![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Could Rey Be a Gary Stu?
Apr. 24th, 2019 11:22 pmEarlier last week, I was asked the question, "If Rey were male, could he be a Gary Stu?" For one, we must remember that a Mary Sue or, in this case, a Gary Stu would be a character crafted by a writer producing a fic who unintentionally happens to write them without flaws or weaknesses. So we, given this, we could ask "If Rey were male, could he be LIKE a Gary Stu?"
I would have to say "No." I feel the entire concept of a Gary Stu is more of accidental inclusion of a male character without flaws and while a Mary Sue is very much the same thing except for a female character, I believe that the inequity in the relationship between a man and woman is what causes a woman to write their characters as such. Given what I interpreted from Camille-Bacon Smith, I believe that a woman writes their perception of how they view a perfect woman. However, while the woman is written as independent and knowledgeable, most often she becomes a self-sacrificing servant to the man. This might be due to what society has pushed onto woman and thus a young woman, the type of writers most susceptible to including Mary Sues, might not have the maturity to understand this inequity.
So I feel Rey would very much be like a "Gary Stu" as she would be a flawless male character. However, the impact of Rey being a man would be infinitely less resonant than if she were a woman as the traits of perfection that a woman writes into a Mary Sue conveys what she believes to be a perfect relationship, a relationship that, unknown to the woman, is quite one-sided.
I would have to say "No." I feel the entire concept of a Gary Stu is more of accidental inclusion of a male character without flaws and while a Mary Sue is very much the same thing except for a female character, I believe that the inequity in the relationship between a man and woman is what causes a woman to write their characters as such. Given what I interpreted from Camille-Bacon Smith, I believe that a woman writes their perception of how they view a perfect woman. However, while the woman is written as independent and knowledgeable, most often she becomes a self-sacrificing servant to the man. This might be due to what society has pushed onto woman and thus a young woman, the type of writers most susceptible to including Mary Sues, might not have the maturity to understand this inequity.
So I feel Rey would very much be like a "Gary Stu" as she would be a flawless male character. However, the impact of Rey being a man would be infinitely less resonant than if she were a woman as the traits of perfection that a woman writes into a Mary Sue conveys what she believes to be a perfect relationship, a relationship that, unknown to the woman, is quite one-sided.
