Hey folks, READ THIS CARFULLY - There are still misreadings out there! Some of you aren't getting it; it's not about LARA PULVER, but the idea of having to make Irene Adler Lesbian as a "masculinizing" of the character, based on the very feminine Adler of the original. I'm dealing with symbols here, not what lesbians may actually look like. Symbolically, the casting of Pulver and the interpretation of Moffatt appear anti-feminist for this and other reasons.
1.I will once again assure readers that I have no problems with lesbians, and know that a lesbian can be beautiful, dainty, and feminine (though I still think Pulver is none of these). When I say that Moffat makes the character more masculine, I do not mean in terms of appearance. Why couldn't he leave her the feminine, heterosexual woman of Conan Doyle's story though? The justification might be in the description of Adler as beautiful and feminine, but "can think like a man." To interpret this as meaning she is lesbian is offensive. The same goes for the scene where Adler dresses as a boy - it's a disguise, not a gender or sexual preference statement.
My subsequent post demonstrated that Moffatt has a history of not liking women period, so that the move to lesbian Irene is most likely a symptom of his misogyny. He can't write a character for a woman, nor does he seem to have respect for feminine women as smart, intelligent, and wise. Symbolically, he has made her more masculine.
2. I do have a BIG problem with turning Irene Adler into a dominatrix bad girl. So do my lesbian friends. As stated in my essay, S and M isn't a funny joke. It's often tied to people being abused, and only knowing love as abuse and punishment. Even if this is suppose to tie into Sherlock's past, it's a bad storyline.
Secondly, I do not like the implications of forever making the Jewish woman a sexy bad girl. That's so non-creative. Although Irene is vaguely Jewish, the stereotype is still a factor. The story would have been far more innovative and true to canon by making her a good, clever girl with a big, bad political problem.
3. My BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE OF THE STORY!!! There seems to be a belief on the part of Moffat that a small dainty, feminine woman - of any sort - no longer faces gender discrimination, or that a smart woman has a difficult time in the world. We do. And in my world, the more big and butch you look, the easier a life you will have. It is still a man's world. Changing the heterosexual Irene into a lesbian dominatrix suggests that the plight of real women is of no interest to Moffat. Given his previous comments, perhaps his problem with the original story was that Irene weds a man she seems to be quite in love with. (see second post of Moffatt - he disses women for wanting to get married, as if being relation-oriented is wrong.)
I'm sure Moffat has written a good story, and that the acting is all wonderful. I know some people do like Pulver, and find her attractive and feminine. I don't, and previous comments on her were about the male envisioning of Adler - far less refined and delicate in facial features and willowy body-build than what the original story and illustrations imply* However, my main point is that as written Scandal in Belgravia is still anti-feminist. Discrimination against women lives on. It would have been a more potent story had the intent of the original story been kept.
*As a dancer, I am used to seeing many willowy, delicate, refined women, so was quite shocked to see Pulver cast in the Adler role. Maybe she was one of the few willing to take her clothes off and whip a naked Sherlock. Yeah, right, just hilarious. :(
I've just seen so many more women who better fit the image of the book and illustrations. I also saw a quite unflattering picture of Pulver, that made her legs look short and figure extra stocky ( and okay, I wear a girls size 14 slim jeans, which is loose on me so I can't compare fairly). She's not butch, but the image isn't true to canon and misses the point - a little, delicate FEMININE thing beat the tall, strong Holmes (and not with a whip) . Even today, the more feminine and delicate the image of Adler, the better the story becomes. So, there were no ex-ballerina's available? But, then, we do learn dignity in dance.
