“Unlikeable” is code. It’s code for “fair game.” If a woman is unlikeable, she is stepping out of bounds. Which makes it fair game to decimate her socially, emotionally, or physically. Likeability gives us permission to annihilate women who don’t bend to its rules. At the worst, our reaction to unlikeable female characters is one of disgust, rejection, and even violence. At its best, it’s empathy and understanding.
