Merriam-Webster shuts down people complaining about female Doctor Who casting
The dictionary publisher challenged the negative reaction to Jodie Whittaker's new role with just six words
Jodie Whittaker is the Thirteenth Doctor, the first woman to wield the sonic screwdriver and pilot the Tardis.
However, some aren’t happy with the female casting, claiming that there’s no reason the Gallifreyan (a two-hearted alien that can regenerate into either sex) should be a woman.
Many have even vowed never to watch the BBC sci-fi series again, with those claims often accompanied with one of the following messages…
And the wordsmiths aren't the only ones offering linguistics lessons. Blink-182’s lead vocalist Mark Hoppus also tweeted this fantastic reply to the naysayers.
Oh great a female Doctor Who. What next? Female real doctors? Female pilots? Female scientists? Female sisters and mothers? Female WOMEN?!
— m@®|{ µø₽₽û§?️? (@markhoppus) July 16, 2017
There’s plenty more support for the Broadchurch actor’s new role, including many of the former incarnations of the character. As well as Peter Capaldi saying Whittaker would be “fantastic Doctor”, sixth Doctor Colin Baker and past companions Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman have offered their support to the historic casting.
Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Christmas
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.