As a feminist, I had high hopes for the Walking Dead. There have been several moments--particularly in the first season--where the writing has shown a clear awareness of feminist issues. The women do laundry at the shoreline and remark on the unfairness of the perpetuation of gender roles after the apocalypse. Jacqui and Andrea deal with patronizing attitudes toward their self-determination. Andrea in particular repeatedly rebels against being relegated to the sidelines while the menfolk go out and protect the women and children. Lori struggles, and ultimately fails, to maintain her conservative ideals of femininity in the face of catastrophe. Michonne is just awesome.
But.
As Rick decides to take on the role of dictator, and the Governor takes his place as the primary antagonist, the show feels like it is veering toward the dominant paradigm in post-apocalyptic literature: a fantasy of white male aggrieved entitlement.
Let me explain.
In Revolution, it only takes a few episodes before a primary female character is threatened with sexual assault. In The Colony, the women who attempt to participate equally with the men are met with derision and contempt, and one of the characters exchanges a sexual favor for resources. In Island in the Sea of Time, a major female antagonist is punished for her misdeeds by being raped by a jaguar. The noble chivalrous West Virginian men save the poar exploited medieval German women in 1632. In A Handmaid's Tale, women are chattel. In Waterworld, women and children are chattel. In Dies the Fire, women must be in constant fear of sexual violence unless they are protected by force of (men's) arms. Are you sensing a common theme here?
In nearly all of the post-apocalyptic stories I have been exposed to, the end of the world goes like this: when the economy and communications collapse, that crazy notion that women are people (which was only a product of our post-industrial society, dontcha know) goes out the window as well, and we return to an age where men are men--the good ones protect the womenfolk through force of arms from the bad ones who want to rape them.
First of all, I reject the idea that force of arms is the only thing preventing us from devolving into a nation of feuding warlords. On the contrary, in times of disaster people are more likely to come together, share with each other, and see everyone as part of their community. But that's a topic for another post.
My primary beef with this kind of story is that it presumes that everyone will just forget that women are people when catastrophe hits. That feminism is a luxury men have allowed women because of an abundance of resources, and that we'll have to sacrifice it for the good of all when resources become limited. That women, having gained control of their fertility, will suddenly say "Gosh, that was dumb! What I need to do now is make more babies to repopulate the species." That men are just waiting for a catastrophe to hit so they can seize the opportunity to own their own harems. That women would just be so grateful for a militaristic takeover by nice protective men that they would beg to have their equality taken away. It's no coincidence that the protagonists of these stories are almost exclusively white men. With weapons skills. Or, if they don't have weapons skills, they gain them pretty quick.
This is what I mean when I say the majority of post-apocalyptic fiction is a fantasy of aggrieved entitlement. Post-apocalyptic literature (which is mostly an American genre) really took off after World War II, a fact usually attributed to fears of nuclear annhiliation. I attribute it, rather, to the slow eroding of white male privilege, and the desperate struggle to cling onto it, or to return to a prior time where all that privilege was back in place. The existence of this genre in fact convinces people that this vision of the post-apocalypse is accurate. The survivalist mindset--based around the stockpiling of guns and supplies and defensive fortifications--is based on the faulty premise that it will be every-man-for-himself (and his wimminfolk) when the shit hits the fan. So much so that everyone believes it.
What would a piece of post-apocalyptic fiction look like where feminism was preserved? I can't even imagine it. If you've found one, post it in the comments?
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