I am not saying I had any trouble identifying with male characters- I mean it wasn't like I had a lot of options. I liked superheroes, so I watched a lot of token female characters surrounded by herds of men. But the shows had to have some redeeming value, like being intelligent or fun. Instead Winnie the Pooh went even further in the dumps, when the only token woman was there to be a mother. Well, barf.
According to Just-Pooh.com, there is one female character in the show- Kanga the Kangaroo. Her whole reason for being included in the show is to be the mother of Roo. Seriously. Not knowing for sure, I'd be willing to bet that Christopher Robin's mother made a few appearances in motherly duties*... because apparently that is the role for women in the Winnie the Pooh universe. So, no thanks. This isn't just bad on the surface. Diving deeper, this was a children's show which painted women as only mothers. Teaching children that females are only there to be mothers of the real characters is just garbage. I wasn't this aware as a child, but I'm certainly glad I had the sense I did.
Note that I found several rumors around the internet that Winnie was originally inspired by a girl. Now think for a moment if that were true, why was it changed? Erasure is even worse than exclusion. Instead of being ignorant that women exist, knowing that they do and erasing them from their own history is abhorrent. It is happening right now with women in STEM- women have been involved in science and computing since the dawn of computing. Now we are being treated as intruders. Then think about how female authors have had to adopt male pen names in order to be published and read.
These topics are always important to examine when consuming stories. Does the show (or book, etc.) treat female characters as real beings, or are they just plot devices for the male characters? Do women exist elsewhere in the universe? People tell me I'll like some show or another because there is a strong female character. But is that woman 5 feet tall and 90 pounds soaking wet, so that she's not threatening to the male viewers? Then I'll point out that there is ONE FEMALE CHARACTER in the entire show. There are no women in the world in that show. And the one woman included isn't there as a real character, she is only there as the sexual trophy of the lead male, or as a mother or... well hopefully you get it. One woman does not make inclusion.
Yet while hating Winnie the Pooh, I've had enough exposure to know that if I were to like a character from Winnie the Pooh, it would be Eeyore. It might be difficult for others to understand, grudgingly not hating a character from a show I hate, but I'll at least have a smidgen of affection for characters like Eeyore. Just like I appreciate Grumpy Dwarf from Snow White, and Grumpy Bear from the Care Bears. I am sure if I looked, I'd find a My Little Pony with attitude that I'd lean towards. I'm sure you can sense a theme here.
Remember, that is the whole point of these type of shows. Kids are supposed to find one of the characters to empathize with, so the shows create multiple characters with dramatically different attitudes. They just haven't often bothered giving girls female characters to identify with, so girls get used to identifying with male characters. Which also means boys don't get a chance to identify or empathize with female characters. That is a HUGE problem, and I believe it causes a lot of problems in society. However this is getting a lot deeper than my brain injury can tackle right now.
SO. Last year I was pretty down, so when I was looking at subjects to paint, I was searching the internet for words like "grumpy" and "ennui." Eeyore kept coming up. So did Grumpy Cat, but I already painted her. I'd probably have painted the Grumpy Bear the Care Bear if that came up more often (in fact, that's probably something I'd have eventually painted if my life hadn't taken the downturn it did last fall). Strangely enough, it was Eeyore's tail that make me want to paint him. I was thinking about how the only piece of beauty or joy on Eeyore was on a pinned-on appendage.
I don't know if he pinned it on himself or if someone else did. I think it takes on a much darker meaning if someone did it to him. And I'd understand either way. I am often having to force myself to look more cheery than I actually am, mostly because of work or being out in public in general. If you are a woman and you are down, everyone doesn't want to see that. They don't care that you are down, they just don't want to see it. I am told to smile by men all the freaking time. Even when I'm in a great mood, I'm admonished for being "grumpy" because I am concentrating, or deep in thought. How am I supposed to have a smiling concentrating face?! I think that would make me look insane. Why is that preferred? The answer is that I have a fierce look, and men are intimidated by me. Smiling makes me look like less of a threat. Smiling makes women there for male consumption instead of a real human being with real human feelings. It is that simple. Just like not including girls in kids' media teaches boys that the world is only for them.
* So I looked this up. She did show up once or possibly twice to speak to them- as a mother, of course- albeit sans head and without a real role. They basically did the Charlie Brown adult treatment with her (i.e. yes we acknowledge adults exist in the Peanuts universe but they are not a part of the story). In Charlie Brown it had a purpose and that was to make sure everything was from the children's perspective. In Winnie the Pooh it was to make sure everything was from the... male children's perspective. Got it.
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