Top 5 Feminist TV Shows for Fall 2011
By Molly Shalgos on 09/21/2011 | Read more from Molly Shalgos
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The line-up for the new Fall 2011 TV season has me giddy. We’ve got shows aimed at women, starring women, and one with the word “Girls” right there in the title!
Granted, my hope could crash and burn once the episodes start airing, and I’ll have to start writing treatises on how someone needs to explain to Hollywood that “show starring women” does not automatically make it a feminist TV show. For now, I’ll indulge in fantasies of the possible – and highlight some winners of the returning fall slate.
In my mind, a gun-toting lady detective isn’t enough to get a show stamped with the Feminist Approval seal. I want to see her have a support network of other strong women. I want to see those women have their own goals, desires, and perspectives on life.
And in the immortal words of Alison Bechdel’s famous Bechdel’s Test, I want them to talk to each other about something besides men.
Here are my picks for the Top 5 feminist TV shows for Fall 2011:
5. The Vampire Diaries, The CW
You’re saying a show about teenage girls smooching vampires can’t possibly be feminist? You haven’t been watching Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec’s twist on the genre. I first tuned in to mock what I assumed would be the latest Twi-lite knockoff. Then came the episode when Elena (Nina Dobrev) discovered that her boyfriend was a monster. Unlike her Twilight counterpart, she kicked him to the curb, saying she had no interest in putting herself in danger. I was in shock. A teenage girl made a decision with her brain instead of her underpants?
It’s the antithesis of Twilight, and the women are the best thing about it. Besides Elena, two standouts are Bonnie, a powerful teen witch, and newly vamped Caroline, whose fraught relationship with her mom is the stuff of heartbreak. The girls’ friendship is closer to the center of the show than any of their romantic entanglements. They struggle to make their childhood friendship survive the brutal transition to adulthood, but they support each other completely – and through bigger problems than finding dates for prom.
4. Grey’s Anatomy, ABC
There are seasons of Grey’s Anatomy that made me think someone should invent eye-yoga, because mine hurt from rolling them so hard. In its seventh year, though, Grey’s knocked it out of the park. It’s soapy, yes, and romantic entanglements play a big part, but I’d like to float a theory: being married, or wanting to get there, doesn’t invalidate feminist cred.
From Christina’s struggle with her post-shooting PTSD to Meredith’s fertility problems, this was a season of celebrating ladies who make tough life decisions, personally and professionally. And it was the season Meredith Grey came into her own. For years, she’s been on my list of Lamest Ladies, constantly wringing her hands over McDreamy. This year, she became a capable, confident woman who has learned to trust herself. She’s grown up, and the show grew up with her.
3. Parenthood, NBC
I’m a sucker for a show with strong women inside marriage, trying to balance their own needs against their partner’s without losing their individuality. It’s a complicated dance, and Parenthood pulls it off week after week.
There’s Kristina, learning how to parent a son with Asperger’s. Julia, the lawyer with a stay-at-home husband raising their child. Sarah, the divorced bartender whose daughter is directionless after getting rejected from college. It’s not just the way they help each other through the crises – it’s the disagreements, the petty jealousies, the things you recognize in your relationships with your own family that all women learn to move past. We learn it over and over again, how to be happy with ourselves, how to stop comparing ourselves to our sister-in-law, our mother, our siblings. We learn it well into adulthood, and Parenthood treats that process with the respect it deserves.
2. Parks & Recreation, NBC
Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope is the coolest chick on TV. She shines at her job. She enthuses about politics. And she invented the greatest holiday in the universe – Galentine’s Day, a pre-Valentine’s brunch she organizes for her girlfriends to celebrate each other’s awesomeness.
Leslie’s happy, ambitious, and filled with respect for the women in her life. Her friendship with Ann (Rashida Jones) is one of the best things about the show. Check out this season’s hilarious episode ‘The Fight’: it’s what every drunken argument between BFFs should look like. They’re both annoyed about choices the other has made, and the next morning, they’re still mature enough to sweetly apologize. Leslie and Ann make each other better people. It makes you want to organize your own Galentine’s Day fiesta.
1. The Good Wife, CBS
The Good Wife doesn’t shy away from the reality of sexism. Diane (Christine Baranski), a senior partner at the firm is left out of the loop on a client deal….because the male partners already discussed it at their weekly basketball game. Alicia (Julianna Margulies) is told she might not get a promotion she’s completely qualified for….because the male candidate can bill more hours. The subtext: he can do so because he doesn’t have children at home. You know, like she does.
That’s sexism: the things you can’t call attention to, because after all, no one is really doing anything illegal. Women are supposed to let it go without comment. Alicia doesn’t let it go, and neither do the other characters. There’s more I could talk about, of course – the relationship between Alicia and her husband could fill a book. But when I think of The Good Wife, the first thing I think of is what it means to be strong in a workplace that has set you up to fail. Alicia, Diane, and private investigator Kalinda have perfect poker faces. They don’t whine at the unfairness of it all. And instead of losing their tempers, even in situations where it’d be perfectly justified, they hide their anger and calmly cut their opponent’s legs out from under them, all with a very polite smile.
“Watching TV” photo by islandjoe used under Creative Commons License
“358/365 – April 27, 2009” photo by meddygarnet used under Creative Commons License
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Leave your questions and comments below.
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Cindy says: 09/24/2011 at 1:49 am
“The girls’ friendship is closer to the center of the show than any of their romantic entanglements.”
You don’t actually watch this show. Do you?
D.L. says: 09/25/2011 at 9:58 am
I really disagree with your choice to put The Vampire Diaries on this list. That show is anything but feminist. Bonnie has been reduced to being little more than a plot device, only brought out to cast spells and then completely absent from episodes that do not require her magic. Caro, a rape victim of Damon, was not allowed to confront her attacker and in seasons 1 and 2 was belittled and degraded by her boyfriend Matt who clearly hated her simply because she wasn’t Elena.
Speaking of, Elena certainly has no agency to speak of, having been taken from a character with feminist elements and reduced to nothing more than a trophy. Every story she’s had for over a year has been solely so that Stefan and/or Damon can angst about her safety, fight each other about who is best equipped to protect her, and then do the actual saving while she just hangs around waiting for one of them to act.
The closest this show has to a feminist character is Katherine, and even then the show slut shamed her and acted like her choice to protect herself first and foremost was a negative trait. Honestly, when we add up the many ways the main females are reduced to objects, plus the astonishingly high number of female recurring and guest characters who are killed in service to whatever the Salvatores have going on, then this show is the opposite of feminist television.
If you want a feminist tv show, watch Nikita.
Cindy says: 09/25/2011 at 3:32 pm
Excellent comment, D.L.
There was also Andie. She was Damon Salvatore’s other rape victim on the show. She was murdered by Stefan Salvatore as a message to Damon. It led to a beautiful moment of angst for Damon. A scene that required him to stand over a lamp in a dark room so that his beautiful blue eyes can be showcased. R.I.P Andie. Another murdered woman on the Salvatores’ path to glory
Molly S. says: 09/27/2011 at 4:18 pm
Hi DL and Cindy!
I love hearing people’s dissenting opinions on my choices – in fact, I’ve been looking for an excuse to write more about The Vampire Diaries, and I think both of you raise some good points. No show is perfect; there are definitely some problems in the show, but I don’t think that a few problems destroys all of its feminist cred entirely. And I genuinely think it is an excellent counterpoint to Twilight – everything I dislike about Twilight is something TVD fixes on a regular basis.
I do stand by my belief that Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline’s friendship is one of the major tentpoles of the show. I think it’s one of the best portrayals of teenage girl friendships currently on TV – not only because they talk to each other about a lot more than boys (Salvatores included!), but because of the way they challenge each other. Two of my favorite storylines to date involve Bonnie: the way she disapproved of Elena choosing to date Stefan and embrace the danger was so awesome. She was so smart and strong and unwavering, and it came from a place of caring about her friend’s safety above all else. It’s season three and Bonnie still hasn’t quite warmed to the brothers Salvatore, even though she’ll work with them when it’s a necessary evil.
The second was when Caroline was vamped, and her heart was absolutely broken by the way Bonnie now wanted nothing to do with her. It took them half the season to cautiously rebuild their friendship – it was this great metaphor for, as I said in the article, how tough it is for a childhood friendship to make the transition to adulthood, and it really worked for me.
I’m also a huge fan of Elena and Stefan’s relationship, because I think for two seasons, it’s always been a relationship of equals. I loved the episode when Stefan told Damon the reason that Elena chose Stefan is because she respects him – and he respects her right back. He worries about her safety a lot, but he also lets her make her own choices. And even if they’re the wrong ones, he can recognize that he is her boyfriend, not her father, and you do not keep a woman as your girlfriend by taking away her agency and telling her you know best. He will give her his opinion, and if he’s upset, he will let her know, but ultimately, he lets her make her own decisions. And there have been so many episodes when he’s gotten himself into ridiculous trouble and Elena’s been the one to rescue him. I can’t say that I see Elena as a trophy at all. I think she’s strong, independent, amazing, and also happens to be in love. She’s a caretaker and a fighter at the same time.
I have to say, I also think that the number of dead female characters and guest stars is just about equal to the number of dead male characters. Which is a huge leap for a fantasy/sci-fi show, or crime shows in general, so I do want to give TVD points for that. I feel like they’re making a very obvious effort to keep things even.
I’ll agree with you that my thoughts on Damon Salvatore could probably fill an entire essay all on its own – man, there is some complicated stuff going on with that character. He’s absolutely not a good person, and I have a lot of trouble with him being presented as a viable romantic option after the things he’s done, but like Spike in the first five seasons of Buffy, he sure does make things more fun.
Thanks again for your thoughts, and I hope I explained my reasons for choosing it a little better!
Caroline Farrell says: 02/3/2012 at 6:46 am
You need to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The plots and character development would blow your mind. It’s funny if you think The vampire diaries even comes close to to (feminist) polts and events in Buffy. Also everything in The Vampire Diaries and EVERYTHING in it is a copy of Buffy. Please invest in the show and you will understand.
Molly S. says: 02/3/2012 at 9:42 am
Thanks, Caroline. I’ve actually seen every single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since it first started airing in 1997.
JC says: 02/3/2012 at 10:09 am
@Caroline – Buffy is fantastic, but I didn’t realize it was on the lineup for Fall 2011…
@Molly – You should put together a list of top 10 feminist shows of all time. And maybe also a top 10 list of feminist shows not written by Joss Whedon… Haha
ptittle says: 06/3/2012 at 8:48 pm
I love that on Grey’s Anatomy, so many main characters, surgeons every one of them – are women. Actually they outnumber the men. 8:6. And yet Owen gets the Chief position. Richard, then Derek, then Owen. 3 of the 6 men get to be Chief. 0 of the 8 women. Bailey’s been there longer than Owen. And longer than Sloan, the other contender. And yeah, okay, Kepner got the Chief Resident position even though she was there longer than Karev, but he didn’t want it. (And we see it primarily a position of responsibility, not power.) At one point, the Chief (Webber) said he was grooming Bailey for Chief of Surgery—what happened?