Citation: Rowson, Emily (2017) Impossible girls and tin dogs: Constructions of the gendered body in Doctor Who. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University. This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/36277/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder. The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html IMPOSSIBLE GIRLS AND TIN DOGS: CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE GENDERED BODY IN DOCTOR WHO E V Rowson PhD 2017 IMPOSSIBLE GIRLS AND TIN DOGS: CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE GENDERED BODY IN DOCTOR WHO EMILY VICTORIA ROWSON A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Research undertaken in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences October 2017 Abstract This thesis interrogates the various constructions of the gendered body within the rebooted Doctor Who (1963- ). To do this, this thesis contends that Doctor Who occupies something of a contradictory position with regard to gender and the body, seemingly acknowledging the need for equality and feminism as ‘common sense’ whilst simultaneously denying true realisation of these aims by retreat to universal (patriarchal) concepts of goodness, humanity, and benevolence. In addition to this, whilst, at present, our definitions of the gendered body appear to be becoming ever more fluid and abstract, something that is aided by the increasing encroachment of technology in our everyday lives, there remains a limit to this bodily fluidity, a limit heavily informed by recourse to the ‘natural’ and, therefore, the ‘acceptable’. Science fiction’s interest in the body is clear and well documented; science fiction landscapes are frequently populated by bodies that have been mutated, enhanced and cloned. Hence, there is scope for a mutually beneficial discourse between theoretical constructions of the body, evolving technology and science fiction narratives, a discourse that this thesis will ground within the narrative of Doctor Who. In doing this, this thesis will intervene within these debates by deconstructing representations of the gendered body within the rebooted Doctor Who, constructing a continuum of ‘acceptable’ bodily expressions that will offer insight into the limits of our apparent gendered bodily fluidity. Using a methodological approach that involves textual analysis informed by social, cultural, and technological theory, this thesis begins by foregrounding the mutual areas of interest between the various theoretical concepts. From this, the thesis contains three broad thematic chapters discussing the topics of reproduction, monstrosity and technology with the selection of these topics being attributable to them representing convergence points of interest for the given theoretical areas. These themes are then grounded and discussed within Doctor Who, with the programme’s popularity, longevity, long form narrative structure, and political reflexivity all making it an appropriate lens for analysis. This thesis argues that these debates are ones Doctor Who both acknowledges and embodies, yet Who appears to remain hamstrung by a resort to tradition that prevents true radicalism and subversion. By using Doctor Who as an accessible point of reference for these potentially abstract and emotive debates, this thesis aims to question the extent to which we are now, or may ever consider ourselves, truly ‘postgender’; whether our ‘choices’ are as freely made as they appear, or whether we remain constricted by residual patriarchal mores. Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Contexts and Concepts 8 Contexts and Concepts 8 Contemporary Britain: A Feminist Awakening? 10 Gendered Constructions of the Body 13 Queer Theory 19 Techno–Bodies 26 Science Fiction: Aesthetics and Thematics 32 Science Fiction, Genre and Hybridity 33 Science Fiction Television 36 British Science Fiction Cultures 40 Science Fiction and Gender 45 Science Fiction and the Body 51 Doctor Who 54 National Identity and Contemporary Britain 55 Doctor Who and Gender 60 Conclusions and Research Questions 64 Methodology 66 Chapter Two: Reproduction 74 Feminism and Reproduction 76 Technology and the Evolution of Choice 80 Reproduction and Images 84 Pregnancy and Hollywood 86 ‘Women and Bugs’: ‘The Runaway Bride’ and ‘Kill the Moon’ 89 ‘The Runaway Bride: Abject Wombs and Unhealthy Marriages 91 ‘Kill the Moon’ and Abortion 103 ‘Male Mothers’ and Cautionary (Fairy Tales) 109 ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’, Masculinity and Fatherhood 111 Jenny and Male Authority 118 The Master, Mad Scientists and Power 122 The Toclafane 124 Family and Visions of Utopia 128 Desirability, Infertility and Loss 130 ‘Amy’s Choice’ 132 Infertility 141 Desirability and Britain’s ‘Fat’ Problem 145 Conclusions: Postgender Dystopias? 149 Chapter Three: Doctor Who and Monsters 152 Monsters, Reboots and Global Marketing 153 Monstrosity and the Body 155 Monster Theory and Horror Cinema 157 Feminine Monstrosity 162 Hybridity and Monstrosity 165 Donna and Power 167 Destiny, Fate and Being ‘The Chosen One’ 172 The Hybrid 180 Me and Immortality 181 Lady Cassandra, Makeovers and Postfeminism 189 Gender, Postfeminism and Plastic Surgery 190 Women and Plastic Surgery: Exploitation or Autonomy? 194 ‘It’s to die for!’: Doctor Who and Reality Television 197 Cassandra, Rose and Authenticity 200 Postfeminist Disorders and ‘De-Monstering’ 210 Doctor Who and the New, Humanist, Community 212 Conclusions 214 Chapter Four: Technology, Identity and Humanity 216 Posthumanisms 218 Feminist Technological Futures 220 Cyborgs and Science Fiction 222 Disembodiment and Masculine Privilege 226 Techno-Futures? 229 Masculinity, Military and Technology 230 Regeneration and Selfhood 231 Honourably Cyborg Soldiers: ‘A Town Called Mercy’ and ‘The Mummy on the Orient Express’ 239 Cybermen and Visions of a Posthuman Future 247 Cybermen Origins 248 ‘Rise of the Cybermen and ‘Age of Steel’ 250 Digital Salvation? 254 Idris 263 The Pursuit of Immortality: ‘Dark Water’ and ‘Death in Heaven’ 272 Conclusion 287 General Conclusions 287 Where to from Here? 294 Bibliography 299 Filmography 323 Teleography 325 List of Illustrations Figure 1. The Racnoss and her many eyes (Christmas Special). (2006). From: The Runaway Bride, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.93) Figure 2. The Racnoss’ insectoid body (Christmas Special). (2006). From: The Runaway Bride, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.94) Figure 3. Intrauterine tunnels beneath the Thames (Christmas Special). (2006). From: The Runaway Bride, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.95) Figure 4. Lance is force-fed (Christmas Special). (2006). From: The Runaway Bride, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.96) Figure 5. Birth as wonder? Donna and the Doctor witness the birth of the Earth. (Christmas Special). (2006). From: The Runaway Bride, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.102) Figure 6. A new moon and a new sense of wonder (8:7). From: Kill the Moon, Directed by Paul Wilmshurst. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.108) Figure 7. Jenny emerges (4:6). From: The Doctor’s Daughter, Directed by Alice Troughton. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.114) Figure 8. Mutually acknowledge insanity (3:12). From: The Sound of Drums, Directed by Colin Teague. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.123) Figure 9. The Toclafane (3:12). From: The Sound of Drums, Directed by Colin Teague. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.127) Figure 10. The child of Utopia (3:11). From: Utopia, Directed by Graeme Harper. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.127) Figure 11. Amy’s Choice (5:7). From: Amy’s Choice, Directed by Catherine Morshead. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.134) Figure 12. Amy and Melody (6:7). From: A Good Man Goes to War, Directed by Peter Hoar. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.136) Figure 13. Amy’s grief (6:7). From: A Good Man Goes to War, Directed by Peter Hoar. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.137) Figure 14. Parental responsibility? Amy and Mels throughout their childhood (6:8). From: Let’s Kill Hitler, Directed by Richard Senior. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.139) Figure 15. Miss Foster and Adipose Industries (4:1). From: Partners in Crime, Directed by James Strong. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.147) Figure 16. An Adipose victim (4:1). From: Partners in Crime, Directed by James Strong. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/ BBC Wales. (p.148) Figure 17. An uncanny Donna sees herself (4:11). From: Turn Left, Directed by Graeme Harper. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.177) Figure 18. The Doctor and Clara say goodbye (9:12). From: Hell Bent, Directed by Rachel Talalay. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.186) Figure 19. ‘It’s to die for’ (1:12). From: Bad Wolf, Directed by Joe Ahearne. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.199) Figure 20. Cassandra’s entrance (1:2). From: The End of the World, Directed by Euros Lyn. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.202) Figure 21. The Doctor’s cure (2:1). From: New Earth, Directed by James Hawes. [DVD still]. UK: BBC/BBC Wales. (p.209) Figure 22. The Doctor’s reflection (8:1). From: Deep Breath, Directed by Ben Wheatley.