I don't understand the need to make celebrities role models. I don't really get the whole needing a role model thing though. Your parents should be the ones that help you develop and you should learn from everything aroud you.

Striving to be like a celeb seems pointless to me.

If people didn't strive to be like a celebrity we'd never have any new celebrities

I hate when people look up to celebs because the next thing is they hold them to stupid standards. "Ohh he's taken drugs what a let down" shut your hole! A lot of people try drugs or get addicted to them it is called human nature and just because YOU want a celeb to be whiter than white doesn't mean they won't be human as well.

The worst one is fictional characters though the whole "I want a female Doctor because then they can explore trans problems and be a role model to trans people" why not find a real person for a role model? Why does the Doctor, Sherlock Holmes or Phil bloody Mitchell have to be a role model to anyone? There is something seriously wrong when a kid is looking up to fictional characters.

Sports people yes! Celebs, possibly to an extent. Fictional characters? Get a life!

(That isn't to say you can't learn LESSONS from TV and film, of course you can! Personally I feel Disney is brilliant at giving kids small lessons in life to get them ready for life but you learn that from the story.)

Well I guess I don't mind it but I'd much rather people looked for people in their community or REAL people to be their "role model" on real life issues.

There are shows that deal with real life issues, As If was a good one back when I was a teenager and Sugar Rush. They are dramatized though like soaps so if you are looking for real, real life issues I'm afraid that you are barking up the wrong tree. Obviously all lesbians won't be like the ones on the TV shows so yeah learn about those issues, use the shows to think about how it effects you and maybe find parts of a character to look up to but don't look to those characters to be the role model of your life.

The Doctor isn't a role model to just straight males mainly because he's an alien and mostly because boys, girls, straight, homosexual, transexual etc... etc... peoples can all learn and love the Doctor.

The Doctor is brave, he knows when to fight and when to run, he tries to do whats best, he uses speech over action (sometimes), he is nice to people, has friends.... These are all qualities everyone can look up to. The moment you make him "this" or "that" you will just alienate people, it is why I dislike the love angles with the Doctor because even though I'm straight I don't look to Doctor Who for human drama I look at it for fun and kids do to but you learn from how the Doctor acts.

Just like celebrities I'd rather kids found role models in their communities, I'd much rather people stood up to be role models.

HEROES fair enough, fictional characters can be your hero and the point of all fictional characters in all sorts of things are made with faults and strengths but role model? Just no.

I would be quite terrified if someone told me their idol was Wolverine... Cocky shits the lot of them .

Well it depends on what you mean.

To learn lessons in life and look up to someone then yes that is the whole point of stories.

Demanding that the Doctor change sex because that means he'll be a role model for transgendered people is silly. The same as demanding he is black because he can then be a role model for black kids. When you usually say that that way of thinking is silly people go "why? can't a black kid have a role model?" well yes they can, even if they need to have a fictional role model why the hell not a white man? I'm female and find it hard to believe I need a female role model, a female hero or a female idol to be happy. I learnt lessons from everything and the Doctors biggest strength is that he is flawed which is brilliant for EVERYONE because it makes people realize even the best of us have problems and weaknesses.

I don't see why people need to force THEIR version of role models on people, it doesn't help in general when a black kid is told "only look up to someone if they are black" or parents don't sit down and say "I don't care if you are straight, gay, bi, transgendered or whatever just be happy" instead they make a big deal of no onscreen presence to guide their kids.

I don't think I'm explaining that right but that is mainly down to stupid delivery drivers and being tired I'll explain better later!

Why the hell does anyone need to be represented in a fictional world?

Why the hell can't someone be represented and look up to a character with a strong moral code?

I think our point is that, ya know, teaching segregation of people based on their beliefs, sexual preference or skin color or ANYTHING else is what is wrong. Trying to project ya own worries and needs on the rest of the world for the crime of being born in a majority isn't exactly fair. All straight white people aren't the same ya know? I don't think I have one thing in common with Brad Pitt but we are both white and straight and apparently I should see him as a role model BASED on that right?

If the answer to that question is no then your point is totally irrelevant.

Our point isn't about minorities not being in the shows/books what the **** ever it is that you shouldn't tell a kid "look at that black person, that is your role model" or else with someone like the Doctor you can't say "I want the next Doctor to be black so that I can have a role model too". As a parent you should be making them look up to historic heroes and learn lessons that any bloody kid would learn from TV.

It ain't very far from that point of view and segregating kids completely at school "oh did you watch whatever last night" "no because there isn't enough people like me on there."

This isn't the point of the question but to answer the question.

Your assumption that just being white and straight means that any white straight character on TV could represent me, you, Rick or anyone else on this forum that isn't white and straight is stupid.

I'm slightly over weight with anxiety problems, weird hair and so much more than being white and straight.

You act like I couldn't have a role model if the person who I was looking up to was black. Well sorry my hero growing up (or one of them) was Uhura from Star Trek, I have nothing in common with her as a character, the actress or any of the other people I looked up to (heck I looked up to Owen Hart who is totally the wrong sex anyway for me!) 

Why was she a hero of mine?

Because she was smart, she wasn't a sex object, she was on the Enterprise because she's the best at what she did, she kept the men at check and was helpful. Uhura as a character was flawed but strong.

I didn't look at her and think "I can't understand that character though because I'm white" and to act like black people or gay people or transgendered people or whatever should look at that character and think something on the lines ("I only look up to her because of the color of her skin", "I can't because she likes men and I don't" or whatever) is silly.

A role model should be a role model because they do something worth believing in them. I don't think ANYONE should look at a fictional character to be their role model unless you mean it in the general "they are my role model because I want to be brave and do whats right". A role model for a confused teenager should be a adult (or teenager) that has been through what they've been through, understand them and can help them de-confuse themselves.

A generic "hero" could be anyone, it doesn't have to be someone who is completely like you. I idolize Terry Pratchett but he has much more to him then being a white, straight man. His imagination and strong values should be something anyone and everyone should look up to. The same with the Doctor, or Captain Kirk or whoever. 

The point I originally (and I agree badly) was trying to make was that fictional characters are just that. Some random person is writing those characters, giving them strengths and weaknesses and to look to one as a role model isn't healthy.

Take wrestling, many of their personalities are "made up" to suit their part of the whole show. A wrestler can be a face or a heel and switch sides easily, all the John Cena fans who look up to him could one day be really let down after he does something really evil. When I was a kid I loved certain wrestlers, they were heroes not role models, and when they went against their character it was a OMG moment for me. The wrestlers and the guys in charge can rewrite that character over time, it isn't the real them (well some of it is....) 

A role model for me should be someone in the community mainly because at the end of the day their morals and whatever makes them them isn't going to change on a whim. A fictional character can. Even then the lessons and the making of that hero comes from someone else not the actual character as it is someone else telling the story.

I'm all for having heroes or looking up to celebs who do great things.

I don't agree with a few things.

1/Trying to make fictional characters Role Models (I don't mind heroes etc, different thing.)
2/Holding celebs up to stupidly high standards because you want them to be perfect
3/Feeling that anyone whether it is celebs or fictional characters should be whatever you want so you can have a "hero" and ignoring the fact that being a hero doesn't matter about the colour of your skin etc 

I think you have a grim view on the world that you can only ever look up to someone if they are the mirror image of you, after all no one is exactly like anyone and being white and straight doesn't mean a thing in general, you can feel under represented in TV for a number of reasons no matter who you are.