From Lisa Steinberg of Huffington Post:
Feminism in Television
Canadian web series shows like Carmilla and Canadian television shows like Strange Empire and Lost Girl are perpetually showing and highlighting that we can throw feminist conventions out the window. Continue reading.
Sigh. I don’t call myself a feminist either. I think my generation kind of looks down on the word and I see why Kaley Cuoco answered the way she did. The definition of a feminist is different than the connotation of the word. I could go into a lengthy essay on why but to simplify it, I will say that the word “feminist” has come to mean anti-man or manhater or women-over-men and that’s not the way many women of my generation think. Now, when it comes to TV, I gravitate towards shows about strong female characters. My all time favourite shows are McLeod’s Daughters, Dark Angel, Gilmore Girls, Buffy, Dawson’s Creek and Veronica Mars. These shows were chock full of strong female characters but they were also full of strong male characters too. One of my biggest beefs with Strange Empire is the lack of strong male characters. It started great in the pilot but the next three episodes were much too feminist to me. The male characters appeared weak or pathetic or cartoonish in their villainness. And it seemed artificial. I couldn’t buy into the story. The show improved a lot when Ling’s story arc appeared and when other male characters became stronger or more likeable. And I like romance. I’m a complete cynasist in real life but I like my fiction with romance and feminism has a tendency to be antiromantic. All the top shows on my tv watching list have major couples to root for. I could go on and on about this topic but this is not the place to do it.
“I will say that the word “feminist†has come to mean anti-man or manhater or women-over-men ….”
And have you stopped to ask why? Why a female-centric social movement that sought equality was associated with “man-hating”? When a section of a population becomes fearful of another, you ridicule what you fear. You belittle it. You tear it down little by little. What majority had the most access and control of the airwaves? What majority controlled most editorial rooms? Where did the idea that feminists harm family values come from? Who said that women want “special rights”? But where would today’s generation of women be without the suffragettes and feminists that came before them? Too much has been taken for granted.
I get what you mean and I know the history. I’m thankful for the women who made it possible for my generation of women (Im 31) to live life free of gender inequality, at least where I grew up. I’m just saying that the word “feminist” shouldn’t be applied to something because it tends to have negative implications for the under 35 crowd.
The under-35 crowd will one day (sooner than they imagine) be the over-55 crowd. :-)
The women of today’s generation who understand what came before and realize that nothing should be taken for granted, ought to reclaim the word. Take it back and out from under the thumb of those who turned the word into a turn-off.