bigger than one fandom

The "Bruce is a girldad and suuuuuch a good father to Cass" takes are irksome and inaccurate and often used as a crutch to write Cass in without actually having to put any effort on her character in Batfamily/Batboys centric fics. Most troubling, even at its more earnest when it's done by genuine Cass fans, it operates on the premise that Cass matters because she matters to Bruce (who, despite David Cain setting the bar at approximately the height of the Earth's core, still managed to pull a few outstanding performances. Read Batgirl00, it's good).

 

This is incredibly common across the board when it comes to female characters of colour with strong ties to important white male characters, regardless of the nature of such ties. Audience racism very much manifest in her detractors doing everything in their hands to deny those ties, to minimise them and instead elevate the importance of the man's relationship with another white character. But the opposite reaction from her fans (including, for characters in worse positions, trying to link them to a guy via rareships and the like) still accepts the premise that proximity to the white man is the winning ticket. 

 

Which... oftentimes isn't an inaccurate premise; many, many canons definitely support and reinforce that mentality. Fans aren't making it up in their own heads; they're reacting and simply want their faves to "win" the game. I've been there. 

 

But it tends to come with a stubborn denial that the game exists, and that it is rigged, and that there are BETTER possibilities for female characters. That there are bigger victories for them outside these confines and that they can be worthwhile characters in their own right. The start of the show, instead of acting as if being chosen as the plus one is the greatest role they can aspire to.