Sorry for the late reply; I was at work all day and just got the opportunity to get online.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
And finally, just because you can't think of something that fits a trope doesn't mean it's not a common trope.
I agree with you that my experience is not universal and did not mean to imply that I think it is or should be. However, I watch a looooooooot of television (too much! LOL) and don't really encounter this idea in the TV I watch.
People tend to watch things they like, and so if the blank slate Love Interest character doesn't appeal to you, you likely find yourself forgetting/ignoring media with it.
This is a great point; I may just be naturally self-selecting media that doesn't have this problem (I don't read comics, for example). I suspect that something different is going on, though. I genuinely don't understand most of the time when people explain to me why they consider this female character as merely a love interest, merely a love interest meant pejoratively, of course. I'm about to reply to the person upthread who gave me the Uhura example that I totally don't understand what they're saying at all. I think this is probably just something I don't need to talk about on the internet anymore because I like y'all and my perplexity does not seem to decrease even after explanation.
no subject
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
And finally, just because you can't think of something that fits a trope doesn't mean it's not a common trope.
I agree with you that my experience is not universal and did not mean to imply that I think it is or should be. However, I watch a looooooooot of television (too much! LOL) and don't really encounter this idea in the TV I watch.
People tend to watch things they like, and so if the blank slate Love Interest character doesn't appeal to you, you likely find yourself forgetting/ignoring media with it.
This is a great point; I may just be naturally self-selecting media that doesn't have this problem (I don't read comics, for example). I suspect that something different is going on, though. I genuinely don't understand most of the time when people explain to me why they consider this female character as merely a love interest, merely a love interest meant pejoratively, of course. I'm about to reply to the person upthread who gave me the Uhura example that I totally don't understand what they're saying at all. I think this is probably just something I don't need to talk about on the internet anymore because I like y'all and my perplexity does not seem to decrease even after explanation.