Astronomically Sexist

Obviously, given when these story arcs were created, some sexism is to be expected. HOWEVER, in “Prison in Space”, sexism descends further into misogyny, into unbelievable depths. Upon encountering The Doctor, an extremely strong woman becomes obsessed with him, and changes her habits to be wearing a VERY stereotypical, floaty negligee, wearing makeup, speaking in a higher register, and mooning over a photo of The Doctor. She later says that she’s been waiting her whole life for a “real” man, one who is smart and stands up for himself and others, and that is why she’s always oppressed men — they’ve all been weak, deserving of disgust. Another woman prefers to have very short hair, and is a very tough member of the military. She is, therefore, repeatedly described as “butch”, and not like a woman, but more like a man. Men say that women are the ones who should do any cooking in society, because that’s where they belong; and it is portrayed as reasonable to state that women “need to know their place”, and that women should never be in positions of power. Of course, a female character easily faints, and more than once. These are only a small sample of the multitude of misogynistic elements in “Prison in Space”. (NVM that women who do not know their place deserve to be spanked. This is excused as being psychological therapy.)

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