Fuck You, She's Awesome! meme

[tielan]

You've seen it around, I know you have.

The top twenty-five awesome female characters meme.

I have great love for female characters. It's almost always a female character that gets me into writing fanfic for a show. I've never been in all-male-character fandoms, although Atlantis is rapidly heading that way. Ultimately, however, in my years of fandom, the only female character I've ever felt I've had to apologise for liking is Teyla.

Sam Carter? Faith? Zoe? Wonder Woman? Jean Grey? Brennan? Inara Serra? Elizabeth Weir? Kara Thrace? No problem. They have huge fandoms. Rabid fans. People who are willing to concede that the character might be awesome, even if she doesn't hit their particular marrowbone.

But Teyla?

Sorry, Teyla isn't awesome. She can't be.

She's "the alien in the boob tube", "Borg Barbie" without even 7-of-9's brain rattling about in her head - heck, her people are technologically equivalent to the American Indians and what crack are TPTB smoking to have her lead Atlantis anyway? She doesn't count as a kickass chick - although Elizabeth does - because she's the Token Alien.

Flip back a year and run a search on "Teyla" and "tits and ass" and you'll find dozens of people slamming Teyla - her clothing, her appearance, her role in the city, her people's technological inadequacies. It's settled down in the last year - a little. Not much, though, with the pregnancy and the reduction of her, first to "the pregnant woman who needs to just be pregnant", and now in Season Five to "the mother of the baby of Doom".

Truly told, most of the time, Teyla's acceptable to fandom only as long as she 'knows her place'. No, people don't say that outright. But it's implied in their fic and in their episode reviews. It's implied in what events they promote vs. what events they participate in. It's implied when people complained that 'Missing' didn't have enough of the guys, but didn't so much as peep at 'Miller's Crossing', 'Harmony', or 'Outcast'.

To most fans, Teyla is acceptable as long as she remains in the background to John, to Rodney, to Elizabeth, as long as she is silent and subservient to the Male Characters Of Awesome, as long as she keeps her romantic interests focused on Kanaan or Ronon - Pegasus males appropriate to her background, as long as she's promoting Earth values in Earth ways.

I adore Teyla. No ifs, no buts. She's not a perfect female character - none of them are. But my love for her comes without caveats.

And I really, really hate that I'm immediately a second-class citizen in SGA fandom because my first and total love is for her. Not for Rodney or Elizabeth, not for John/Teyla as a pairing, not for Teyla&Ronon as a dynamic duo - just for Teyla.

My top ten list of awesome - TV and book:
1. Teyla Emmagan - Stargate Atlantis
2. Sam Carter - Stargate SG1 & Stargate Atlantis
3. Faith Lehane - Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel
4. Diana/Wonder Woman - DC Comics
5. Temperance Brennan - Bones
6. Inara Serra - Firefly
7. Surreal - Black Jewels (book series)
8. Eve Dallas - In Death (book series)
9. Jean Grey/Phoenix - X-Men
10. Phedre no Delaunay - Kushiel's Dart (book series)

Further down the list are Zoe and Kara and Elizabeth and Janet, Sioned of the Desert and Nita Callahan and Sarra Ambrai and Vala Mal Doran, Angela Montenegro and Sarah Connor and Eowyn and Lyra, Claire-who-goes-through-the-stones and Delia Peabody... (I think I might have filled my top twenty-five, right there.)

And in spite of all those names, Teyla's the only one I've fangirled where I felt as though most people who watched the series expected me to apologise for liking her.

Comments

[thelana.livejournal.com]

And I really, really hate that I'm immediately a second-class citizen in SGA fandom because my first and total love is for her. Not for Rodney or Elizabeth, not for John/Teyla as a pairing, not for Teyla&Ronon as a dynamic duo - just for Teyla.

*pumps fist in support of Teyla awesomeness*

[tielan]

One of the hardest things for me in SGA fandom these last two years has been watching all the Teyla-fans walk away from the fandom.

I can't blame you guys, because, hey, her screentime, character development, and general importance is generally held to be just on nil, but sometimes I wish I'd found y'all a bit earlier, back when there was at least the hope of screentime and stories and SOMETHING.

There are still Teyla fans out there...I've seen a lot of fans walk away. Which makes me sad. :(

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

This is all still so strange to me (maybe I'm a little self-centered), but until I began reading your journal, I had no idea there were so many people that were anti-Teyla and anti-Teyla/John. I liked her from the start as well as immediately noticed an attraction between her and Sheppard. I'm like, "what are all these naysayers on?"

However, the only thing remotely critical I could think of Teyla—and I suppose it probably has more to do with costuming, but anyway—most of the time she was showing off her midriff, but then she's pregnant and has to switch to maternity wear. Suddenly the necklines of her shirts get lowers, showing more cleavage to, it seemed to me, compensate. *shrug* Maybe it's just me.

[tielan]

Part of it's related to where you hang out and with whom. I plunged into the fandom from day one, and most of the Stargate SG1 folks I hung out with were "meh, Atlantis". When I went looking further afield for folks, there were plenty of people who thought the sun shone out of Elizabeth's ass, but not too many of them looked beyond Teyla's clothing.

And more than a few of them never bothered looking beyond Teyla's figure and her clothing. Three years later, her Wraithgene, her personality, what she does for her team-mates - none of it counts to some people. She's still just the "alien sex babe" (never mind that the guys have all had more love life than her until S4).

They have been giving her more clingy clothing the last couple of seasons. Sateda and Vengeance come to mind in S3, although the dress in Quarantine and her clothing in the Kindreds are other examples.

Honestly, though, I have no problem with the clothing - she's got a gorgeous figure, why not flaunt it? Especially since Elizabeth was the flirty character, while Teyla was the 'shoots straight and cool' one.

[lacenire.livejournal.com]

Ditto to everything you said, Teyla's awesomeness should be an acknowledged fact without the requirement of an apology. Too bad so much of fandom is blinded by personal biases.

[tielan]

We all have personal biases when we walk into a show or a fandom. The thing about Teyla is that for some people, even after a couple of seasons, the personal biases were still blocking out anything else.

It was still about the cleavage and her background - any contribution or worthiness in those seasons that she'd made, anything we'd learned about her in that time, was dismissed.

You'll still find people on Gateworld willing to slag Teyla's role and usefulness today. Heck, that Slice of Sci-Fi group? Wanted her completely off the show and started rumours to the effect that RL wouldn't be back.

[chyti.livejournal.com]

i didn't know there was so much hate out there for teyla and i have no idea why one would or should hate on this particular character, what has she done?

the only problem i have with the character is that there needs to be more of her.

[tielan]

Well, these days, it's settled more into, "Oh yawn. Episode about Teyla. Let me go fall asleep and wait for the guys to come back on screen." But early on - and particularly in the first season, before they actually did anything with her other than send her out with the team, there were more than a few people willing to trash her.

Most of them never bothered to move beyond that.

As for 'what has she done'? She's a female character in which John Sheppard has shown an interest - personally, romantically, whatever. Since, according to segments of fandom, John's eyes are only for Rodney or Elizabeth, Teyla comes under fire for "splitting up" the preferred pairing of certain fans.

[ryf.livejournal.com]

It's implied when people complained that 'Missing' didn't have enough of the guys, but didn't so much as peep at 'Miller's Crossing', 'Harmony', or 'Outcast'.

I can't even express how much that bothered me. Especially as Harmony was a pretty bad episode anyway.

[tielan]

Apparently, RL couldn't manage the schedules for even some of the episodes for which she had one or two scenes due to 'pregnancy things' so more than a few eps were almost completely without her.

But, yeah, I saw a few of the "Missing needed more of the guys, less Teyla" reviews. And I felt like saying, "Welcome to our world, fuckers." Because, hey, as much as the guys had in Missing? Is more than Teyla got in some episodes of S3.

[lavenderfrost.livejournal.com]

...and see, here I am in my little corner of SGA fandom not paying much attention to anything and freely adoring ALL the Stargate females for different reasons. Teyla included because she's awesome, really nice, and can kill people with her pinky finger.

^^;; It pays to be a hermit sometimes.

[tielan]

See, I usually stay in my corner, but every now and then I venture out to see the broader world.

But over the last two seasons, more than a few people who really like Teyla (and write/art/vid stuff about her) have been retreating from the fandom. If people are also into other characters, then they're more likely to stick around. But if Teyla's their main love...they tend to vanish.

Sometimes, I'm kinda amazed that I'm still here, myself!

I envy you, though - I wish my circle of Teyla-lovers was big enough to just stick with and ignore the rest of the fandom.

[iamza.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd love to see more episodes like Missing, exploring more of Teyla's other connections in the Pegasus Galaxy. Later seasons of SG-1 really got into Teal'c's background, explored his relationship with Braetac more fully, and I'd love to see something similar happen for both Teyla and Ronon. Because it's all very well getting more background for John and Rodney, but they are NOT the be-all and end-all of the team.

I find it incredibly frustrating to read about how bland and boring Teyla is, because she has, from the very beginning of the series, offered a unique perspective on events. Teyla is, in a lot of ways, more sure of her own morality and principles than anyone else on Atlantis. She is much less likely than Sheppard or Weir to act based on political/military expediency, and she pushes her team to do the right thing. She is the very best kind of leader -- patient, willing to listen, diplomatic, and a skilled warrior ready to protect her people when necessary. And she has demonstrated so often the little pearl of wisdom that John tried to impart to Harmony -- being a leader is a great responsibility; it means sacrificing your life for your people, doing what's best for them no matter the cost to yourself -- that I can't help thinking it was Teyla John was thinking of in that moment.

Teyla is awesome. Pity the people who can't recognize it.

[tielan]

I understand that Teyla isn't everyone's cup of tea. But I don't see how "not my cup of tea" translates to "boring and bland". The woman has spirit and fire, and you're right, she looks at things a little differently to the expedition.

My take on it is that Teyla provides a presence that encourages Atlantis to be less self-centered. Ronon doesn't have his people anymore - doesn't even have friends from his old unit - he's more or less only got Atlantis now.

Teyla, on the other hand, still has ties to her people. She still has ties to the world beyond Atlantis: emotional ties, personal ties - an outwards-looking perspective that Atlantis doesn't have otherwise.

In The Last Man, Atlantis became...well, selfish. The only people who mattered were from Earth. This isn't SG1 where they had to fight the Goa'uld and they had Teal'c in their midst, pushing for Jaffa rights - this is Atlantis, where they could pack up and go home. The fact that they have the option to secede from the Pegasus fight makes it all the more imperative that they include Teyla in Atlantis and it's processes.

She makes the expedition see Pegasus as people - something that a lot of fans tend to miss.

[roguish-angel.livejournal.com]

It pisses me off to no end that we're relegated to this tiny corner of the fandom. I seriously stay away from Gatewank and only skim Joe's blog because of Teyla bashing (and the Shweirdos). I love my flist because I know there a very slim chance of happening across Teyla bashing.

My top ten would be...
1. Teyla (duh)
2. River Tam
3. Rose Tyler
4. Sam Carter
5. Vala Mal Doran
6. Elizabeth Swann
7. Hermione Granger
8. Gwen Cooper
9. Buffy Summers
10. Dr Janey Fraiser

Ok, that was HARD!

[tielan]

There's something to be said for moving out of your comfort zones, too. I've met some people I wouldn't have otherwise met by moving outside of the John/Teyla fandom.

But, yes, it's frustrating not to have enough people willing to speak up for Teyla at forums and on comms.

[bittybye2000.livejournal.com]

I think the some of the problems are twofold.

Male fans: Don't like the fact that a female can kick the ass of the two 'tough guys' on the show. It's been clearly shown that Teyla can beat Ronon. He might be able to take more hits that she can, but that's just basic biology.
John seems almost too easy for her to lay on the ground.

Female fans: Basically they can't relate to her. She's a strong independent women who dose not seem to want to find a man to 'complete her' she is just friends with with most of the male main cast. She doesn't flirt with any of them (with the somewhat more intimate relationship with John, in this humble shipper's opinion) She doesn't gossip, she doesn't go on for hours about her clothes, shoes, makeup, hair, or men. It seems most women like that (see how many people like Sex in the City). Women on TV have become cliche, trite and shallow, and many women seem to like that. So women like Teyla who can not be marginalized as: the victim, the brainy girl, the flirt, the damaged one, the girlfriend/wife, or the motherly one.

I'll even use your own list to show that most of the women fall into one of these categories.

1. Teyla Emmagan - Stargate Atlantis (doesn't count because she's the one not well liked)
2. Sam Carter - Stargate SG1 & Stargate Atlantis (has been the girlfriend, while a good fighter it's never been established she could kick Jack or Teal'c's ass. She's also the brainy one.)
3. Faith Lehane - Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel (the damaged one)
4. Diana/Wonder Woman - DC Comics (Sorry, don't read comics)
5. Temperance Brennan - Bones (Daddy issues, intimacy issues, is also a brainy girl.)
6. Inara Serra - Firefly (To put it crudely a prostitute so by current thinking; damaged.)
7. Surreal - Black Jewels (book series) (Never read it)
8. Eve Dallas - In Death (book series) (I don't want to go into a long rant with my problems with this series and just say that Eve is damaged.)
9. Jean Grey/Phoenix - X-Men (Again don't read/watch comics.)
10. Phedre no Delaunay - Kushiel's Dart (book series) (If this is the book series I think it is, Phedre derives pleasure from pain, so damaged by most people's thinking.)
I'm not saying those women aren't multifasited, fascinating women but they do fall into one of those categories.
Teyla doesn't. She's not damaged, she bounced right back from finding out she had Wraith DNA, even going so far as use it for the good of Atlantis.
She's not a victim. She can kick ass.
She's not brainy. She's not stupid but she's not a genius either.
She's not a flirt. She might wear sexy clothing but even when she dose flirt it's very subtle.
She's no one's girlfriend or wife.
And although a caring individual she's not really the motherly type either.

So all in all the men are threatened by the tough women. And the women can't relate because she's really nothing like what our society thinks a woman should be like.

Sorry if it was incoherent, I'm one of those people who know what I mean but have some trouble putting so other can understand what I mean. (if that made sense.)

[tielan]

No, you made sense.

You seem to have picked up on a theme I wrote about in the teylafen "12 Days Of Teyla" challenge - meta: Teyla as a transgressive female character.

Incidentally, thanks for reminding me of that. :)

[unanon.livejournal.com]

I think I'm actually scared to click to the posts you linked to (though I likely will because I'm curious like that).

But honestly, I don't see HOW someone can say something like "heck, her people are technologically equivalent to the American Indians and what crack are TPTB smoking to have her lead Atlantis anyway?" and not be on crack themselves.

I mean, are they even WATCHING the same show I am? In the very first episode Teyla pwns John with her whole "my people mastered fire years ago" nifty laser-lighter thing. *eyerolls* I mean honestly.

[tielan]

But that's all most people see - it's all the show focuses on. "Better Living Through Higher Technology" - and if you don't have the technology, then you're not worth bothering with.

[fishphile.livejournal.com]

I love Teyla. I've read really, really crappy fic before just because Teyla had a few good lines. I am a Teyla/John fan, but I like gen. stuff and will even read Teyla femslash, if it's written well. I adore Teyla/Athosian culture stories.

I wish I could keep up with Atlantis more. I've switched to the night shift at work on fridays and it takes me forever to catch up. I still haven't seen the last two episodes of last season.

I try not to bother with Atlantis fandom too much. It's too time consuming and almost pointless for Teyla fans. I tried to see what was happening on some Atlantis sites and just ended up disappointed so I stay away from all the drama.

[tielan]

Well, there's hope for Teyla fans in Season Five, at least. Whether or not that hope is or will be justified is a different matter entirely.

Probably the best place to keep an eye out for news of Teyla is teylafen, since I or greenconverses post any information we get about Teyla/Rachel there.

There aren't many places for Teyla fans to go anymore; and there aren't many people who are fans of Teyla and the show. Sadly enough. :(

[thelana.livejournal.com]

And I really, really hate that I'm immediately a second-class citizen in SGA fandom because my first and total love is for her. Not for Rodney or Elizabeth, not for John/Teyla as a pairing, not for Teyla&Ronon as a dynamic duo - just for Teyla.

*pumps fist in support of Teyla awesomeness*

[tielan]

One of the hardest things for me in SGA fandom these last two years has been watching all the Teyla-fans walk away from the fandom.

I can't blame you guys, because, hey, her screentime, character development, and general importance is generally held to be just on nil, but sometimes I wish I'd found y'all a bit earlier, back when there was at least the hope of screentime and stories and SOMETHING.

There are still Teyla fans out there...I've seen a lot of fans walk away. Which makes me sad. :(

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

This is all still so strange to me (maybe I'm a little self-centered), but until I began reading your journal, I had no idea there were so many people that were anti-Teyla and anti-Teyla/John. I liked her from the start as well as immediately noticed an attraction between her and Sheppard. I'm like, "what are all these naysayers on?"

However, the only thing remotely critical I could think of Teyla—and I suppose it probably has more to do with costuming, but anyway—most of the time she was showing off her midriff, but then she's pregnant and has to switch to maternity wear. Suddenly the necklines of her shirts get lowers, showing more cleavage to, it seemed to me, compensate. *shrug* Maybe it's just me.

[tielan]

Part of it's related to where you hang out and with whom. I plunged into the fandom from day one, and most of the Stargate SG1 folks I hung out with were "meh, Atlantis". When I went looking further afield for folks, there were plenty of people who thought the sun shone out of Elizabeth's ass, but not too many of them looked beyond Teyla's clothing.

And more than a few of them never bothered looking beyond Teyla's figure and her clothing. Three years later, her Wraithgene, her personality, what she does for her team-mates - none of it counts to some people. She's still just the "alien sex babe" (never mind that the guys have all had more love life than her until S4).

They have been giving her more clingy clothing the last couple of seasons. Sateda and Vengeance come to mind in S3, although the dress in Quarantine and her clothing in the Kindreds are other examples.

Honestly, though, I have no problem with the clothing - she's got a gorgeous figure, why not flaunt it? Especially since Elizabeth was the flirty character, while Teyla was the 'shoots straight and cool' one.

[lacenire.livejournal.com]

Ditto to everything you said, Teyla's awesomeness should be an acknowledged fact without the requirement of an apology. Too bad so much of fandom is blinded by personal biases.

[tielan]

We all have personal biases when we walk into a show or a fandom. The thing about Teyla is that for some people, even after a couple of seasons, the personal biases were still blocking out anything else.

It was still about the cleavage and her background - any contribution or worthiness in those seasons that she'd made, anything we'd learned about her in that time, was dismissed.

You'll still find people on Gateworld willing to slag Teyla's role and usefulness today. Heck, that Slice of Sci-Fi group? Wanted her completely off the show and started rumours to the effect that RL wouldn't be back.

[chyti.livejournal.com]

i didn't know there was so much hate out there for teyla and i have no idea why one would or should hate on this particular character, what has she done?

the only problem i have with the character is that there needs to be more of her.

[tielan]

Well, these days, it's settled more into, "Oh yawn. Episode about Teyla. Let me go fall asleep and wait for the guys to come back on screen." But early on - and particularly in the first season, before they actually did anything with her other than send her out with the team, there were more than a few people willing to trash her.

Most of them never bothered to move beyond that.

As for 'what has she done'? She's a female character in which John Sheppard has shown an interest - personally, romantically, whatever. Since, according to segments of fandom, John's eyes are only for Rodney or Elizabeth, Teyla comes under fire for "splitting up" the preferred pairing of certain fans.

[ryf.livejournal.com]

It's implied when people complained that 'Missing' didn't have enough of the guys, but didn't so much as peep at 'Miller's Crossing', 'Harmony', or 'Outcast'.

I can't even express how much that bothered me. Especially as Harmony was a pretty bad episode anyway.

[tielan]

Apparently, RL couldn't manage the schedules for even some of the episodes for which she had one or two scenes due to 'pregnancy things' so more than a few eps were almost completely without her.

But, yeah, I saw a few of the "Missing needed more of the guys, less Teyla" reviews. And I felt like saying, "Welcome to our world, fuckers." Because, hey, as much as the guys had in Missing? Is more than Teyla got in some episodes of S3.

[lavenderfrost.livejournal.com]

...and see, here I am in my little corner of SGA fandom not paying much attention to anything and freely adoring ALL the Stargate females for different reasons. Teyla included because she's awesome, really nice, and can kill people with her pinky finger.

^^;; It pays to be a hermit sometimes.

[tielan]

See, I usually stay in my corner, but every now and then I venture out to see the broader world.

But over the last two seasons, more than a few people who really like Teyla (and write/art/vid stuff about her) have been retreating from the fandom. If people are also into other characters, then they're more likely to stick around. But if Teyla's their main love...they tend to vanish.

Sometimes, I'm kinda amazed that I'm still here, myself!

I envy you, though - I wish my circle of Teyla-lovers was big enough to just stick with and ignore the rest of the fandom.

[iamza.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd love to see more episodes like Missing, exploring more of Teyla's other connections in the Pegasus Galaxy. Later seasons of SG-1 really got into Teal'c's background, explored his relationship with Braetac more fully, and I'd love to see something similar happen for both Teyla and Ronon. Because it's all very well getting more background for John and Rodney, but they are NOT the be-all and end-all of the team.

I find it incredibly frustrating to read about how bland and boring Teyla is, because she has, from the very beginning of the series, offered a unique perspective on events. Teyla is, in a lot of ways, more sure of her own morality and principles than anyone else on Atlantis. She is much less likely than Sheppard or Weir to act based on political/military expediency, and she pushes her team to do the right thing. She is the very best kind of leader -- patient, willing to listen, diplomatic, and a skilled warrior ready to protect her people when necessary. And she has demonstrated so often the little pearl of wisdom that John tried to impart to Harmony -- being a leader is a great responsibility; it means sacrificing your life for your people, doing what's best for them no matter the cost to yourself -- that I can't help thinking it was Teyla John was thinking of in that moment.

Teyla is awesome. Pity the people who can't recognize it.

[tielan]

I understand that Teyla isn't everyone's cup of tea. But I don't see how "not my cup of tea" translates to "boring and bland". The woman has spirit and fire, and you're right, she looks at things a little differently to the expedition.

My take on it is that Teyla provides a presence that encourages Atlantis to be less self-centered. Ronon doesn't have his people anymore - doesn't even have friends from his old unit - he's more or less only got Atlantis now.

Teyla, on the other hand, still has ties to her people. She still has ties to the world beyond Atlantis: emotional ties, personal ties - an outwards-looking perspective that Atlantis doesn't have otherwise.

In The Last Man, Atlantis became...well, selfish. The only people who mattered were from Earth. This isn't SG1 where they had to fight the Goa'uld and they had Teal'c in their midst, pushing for Jaffa rights - this is Atlantis, where they could pack up and go home. The fact that they have the option to secede from the Pegasus fight makes it all the more imperative that they include Teyla in Atlantis and it's processes.

She makes the expedition see Pegasus as people - something that a lot of fans tend to miss.

[roguish-angel.livejournal.com]

It pisses me off to no end that we're relegated to this tiny corner of the fandom. I seriously stay away from Gatewank and only skim Joe's blog because of Teyla bashing (and the Shweirdos). I love my flist because I know there a very slim chance of happening across Teyla bashing.

My top ten would be...
1. Teyla (duh)
2. River Tam
3. Rose Tyler
4. Sam Carter
5. Vala Mal Doran
6. Elizabeth Swann
7. Hermione Granger
8. Gwen Cooper
9. Buffy Summers
10. Dr Janey Fraiser

Ok, that was HARD!

[tielan]

There's something to be said for moving out of your comfort zones, too. I've met some people I wouldn't have otherwise met by moving outside of the John/Teyla fandom.

But, yes, it's frustrating not to have enough people willing to speak up for Teyla at forums and on comms.

[bittybye2000.livejournal.com]

I think the some of the problems are twofold.

Male fans: Don't like the fact that a female can kick the ass of the two 'tough guys' on the show. It's been clearly shown that Teyla can beat Ronon. He might be able to take more hits that she can, but that's just basic biology.
John seems almost too easy for her to lay on the ground.

Female fans: Basically they can't relate to her. She's a strong independent women who dose not seem to want to find a man to 'complete her' she is just friends with with most of the male main cast. She doesn't flirt with any of them (with the somewhat more intimate relationship with John, in this humble shipper's opinion) She doesn't gossip, she doesn't go on for hours about her clothes, shoes, makeup, hair, or men. It seems most women like that (see how many people like Sex in the City). Women on TV have become cliche, trite and shallow, and many women seem to like that. So women like Teyla who can not be marginalized as: the victim, the brainy girl, the flirt, the damaged one, the girlfriend/wife, or the motherly one.

I'll even use your own list to show that most of the women fall into one of these categories.

1. Teyla Emmagan - Stargate Atlantis (doesn't count because she's the one not well liked)
2. Sam Carter - Stargate SG1 & Stargate Atlantis (has been the girlfriend, while a good fighter it's never been established she could kick Jack or Teal'c's ass. She's also the brainy one.)
3. Faith Lehane - Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel (the damaged one)
4. Diana/Wonder Woman - DC Comics (Sorry, don't read comics)
5. Temperance Brennan - Bones (Daddy issues, intimacy issues, is also a brainy girl.)
6. Inara Serra - Firefly (To put it crudely a prostitute so by current thinking; damaged.)
7. Surreal - Black Jewels (book series) (Never read it)
8. Eve Dallas - In Death (book series) (I don't want to go into a long rant with my problems with this series and just say that Eve is damaged.)
9. Jean Grey/Phoenix - X-Men (Again don't read/watch comics.)
10. Phedre no Delaunay - Kushiel's Dart (book series) (If this is the book series I think it is, Phedre derives pleasure from pain, so damaged by most people's thinking.)
I'm not saying those women aren't multifasited, fascinating women but they do fall into one of those categories.
Teyla doesn't. She's not damaged, she bounced right back from finding out she had Wraith DNA, even going so far as use it for the good of Atlantis.
She's not a victim. She can kick ass.
She's not brainy. She's not stupid but she's not a genius either.
She's not a flirt. She might wear sexy clothing but even when she dose flirt it's very subtle.
She's no one's girlfriend or wife.
And although a caring individual she's not really the motherly type either.

So all in all the men are threatened by the tough women. And the women can't relate because she's really nothing like what our society thinks a woman should be like.

Sorry if it was incoherent, I'm one of those people who know what I mean but have some trouble putting so other can understand what I mean. (if that made sense.)

[tielan]

No, you made sense.

You seem to have picked up on a theme I wrote about in the teylafen "12 Days Of Teyla" challenge - meta: Teyla as a transgressive female character.

Incidentally, thanks for reminding me of that. :)

[unanon.livejournal.com]

I think I'm actually scared to click to the posts you linked to (though I likely will because I'm curious like that).

But honestly, I don't see HOW someone can say something like "heck, her people are technologically equivalent to the American Indians and what crack are TPTB smoking to have her lead Atlantis anyway?" and not be on crack themselves.

I mean, are they even WATCHING the same show I am? In the very first episode Teyla pwns John with her whole "my people mastered fire years ago" nifty laser-lighter thing. *eyerolls* I mean honestly.

[tielan]

But that's all most people see - it's all the show focuses on. "Better Living Through Higher Technology" - and if you don't have the technology, then you're not worth bothering with.

[fishphile.livejournal.com]

I love Teyla. I've read really, really crappy fic before just because Teyla had a few good lines. I am a Teyla/John fan, but I like gen. stuff and will even read Teyla femslash, if it's written well. I adore Teyla/Athosian culture stories.

I wish I could keep up with Atlantis more. I've switched to the night shift at work on fridays and it takes me forever to catch up. I still haven't seen the last two episodes of last season.

I try not to bother with Atlantis fandom too much. It's too time consuming and almost pointless for Teyla fans. I tried to see what was happening on some Atlantis sites and just ended up disappointed so I stay away from all the drama.

[tielan]

Well, there's hope for Teyla fans in Season Five, at least. Whether or not that hope is or will be justified is a different matter entirely.

Probably the best place to keep an eye out for news of Teyla is teylafen, since I or greenconverses post any information we get about Teyla/Rachel there.

There aren't many places for Teyla fans to go anymore; and there aren't many people who are fans of Teyla and the show. Sadly enough. :(