, Huffman's Johansen specifically, I totally don't agree with any claims of sexism as this is a subject that comes out with a lot of new television shows. I don't buy any of it and as a matter of fact, even if the women weren't attractive the same amount of people would be watching the series not because of the people aren't tuning in because they feel the women aren't strong, it's because of the simple fact the series wasn't that impressive to begin with. Even still, I'll stick around hoping the story gets stronger and I'll even be looking out for more Julia Benson tank top shots because I appreciate her beauty.
(click to enlarge all images)
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If so, I can live with it. And btw… I like those boobs on the second photo.
Sexist? Maybe.
Claiming Benson’s character is Special Forces? Ridiculous.
Television, is all. And lo, for the days of when was good are ancient. Prophecies foretell of golden times to come…
*sigh*
@Gen
You said, “Claiming Benson’s character is Special Forces? Ridiculous”
Why would that be ridiculous? If it’s because she’s a big boob hottie, then yes, your comment would be sexist. The statement you made is unfair because in the two episodes she was in, she only had a few lines - we don’t know anything about her character except that she’s hot, in the military, her character name is Vanessa James.
No not really.
As to weather Julia Benson is atractive is a matter of opinon as i fine her very unatractive. BIG BOOBS ( or epic as you put it) DOES NOT EQUELL atractive/hotness in any way. Other actress’s on stargate witch ever show it happens to be are not perticully big chested. and you are not saying that stargate is sexist because generaly most of the male stars are fit.
As for the picture’s you posted well thats more down to you as a site owner, as other sites show just as many pic’s of the male stars.
Personlly i am all for photos of hot women, but what counts as hot is very much down to indervidual choice.
It’s very late here so what i have put above might not make much sense. Sorry if that’s the case. but for me big boobs are a turn off not a turn on. Actress’s like Amy Acker, kristen Bell are actractive, and are not knowen for big boobs. Julia Benson?? well it’s just a shame that you felt it was more note worthy that she has big boobs than that she is a decent actress.
I’ll preface this by saying I think Elyse Levesque is my favorite actress on SGU, not only for her acting but also because she’s beautiful. She has gorgeous eyes, a very nice figure, and I like her voice, and I love her character.
@dread - Whether or not she has big breasts doesn’t affect her acting. Phil did not bring up the fact that she has epic breasts without provocation - the breast sequences on Friday are being used throughout the internet as a reason why StarGate has become sexist, because the camera was on her breasts so much. I didn’t think it was that long but apparently the female community disagrees. And … though I also think Amy Acker is one of the hottest women alive, I don’t necessarily DIS-count women because they have big breasts either, which is what you seemed to be doing, and I’m not sure is a fair assesment of beauty either. Saying that large boobs are unattractive is the same thing as saying that they are beautiful - just the reverse. I think Monica Belluci is just as attractive as Kristin Bell, and they have very different breast sizes. But as you said - aesthetic beauty is very personal.
Obviously, anyone who judges an actress - or a woman - as a person, or as a professionally, solely because her body is hot, or not-hot, is objectifying her. That’s the definition of objectification. But Phil is not saying she’s a good or bad actress, he’s saying the internet is in an uproar over the number of boob shots that were interspliced into Friday’s episode, and does that make the show sexist?
I don’t think so. It means that generally, men admire certain things about the female form, and we’re instinctually driven to look at women, more-so than most women are instinctually driven to look at our bodies. I suppose if they wanted to be fair about it, they could linger on one of the male cast member’s butt or chest for several shots in an episode. Would that make people feel the show is fair?
I’m starting to prattle, I apologize, but I don’t like these internet comments that are going around that anybody who looks at breasts is a sexist or objectifying bastard. We’re men, we’re driven by instinct, but we also can move past that instinct and get to know women too, if given a chance.
As I said it was late when i posted the above. As the coments were not really aimed at anyone on this site.
As to the question do i think STU is sexist?
NO I don’t think that SGU is sexist though as they show as much of the male stars as they do the female. As for the two Julia Benson photos above, well i think those were showen more for the USA than anywere else as here in the Uk in most magazines ( well at least the 3 i buy) Robert Carlyle’s photo was use to advatise this episode or a group photo of the main cast was used. I have only seen these two Julia Benson photos on the web no were else
As for some magazines and web site useing those two photes to advatise that episode and some saying that makes it a sexist thig to do, all i can say is in the past how many times was RDA or one of the other male stars used to advatise an episode? The truth is poeple see what they want to see. Also i might add that if anyone cares to look at the usernames of vast majority of those complaing you find that these are the ones who were most vocal about how angery they were that Atlantis was canned and SGU was being made in the first place. I think this was the only site’s i go to were most seem to have not prejuged the show before it even aired.
PS
” well it’s just a shame that you felt it was more note worthy that she has big boobs than that she is a decent actress.”
What i ment to say was
Well it’s just a shame that SOME flet it was not worthy that she has big boobs than that she is a decent actress.
Sorry for useing the word YOU instead of SOME. My bad
@Soran (Chris)
That’s exactly what I was saying.
My point: People around the internet are claiming sexism because of the Benson shots with her in a tank top. Because she has large breast, that shot was so much more noticeable than it would have been if it was of a smaller chested woman. People are saying her character is good for nothing except to please male audiences. I’m saying that’s bullshit because we’re only a couple of episodes in and she’s hardly had any lines or any screen time, JUST LIKE MOST OF THE CAST. We’re still building; that’s what first seasons usually do. Give it time; the female characters will grow as they’ve always done in this franchise. Granted, I wasn’t impressed with the first couple of episodes, I do have faith in the writers in providing strong female characters. I already love Johansen because I know she’s strong and I’m excited to see her grow.
@Dread
I feel like you’re telling me I ONLY like woman with large chests. If that’s what you think, than you really need to click more celebrity photo posts. I love all kinds of woman but the article focused on Julia Benson who’s body is in controversy with the series. I post Kristen Bell photos more times a week than I shave my face; she has a small chest. I’m OBSESSED with Summer Glau and she doesn’t have that large of a chest. I post Hayden Panettiere photos all the time; she’s got nothing but nubbins. I appreciate all body shapes, mostly; I adore woman. I don’t know if Julia Benson is a bad actress; I don’t know if she’s a good actress, but I’m certainly not going to base that on her bust size like a lot of people have been doing. That’s unfair.
It’s sort of the same thing that people do to Megan Fox. She’s extraordinarily gorgeous, so people automatically assume she’s as dumb as an open can of tuna. I’ve defend Fox in my articles and I’ll do the same for other actresses - unless Benson really proves to be an awful actress.
As for another comment you made Dread: “As for the picture’s you posted well that’s more down to you as a site owner, as other sites show just as many pic’s of the male stars.”
The reason why I post female celebrities, to put it simply, I’m not gay and I have no desire to look at beefcake men. This is a blog; blogs are for people to express themselves and because I adore the female gender that’s what I’ll express by posting photos female celebrities - legs, butts, boobs and all. Am I personally sexist for that? (I’m not saying any of you said that; just for argument sake) Truth is, if someone thinks I am, I don’t give a damn. Don’t come to my site - they’re plenty of sites that show pictures of hunks.
Anyhow, to be honest, I don’t even know where I was going with this. But it’s a good conversation. Thanks guys.
I have to say that none of those actresses are in any way my type (solely judging by the face). They look nice and I wouldn’t kick any of them out of the bed, but they are not my type.
I find big boobs very attractive, but the face comes first. Here are some examples (might not belong here, sorry):
Not my type are:
Emily Deschanel & Michaela Conlin from Bones, Amy Acker (almost no boobs at all), Eliza Dushku and Mercedes McNab from Angel/Buffy, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff from BSG, Lake Bell from Surface, Christina Cox from True Blood, Elaine Cassidy from Harper’s Island, Angel Coulby from Merlin and the list may continue…
Very much my type are:
Charisma Carpenter from Angel, Amanda Tapping from SG1, Grace Park from BSG (like Amy Acker before), Michelle Ryan (an eyecandy and she is my favourite) from Jekyll, Jill Wagner from Blade, Julie Bowen & Rhona Mitra from Boston Legal, Yvonne Strahovski (a perfect beauty) from Chuck, Maxim Roy (one of the most beautyful faces) from ReGenesis, Gigi Edgley (same as Amy Acker and Grace Park here) and Claudia Black from Farscape, Anna Torv from Fringe, Katie Cassidy from Harper’s Island, Elizabeth Gracen (perfect boobs) from Highlander, Marguerite MacIntyre from Kyle XY, Katie McGrath from Merlin, Hannah Spearritt from Primeval, Freema Agyeman from Dr. Who, Sarah Wayne Callies from Prison Break, Emilie Ullerup from Sanctuary, Kandyse McClure (simply sweet) from BSG and the list is so incomplete…
And I forgot the topic:
No, I don’t see any sexism in Universe so far.
@Dread - Yeah now that you’ve explained what you meant, it makes more sense and I get it. And yeah, you’re right, people see what they want to see. The Cast dared to bring up that this actress had boobs, and suddenly the internet is abuzz with the fact that SGU is sexist - that’s crap. We just noticed.
@Toaster - HELL YEAH, the lovelies from Boston Legal. Words fail me how sad I was when Rhona Mitra left. I miss that show, I haven’t heard anyone talk about it for years. So cool that you followed that.
Jill Wagner from Blade is one of my favorite women of all time, as I said in my Crow post, I think she could be a new Crow if they let the character be a female. I also love that you brought up the lovely Elizabeth Gracen from Highlander, Highlander was a seminal show of its time, and still stands as one of the more interesting and well done low budget shows - plus Elizabeth was *HOT*. I still have her playboy shoot from back in the day.
I’m not sure which actress you’re referring to from Kyle XY, but I did like the girl he was trying to date in season 1 - she’s a good actress and was in Elektra.
@Soran
Sure. I also have those goregous Playboy pics of her. Small but nice pics. Then you know what I meant about her perfect boobies, hmm… body.
The gal from Kyle XY was Nicole Trager, the mother of the Trager family. She’s from 1965. One year younger than me.
Look at her face here… http://static.episode39.it/artist/828.jpg
OH yeah, Now I remember Toaster - very good choice. Though I think I prefer April Matson, their hot redhead. Mmmmm.
Yes. April is beautyful. She has a nice smile and luckily doesn’t have an eating problem. As nice as Grace Parks face is. She is way too skinny for me.
As i have said before my English is very poor and i do not explain myself well. Maybe I should not write comments in the middle of the night. LOl
“Jill Wagner from Blade is one of my favorite women of all time”
Mine too along with Kristen Bell Amy Acer and er well maybe i just have a lot of favorite women.
I here that there is going to be another SG-1 and an Atlantis film soon. I really hope they can include Jill Wanger in the Atlanis film
@dread
Don’t worry about your English; You’re doing fine and your points comes across fine.
You said: “…maybe i just have a lot of favorite women.”
I’ve realized that I have too many favorite women. I have no idea how I’m going to come to terms with this years top 10 list.
@Phil
I agree. To do a top-10 list of female celebrities is a very difficult task. Good luck with it!
Here is my (hasty) list for 2009 yet:
01. Michelle Ryan
02. Katie McGrath
03. Yvonne Strahovski
04. Amber Heard
05. Emilie Ullerup
06. Erica Durance
07. Summer Glau
08. Radha Mitchell
09. Scarlett Johansson
10. Kristen Stewart
Leave your response!
Who’s so far being consider for the NFD 2009 sexy celebrity title?
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