Women Are Sharing Movies And TV Shows They Say Don't Deserve Their Reputation As "Empowering For Women"
We all know that women's representation in movies and television still has a long way to go. I mean, we're definitely in them, but are we always shown in the best — or most realistic — light?
20th Century Studios / Via youtube.com
Not exactly.
But even worse, there are certain movies and TV shows that present themselves as feminist and empowering or boast their "realistic" or "strong" female characters, when in reality, a lot of women find them problematic.
Warner Bros. Pictures / Via tenor.com
Recently, over on the Ask Women subreddit, redditor u/Phantomx7845 posed the question "What movie/TV show is presented as women empowering but is actually the opposite?"
The responses were definitely eye-opening and got me thinking a lot about what I personally find empowering or not. Here are some of the best responses:
1.Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)
"I love the show but gosh, the misogynistic comments and lack of intersectionality just kills me."
"Rory and Lorelai Gilmore are classic 'not-like-other-girls' girls."
2.Blonde (2022)
"It's pretty messed up, and it does more harm to Marilyn Monroe's memory than it does good."
"Extremely misogynistic. The director obviously doesn't like Marilyn or see her as a real person."
3.Sex and the City (1998–2004)
"It's an infomercial. It shows all of these boring, two-dimensional characters as they go about their unattainable lives, while wearing designer clothes we're all supposed to want to buy after watching the show. No one has pets, parents, siblings, disabilities, hobbies, etc."
4.That '70s Show (1998–2006)
"Women are talked down to a lot. Donna's acceptable to the group because she acts like 'one of the boys.' Jackie's femininity is presented as annoying, and she eventually turns into another 'cool girl/one of the boys.' The boys are allowed to be dimensional, and the girls are always slut shamed."
5.Rocket Power (1999–2004)
"Any of those '90s/early 2000s cartoons that are basically about a group of boys plus maybe one or two girls who tend to act more like the boys in order to earn their place in the group."
6.Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
"It's presented as an empowering movie for queer women, but the actresses were allegedly harassed and put through hell by the male director."
7.Pretty Woman (1990)
"I loved this movie as a little girl. It was one that my mother and I would often watch together. Later though, when I could actually understand how it portrays women, in particularly sex workers, suddenly it doesn't seem so romantic."
8.He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
"It touts a lot of 'you don’t need a man to be happy,' but in the end, several female characters end up with a man that still wasn’t that into them. Very 'pick me' kinda vibes."
9.Scrubs (2001–2010)
"The way women are portrayed as overly self-conscious about and obsessively preoccupied with their appearance, weight, and femininity in general directly contradicts the shows half-hearted attempt at making female lead characters appear 'empowered.'"
"I think Elliot was written as a male writer’s response to the female stereotype of the 'dumb, hot blonde.' They were like 'seeee blondes can be smart and still be extremely insecure. Doesn’t that make her different and better?'”
10.Girlfriends (2000–2008)
"Those girls risk everything for a man. And I was completely floored at them betraying each other every other episode and then having sushi like nothing happened."
"I watched the entire series again as an adult, and I quickly realized how toxic these friendships are."
11.Grey's Anatomy (2005–present)
"Meredith Grey's 'pick me, choose me, love me' speech after Derek literally doesn't tell her he's MARRIED and that she's the other woman. Yikes."
"The whole show is full of misogyny. Every episode."
12.Don't Worry Darling (2022)
"This movie is about controlling women, not empowering them."
"Olivia Wilde intended it purely to be feminist, but it just left me extremely uncomfortable."
13.The DUFF (2015)
"Why can’t we ever be shown examples of how to LOVE ourselves, instead of showing us a girl who hates herself, changes everything about herself for a guy, and then after the guy doesn’t want her, gives up and dates another guy who bullies her and treats her awful?"
14.And finally, "Almost every Tyler Perry movie."
"His entire catalogue promotes the wrong message. His films show women in such tragic and awful situations, or they promote toxic ideologies for women, especially black women. I stopped engaging with Tyler Perry movies ages ago. I’m shocked he’s still around making films, sitcoms, and toxic soap operas. I truly think he doesn't like women and is a secret misogynist, but that’s another story for another day."
