Carry-over post: Mary Sue

(This is actually an old post from a rant blog I'm going to delete, but I like the cut of my own jibs, so here's a piece about good ol' Mary Sues!)

So today on my Tumblr dash there was an interesting post about how the concept of a "Mary Sue" is sexist.

(Before continuing, if you don't know what a Mary Sue is, skim here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue) (Warning: TV Tropes)

Now, they made some good points but the inherent sexism found in Mary Sue claims isn't really what I want to address today. I'm going to talk about some other controversies surrounding the Mary Sue concept.

First of all, do I think Mary Sues (and Marty Stus/Gary Stus, the male version) can be found in real works of fiction? Yes. However, less seasoned viewers or readers are more likely to overlook them in professional works than they are in fanfiction. Also, I think that they are usually found in works of lesser quality (at as far as characterization and plot are concerned). For example, I've heard plenty of people call the lovely ladies in the Avatar the Last Airbender 'verse Mary Sues, mostly using their amazing bending talents as excuses (Katara and Toph are probably the ones who are most often called Sues). I think that's ridiculous; it's shown that these characters have believable flaws that get them into trouble (and sometimes make them unlikeable to the audience and cast) and have worked hard to gain the abilities they have now. They aren't perfect and more importantly, no one treats them like they ARE perfect.

Avatar the Last Airbender, however, is generally recognized for excellent characterization and story-telling, so you're unlikely to find an actual Mary Sue there. I'd say American cinema is a better place to look for actual Sues/Stus (probably more Stus there) with young adult novels being a close second (Bella from Twilight is possibly a good example; she has flaws--sometimes really nasty ones--but damned if anyone in the cast doesn't treat her like she's the greatest thing on two legs).

My main problem with Sues/Stus is when they are blatant author self-inserts. Self-inserts by themselves do not bother me. It's when the character is obviously a stand in for the author but lacks their flaws and seems to always get what they want. Every character likes them or learns to like them and they are unbeatable. They get a lot of Cool Stuff and if the setting calls for it, loads of money or fancy magic powers. This is most common in fanfiction and regular ol' written fiction for beginner writers.

I'm going to admit straight up I had a story-in-progess during my middle school and high school years where the main character was a blatant self-insert that took center stage, saved the world, and generally had no flaws. That story was awful (and not only because of the Sue main character).

When it comes down to it, no one wants to read about how awesome the author is. People read (and view other forms of media) usually for escapism and often to pretend they are the awesome ones, which is hard to do when the author is so busy being Super Great and taking over the whole story.

Don't get me wrong; like I said before, self-insert characters alone don't bother me, although I tend not to like when they take center stage. They just need to carry over the actual flaws and problems the author/creator has to be sympathetic and interesting. And for a more personal opinion, I don't like when they appear as main characters. I think an Author Avatar is more suitable for the sidelines or meta jokes. But I don't think a self-insert has to automatically doom a work (it just tends to because most people who write about themselves don't want to bring attention to their flaws).

In Summary: published fiction is not devoid of Mary Sues, but most Mary Sue claims are false. If you're writing a story with yourself as the main character, you're going to have a small audience and will probably get called out on it because people don't want to read about how awesome you are. But you can try if you're careful.