content warning: sexual assault, rape, suicide
Sometimes a woman's trauma is a very integral part of storytelling, a key factor in their character development. Polly Gray (Peaky Blinders) had a life filled with tragedy and trauma throughout her time on the show. From the loss of a child to a subsequent sexual assault, Polly Gray has been through it at the hands of the production team.
What makes Polly's struggles different is not only the subsequent triumphs, but the ways these struggles serve her character's development. She reacts authentically, is given space to deal with the impact of her trauma, and in the case of her sexual assault, this storyline was dealt with in a way that felt both sensitive and true to life.
Polly's storyline was dealt with in a way that felt both sensitive and true to life
Without the dark past of Sgt. Catherine Cawood, BBC's Happy Valley wouldn't have packed the same punch. Without her daughter's pregnancy as a result of rape and subsequent suicide, much of Sally Wainwright's story wouldn't have come to fruition.
What Catherine Cawood's story shows is the very real, very ugly side of unresolved trauma. She is not the most emotionally attractive protagonist - quick to lash out, "prickly" and at times, downright nasty. It's an unfortunate, but authentic, of life after tragedy.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all shows.
For characters such as Dr. Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy) and Captain Olivia Benson (Law and Order: SVU) developmental trauma plays an integral role in shaping the people they become as adults.
For Meredith Grey, growing up with an emotionally abusive and neglectful mother and an absent father was bound to shape the woman she was to become. For Olivia Benson, the knowledge of how she came into the world, and the physical and emotional abuse she faced growing up at the hands of an alcoholic mother helped to inform her future career choice.
Both characters have gone on to experience additional hardships, but has it always served a purpose beyond plot development? Has it served to further their own character development and not just to add shock value?
It doesn't seem likely.
It's probably too cynical to believe that this phenomenon has come along to allow for male counterparts to fall into the role of 'white knight'. Instead, I think it's a combination of factors.
When you have incredible talent, it's only natural to want to try challenging and exciting storylines, and equally, actors also want to be challenged and excited by their characters' arcs. But for the sake of the viewers, many of whom have experienced many of the issues shows choose to explore, surely it's important to consider why they want to introduce an arc in the first place.
Drama needs to be chock-full of conflict and some kind of motivating factor by its very nature. I'd just like to see a move away from trauma being used as a pawn to serve the wider story, particularly that of a woman. Horrible things certainly happen in life, but it would serve cast and viewers alike to ensure on-screen depictions of the trauma (and the healing!) are authentic.
50% of women experience some kind of traumatic event in their lifetimes, so it's perfectly reasonable to expect that some of our female protagonists will experience it, too. But is it always a necessary point of character development? Probably not.
