Actress Jo Martin will be the first black, female Doctor Who

On January 26, BBC’s Doctor Who unveiled its latest incarnation of its shape-shifting protagonist, the Doctor. Actress Jo Martin will be the first black Doctor, and the second woman, in the series’ history.

If the reactions to the first female Doctor, played by white actress Jodie Whittaker, are any indication, the BBC may very well face backlash for hiring Martin. After learning of Whittaker’s casting, aggravated fans aired their frustration with the network’s choice.

This kind of aggravation among male science fiction fans is nothing new. These fans are known for becoming angry when women attempt to infiltrate nerd culture, arguably out of a belief that this subculture is their “safe space.” As Gabrielle Smith wrote in a 2018 Tempest article, white male nerds are fiercely adamant about being the “gatekeepers” of this subculture. Smith described observing at comic book shops men testing women by quizzing them about their knowledge of comics, directing them toward “pink and frilly” items, and even accusing women workers at the shops of not knowing the subject.

Racism abounds in nerd culture, too. As black graphic novelist Eric Glover explained to Revelist, this likely stems from the comic book industry’s birth in a racist era. “The industry created this incredible pantheon of characters without blinking about its ‘lack of diversity’ in the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s,” he said. Since “traditional” superheroes were all white and male, it’s difficult to appease the white male fanbase who are still appreciative of these original works.

Black nerds have always existed, however. They have just historically not seen themselves well represented in the material to which they are drawn. Terril Fields told the FBomb he founded his online space, Blerd, which applies a black lens to geek culture, because as a kid, he could recognize a lack of representation in the programs he enjoyed — and that still hasn’t changed much. “If you look at recent shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Silicon Valley, none of the main characters are black, with the narrative being that nerds are always white or Asian,” he said.

When “blerds” attempt to participate in fandom despite a lack of representation, they often face racism from white fans as well as backlash from the black community. Mainstream black representation features “the thug, the athlete, the rapper, and comedic best friend,” actor Alphonso McAuley noted to CNN, but rarely are “black nerds celebrated.” As Donald Glover joked in his Netflix special, “I’m a black nerd, and that was illegal until 2003.”

Women of color nerds face compounded racism and sexism that forces them to “prove” themselves in multiple communities. “Look at the way women [all women] are treated in the geek space and look at how black men are treated,” The Blerd Gurl told the FBomb. “It’s compounded as a black woman.”

The biggest difference between women and men in the “blerd” community is “the need to authenticate and prove our knowledge in the community,” YouTuber Fantastic Frankey told the FBomb. “Even with our black male counterparts, I find that often, especially for women that they find attractive, they’re looking for reasons to negate everything that you say. There’s a constant need to prove your knowledge, and it’s very tiring. There’s also a need for men to sexualize instead of appreciating everything you do. Every time you speak, every time you try anything, it’s about how you look.”

But despite these obstacles, “blerds” are still making their fandom known — a fact that was clear when Jo Martin was revealed as the new Doctor. As one fan of color tweeted, “Dear Doctor Who, thank you for finally giving a black nerd and other black nerdy adults and kids a Doctor who looks like us. You really don’t know how monumental this was and how much it made me cry. Please don’t let her be the only one ever.”

Hopefully, Jo Martin will not be the last woman of color to take the mantle in a white, male-dominated nerd franchise. As writer Charles Pulliam-Moore put it to Revelist, there can not be enough marginalized folk saturating this realm, “because once there’s a mass of us, our voices stop being seen as niche and become part of what shapes the paradigm.”