“Why is it when a woman is
confident and powerful, they call her a witch?” Few words provoke the same sense of
unwarranted controversy as “feminist.” For many years,
onscreen feminists have been dismissed, “She’s a cute little feminist,
isn’t she?” mocked, “It’s over there.” “Every time you point I see a penis.” and outright vilified. “That’s right,
you sad excuse of a man. You’ve been rendered
completely helpless by a woman.” If we look at Film & TV feminists,
past and present, we can spot some patterns
in this character: She’s intellectual, educated,
and articulate, “But I do wonder
as a third-wave feminist if it's even possible for women
to 'reclaim' their sexuality in this deeply entrenched
patriarchal society.” but her precise mind and sharp
tongue have long been used against her— painted in many stories
as a tendency to preach, overthink and see issues
that don’t really exist. “Take the word ‘semester,’ ok? This is a perfect example
of this school's discriminatory preference of semen to ovaries. That's why I'm petitioning to have
next term be referred to as the winter ‘ovester.’” She’s passionate about her principles
and non-mainstream interests. “Hot tubs aren't really my thing.” “What is your thing, then?” “Complex female characters” Yet her intensity of feeling has often led her to be interpreted
as always angry or too much— a radical,
incapable of lighthearted fun. “People perceive you as somewhat—" “Tempestuous?” “Heinous bitch is the term
used most often.” She’s also often been portrayed
as unfeminine–- not a “real” woman. But what this actually reflects
is that male validation isn’t the primary metric
by which she evaluates her life. “Now there's a way to get
a guy's attention, huh?” “My mission in life.” Fundamentally,
the feminist character is a skeptic, who bravely questions
established social conventions that others take for granted. “I don't know why we bother
with corsets. Men don't wear them,
and they look perfectly normal in their clothes.” This woman with high standards
wants more out of life than she was taught to expect— and crucially,
she demands more for other women, too. “And they've got ambition,
and they've got talent as well as just beauty,
and I'm so sick of people saying that love is just all
a woman is fit for.” Today’s depictions of feminist
characters increasingly reflect that this once-dirty label is at last
being widely claimed as aspirational, cool—
even necessary. Yet even this closer-to-universal
embrace of the gender equality cause has brought new perils,
like co-option, commodification, and fake feminists. “Everyone loves a male feminist. It turns out the problem with feminism all along
is it just wasn’t men doing it. We’re much less shrill.” Here’s our take on the feminist trope:
its mythos, its journey from the margins to the mainstream, and why it’s a no-brainer that
we should all be feminists. “And when I meet Thomas Jefferson,
I’ma compel him to include women in the sequel!” “Work!” If you’re new here,
be sure to subscribe! And hit the bell to be notified
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showing exceptional films from around the globe. It’s like your own personal film
festival streaming anytime, anywhere. Feminism is simply believing women
should have equal rights to those of men. Supporting this aim should sound
like basic common sense in a country that’s 50% female
but has never seen a female president, where many states tax tampons
but not Viagra, where women are paid less
than men for the same work, and where all that American
currency they should be making features only male faces. “Who is this? Who is this? I want Susan B. Anthony coins. Now!” Yet the feminist trope has long existed
in our cultural imagination first and foremost as a negative. “Two little feminists are we.” “Shrill as a feminist can be.” “God-less and man-less
and ornery.” Frequently,
onscreen feminists are painted as overreacting to non-issues. “That this sponge is going
to be dripping down my face. That's what you're imagining
right now? Just a slow wet drip?” “No.” “When you do that
with your hands I can feel them right on me.” Many depictions reduce
their concerns to silly trivialities, “Men enjoy farts,
so why shouldn’t women enjoy their q----s? [APPLAUSE] We’ve written all about it
In our new feminist book, ‘Eat, Pray, Q----.’" thus obscuring the very
serious issues that the real feminist movement
is concerned with. “Statistically,
two thirds of girls experience unwanted sexual attention
or contact in public spaces before the age of 21.” Just as prevalent is the stereotype
that feminists are unattractive and unwomanly. “Feminists, intellectuals…
ugly women.” They’re portrayed as bitter, jilted,
essentially failed women who pretend to care
about gender inequality as a consolation prize
for not being popular with men. “I'll buy some cookies. But not for Valentine's Day. Instead, these cookies celebrate
the February 14th birthday of Anna Howard Shaw,
famed American suffragette.” The miniseries Mrs. America
disproves this assumption by documenting how Ms. Magazine
co-founder and feminist icon Gloria Steinem caused
a furor in the ‘70s precisely because
she didn’t fit this stereotype. “I don't want people listening
to me just because I have a pretty face.” “I would love it if people
listened to me because I have a pretty face.” “Everybody was so convinced
that feminists could not possibly look okay because if you
could get a man, why do you need equal pay?” And her glamourous celebrity persona
reframed decisions like not having kids as an actual choice—
a valid one— instead of as evidence that one
had not achieved womanly success. “The rest of them I understand,
but Gloria Steinem… She's so pretty. How could she not
find a husband?” “I think she doesn't want one.” The most central presumption
about feminists is that they hate men. “This is Sharon. She's part of your mom's
feminist group. She hates men, too.” The feminist stereotype’s
over-the-top hatred of men is so insidious because it takes
feminism’s central issue of the patriarchal society— one where women
are an oppressed class— and flips it to imply that men
are the real victims. “I'm proud of you. You know that, right? Even though you're a man.” “I can't change that.” “You can, actually.” Many of these negative clichés
are found in the straw feminist. This term describes a cardboard,
exaggerated feminist character who’s designed to undercut
feminist ideology by framing it as a joke, “Got a PhD from Berkeley
in women's studies, emphasis in the history of combat.” [punch] or by suggesting
feminism’s gone too far. “How about ‘Fuck Rapists
and Dismantle the Patriarchy?’” “I mean, it's not
all that catchy, though, is it?” “Okay, fair. How about… ‘Stab all the jocks
and watch 'em bleed?’” In 1964’s Mary Poppins,
Mrs. Banks’ advocating for women’s suffrage
is framed as frivolous fun, “Mrs. Whitbourne-Allen chained
herself to the wheel of the prime minister's carriage. You should've been there.” while the movie even suggests that
she’s so busy congratulating herself “Our daughters' daughters
will adore us.” that she neglects her own children. “Where are the children?” “The children, madam,
to be precise, are not here. They've disappeared again.” Saved By the Bell frames
neurotic Jessie’s lecturing of her peers as annoying
or (at best) a funny personality quirk. “Sisters, don't sign up
for the beauty pageant! Let Belding know we're
united against him.” “Yeah!” “Kelly, show some
more enthusiasm.” Jessie also dates the obnoxious,
misogynistic Slater and actually seems charmed
by his macho posturing, “Haven't you ever heard
of the Women's Movement?” “Well, sure. Put on something cute
and move it into the kitchen.” so the show suggests
the right man will cause a woman to quickly abandon
her professed feminist ideals. “I like it when
you shake, Mama. And I can't wait
for the next earthquake.” “Slater, you're making me blush.” When Jessie campaigns for a girl
who wants to join the wrestling team, she backtracks after she starts to
suspect the girl has a crush on Slater. “Girls have absolutely
no business wrestling guys. The poor dears could get hurt. In conclusion, keep your hands
off our men, Kristy.” When she’s not a laughingstock, “I refused to give Santa
a Christmas List because I didn’t want to depend
on a man for anything!” the straw feminist continues to be
used as a darker cautionary tale of what happens when
the ideology gets carried away. “Survivors and allies only.” “Well, Tyler can be an ally. Right, Tyler?” The idea that women are making
a big deal out of nothing can be taken to a dark extreme
in plots like the Veronica Mars storyline
where a college feminist group fakes a rape to make a point, playing into the damaging myth
that false accusations of sexual assault are commonplace. “Fake a rape, right? Possibly a series of rapes.” These anti-feminist biases
even begin with our children’s shows. “So is Lil enjoying your mommy and daughter
female empowerment class?" "Aw, it's a blast, Deed. Yup, today we're doing
tumbling, jumping, and a ‘Let's Take A Control
of the Senate’ sing-along." In true straw feminist fashion, Rugrats mom Betty dominates
her emasculated husband Howard. “Howard, you missed a spot
over on the side there.” “Howard, keep scrubbing.” In the The Powerpuff Girls
episode “Equal Fights,” when the feminist villain Femme Fatale
plants seeds of doubt in the Powerpuff Girls’ minds
about how equal their society really is, “You girls protect your city
just as well as Batman and Superman protect theirs. But do you have their own movie?” Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup
lash out at males without justification. “I finally caught up
on all the housework and all that’s left is your room,
if you could take care of that please.” But Femme Fatale’s rallying cries
are revealed to be little more than manipulative trickery. “Sending me to jail will be a blow
for all of womankind— including you.” [evil laughter] Significantly, the straw feminist
is often contrasted with a more aspirational
female protagonist we’re supposed to relate to. We’re given the message
that it’s cool to be an empowered woman
like Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods, who stands up to sexual harassment
and sexist stereotyping but is never explicitly aligned
with feminism. Yet you don’t want to be a whiny,
uptight activist like Elle’s fellow law school student
Enid Wexler. “The English language—
it is all about subliminal domination.” These representations perpetuate
a narrative of individualism— endorsing being your best self,
without connecting this to a broader push for equality. Ultimately,
our culture devotes so much energy to smearing feminists
because they pose a danger to the status quo: If feminists are seen
as inherently unappealing, no one will want to be one. “I’ve been reading Common Sense
by Thomas Paine. So men say that I’m intense
or I’m insane.” Yet as Mrs. America's depiction
of the real-life militant anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly reveals, distancing yourself from this movement
will not protect you from the hard reality
of deeply entrenched sexism. “Now our superiority in MIRVs
does not compensate for the Russian superiority
in ICBMs, SS-9s…” “Hey, listen,
could you take notes for us, you know,
so that we have an unofficial record?” “You should be careful
dressing like that.” “And you should be careful
perpetuating old-fashioned patriarchal ideology.” After all these years
of slandering the feminist, today’s onscreen depictions
increasingly reflect that our culture is in the midst of a feminist awakening. “Maybe I'm a feminist.” Modern stories introduce us to characters who aren’t meant
to represent feminism as a whole, but who see the world
through this lens— or incorporate it into
a multi-faceted world outlook— thus making it feel
accessible and normal. “You look really pretty.” “And therefore I have value?” “No, that's not
what I meant at all. I was just…” “I'm messing with you.” Recent stories also increasingly
show us why a feminist mindset is necessary. “During Rape Prevention Week
all the signs are aimed at women. ‘Girls, don't dress provocatively!' 'Girls, don't walk alone!' How about,
'Hey, guys, don't rape!’” As David Foster Wallace explored
in his memorable analogy about fish who don’t know
they’re swimming in water, “And the two young fish
swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them
looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’” we often struggle to even wake up
to the status quo. So these modern narratives
illustrate how the process of becoming a feminist
is learning to see the misogynistic water all around us. “I'm here to learn how
to avoid being raped. There must be some way,
'cause if there isn't, I don't know what kind of...
world that would be." In I May Destroy You,
the protagonist Arabella’s two separate experiences with assault
bring her to recognize just how essential a feminist awareness is,
after she’s spent most of her life thinking it was enough
to be a strong individual. "Prior to being raped, I never took much notice
of being a woman. I was busy being black and poor. Am I too late to serve
this tribe called women?" In Sex Education,
a group of high school girls tasked with finding something
that unites them come to the disturbing realization that what they have in common
is sexual harassment. “What binds you together?” “Other than non-consensual penises,
Miss, not much.” Feminists in period pieces
can make these structures even more obvious, as we have the benefit of hindsight
while we watch characters struggle to explain why they want more
out of life to their confused peers. “Sybil, darling, why would you
want to go to a real school? You're not a doctor's daughter.” “But nobody learns anything
from a governess, apart from French and how to curtsey.” “Well, what else do you need?” In today’s world where everyday sexism
is often more subtle than ever, “You should smile.” it’s especially important
to have a language and framework for confronting the hypocrisies
that often go unchallenged in our society. “Mansplaining is--” “It’s when a man explains something
to a woman that she already knows, but he acts like he’s teaching her. Does that make sense?” Most of all, we need feminism
because it represents freedom. “Once upon a time,
my voice was stolen from me, and feminism helped me
to get my voice back.” In 1941, the psychologist
William Moulton Marston invented the feminist icon
Wonder Woman, the manifestation
of a woman’s sheer power. “I'm willing to fight for those
who cannot fight for themselves.” “Frankly,”
Marston wrote, “Wonder Woman is psychological
propaganda for the new type of woman who should,
I believe, rule the world.” “I am a goddess,
a glorious female warrior.” “We are bad feminists.” So what about
the rest of us real women, who fall somewhere between
the straw feminists and Wonder Womans of the world? Today’s woman may consider herself
a “bad feminist”— a term coined by
the writer Roxane Gay to describe a perceived clash
between feminism’s ideals and some of women’s
feelings or behaviors. “There are many ways in which
I'm doing feminism wrong.” “I watch The Bachelor
and romantic comedies, and I have absurd fantasies
about fairy tales coming true.” The idea of the bad feminist
rejects the false narrative that feminism means
divorcing yourself from femininity, “A tiara is a backward symbol
of how women are only valued for their beauty. And now that I’m wearing one… I don’t care" or that it rigidly dictates you can
no longer wear makeup and heels, listen to music
with misogynistic lyrics, or obsess over guys. “I have pole dancing class that day.” “We're about to freak out right now. We're about two seconds away
from jumping up on this table and kicking everything in sight.” Complex feminist characters onscreen
reflect that it can be complicated to reconcile our various
principles and desires, which may sometimes be at odds. “I'm not one to speak about
feminism or empowerment. I am desperately in love with a man
who will never love me back. I'm the one
who needs to be empowered.” Just look at Bojack Horseman’s Diane, who despite being an avowed feminist
is best friends with a guy who embodies toxic masculinity. “And I hate you. But you’re my best friend,
and you need me.” Kat in 10 Things I Hate About You
and Maeve in Sex Education both show aversion
to traditional romance. “You know in rom-coms, when the guys finally realizes
he’s in love with the girl, and he turns up with
a boombox outside her house...? Yeah, that makes me sick.” But in the end they’re both
totally charmed by their love interests’ grand gestures—
and that’s okay. Often, hewing too dogmatically
to the role-model or straw feminist pole is a sign that a character
isn’t being authentic. The Bad Feminist’s story onscreen is about letting go of
rigid preconceived notions about who you’re supposed to be, “My book is supposed to be
a profound treatise on damage.” and becoming an empowered,
full human being through embracing one’s own truths and incongruities. “But I don't want to write a
middle-grade fiction detective series.” “I think you do, though. Because when I was reading it,
I could tell you were having fun.” Ultimately, the only way to really be
a “bad feminist” is by advocating disingenuously with ulterior motives— “I’m wearing this shirt
and you won’t even let me nut?!” or by excluding perspectives
from your definition of who deserves equal rights. “The conversation keeps
drifting toward race, and this group's more focused
on women's issues.” Representations of women’s issues
have long tended to focus narrowly on straight,
middle-class “white feminism.” “Not while we're all living through
the worst thing to ever happen to women in this country.” “But it's not the worst thing
to ever happen in our history. …Because black women were slaves.” “Ohhhh.” Today’s stories about feminism— especially those made by
women of color— increasingly underscore the need
for intersectionality, which takes into account the ways
different forms of prejudice converge. “African-American girls are six times
more likely to be suspended than white girls, that's probably a race
and gender problem. It's not just a race problem,
it's not just a gender problem.” Mrs. America explores how
the feminist movement has frequently failed to do justice to LGBTQ rights, “I am known to be violently opposed
to the lesbian issue.” and illustrates how, even when Ms. Magazine
tries to be inclusive, its emphasis on female solidarity
can lead to insensitivity and overlooking the complex
experiences of women of color. “I would like to explore the idea
of tokenism in the workplace. One minority is propped up
to cover the experience of an entire population.” ”You're not saying
you feel that way here?” It’s also only recently that
some onscreen depictions are starting to center the experiences
of trans women, who’ve historically been excluded
from conversations about feminism. "Everything I can't have
in this world is because of... that thing down there. If you wanna see who I am,
that's the last place you should look." Another version
of the truly “bad feminist” that’s increasingly central
in pop culture is the hypocritical or fake feminist— often embodied in the trope
of the Girlboss, who only really cares
about furthering her personal brand. “I'm doing this to make connections
with real women and extend my personal brand
as a real down-to-earth chica who cares about real women.” The (often white) Girlboss embodies
a commercialization of feminism and a fundamental misunderstanding
(or misuse) of feminist values. “Monetizing feminism. Right?” “Yes, exactly, and women are made to feel
so insecure and then each insecurity is like a new opportunity
to make more money.” As writer Toni Morrrison
famously put it, “If you are free,
you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower
somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag
candy game.” “Part of WAHAM's mission statement
is lifting up every woman, but can you really do that
if the price point is so inaccessible?” Feminism represents opening our eyes,
when we’ve been living with them shut. “If you are not a feminist,
male or female, you are looking at the world
with one eye open.” While it may feel easier
to stay in the dark, “I think some women like to blame
sexism for their failures instead of admitting
they didn't try hard enough.” the feminist foresees the possibility
of a better world. She reminds us that it’s only once
we let the light in that we get to enjoy
the view. “I think it's terrific that people
make their own lives, especially women.”
