Mary Sue - Fanlore

Mary Sue

Synonyms: Gary Stu, Marty Stu
See also: Canon Sue, Suethor, self-insertion
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Contents

General

illo of an early Mary Sue from Warped Space #21 (1976)
illo of an early Mary Sue from Warped Space #21 (1976)

The term was coined in 1973 by Paula Smith, who parodied the archetype in her Star Trek story A Trekkie’s Tale.[1]

Even after the story's appearance, some fan critics[2] merely noted in passing the appearance of "adolescent wish-fantasies" in stories, with the attitude that amateur writers often create such stories for practice if nothing else.

Definitions

The definition of Mary Sue has changed over time, which seems only right, as our definition of a "real woman" has changed drastically in the last thirty years. Interestingly, the concept of "Mary Sue" has trickled down from media fandom into general SF fandom, a rare example of fannish drift flowing the other way.

Common fannish definition

A Mary Sue may be an Original Female Character (OFC) who is perfect in every sense of the word, and is usually considered (perhaps unfairly) to be a self-insertion of the author. She is unique in numerous ways (by having an unusual hair color, eye color, special ability, etc), and loved by nearly everyone. Anyone who doesn't like the Mary Sue is eventually brought around to see the error of his ways. In general, Mary Sues are related to or become romantically involved with one of the main characters.

The main difficulty with true Mary Sues is that they warp the characterization and even the established story lines of the canon characters and settings.

Some Mary Sues have to overcome a Tragic Past. They may have angst resulting from having parents of different species or from antagonistic cultures, and may have suffered from child abuse, kidnapping, rape, etc., inspiring canon characters to feel sorry for her and want to help her. If she has flaws, they are "perfect" flaws, such as wanting to serve others to the detriment of her own well-being. These only make her more adorable to the characters around her.

All of these elements are legitimate and have been used in serious amateur and professional fiction. Linda Lawson's "Szrich" stories[3] feature an introspective young man of mixed Vulcan/Taman heritage who discovers that his parents, thought dead in an exploration disaster, are alive in another dimension. He later joins Starfleet to solve the mystery of his parents and his vanished homeworld. He has some telepathic and empathic abilities, and many people find him a likable person, yet there is nothing in the least "Sueish" about Szrich in the modern-day conventional sense.

However, particularly since the advent of the Internet and fanfiction.net, criticism of "Mary Sue" has escalated to the point that amateur authors may hesitate to include any of these elements in their writing for fear of being called out as a Suethor.

Numerous parody stories with "Mary Sue" type characters also exist, and may be mistaken by reader/critics for the genuine article. My Immortal is an example.

Stories of time-space displacement in which an original present-day character finds themselves in a fantastic or science fiction universe are generally designed to let the reader experience that universe with a point of reference. Greer Ilene Gilman's novel Moonwise begins with two contemporary American women who write stories about a fantastic world and are later transported into it. However, many reader/critics still view this type of story as "self-insertion", even if the present-day characters do not resemble the author and are not unusually beautiful or gifted.

Such stories can, of course, have "Sueish" elements. Lois Welling's The Displaced features a woman who is actually named "Sue" who is transported into the Star Trek universe and finds herself kidnapped along with Spock, in an ensuing pon farr and slavery trope, [4] While Sue is not outlandishly attractive or talented, and an effort is made to portray the situation seriously and without melodrama, this story is often cited as a "blatant Mary Sue".

Critics of Mary Sue type characters as "self-insertion" in general do not allow for the possibility that the author is not describing herself, but a friend or relative; that amateur authors might create exceptional characters for fan fiction in which the canon characters are exceptional people; or that many of the traits which lead them to stamp original characters as "Mary Sue" are actually realistic, such as having green eyes.

The male version of a Mary Sue is a Gary Stu or a Marty Stu. Probably the most famous case of a male Mary Sue (or Canon Sue) is Wesley Crusher, from Star Trek: The Next Generation, annoying boy hero, written by Gene Wesley Roddenberry.

As defined by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

MARY SUE (n.): 1. A variety of story, first identified in the fan fiction community, but quickly recognized as occurring elsewhere, in which normal story values are grossly subordinated to inadequately transformed personal wish-fulfillment fantasies, often involving heroic or romantic interactions with the cast of characters of some popular entertainment. 2. A distinctive type of character appearing in these stories who represents an idealized version of the author. 3. A cluster of tendencies and characteristics commonly found in Mary Sue-type stories. 4. A body of literary theory, originally generated by the fanfic community, which has since spread to other fields (f.i., professional SF publishing) because it’s so darn useful. The act of committing Mary Sue-ism is sometimes referred to as "self-insertion."[5]

The narrow definition, by Alara Rogers

On her LJ, Alara Rogers defined a Mary Sue [6] as:

The useful definition of Mary Sue, in my eyes, is "original character who overshadows the canonical cast. [...]
A hero achieving many great things over the course of a series is not bad and is not Mary Sue. It's what heroes *do*. Having a dark and/or complicated past is not a bad thing by itself. The problem arises only when, in fanfic, you distort the canon characters out of recognition by introducing a new character, or modifying a canon character, or, to a certain extent, deforming the laws of human nature in writing people's reactions to an original hero. It should not be a put-down for female heroes (or even male ones who are improbably competent.) It should not be wholly focused on self-insertion or ridiculous names. It should not be used as an excuse to not write women in fanfic. Otherwise the term starts to get watered down, and a serious level of sexism creeps in."

The score: Mary Sue Litmus Test

Finally, there is the 19 point Mary Sue Litmus Test developed by Melissa Wilson which attempts to create a score for each suspected 'Mary Sue' character. [1] It is described in more detail by ljc in her column "When is a Mary Sue not a Mary Sue?" [2]

Mary Sues in Fandom

Fandom, and readers, dislike Mary Sues with varying degrees of passion. There is a Livejournal community dedicated to making fun of stories with Mary Sues in them[7], as well as a similar community for Canon Sues[8], though some people feel this behavior is a form of character bashing. In Harry Potter fandom, the overwhelming number of Mary Sues led to the fanonical creation of House Sparklypoo, into which all such characters were sorted [9].

Despite this, it is not uncommon for an author's very first pieces of writing to contain Mary Sues. An author who writes extreme Sues may be called a Suethor in some fandoms. Some more experienced authors also enjoy the wish fulfillment of writing Mary Sues.

Controversy: Are some "Mary Sues" just strong women?

Some fans who write original female characters find that these characters will always be labeled as Mary Sues, no matter how well written or characterized, and see the obsession with the Mary Sue label as evidence of misogyny in fandom [10]

The "Mary Sue" concept has drawn criticism from amateur and professional authors. Many such criticisms are brushed off as coming from writers who create "Mary Sues" and are thus beneath notice. However, the onus of wishing to avoid being condemned as a "Suethor" ("Mary Sue" author) apparently weighs heavily even on professional authors and sophisticated amateurs, particularly women.

Camille Bacon-Smith includes a subsection on the "Mary Sue" concept in her book, Enterprising Women[11], tying it together with the Canon Sue issue. While not denying that such characters exist, she observes that fear of creating a "Mary Sue" may be restricting and even silencing pro writers, not just fan writers. She mentions "Mary Sue" paranoia as one of the sources for the lack of "believable, competent, and identifiable-with female characters." At Clippercon 1987 (a Star Trek fan convention), Smith interviewed a panel of women authors who say they do not include female characters in their stories at all. She quoted one as saying "Every time I've tried to put a woman in any story I've ever written, everyone immediately says, this is a Mary Sue." Smith also pointed out that "Participants in a panel discussion in January 1990 noted with growing dismay that any female character created within the community is damned with the term Mary Sue."[12]

Several other writers quoted by Smith point out that James T. Kirk is himself could be considered a "Mary Sue," or Canon Sue, and that the label seems to be used more indiscriminately on female characters who do not behave in accordance with the dominant culture's images and expectations for females as opposed to males.[13] Professional author Ann Crispin is quoted: "The term 'Mary Sue' constitutes a put-down, implying that the character so summarily dismissed is not a true character, no matter how well drawn, what sex, species, or degree of individuality."[14]

The term "Mary Sue" is facing growing criticism within fandom. [15] [16]


Writing "Mary Sues" is empowering. Writing them being awesome is empowering. Calling Mary Sue, and contributing to an environment such as the above, which encourages the denigration of female awesomeness in fiction, which encourages the bullying and harassment of participants in female awesome, is participating in that culture.

Calling "Mary Sue" in this environment is shaming women for empowering themselves.

There is no substantive harm in writing a "Mary Sue" -- there is no substantive harm in creating a character, original or otherwise, who "warps the world around them", who is "adored by all for no particular reason", who wins the day.

There is substantive harm in bullying and shaming real people for empowering themselves through their writing. Words have power. Words cause harm. Words hurt, and the wounds they leave are deeper and longer-lasting than many physical wounds. I nearly stopped writing entirely, as a teen, after having my work and my OC called "Mary Sue". I have friends who did stop writing because of it.

Before anyone says: "Oh, they/you should just have sucked it up and grown a thicker skin! Learn to accept criticism!"

Think.

You are blaming the victims of bullying for their bullies' behavior.

That is Not. Okay. Ever. [17]


Changes in Mary Sues over time

Initially, a Mary Sue was a teenaged, brilliant, good-looking girl, who is *also modest, self-effacing, self-sacrificing and gets the guy as her reward*. In other words, the smart young girl gives up her independence and intelligence to fulfill the traditional subservient role of women in society.

Modern Mary Sues, if nothing else, show more variety -- maybe because possible fictional hero roles for women have expanded.

Mary Sues in Canon: Canon Sues

Sometime fans notice when the writing staff steps over the fictional line and moves a character out of believability and into the Mary Sue realm. This is occasionally referred to as a Canon Sue. Ziva David from NCIS has been labeled in this manner[18], as has Stargate Atlantis's Jennifer Keller[19]. Male canon characters such as Spike, Wesley Crusher, and James T. Kirk[20] also get the Mary Sue label (though less often), and Rodney McKay from SGA has been termed the self-insertion character of some of the writing staff.[21]

Mary Sues in RL

Can someone's real life be so lucky, so perfect, that if they were a fictional character, we'd insist they were a Mary Sue? Maybe. Or at least it's funny to think about: "Dear America, please stop it. Your OMC, Obama, is the worst Sue I've seen in a long time."[22]

Related Links

References

  1. ↑ A Trekkie's Tale, originally published in Menagerie 2, reprinted in Boldly Writing: A Trekker Fan & Zine History, 1967-1987(pdf) by Joan Marie Verba (accessed 15 Aug. 2008).
  2. ↑ Sondra Marshak, Myrna Culbreath, Joan Winston and Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Star Trek Lives (Bantam, 1975)
  3. ↑ "Question and the Dream", "Autumn Interlude" and "The Seventh Sister", published in Regina Marvinny's fanzine Tricorder Readings in 1972 and 1973.
  4. ↑ The Displaced by Lois Welling, first published as a zine in 1978. (accessed 25 July 2009)
  5. ↑ Namarie Sue by Teresa Nielsen Hayden, December 2003 (accessed 11 Aug. 2008).
  6. ↑ Alara Rogers. Make up your Mind: what is a Mary Sue? January 30th 2003. Accessed 19 November 2008
  7. ↑ http://community.livejournal.com/marysues/profile
  8. ↑ http://community.livejournal.com/canon_sues/profile
  9. ↑ Sparklypoo comic
  10. ↑ [...]it looks to me like people are utilizing multiple definitions of Mary Sue, and by at least one of them, "any strong female heroine with an interesting life" qualifies. This is upsettingly sexist, especially to a person who hopes to make a living writing strong male *and* female heroes with interesting lives. Alara Rogers, Make up your Mind: what is a Mary Sue? Posted January 30th 2003. Accessed 19 November 2008
  11. ↑ Bacon-Smith, Camille, Enterprising Women, Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.
  12. ↑ Smith, p. 110. A footnote states this was reported to her by Judy Chien, who attended the panel at MostEastlyCon 1990 in Newark.
  13. ↑ Smith, p. 97.
  14. ↑ Smith, p. 98.
  15. ↑ on mary sue policing and why i cannot abide it (Accessed April 10, 2010)
  16. ↑ Actually, I'm just lazy and blogging the short version instead (Accessed April 10, 2010)
  17. ↑ Storming the Battlements or: Why the Culture of Mary Sue Shaming is Bully Culture. (Accessed April 10, 2010)
  18. ↑ you made me hate you, i didn't want to do it accessed November 22, 2008
  19. ↑ Mary Sue Keller Accessed November 22,2008
  20. ↑ wikipedia article on Mary Sues Accessed November 22, 2008
  21. ↑ http://cesperanza.livejournal.com/217594.html?thread=6754298#t6754298
  22. ↑ LJ post by mistress_siana, entitled "Dear America, please stop it."
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