I mostly agree. I think Mary Sewage is a very real problem for most fledgeling writers, but I also believe it's a phase that most of them get over natually when they start wanting more from their stories than mindless gratification. That's what a Mary Sue is, in essence: using writing as a form of gratification that allows the writer ro have everything s/he wants, and achieve it all without consequence or effort. As a result I think the true Mary Sue is a fascinating character study -- of her author, and by proxy society.
On the other hand, I also believe the term Mary Sue is thrown around recklessly by many readers, and used as a tool in needless character bashing. Instead of putting some thought into what makes them dislike a certain character, readers will just say she is a Mary Sue. Often they will complain about her being "flawless" and then proceed to outline all of her flaws in the same argument. I think this is because they don't realize that it's the character's true flaws that irritate them, and that the ability to create a character who is sometimes -- or even often -- irritating is important to a writer. Certainly much more important than creating characters who are always easy to like.
Me, I need to be able to hate a character sometimes, in order to love her/him. But nevermind that.
I agree that fandoms are often overly harsh on OFCs, much moreso than OMCs. Fandoms are generally harsher on the female characters than the male ones. Even in fandoms where the main protagonists are female, the amount of negative judgement passed on supporting female characters, the sheer spite of it, and yes, the character bashing, sometimes blow my mind.
I don't know what causes this, and I don't know why it seems to come primarily from female readership. I suspect it shares some common sources with the widespread phenomenon of male/male slash among female readers. I think decades and centuries of male-dominated literary history have caused some female readers to condition themselves against female characters, to dislike them by instinct. Then again, this is a rather far-fetched theory, and full of assumptions.
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On the other hand, I also believe the term Mary Sue is thrown around recklessly by many readers, and used as a tool in needless character bashing. Instead of putting some thought into what makes them dislike a certain character, readers will just say she is a Mary Sue. Often they will complain about her being "flawless" and then proceed to outline all of her flaws in the same argument. I think this is because they don't realize that it's the character's true flaws that irritate them, and that the ability to create a character who is sometimes -- or even often -- irritating is important to a writer. Certainly much more important than creating characters who are always easy to like.
Me, I need to be able to hate a character sometimes, in order to love her/him. But nevermind that.
I agree that fandoms are often overly harsh on OFCs, much moreso than OMCs. Fandoms are generally harsher on the female characters than the male ones. Even in fandoms where the main protagonists are female, the amount of negative judgement passed on supporting female characters, the sheer spite of it, and yes, the character bashing, sometimes blow my mind.
I don't know what causes this, and I don't know why it seems to come primarily from female readership. I suspect it shares some common sources with the widespread phenomenon of male/male slash among female readers. I think decades and centuries of male-dominated literary history have caused some female readers to condition themselves against female characters, to dislike them by instinct. Then again, this is a rather far-fetched theory, and full of assumptions.