I still think we simplify that term too much.
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Re: the clothes–I still don’t know how I feel about the actual decision, but I agree that it’s good to be aware of what the media is likely to do with your show (especially if you’re going to be casting actual trans people in your next few seasons and want to protect them), and also when it comes to RTD’s explanation I actually really appreciated hearing someone actually speaking respectfully and thoughtfully about drag as an art form. The thing I appreciate about RTD is that even when I disagree with him I can tell he’s put thought into his decisions.
(I also think he was right about not making Davros disabled anymore… again especially if he’s casting actual disabled people, it’s worth sitting down and asking whether this decades-old character happens to have been written in a way that betrays biases towards disabled people. Same applies to the Toymaker, honestly. It’s good to check in once in a while and ask if maybe we could be doing things a little better.)
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I totally agree that RTD’s heart was, and always is, in the right place on this. There is no way he was targeting GNC people. But its this quote in particular that upset me.
“I think it can look like mockery when a straight man wears her clothes. To put a great big six-foot Scotsman into them looks like we’re taking the mickey.”
I agree he doesn’t want people to take the mickey when I, a 5’11" man, wears feminine clothes. But it was sad for me to read that he was bowing to this cultural force when in so many other instances he has been brave enough to stand up for underrepresented people on TV.
Growing up I only saw men in dresses on TV as part of secret or shameful narratives, or as figures of fun. Now I do occasionally see it, but exclusively with overtly camp, out and proud, gay men. I am bi, and delighted whenever I see this representation, but it is limited and not reflective of myself or people I know.
Since the 1920s we’ve been slowly breaking down this idea of the “1920s woman”, who (among many other more serious things) could not get away with wearing trousers. Whilst there is still a long way to go for women, the women of the 1920s would not recognise the women of today. The reason we’re still having these conversations about men is because the patriarchy and the ideal vision of the “1920s man” has served men so well and many of us don’t want to let it go.
I think the lead protagonist in Doctor Who is uniquely well positioned to push away from this cultural force and allow us to glimpse of what different versions of “being a man” can look like.
And yes, the Master looked SO GOOD!
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Honestly, I read that as being more about specifically David Tennant (who as far as I know is a fairly gender conforming cis straight guy) than about any tall man–I mean, I think fifteen is somewhat GNC, and he is putting an actual drag queen in one of the upcoming episodes, so I don’t see the problem as being about whether or not any man dresses like that, but more about dressing a cis man with an already-established “look” in the universe of the show in an outfit that is both at odds with that “look” and gender nonconforming in some way–and then having that outfit be his reintroduction to the show and the only look we get of him for a full year.
I agree though that the Doctor is a really excellent chance to look at gender norms from a different angle and see different types of man.
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Worth noting when comparing the Master wearing 13’s costume to 14 not wearing it that Sacha is about the same height as Jodie while David is another 6 inches taller. Like I said earlier, I think their options were either change costumes or have DT in a very small outfit (even if they wanted to keep it small so that it emphasized the size difference, they’d likely want an in-between size like they did for Jodie’s version of 12’s outfit), and I can see where the concern comes from that that might come across as mockery or generate a lot of bad faith press in a way that the Master in a mostly well-fitting costume doesn’t.
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The Master also changed pretty quickly into the combination of all the Doctor’s costumes–and Dhawan!Master was already an established iteration of the Master. The whole thing is put in context in a way it might not have been if we had just seen fourteen for a few minutes.
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I will note that David Tennant did dress up as a nanny for Good Omens…
Also, his kid is non-binary, and he’s a big LGBTQIA+ supporter.
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None of that changes that his presence on the show as the Doctor has not been particularly GNC, though? People have an image of him as the tenth Doctor, and anything he did as fourteen is calling back to that.
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Well they did change his sexual orientation so there is that 
Arguably, he already was bi, but just didn’t notice it until then…
When talking about the Doctor being gender conforming, I just think back to this, though, admittedly, different doctor.
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Did they?
Like Donna says:
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I wouldn’t say “changed.” Like Donna says, “it was never that far from the surface.”
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lmao, snap, exact same moment
(though my gif doesnt’ show :C )
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It does for me! It just takes a second to load
I don’t think that was a change. Lest we forget:
MARTHA: Oh, I’m so glad to see you.
DOCTOR: Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You too, Frank, if you want.
(Daleks in Manhattan)
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Oh, one thing I find interesting is that the scene with 3 dressed as a cleaning lady was one season away from the regeneration into 4, where he tries on a viking outfit, dresses like royalty, and then a clown before changing into his classic outfit.
I like to see this as the Doctor genuinely not seeing why any of these outfits would be an issue…
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I guess you could read it that way, I saw it more like The Doctor being a bit facetious in the face of danger, like 11 suddenly kissing Rory. Of all the Doctors I guess I would say that 10 is the one with the most firmly established romantic preference (Madam de Pompadour, Rose, River, Elizabeth 1st), so I don’t quite see what Donna meant. But again, it’s in the eyes of the Beholder
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i almost was going to say “uhh remember when ten flirted with andrew garfield?” but i figured citing the actual line would be more useful
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