Timeline of Mary Sue Meta

A Mary Sue is an original character in fan fiction, usually but not always female, who for one reason or another is deemed undesirable by fan critics.

A character may be judged Mary Sue if she is competent in too many areas, is physically attractive, and/or is viewed as admirable by other sympathetic characters. Mary Sues are generally presumed to be idealized self-inserts rather than true characters, although they may actually be intended as point-of-view characters for the reader. In fan fiction, it is considered extremely gauche, or at least very immature, for an author to create characters based on him- or herself.

"Mary Sue" is an extremely subjective value judgement. One fan's Mary Sue may be another fan's awesome woman action hero. Someone at TvTropes observed that "Mary Sue" is actually the reaction that fans may have to a work that "is unduly favoring a character by changing other characters or the environment in inappropriate ways. When the audience calls "Mary Sue" on a character, the author has shattered their Willing Suspension of Disbelief."

Mary Sue type characters do exist in both fan fiction and canon. The main difficulty with true Mary Sue stories is that they often cause canon characters, established story lines, and the very inner consistency of the canon's reality, to behave wildly out of bounds.

The male version of a Mary Sue is a Gary Stu or a Marty Stu.

See Mary Sue for much more.

Unknown Date

• A New Author's Guide to Writing Good Fan Fiction: Who is Mary Sue?, ^{Archived version} (unknown date, probably late 1990s, early 2000s)
• When is a Mary Sue not a Mary Sue?, by LJC (unknown date, probably late 1990s, early 2000s)
• Shameless Setteis and Mary Sues by Jeanne
• Delicious: 5032 public post links at Metafandom for "Mary Sue", ^{Archived version}
• Mary-Sue Revisited by Kathryn Andersen
• Avoid Writing A Mary Sue at TV Tropes

1868

• Women's Heroines." In Modern Women and What is Said of Them, series of anonymous articles in the London Saturday Review ("They are probably not conscious of the precise work they are performing. They are not aware that their heroine represents what they believe they themselves would prove to be under impossible circumstances, provided they had only golden hair and a wider sphere of action.... They all write about death with a pertinacity that is positively astounding.")

1973

• A Trekkie's Tale, the original metafic by Paula Smith

1980

• That's Mary Sue? by Paula Smith and Joanna Cantor

1976

• TrekWorld, metafic by Paula Block
• In Defense of Faulwell by Vivian Sheffield and Pat McCormack (April)

1982

• Mary Sue Just Ain’t What She Used To Be by Linda Stoops
• In Defence of Mary-Sue by Karen Maund

1983

• LAVINIA versus THE CREEPING BLORCH, or, A reaction to the 'Defence of Mary Sue' by Pam Baddeley

1992

• "I never intended to put down all stories about aspiring females." - Paula Smith, 1992 p. 96, quoted in Enterprising Women

1993

• The Mary Sueing of Hurt/Comfort by Leslie Shell
• I still haven't seen a good definition of a Mary Sue by Cinda Gillilan

1997

• The (Original) Mary Sue Litmus Test by Merlin Missy
• Come In, Mary Sue, Your Time Is Up!, ^{Archived version} (1997)
• Who is this Mary Sue person?, by The Divine Adoratrice (1997)
• Mary Sue and Her Cousins by [B B] (1997)

1998

• I'm coming to getcha, Mary Sue..., ^{Archived version} (1998)
• The Mary Sue Drinking Game, ^{Archived version} (1998)
• Look Out! It's Mary Sue! by Richard Pugh (1998)
• Mary Sue, and How to Avoid Her by Allison Dowdall (1998)

1999

• Just What is a Mary Sue? from Welcome To The Official Mary Sue Society Avatar Appreciation Site! (earliest Wayback capture April 1999)
• Too Good to be True: 150 Years of Mary Sue by Pat Pflieger (March 1999)
• In Defense of Mary Sue, by Debra Fran Baker, part of the Fanfic Symposium series (1999)
• In Defense of "Mary Sue" by Kai Debra
• 150 Years of Mary Sue, by Pat Pflieger AND 150 Years of Mary Sue -- The Mary Sues Listed, around (1999)
• Mary Sue, How to Avoid Her
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Mary Sue's but Were Afraid to Ask! by LHGraphics (September 1999)

2000

• On "Mary Sue" and "Lay" Stories, by Judith Gran (2000)
• ReP Mary Sue's by Flamingo (2000)
• Self-Insertion and Mary-Sue-ism (2000)
• The Mary Sue Society, ^{Archived version} (2000)
• Tips, Tricks and General Info for Dear Mary Sue by Meimi (2000)
• The Problem With Mary Sue by Meimi (2000)
• "The Deal Behind Mary Sues" By Rekka-chan and She-Ronin (2000)
• Meet Sarah by Amy Gordanier (2000)
• Mary Sue, and why she's not welcome by Morgan (2000)
• "I Love You, Mary Sue" by this person here (2000)
• Mary Sue Appreciation Room by Jo Anne Montgomery (2000)
• Dark Mary Sue by Steven Savage (2000)
• Mary Sue Got a Makeover (Or, “Scully, How You’ve Changed!”) by Loch Ness (2000)

2001

• How Do I Go About Writing a Mary Sue Litmus Test? by Merlin Missy (2001)
• Mary Sueage (And How to Avoid It) by Flourish Klink (2001)
• Over 20 Club - Mary Sue by Writers University, a series of short interviews with fans
• Hello Mary Sue!, ^{Archived version} (2001)
• Whatever Happened to Mary Sue? by Eshva (2001)
• Mary-Sue Must Die (2001?)
• Defining Mary Sue from the Character Specialist by Julieann (2001?)

2002

• Mary Sue and Family by Celena Salyers (c. 2002)
• Oh My Willow-Sue by Lanie (c. 2002)
• The Trouble with Mary by Melyanna (July 2002)
• Your humble guide to creating a fantasy world: Clichés ... revealed: Mary Sueism by Khaydarin9 (September 2002)
• Oboebyrd's Guide to Writing Formulaic Fanfiction Chapter 2: Guide to the MarySue (March 2002)

2003

• Make up your mind: what is a Mary Sue?, by Alara Rogers (2003)
• Rana Bob's Field Guide to Mary Sues by Rana Eros, post at Fanfic Symposium (2003)
• Is Mary Sue Incongruous with Slash? or Mary Sue's Sexual Identity by Vywren (2003)
• Guide to the Sue in the Field by Anadrel (c. 2003)
• Mary Sue Classifications by Mhari (c. 2003)
• What I don't understand about the fear of Mary Sue by carmarthen (January 2003)
• This Wouldn't Fit in the Discussion at alara_r's Journal by mtgat (January 2003)
• Sweet Mary Sue: Female "types" in fan fiction by Sue Bursztynski (September 2003)
• The Perfect War by EphemeraL DreaMs (October 2003, revised 2008)
• Namarie Sue by Teresa Nielsen Hayden, also comments at Slash Philosophy (December 4, 2003)

2004

• How Mary Sue Grew Up by Daydreamer (2004)

• The Public Mary Sue (I've Got a Theory) (2004)
• Characteristics vs. Personality Flaws in Fanfic by gehayi (January 2004)
• Flavors of Mary Sues and what's really objectionable about them by cortese (January 2004)
• Try at an original fantasy Mary Sue litmus test. ; archive link to page 1 of 5 by Limyaael (February 2004)
• The Public Mary Sue (I've Got a Theory)-- by caras_galadhon (July 2004)
• So, what is a Mary Sue..., ^{Archived version} by xtricks (September 2004)
• Mary Sue Gives Birth, Baby Undergoes Sex Change: The Role of Star Trek Fan Fiction in the Creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, ^{Archived version} ("At the Internet Review of Science Fiction". A history of the concept, analyzing Wesley Crusher and James Kirk as Mary Sue characters") (2004)
• The Inevitable Mary Sue Essay, ^{Archived version} (2004)

2005

• What Did Mary Sue Do To You?, ^{Archived version} (2005)

• A Historical Perspective on Mary Sue: Issues and Trends by Laura M. Hale on Fanfic Symposium (2005)
• Mary Sues (again) and Tailor shops (February 2005)
• Mary Sues (again) and Tailor shops, ^{Archived version}, by st crispins (2005)

• In Character: How to Make Mary Sue Historically Bearable, ^{Archived version} by Stretch in The Banner (March 2005)

• Speaking of Mary Sue..., ^{Archived version}, discussion at Fanthropology (May 2005)
• Sues & Canon, ^{Archived version}, discussion at Fanthropology (May 2005)
• Mary Sue: she's not just for fic writers anymore., ^{Archived version}, discussion at Fanthropology (May 2005)
• I Spy a Sue by Telwyn Dubois (October 2005)

2006

• A new way to find a Sue by antikythera at fanficrants (February 2006)
• Snark a la King, ^{Archived version}, discussion at Fanthropology (March 2006)
• The Perfect Girl: An Exploration of the Hidden and Dynamic World of Fan Fiction by Nikara (April 2006)
• Fear of a Mary Sue Planet, ^{Archived version}, discussion at Fanthropology (June 2006)
• The Woman who Sued Herself, or, "msscribe: the touching saga of one woman's rise from anonymity to stardom in Harry Potter fandom in five months." by mikkeneko (June 2006)

2007

• Mary Sue, Who Are You? Often-cited essay by Merlin Missy describes traits most commonly identified as being Mary Sue; Archive page one, Archive page two (2007)

• Meta- Mary Sue, ^{Archived version} by zephyr (vescoiya) (2007)

• Everyone's A Superhero, ^{Archived version} (Academic paper examining Mary Sue characters as representing "subaltern critique and empowerment" rather than narcissistic wish-fulfillment; and Mary Sue fanfiction as being fair use under copyright law) (2007)

2008

• Mary and Me by Merlin Missy (January 2008)
• Mary Sue Witch Hunt; archive link page 1; archive link page 2; archive link page 3; archive link page 4, discussion at Fanficrants (September 2008)
• Is It Just Me? by were_lemur (December 2008)

2009

• The Heretic Loremaster » If I Could Scratch Five Words from the Fannish Lexicon …, ^{Archived version} on Heretic Loremaster (2009)
• Sweet Mary Sue: Female “types” In Fan Fiction, ^{Archived version} (2009)
• Mary Sues and Other Confessions by Celli (2009)
• What exactly makes people dislike MarySues so much? in fandom_discuss (March 2009)
• fanfic as comunal creation by hlbr (April 2009)
• Why I wish I'd never heard the phrase "Mary Sue" by lothy (April 2009)

2010

• I'm no longer comfortable with the term 'Mary Sue', ^{Archived version} by goldjadeocean, Dreamwidth journal (2010)

• a tentative meta on mary sue and the inimical effects of misunderstanding feminismArchive by lj-albumsontheside (2010)

• So Sue Me, ^{Archived version} community on Dreamwidth for exploring the positive values of Mary Sue type characters (began in 2010-)
• the slash writer ponders female characters by princessofgeeks (March 17, 2010)
• Oh, Mary, Mary by Ally (March 17)
• Thoughts about Mary Sue by alias_sqbr (March 21, 2010)
• on mary sue policing and why i cannot abide it; archive link page one; archive link page two by niqaeli (April 9, 2010)
• Storming the Battlements: or, Why the Culture of Mary Sue Shaming Is Bully Culture, boosette (on or about April 10, 2010) [Shut down by the author due to positive but overwhelming response.]
• Such stuff as dreams are made on by staranise (April 10)
• more thoughts on the mary sue thing by niqaeli (April 10)
• My Problem With Mary Sues by thedeadparrot (April 11, 2010)
• Mary Sue Amnesty by miss_haitch (April 11)
• Why I love Mary Sue by miss_haitch (April 11)
• The confessions of a woman who's never written any fiction at all. majoline (April 12, 2010)
• Making Peace with Mary Sue by rubyfruit (April 12)
• From the department of unpopular fannish opinions by phoebe_zeitgeist (April 12)
• Why I'm doing this by staranise (April 12)
• On Mary Sue,, ^{Archived version}, blythe025 (April 13, 2010)
• I'd been meaning to write a post called "In Defense of Mary Sue" but I see that I was beaten to it, ^{Archived version}, astride (April 13)
• On writing women by nicki (April 13)
• A Very Long Entry About Mary Sues by T'eyla (April 13)
• mckay and carter as mary sues by cesare (April 13)
• I have a little trouble by quinfirefrorefiddle (April 13)
• way too much rambling on mozart and mary sues by ar (April 13)
• dissection of Mary Sue and our issues with her by tielan (April 13)
• Write what you wanna write by cschick (April 13)
• A Question. by wintercreek (April 14, 2010)
• in which I am old... by vaznetti (April 14)
• The Mary Sue Character Displacement Theory by seekergeek (April 14)
• wherein Liz thinks about Mary Sues by edenfalling (April 14)
• What I Mean By Mary-Sue and Why I Hate Her by deird1 (April 15, 2010)
• thinky thoughts on Mary (Gary) Sues by slaymesoftly (April 15)
• more on mary sues by cesare (April 15)
• Man of Steel! by astridv (April 16, 2010)
• Talkin' About Mary-Sues -- sometimes it isn't about writing by Laura Walker (April 17, 2010)
• Wottaguy vs. Mary Sue by rahirah (April 17)
• So (Mary) Sue Me by smorkackcatcher (April 19, 2010)
• a tentative meta on mary sue and the inimical effects of misunderstanding feminism by albumsontheside (April 20, 2010)
• Mary Sue as shorthand for bad writing by thoracopagus (April 23, 2010)
• Mary Sue, Black Holes and Me by caithrya (May 3, 2010)

2011

• A conversation with Paula Smith by Cynthia W. Walker in Transformative Works and Cultures, Vol 6 (2011)
• Mary Sue - testing the boundaries, ^{Archived version}, legionseagle posting in hooked_on_heroines (May 2011)
• In Defense Of Mary Sue: She's Not The Enemy, ^{Archived version}, by Livejournal user dubonnetcherry ("Mary Sue, more often than not, comes down to internalized misogyny and bullying children... I want my fandoms to be better than that.") (2011)

• I know a little girl and her name is Mary Mac: The Misuse of Mary Sue, ^{Archived version} by seanan-mcguire ("Saying "This character is just a Mary Sue" is a way of dismissing them that isn't fair to reader, writer, or character. We can do better. We can write better. We just need to know how. And give Mary Sue a break. I think the girl's earned it.") (2011)

2012

• So, What's a Mary Sue Anyway?, Springhole.net (expanded version, some versions include a 2019 disclaimer)
• On the Subject of "Mary Sue" by magnaparva (2012, reposted 2014)
• Defining Mary Sue by betterbemeta (July 2012)

2013

• Kleefeld’s ‘Fanthropology’ #5: Who Is Mary Sue?, ^{Archived version}, Sean Kleefeld (2013)

• Autumn Write: The Absence Sue, ^{Archived version} (2013)

• I Was a Teenage Mary Sue, or Why Being a Big Damn Hero Is Hard (Though It Shouldn't Be) If You're a Girl, ^{Archived version} by Sigridhr ("For one summer, when I was about fourteen, I was Harry Potter. It was fucking epic. Some meta thoughts on Mary Sues, and what they might represent.") (2013)

2014

• The Importance of Mary Sue, by UnWinona (2014)

• Mary Sue, what are you? or why the concept of Sue..., ^{Archived version} (2014)
• "Infodump," "Mary Sue" And Other Words That Authors Are Sick Of Hearing, ^{Archived version} by Charlie Jane Anders (November 2014)

2015

• The Dreaded Mary Sue Critique by Caitriona_3 (September 2015)

2016

• What is a Mary Sue and How to Fix Them? by etwas22 (October 2016)

2017

• Fansplaining: Mary Sue
• Mary Sue: From self-inserts to imagines, how young women write themselves into the narrative, Elizabeth Minkel (2017)

2018

• What Fandom Racism Looks Like: The Smartest Girl in the World Has To Be A Mary Sue by Stitch (February 2018)

2019

• The Women Who Coined the Term ‘Mary Sue’ by Jackie Mansky (May 16, 2019)
• "Does My Character Work Okay?" - How To Tell For Yourself!

2022

• About Self-Inserts and Mary Sues… discussion on r/FanFiction (June 2022)

2023

• December 1973: The World Meets Mary Sue, podcast, This Week In Fandom History (Nov 27, 2023)