Why is it a monster?

[clevermanka]

I got tagged by avawatson and hurray! because I love MBTI stuff. I posted this on my Tumblr account yesterday, but saved it for LJ today because I'd already made an LJ post yesterday, and today is Collection Day on Tumblr, which means no random posts. Today's collection is Tuesday, September 16: Monsters.

TAG GAME: CHARACTERS WHO SHARE THE SAME PERSONALITY TYPE AS YOU.

If you don’t know your personality type, take the test here.

Rules: Find out what characters share the same personality type as you here and list the characters that you find relevant. Then tag five friends and let them know you tagged them.

I’m ESTJ and ISTJ. Like avawatson, I test 50/50 Extrovert/Introvert. The STJ parts are solid, though. Both of these classifications fall under the “Guardian” designation.

So, first off, the ESTJ (Supervisor) side. ESTJs are very practical and make good administrators, with a good eye for detail and a flair for setting up logical systems. They sometimes overlook feelings and mood, though. This is, for me, accurate. I work in an administrative position for my livelihood (although the amount of time I spend on the internet might lead one to believe otherwise) and I am very good at my job (which is why I have so much time to spend on the internet). I do often overlook feelings and moods, because I use them sparingly, myself, and usually only as they can be applied to certain beloved fictional characters. Ahem. Here are the characters I find relevant (and the ones I know well enough to claim familiarity).

Monica from Friends
Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts
Princess Leia Organa from Star Wars
Ellen Harvelle from Supernatural
V from V for Vendetta

I’ve identified with Lucy since I was a child. Confident, dictatorial, and quietly angry about the world? Yep. I also have a sadistic sense of humor, but I save that for people who deserve it (i.e. conservative Republicans and MRAs). When mckitterickand I re-watched the entire series of Friends last year, he agreed that I’m a combination of Monica and Chandler. Confident and dictatorial, but with a smart mouth and generally realistic outlook on life (some people call “pessimism,” to which I say whatever). I share Ellen’s determination to protect what is important, and her distrust of men as a general group although I don’t know that the latter has much to do with our MBTI classification. I’d never before thought much about traits I share with Leia, but they’re certainly there: Unflagging devotion to a cause? Check. Impatience with men who think they know better? Check. Ability to be compassionate to those to need and deserve it? Check. Great hair? Check. And then there’s V. Oh, V. Oh, hell yes. Burn it. Burn it all the fuck down. Burn it down, but be sneaky about it and make sure the specific ones you’re punishing know exactly why.

Next, the ISTJ (Inspector) aspect. ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who value loyalty and dependability above all else. They would rather work with facts than speculation, and they will put a great deal of energy into reaching a goal - as long as it makes sense to them. They prefer to work alone, but can be good team players when the situation calls for it. The only thing I would change about that description would be to say “would rather chew off own arm than work with speculation and no facts.” Applicable characters are:

Susan Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia
Zoe Washburne from Firefly
M from James Bond (Judi Dench’s, anyway)
Spock from every incarnation of Star Trek
Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh

I’m gonna be honest by admitting I included Susan on this list mostly to say NEVER FORGIVE NEVER FORGET and those of you who know what I mean can sadly nod in solidarity with me. But also, yes. Her initial attitude toward Narnia sums up pretty much any of my reactions regarding out-of-doors excursions: “It doesn’t seem particularly safe here and it looks as if it won’t be much fun either. And it’s getting colder every minute, and we’ve brought nothing to eat. What about just going home?” I never really thought about what I had in common with Zoe beyond loving Wash with every fiber of my being, but on reflection, we both share a deep disdain for undeserved authority and a solid loyalty to those who have earned our respect and trust. I was pretty chuffed to see M on this list, and oh hell yes because “Good. Because I think you’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur.” As a child, I identified with Eeyore as well (just as I did Lucy), without understanding why. Now, of course, I recognize our shared insistence at plodding along through life while acknowledging that it often sucks a whole lot but still plodding. Still plodding. And Spock. Oh, Spock. Anyone who has known me for a significant period of time, if asked to equate me with a fictional character, will often associate me with Spock. Because I totally am. All of it. Even my eyebrow game is strong.

I already tagged people on Tumblr for this. If you think this looks fun, give it a go, yourself! I'd love to see other people's responses.

Comments

OK that was really kind of cool :D

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I got INFP, which Healer. I recognized a bunch of the characters that have this:
Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ambassador Delenn and Marcus Cole from Babylon 5
Leonard from TBBT
Angel and Tara from BtVS
Michael Westen from Burn Notice
Leeloo from The Fifth Element
Violet Parr from The Incredibles

I am intrigued! Thanks for posting this! :D

Re: OK that was really kind of cool :D

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

That's a great bunch of characters!

Re: OK that was really kind of cool :D

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

FUN!

Re: OK that was really kind of cool :D

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D I was pretty stoked to see Marcus Cole from B5 on there. I always liked him a lot. The Rangers were honorable :)

Re: OK that was really kind of cool :D

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I loved Marcus SO MUCH.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

Also that was an excellent monster collection!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thanks!

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

This was surprising. I came out with ISFJ but the last time I took it, I was an INTJ. The I and J were solid, but the others were not, so I'm guessing they weren't solid on the other test I took.

Some of the traits were spot on, others less so. I am not sure I am an ISFJ. I'm pretty sure nobody that knows me would call me an altruist--I'm not even sure I'm a team player. Anyway, the character thing was an interesting illustration. I thought many of them (I didn't know most--not enough pop culture in my life, apparently) were either lacking in backbone or were enablers. I'm not sure I like that. This could be my own post!

You will probably find it funny that all the versions of Watson were my matches though.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

You will probably find it funny that all the versions of Watson were my matches though.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

INTJ/INFJ

[the-lucky-nun.livejournal.com]

INTJ (Mastermind)
INTJs are clever, analytical, pragmatic and logical, and are not scared to tell someone (or themselves) when they're being stupid. They emphasize efficiency, making them simultaneously loners and excellent leaders. Their natural talent for planning and system-building often makes them the perfect villains.

Severus Snape from Harry Potter (also listed Voldemort but I'm going to ignore that)
Raven from Teen Titans
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird

INFJ (Counselor)
INFJs are private, preferring one-on-one friendships to crowds, and often quiet about their own feelings. They are often thoughtful, artistic, and wise, and prefer to operate behind the scenes.

Amélie Poulain from Amélie
Fox Mulder from The X-Files
John and Anna Bates from Downton Abbey (both??)

Re: INTJ/INFJ

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

For them making up only, like, two percent of the population, I sure know a lot of INTJs. Hm.

Re: INTJ/INFJ

[the-lucky-nun.livejournal.com]

Either we seek out our own, or it's more prevalent than stated. To clarify: they might gravitate toward you because your personalities pair well. However, if you can't stand INTJs, that must be all kinds of aggravation.

Re: INTJ/INFJ

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I think we must mesh well. That TJ designation must be important.

Re: INTJ/INFJ

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

And they say that ISTPs (me, by this quiz, usually I come out I/ENTP) are only five percent of the population. WTF?

Oh well, it's also Sherlock Holmes, in at least three incarnations, McGuyver, Indiana Jones, Dexter Morgan (oh yeh) and for rl people, Clint Eastwood and Milla Jovovich, so I'll take it.

Frankly, it does seem to come out more "me" in a lot of the mechanically inclined descriptions. I'll explore this more later on my own journal.

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

I'm an INFJ. Apparently this means I'm a wizard-like sort of quiet mentor with a conscience, which kind of rocks. Oh, and that I should own some shoulder-dragons that are very loyal, too. ;)

Rufus from Bill & Ted
Amélie Poulain from Amélie
Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight
John and Anna Bates from Downton Abbey
Cameron Frye and Sloane Peterson from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Aragorn and Saruman from The Lord of the Rings
Merlin from Merlin
Jean Valjean from Les Misérables
Beca Mitchell from Pitch Perfect
Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries
Daenerys Targaryen from A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones
Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars
Fox Mulder from The X-Files

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Shouldn't all mentors have a conscience?!?!

[indicolite.livejournal.com]

I identify with ENTP and don't bother taking the tests.

Indiana Jones
Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy
Tyrion Lannister
Q of Star Trek: TNG
Tom Sawyer
Miles Vorkosigan

I do have a certain sympathy for all of these, especially Miles.

The trick is: I really don't see many women on that list, sharing my personality type. Authors tend not to write female ENTPs. This is a problem.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Authors tend not to write females. This is a problem.

[indicolite.livejournal.com]

A binge of Harlequin Romances, say, or YA, would find lots of authors writing females. The problem is, they tend to be of certain personalities at the exclusion of others.

[indicolite.livejournal.com]

And as I think about it, every book on my shelf except Umberto Eco has well-developed women in it (if I read it and it turned out not to, I would give it to the secondhand book shop). And I have a lot of shelf and need more. So I would say the issue that made you think this would not be books with women not existing, but somehow books with women not coming across your path enough. Which is a different problem, a problem perhaps not on the part of the authors but on the part of book publicists or bookstore stockers or whatnot.

Mine would be that I could think of lots of women badasses, and women nurturers, and women creatives, and women farmers in fiction, but I have a hard time thinking of a woman wit or clown, of the Tom Sawyer type.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Kathleen Turner had a hard time getting roles because she kept being told she couldn't be sexy and funny. That's slowly changing, thanks to people like Tina Fey and Sandra Bullock, but we've got a ways to go. I imagine similar things are true in the print industry as well.

[indicolite.livejournal.com]

If we talk about film, the sad thing is that representation of witty women has _regressed_. I watch the old 1930s screwball comedies, Carole Lombard, Miriam Hopkins, featuring beautiful women spitting brilliant lines, and my heart breaks, wondering how this disappeared.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

wondering how this disappeared

Well, I can't say I'm really wondering...

[indicolite.livejournal.com]

How do you explain it --- why women in the 2010s can in reality do a lot more than women in the 1930s, but are portrayed in film as doing a lot less?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Misogyny. A reaction against women having power. Same reason we're seeing so much litigation against women's health issues. Gotta keep those uppity women in their place.

[the-themiscyran.livejournal.com]

This time round, I came up INTP.

At first I thought - that's a lot of characters that I have never identified with (or heard of). But there were a few. And one resounding, "yes, always".

Belle from Beauty and the Beast (that's the yes!)
Gil Grissom from CSI (funny to me because I view him as the "grown up" version of the actor's take on Will Graham in Manhunter, and I like that)
Dr. Henry Jones Sr from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (because who DOESN'T want to yell at Indy?)
Q from the James Bond stories (because who DOESN'T want to yell at Bond?)
Agent K from Men in Black (I would thoroughly abuse the flashy thingy)
Bruce Banner of Incredible Hulk fame

Also The Joker, and Ra's al-Ghul from Batman. So, umm, don't mess with me, I'm dangerously psychotic? Eeep.

There were, at least, other female characters on the list. I just don't identify with them. I kind of love your bit about Susan Pevensie though. :)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I shall love and defend Susan and her choices until my death. Fuck you and your horrific misogyny, C.S. Lewis. For. Real.

[the-themiscyran.livejournal.com]

Yeah. She decided that she liked make-up, so she lost God? Oh, and had to live out the rest of her days without her brothers & sister, who all died in a horrible train crash. WTF kind of message is that, except hateful? Ugh.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

She liked makeup and nylons. It was probably the combination that did her in.