When I first accompanied my husband to conventions back in the early 1990s I was very much in the minority as one of the very few women present. Probably the biggest change in Doctor Who since it returned in 2005 has been the rise of the fangirl. The gender balance at conventions is now far more even.
I was reminded of this change whilst watching Kill the Moon just now. When I watched it originally I was so incensed by the ridiculous storyline and Clara's tantrum at the end, that I missed a throwaway line that really encapsulates this change in the audience. Clara says that the school secretary hates her 'because she thinks I gave her a packet of Tena Lady in Secret Santa.' If ever a line was designed for my demographic (middle-aged female) that is it. My other half still doesn't get it. I suspect the Twelfth Doctor didn't either.
Even now, it seems odd that they managed to get away with a line about incontinence pads in a family show, but it is not the first time that the post-2005 show has had lines aimed at a female audience which would not have been considered appropriate for a family audience in the show's earlier years. There was a joke about breast implants in Rose, and another in The Doctor's Daughter about turkey-basters.
I can't wait to see where this goes next.
