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Bibliophiles of the internet: My name is Adriana, and today I want to have a little chat about the term "unlikable characters"—
—what we're really saying, or implying, when we use that term; whether or not it has a place in our community and in our reviews
when we're reviewing books or any kind of narratives; and perhaps even my personal viewpoint on the word from a feminist perspective.
I've been thinking a lot about the book reviews I watch and read, and how much of the information that I'm getting from the reviewer is actually helpful to me.
And a term that I think gets thrown around an awful lot in book reviews is this idea of an "unlikable character."
Just to dive right in, I personally don't think that this term really has a place in the book reviewing community.
Generally speaking, it's unhelpful, it's unproductive language, and I think, in many ways, because it's been used so often, it's a term that doesn't really mean anything anymore.
And I think that's because the term "unlikable character" stems from such a subjective place.
Whether a reader finds a character "likable" or "unlikable" is a personal preference; that is their personal experience with the character,
and it doesn't actually bespeak anything about the story itself.
And I feel like when a reviewer talks about an "unlikable character," there's an implication there—that THAT specific reader/reviewer's opinion,
or experience, or interpretation of that character has ANY bearing on the story itself. Or on the reading experience with that story as a whole,
OR on other people's experience with that character.
To deem a character "unlikable" is to assume that the author wrote that character just so that you would like [them].
When—newsflash—there's so many other reasons why a character would exist.
And whether you "like" them, or whether you "relate" to them, doesn't actually have any bearing on the story itself or the author's intent.
So, basically, it's kind of ridiculous for us as readers and reviewers to just assume that the author created this character or that character solely for us to like them or not,
because that also strips the character of their complexity when we try to box them into either "likable" or "unlikable."
And that segues very nicely into my next point, which is why I think my mind completely buzzes over those words—" unlikable character" –
–and why that language is not as productive as it could be.
And that's because I think the term "unlikable character" is inherently vague. It's a very big umbrella term that we shovel all of our opinions and feelings under,
and it actually acts as a barrier so that we as reviewers don't have to go further—don't have to go under the surface.
And I think the term is almost disruptive or distracting, because it doesn't really get at the heart of the matter.
When I hear or when I read that term in a review, I want to ask the reviewer, "Please tell me specifically: what bothered you about this character?
Because this word means nothing to me—'unlikable.'"
Did you disagree with their actions? Did you think that their reactions to certain situations didn't ring true? Were they cliché?
Were they problematic in some way that you should probably be discussing at length?
Is this character a terrible friend? Do they treat their loved ones like trash?
Are they abusive? Are they rude? What's REALLY going on with this character that's not sitting right with you?
And I think by avoiding that specificity by using blanket terms like "unlikable characters," we're really avoiding a discussion that we could be opening up
about stories and how stories are reflective of societal norms, and how we interpret those stories, and how those stories affect us.
Like, I think we're just back-pedaling and avoiding a really good discussion.
And I also think it's very important for us, as readers, to reflect on the characters that we are exposing ourselves to and our interpretations of them.
Do we "not like" them because of something petty, or something personal—something that is singular within ourselves?
Or do we not like them because they're problematic and they present something harmful?
I think, in terms of craft and in terms of the reading experience, there's just SO MUCH MORE to talk about beyond the blanket idea of "unlikable characters."
And finally, in terms of why I think the idea of "unlikable characters" doesn't really have a place in reviews or in our community,
is because the term "unlikable" is so strong and potentially harmful.
Before I even go any further, I just want to point out that you should notice how often the term "unlikable character" is used
when referring to a female character as opposed to a male character.
I just want to point out that when a female character does something wrong, or makes a mistake or makes a misjudgment, or says something awful, she is a ***,
or—in terms of this video—she is an "unlikable character." And if a male character did the same damn thing, he would just be "troubled" or "misunderstood."
And that, unfortunately, is a result of internalized sexism and double standards and all of these
crappy things that we have in our society reflecting on the way we view characters.
And, furthermore, I think the use of the term "unlikable characters"—specifically in terms of female characters—implements this unrealistic expectation of fictional women.
Which, if you just think about it: if we have THIS HIGH of an expectation for fictional women—women who don't even exist—
—then what does that say about our standards for real women—like ME—people who actually exist in this world?
And God forbid, should a female make the SLIGHTEST misstep—the SLIGHTEST mistake—we automatically brand her as "unlikable."
AndI just REALLY WANT you to think about what the term "unlikable" means: incapable of being liked!
Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's complete B.S.
And the reason why I don't use the term "unlikable character" when reviewing a book is because I read an article WAY back. This was before I even knew
that BookTube existed. I was just scrolling on Tumblr and I came across this article about the term "unlikable characters."
And the article itself was also written from a feminist perspective, and it talked about how, if we as reviewers, when discussing characters—
—specifically female characters—call them "unlikable," then we are potentially alienating or harming our readership or our viewership.
And the article also asked the person reading the article to think about whether someone [is] reading or watching their review—
—and what if they connected to this character on such a personal and emotional level? What if they saw THEMSELF in that character?
And then you, as the reviewer, go and deem that character as "unlikable"—as incapable of being liked. How does that make that reader or that viewer feel?
And I think this is especially harmful if it's a young girl who has identified with a female character, and then we deem that character "unlikable"
because they're flawed and because they're human. And that's ALMOST like a form of bullying.
And, again, I just think that, oftentimes, the term "unlikable character" is a completely invalid critique—I wouldn't even call it a critique, because
often we're just blaming characters for not being perfect, and NOBODY is perfect.
I think it's important to be critical of the characters that we have, but also not to crucify them if they show any semblance of being realistic!
I mean, think about it: we are ALL "unlikable characters." *I* am an unlikable character! I do stupid things, I say mean things to people that I care about,
my actions are B.S. sometimes, I make all kinds of mistakes. I am annoying sometimes—I know it! I am technically an "unlikable character."
BUT, I am just as valid as you are, and I am just as valid as every character in fiction.
And, again, coming from a feminist perspective, female characters—whether they're fictional or whether they're people I know in real life—are not my enemy.
And I just think that it's not my place, nor anyone else's place, to deem them "unlikable" and to say that they're not capable of being liked.
That is not a thing that I can judge.
And maybe that's something else to think about: Does the term or the idea of "unlikable characters" stem from our unrealistic expectations of characters?
Do we get mad when they're not perfect? Do they not sit right with us when they don't to everything by the book?
Again, I think it all just comes back to the idea that "unlikable character" is a term that is so vague and subjective.
And I think that it can do more harm than good. That's my personal opinion.
So I apologize if this discussion is all over the place or if I didn't say something as effectively as I could have,
because, again, this was all just spur of the moment—off the top of my head.
So in the comments down below, please feel free to tell me what YOU think about this.
Whether you agree with me, whether you disagree with me—that's totally fine; that's totally valid.
So I know that was a lot of information, a lot of my own personal opinion—so much to take in—but that is everything I had for this discussion video today.
So thank you so much for watching this video. I really hope that you enjoyed it—or at least got SOMETHING out of it—
—and I will catch YOU on the flip-side of the page.
Bye!