The show has characters from a decent range of racial, socioeconomic, and other backgrounds compared to network shows in general (although--I have to get this out of my system--the Japanese cultural references and most of the language usage is pretty damn atrocious). There are also a number of female characters with special abilities, but in general, even the female characters with abilities seem to be relegated to stereotyped roles, and their story lines seem to be driven by other (male) characters to a greater degree than the male characters.
(By the way, if you don't want spoilers, don't read ahead. You've been warned)
Let's start with stereotypes. The first thing I noticed was that the abilities of main female characters are either healing-based, destructive powers heightened by emotion, or manipulation. And each of their abilities are matched by stereotypically "female" personalities. Take Claire Bennet, the sweet and physically indestructible cheerleader. She is kind of an idealized package that I can only assume is meant to appeal to the male audience. She is a sweet, blonde cheerleader without the undesirable "mean girl" element, and she is also a "special" girl with weird but cool powers. Her powers are not threatening to men; it just makes her "extraordinary" (and over the course of the show, she is repeatedly told that she is "extraordinary" or "special" by the men in her life) and therefore desirable. She is constantly the girl being protected by others--most obviously demonstrated by the first season tagline, "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." Even when she learns how to fight and becomes "strong" in one future scenario, she is portrayed as being broken, heartless, and at least partly sadistic. She wears tight leather and wears sexualized makeup to contrast with the sweet, innocent cheerleader version of her...again, presumably for the male fans. She may search for answers, but she never really drives the story. And she's constantly being rescued, even when she tries to take matters into her own hands.
Then, there are the female characters with the destructive powers. These women generally are unable to control their powers or are unable to do so without the help of others. Meek and emotional Niki Sanders could not--for the longest time--control her homicidal, hypersexual alternate personality, Jessica, who literally rips people in half. Niki does eventually triumph over Jessica (and there's this bit about how Niki was the stronger one after all, oh, let's praise her, good job), but not long after, another destructive personality appears...and sets into motion events that lead to the murder of her now-supportive husband. Then, there's Maya. Her powers literally suffocate everyone in her vicinity, and in the beginning, she is scared and confused and kills many people when she gets upset. The only person who is not affected and can calm her down is her twin brother. Although she eventually learns how to control her powers, she is very easily manipulated by Sylar, who drives a wedge between her and her brother and murders her brother. And even after she learns control, she wants her powers removed (and does). The women with these types of powers, it seems we are told, can't handle these abilities because they are too emotional. Great.
Finally, there are the women who manipulate. The first that comes to mind, of course, is Angela Petrelli, the mother of two of the leads, Nathan and Peter. She is full of secrets, constantly has her own agenda, and manipulates everyone who comes into contact with her (although in all fairness, she is one of the more complex characters in the entire show). Then there's Eden, who was placed by the Company across the hall from Mohinder (the professor who is trying to figure this special abilities thing out) to spy on him. Her power is literally telling people to do what she wants, and she used them for selfish and destructive reasons until Noah (Claire's adoptive father and a loyal employee of the Compamy until it wanted to get its hands on Claire) teaches her to harness them. We are told she was in a bad place and "rescued" by Noah. And apparently, telling people with her mind is the only thing she can do, while some other male characters with mental-based powers can read minds, command people what to do, and even manipulate the world around them after working on their powers some (mostly talking about Matt Parkman and his father). Apparently, Eden doesn't have that kind of power, even with practice. I know she was not a main character, and I'm pretty sure it's not intentional, but the overlap in power with Parkman and the limitations on Eden's power sends the message that a man can work on developing a certain power to do more powerful things while a woman is stuck with one aspect of it after she learns to control it. Unintentional or not, not cool.
Another example of a manipulation-based female character is a relatively minor character named Candice. Candice was the woman who could look like anyone and could make people believe they were somewhere else. She was played by a mainstream "good-looking" actress, and she often acts in a sexually provocative manner. In her last appearance, after she is murdered by Sylar, her "true" appearance is revealed. She is a heavy woman with curly, ratty hair, and Sylar makes a snarky comment about vanity. Yeah, because it's SO ridiculous that a woman who is not "good-looking" to mainstream media would be confident and sexual. That, or they don't want to confuse male audiences who are used to women looking a certain way on TV.
While it's true that the male characters also struggle with controlling their powers, they tend not to accidentally kill the people around them when they lose control emotionally (Ted, the radioactive guy who unknowingly gave his wife cancer and caused a number of explosions may be the only exception out of the non-one-off characters). We don't really see the major female characters harnessing their abilities and using them to tell their own stories. The female characters (whether with abilities or not) always seem to be the ones being saved by the male characters. And I've been paying attention to who says something along the lines of "you're my hero" to another person, but it's almost invariably a female character saying it to a male character and sometimes a male character to a male character. For once, can we have a male character tell a female character that she is his hero(ine)? Please?
So, my Heroes binge-athon has to some degree turned into a disappointing review of how mainstream media defines "heroes" in a gendered context. Sure, women and girls can be heroes, but there are abilities that are suited for them (something not really used for physical battle with another person...like regenerating or finding anyone in the world or manipulating appearances) and those that are not (because women apparently can't safely handle certain powers or don't want them anyway). On the other hand, men can have the ability to absorb other people's abilities (Peter), move objects (Sylar stole that one from a guy), read minds (Parkman), bend space and time (Hiro), or just fly (Nathan).
I still stand by the opinion that the show (at least the first two seasons and possibly the show as a whole) is worthwhile. It is a 10 year-old (or so) show, and the superhero verse in general still hasn't caught up with gender equity. But here's to hoping that Heroes Reborn will be a little better at letting female heroes tell their own stories for their own sake...and be recognized as "heroes" rather than as simply "special."
While it's true that the male characters also struggle with controlling their powers, they tend not to accidentally kill the people around them when they lose control emotionally (Ted, the radioactive guy who unknowingly gave his wife cancer and caused a number of explosions may be the only exception out of the non-one-off characters). We don't really see the major female characters harnessing their abilities and using them to tell their own stories. The female characters (whether with abilities or not) always seem to be the ones being saved by the male characters. And I've been paying attention to who says something along the lines of "you're my hero" to another person, but it's almost invariably a female character saying it to a male character and sometimes a male character to a male character. For once, can we have a male character tell a female character that she is his hero(ine)? Please?
So, my Heroes binge-athon has to some degree turned into a disappointing review of how mainstream media defines "heroes" in a gendered context. Sure, women and girls can be heroes, but there are abilities that are suited for them (something not really used for physical battle with another person...like regenerating or finding anyone in the world or manipulating appearances) and those that are not (because women apparently can't safely handle certain powers or don't want them anyway). On the other hand, men can have the ability to absorb other people's abilities (Peter), move objects (Sylar stole that one from a guy), read minds (Parkman), bend space and time (Hiro), or just fly (Nathan).
I still stand by the opinion that the show (at least the first two seasons and possibly the show as a whole) is worthwhile. It is a 10 year-old (or so) show, and the superhero verse in general still hasn't caught up with gender equity. But here's to hoping that Heroes Reborn will be a little better at letting female heroes tell their own stories for their own sake...and be recognized as "heroes" rather than as simply "special."
