feministwhoniverse:

Favourite Feminist Moments in Doctor Who - #4 Donna Confronts The Doctor

For Donna’s first trip in the TARDIS, The Doctor takes her to visit Ancient Rome. What The Doctor doesn’t realise is that the TARDIS has actually landed in Pompeii, and Vesuvius is due to erupt tomorrow.

When they do learn this, Donna and The Doctor’s immediate reactions are in stark contrast to each other. The Doctor sets about finding the, misplaced, TARDIS so they can leave. Donna, on the other hand, begins thinking of ways to evacuate the city and save the citizens of Pompeii. When The Doctor tells Donna that the people of Pompeii cannot be saved as Versuvius’ eruption is a fixed point in time, she refuses to accept it.

I love Donna’s refusal to just accept what The Doctor says and to instead trust her gut instinct. She knows what she believes to be the morally right thing to do and she will no back down without a fight.

She continues to argue her point throughout the episode and The Doctor continually dismisses her opinions, using the fact that he’s a Timelord to suggest his opinion is superior.

Donna refutes this and, by the end of the episode, makes The Doctor listen to her and he makes her see that there are other ways to do things. Not everyone’s life has to be lost.

It is a constant, uphill battle for women and folk outside the gender binary to make their voices heard and their opinions listened to. Only yesterday during a hearing was held about birth control without a single uterus bearer present.

Right from the first wave women’s opinions have been ignored and clearly it’s still a prevalent problems today. Even though the episode aired a few years ago, showing a women refuse to accept being silenced and make her voice heard, on prime time BBC One, is a very powerful thing.