First of all, I want to make it clear that I am a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. I think he's a wonderful, chameleon-like actor who makes even the absurd seem realistic (ahem... Khan...). However, that being said he did say something about a year ago that continues to gnaw at me. In response to an interviewer asking what he thought about the term "cumberbitch" to describe his fans, he said that he didn't like it. Here's a quote from an article in the Radio Times: "“It's not even politeness,” he told Caitlin Moran in an interview for The Times. “I won't allow you to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are... Cumberpeople.”" (5/11/13). In another interview (the one that started my ire) he said that he preferred the term "cumberbabes" and thought they were more empowering. To this I say bosh! Bollocks! Never! How, exactly, is a "babe" more empowering than a "bitch"?
And let me make it clear, while I have no problem with being called a Cumberbitch, I am not (and no fear Sophie, never will be) "your bitch". I am your fan, you do not own me. You do not even own the right to determine what I call myself. If I call myself a Cumberbitch it is because I find it an empowering term. It is my right to choose in more than just reproduction. Others may not find it so, but I find bitch to be a term I aspire to. Because if I'm being called a bitch it means I'm standing up for myself and not letting others push me around. It means that I care about something passionately. It means I'm fully in my power. Please note that this is not the same thing as being someone's bitch. That is a term of ownership- and I am owned by no one else. The term bitch is problematic, but it's all in the semantics. For me, being a Cumberbitch means being proudly passionate about being a fan of a particular actor who's not afraid to defend the talent and skill of said actor from any detractors.
The term 'babe' on the other hand... For me, babes are decorative. They're blond, have fake tits, and display little intelligence or ability. Why in the world would someone aspire to that? As for "Cumberpeople" and "Cumbercollective"- there's such a thing as too neutral. These are neutered terms that connote no passion, no feeling. There's a reason they sound like the Borg.
So I'm sorry Mr. Cumberbatch, but you don't get to decide what I call myself. You claim to be a feminist, how about following your beliefs in this case and respect the choices of the people involved. After all, we have the brains to make our own decisions in other matters, why not in the term we use? Feel free to not like it, but don't try to make us change. We took that term on purpose.
