I don’t hate Sharon Carter. I hate what the movies did with her. I don’t hate her for liking Captain America because who doesn’t fucking like Captain goddamn America, I hate that her character has become so defined by being Peggy’s niece or the girl that Steve Rogers kissed. In CAWS she was a baddass who wasn’t defined by her relationship, even though she was a significant character because of her assignment to Steve. She can kiss whoever she fucking wants but the fact that the kiss is all people seem to remember about her now fucking sucks because she had the potential to be a great character.
I think a large part of the problem is that Sharon was ALWAYS defined by her relationships to Steve and Peggy in the movie. From the time there were rumors of Sharon being cast, it was as Steve’s love interest. The hatred for her character in the MCU began immediately. People shipped Steve with someone else. It was an insult to Peggy. Etc., etc.
The hatred continued after TWS, because she was still a love interest. Fandom in general didn’t think she was a badass - they pointed out that she hadn’t beaten Rumlow, that she was barely involved, that there was no point to her in the movie. Age of Ultron came out, and the hatred continued, because - see? She wasn’t in the film. She’s not a love interest, she’s a waste of space.
Civil War hadn’t even come out yet when the hatred went into overdrive. Emily VanCamp mentioned the kiss at a junket roughly a month before the interview came out. That’s when the hatred went into overdrive.
It was only after Civil War came out that some people argued that they don’t hate the character, they just think she was more of a badass in TWS, when she was single. Why do women always need love interests? they asked. Why can’t they be fierce and independent? They seemed to ignore that every male lead int the MCU has a love interest, sometimes multiple love interests. Multiple Sharon fans tried to point out that being loved does not make someone less of a badass. Being loved does not strip women of their potential.
And yet, the reduction of her character to a love interest continues in fandom and in media. People could highlight how she was the only person to question the manhunt for Steve. They could talk about how her ideals have cost her her livelihood on multiple occasions. How she’s willing to get into a fight even if she’ll lose, even if she’ll die, because that’s worse than not fighting for her ideals. How she doesn’t get upset with Bucky for almost killing her because she understands there’s a difference between Bucky and Winter Soldier. How Fury trusts her to be Steve’s neighbor. She was only on screen for 7 ½ minutes, but she showed a character and concerns outside of Steve.
Fandom has a short memory. It’s sought to reduce Sharon to an interfering love interest since casting rumors circled. Too much of fandom has never even tried to see her as anything more. People still “joke” about how they don’t even watch her scenes because they hate her so much, and the beard jokes are legion.
The fact is that fandom has to do better, because this attitude has persisted for far too long. Sharon Carter is more than just a love interest and always was. And fandom failing to recognize the ways in which she showed character and personality outside of Steve does fandom itself a disservice.
We have forced her to become a lifeless statue, a target, for fandom to project its shipping fears onto.
Fandom must do better.
“I’m all about the second coming”
Kim Chi’s entrance for the RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
