Aletheia's

I think a lot about the gaze in SPN, it's such a complicated topic.
At least partially due of the canon's length. We're at the stage where anything one picks up is complicated, because of the sheer amount of material.

do you feel empowered by this?
*scratches head and thinks long* Not really. To be honest, wieving texts of culture in terms of 'my gender/not my gender', 'my race/not my race', 'my age group/not my age' doesn't come naturally for me. I'm aware this perspective is important for many people, but it's not my first and default way of thinking; doesn't really feel mine. It's the Internet that has teached me looking at narrative things this way (and I don't think I made a good business in it, I must say; I feel spoiled in a way rather than really improved). When I don't make the effort to look and interpret in the social-aware way, my default and primary mode that comes more naturally is deciding my likes and dislikes, and the feeling of community, upon such things as way of thinking and manner of behaving/acting, the sense of humor I can share, the way of solving problems I can appreciate (or not), and so on. That's why I don't really take a list like this as regarding me, because all these women (and the scenes collected here) are too different (that's good, actually, if you ask me). We share a gender, indeed, but this doesn't decide anything yet; what does, is the feeling of sharing the point of view. It's rather that others - the world in general or someone - decided I should feel empowered by it, or see myself in it, or whatever; not me, or not as much. To give an example: one of my personal favorites (maybe even the #1) on this list is Bela and her professional verdict on luxurious-if-uncomfortable-Dean. *g* (Others favorite are Charlie & Dean's Mirror Time, or Marie and Maeve's opinion on our Dear Old Farts, tehee. Even if I don't share their view, being a little older than the girls *cough*, I found the scene funny.) On the other hand, Pamela Barnes? Hell, no, thank you very much. She makes me uncomfortable and I'd never want to find myself next to her. I'm all with Dean and Sam in these scenes. If the genders were switched, the fandom would demand the writers' blood, but she being female apparently makes her behavior OK and admirable, strong woman and all. Strong woman my ass, pfft. Ellen Harvelle or Jody Mills, they are strong women, and they don't need proving it on anyone's skin, unless it's an attacker's skin, may Purgatory have mercy on it soon afterwards.