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The Walking Dead's Most Surprising Feminist
Resa Nelson posted on May 30, 2013

The most interesting people–whether real or fictional–are the ones who surprise you when you least expect it.

This is one of the reasons I’ve been obsessed with AMC’s The Walking Dead since the first episode.  Set in our world after a zombie apocalypse, The Walking Dead pushes its characters to constantly think and rethink their personal sense of right and wrong.  Some fall apart, unable to adapt.  Some hang on by a thread.  Others embrace the opportunity to change and thrive in a horrifying new world where strangers must work together in order to stay alive.

Like many fans of The Walking Dead, my favorite character is Daryl Dixon, a redneck whose brother was a drug dealer before the world changed.  As children they shared a neglectful, alcoholic mother and a violent father.  Initially, Daryl scared me witless.  I was terrified of him, constantly worried he’d cause harm to the group of characters I’d grown to love. 

Today, I’ve not only grown fond of Daryl, I’m convinced he’s a feminist.  It all boils down to the ways in which this character has surprised me.

He first caught my attention when a little girl, Sophia, goes missing.  Daryl is a skilled tracker and helps look for her despite his anger at his group for allowing his brother to separate from them.  Circumstances make it impossible for him to track his brother, but he can track Sophia.  Days pass, but he doesn’t give up even when others lose hope that she’s still alive.  When someone questions his willingness to put his own life at risk day in and day out, Daryl claims he has nothing better to do than look for the little girl.  Later, when questioned why he assumes Sophia is still alive, Daryl reveals that he got lost in the woods for several days when he was a boy.  He assumes because he survived, she can, too.

This is my first clue that Daryl is a feminist.  Others believe Sophia has been killed by zombies.  They perceive her as helpless.  They see her as a child, a girl, someone incapable of taking care of herself.  But Daryl’s actions show that he sees Sophia as his equal.  He assumes Sophia is resourceful and competent.  And he doesn’t understand why no one else shares his opinion.

Another moment of surprise came when Daryl’s anger leads him to raise his hand to a woman, and he stops himself from striking her.  This moment felt like a turning point, where he appears to consciously let go of who he used to be and embraces the opportunity to become a better man.  He later apologizes to her–and has never raised his hand to a woman again (unless she’s a zombie trying to kill him).

But there’s another clue.  As the series progressed, a baby girl is born but her parents are unable to care for her.  Daryl isn’t willing to let the baby perish.  He leaves the safety of the group to find formula, and when he returns with it, he scoops the newborn in his arms and feeds her.  Delighted that she’s eating, he nicknames the girl Ass Kicker.  Again, when others fear for the baby, Daryl gives her a name that assumes the girl will survive, thrive, and learn how to protect herself in a dangerous world.

If this isn’t feminism, I don’t know what is.  As a woman, my idea of being a feminist is that I want to be treated like a human being – not a servant or a blowup doll.  Oddly, it’s common for people to treat me like a child, probably because I’m a shade under five foot two.  I wish they would treat me the way Daryl treats Sophia and little Ass Kicker instead.

As an author, I’m inspired by The Walking Dead, but I have no plans to emulate it.  I won’t be creating my own zombie apocalypse, because Robert Kirkman (creator of The Walking Dead comics and executive producer of the series) has done a brilliant job already.  I won’t be creating my own version of Daryl Dixon, portrayed by Norman Reedus, who has become one of my favorite actors.  In the hands of another actor, Daryl might not have become the feminist I believe him to be.  Reedus’s acting choices have made this character endearing and wholly believable.  Even Entertainment Weekly announced to AMC that they can kill anyone on the series … except for Daryl.

And that inspires me to dig deep when I create my own novels and fictional worlds, because I want my characters to grab onto readers’ hearts and never let go.  If Norman Reedus and Daryl Dixon can do it, then so can I.

I doubt that Kirkman or anyone at AMC ever intended Daryl to be a feminist.  And yet I’m convinced he is, because actions always tell the truth.

If Daryl were real, I wonder what he would say.  Would he laugh at the idea?  Be offended?  Or take it as a compliment?  Who knows?

He might surprise me.

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