Examples Of Feminism In Tv Shows

1520 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Modern day feminism essay

Contemporary feminism is a concept that many do not take notice of. Without getting into too much historical detail, feminism is commonly known in waves, the first wave or the women’s suffrage, was the push for women to have the right to vote, and gain representation in politics. The second wave focused on reducing inequalities in sexuality, family-life, workplace, and reproductive rights. Then, the third wave came into play when women realized that the feminist movement had a bias and supported mainly white middle-class women, placing emphasis on diversity and individualism. Today we are considered to be in the fourth wave focusing on taking more of a stand against the patriarchal society. With having four waves, plus the umbrella …show more content…

A popular sitcom 2 Broke Girls on CBS, this show is about two girls trying to make ends meet themselves in New York. The actresses are intelligent and funny, but this show’s progressiveness ends there. As pointed out by Ellie Miles, this show has racist jokes against Asian and other non-white countries. Shedding a humorous light on sexism and sexual harassment with the cook at the workplace, making comments at females on the show and their response is acting as though it is a part of the workday, (Miles, Ellie). Many do not see the suppression or the taboos because it is in our society. We allow these sexist logics and jokes continue. Instead this show could be spreading awareness of what is considered off …show more content…

Lila pointed out there are women in every aspect of the world. Society focuses on our difference and makes us not be as united as what we can be. The situations we find ourselves can be broken down through a face to face standoff. It is our way to return the favor for the steps the past feminists were able to make during their time. With the intention to take advantage of the opportunities we have now and continue to strip the stigma away, (O’Rourke, Lila).
Many people have limited understanding concerning feminism, referring back to the advertising world, these roles continue based on the fact that stereotypes are some common thoughts individuals’ have, (Wood, Julia). It is difficult to not to think in stereotypical ways, but we must strive for cultural excellence and hold people accountable. No more creating excuses for behavior grounded in gender, (Serres, Drew) The unity and ability to come forward as a front enables us to create strides in the media. With social media and technology, we are able to understand and support where ever we are in the

Show More
Related

  • The Negative Connotation Of Women In The 1920's

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term feminist is seen with a negative connotation because people use it as an insult against women in an effort to make them seem irrational and unfair, but in reality it is the exact opposite of that. Feminism is defined as the “belief in or advocacy of women’s social, political, and economic rights, especially with regard to equality of the sexes.” (Feminism). There is no reason that there should be a negative connotation to this belief or participation in advancing this belief, yet there is. This battle and struggle for equal rights has been going on for a very long time, but it really took off in the 1920s. The 19th amendment and The New Woman really helps to show how quickly women and their rights progressed in the United States. Many

    Read More

  • All Men Are Created Equal: Except Women

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The image that is usually placed with feminism is that of a rabid, bra-burning, lesbian running around disclaiming the patriarchy. It could be that of a mid-century housewife complaining about how her only career choices are between teacher and secretary, or even of a woman with a sash and banner walking in front of the White House; preaching about her right to vote. However, this isn't necessarily the case. Ever since the rise of the internet, in the late 20th Century, feminism has had a revival causing it to grow in popularity and spread across forums everywhere. Women are joining this “third wave” movement to bring an end to the societal injustices that still plague the gender today (qtd. in Haslanger et al.). Feminism currently represents much more than it did in its infantile stage, having evolved to include relevant issues that affect every woman in today’s subordinating world. Issues such as rape culture, slut shaming, abortion and the wage gap have all been adapted into the feminist agenda with the hope that, as a united force, women could bring change to a misogynist society. The bra burning days are over, and feminism is on a rise, bringing light to issues that need to be addressed.

    Read More

  • Francesca Caccini

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Feminism”, as defined today, is “1: the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes,” and “2: organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.”2 Many critics claim that feminism has been active longer than the word itself has existed.3 The word, “feminist” was not in true use until the late 1800s and early 1900s, but activism for women’s rights was alive and well a...

    Read More

  • Iris Murdoch's View Of Feminism

    160 Words  | 1 Pages

    Feminism is used to show that men and woman should be on equal playing fields when it comes to political, social, and economic matters. Those who practice feminism; rather feminists, advocate for equality between man and woman. women are viewed as homemakers and caretakers. Whereas men are the antithesis, being viewed as breadwinners. We have been taught this from a young age in the most surprising places. Fairytales we have read or watched have had a hand in this. Snow White

    Read More

  • Feminism: The Women's Suffrage Movement

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism is a political movement that seeks equality between the sexes. Motivated by the search for social justice, feminist analysis provides a wide range of perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political ideologies. Important topics for feminist politics and theory include: the body, class and work, family life, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, sex work, human trafficking, and sexuality. From early beginnings, to its current state, feminism has been a pervasive movement that has incited social, political and economic change and advancements. Generationally speaking, over the decades feminism has taken on many different meanings. Feminism has become a spectrum; each generation, or wave,

    Read More

  • Racial Diversity In Pop Culture

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...Latinos and European Americans that goes beyond superficial jokes? It is a contemporary and insightful exploitation of today's diversity issues, yet it does contain a noticeable exclusion. There are no black lead characters. For a show that addresses diversity issues, this is an apparent elephant in the room. I believe it is because it is easier to write affirming comedy about gays, latinos, youth, and older people, but not racial issues. It would very difficult to to make comedy of racial issues because white privilege is a very serious occurrence. The total avoidance of it, just reflects how race is still a tricky subject in the United States.

    Read More

  • Essay On Racism And Heteronormativity

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racism and heteronormativity have evolved to the point where they are no longer obviously present in society; however they still exist, just in a less outright form. So many jokes are made, especially in television, about races or sexualities that are normally completely marginalized, only to be brought out to act as the punch line of a joke. This is no way to treat each other. These ‘jokes’ make people feel terrible about themselves. Racism and heteronormativity need to be completely erased; and the first way of doing that is representing them positively in the media. This doesn’t mean every bisexual and multi-racial character is a good person, it means that they are treated as a valid and rounded character with their own personality beyond their sexuality or race. Poor representation of marginalized groups is almost worst than none at all, as it creates a negative atmosphere in respect to those groups. Our society needs to start moving towards equality, and we are not going to get there without showing everyone in the media. Television and film are mass medias and reach millions of people every day, but they need to be showing the right

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gender Inequity In Society

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women are given a set of expectations, roles, and limitations within institutions run by men that have long been embedded into society and feminism seeks to change the unproportionate power which would ultimately lead to a more equally represented body of people. Feminism is a tool that can aid women in abolishing all the connotations that come with gender. In One Is Not Born A Woman, Monique Wittig argues that "To refuse to be a woman...does not mean that one has to become a man," to refuse to conform to the ideal images of women, and to break free from the social constraints, stereotypes, controlling images, expectations, and oppression from social institutions does not mean becoming a man. Feminists aren 't aiming to make everyone a man, it does not aim to "bring down" men or favor women, its goal is to liberate all oppressed groups because the privileges exclusive to men "should be considered as the entitlement of everyone" according to Peggy McIntosh in White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Feminism today is very important because it is not longer exclusive, and advocates for fairness for all (people of all ethnicities, any race, any religion, any social class, community, sexuality, etc). Instead of excluding people with different identities or

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of Transgender Characters

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many television shows have transgender characters portrayed offensively, which clearly demonstrates a widespread problem. Transgender characters are being portrayed as “victims”, cast as killers, and working as sexual workers. The first thing that writers in the media think of when using a transgender character is prostitution. This is the immediate preconception because in reality sometimes the only job a trans person can get is in sex work. As we saw in Screaming Queens, the transgender community was forced into prostitution, among many other degrading consequences of being trans.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Marxism And Feminist Theories

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminism is the result of the woman’s liberation movement, which began in the 18th century and gained momentum in the late 19th century after it was found that males were completely dominating every area of life. The word feminism at any point in time, has had many negative connotations to it as well as a good majority of the

    Read More

  • First Wave Feminism Essay

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    Feminism is the movement towards women’s equality. It fights for equal rights in the social, political, cultural and economical aspects for women. Feminism also fights for equal opportunity for women in employment and education. A feminist is someone who advocates their support for women’s rights but is not restricted to only women; anyone who supports women’s rights and equality are feminists, including men. Feminism is not only about the females, it fights for gender equality for all. Feminist movements, or Women’s movements, campaign for reforms in household issues with domestic violence, political issues with equal pay, employment and maternity leave, and reproduction rights. All feminism movements fight for equal rights, but it cannot be conquered or be made known all at once. First wave feminism was mostly about women’s suffrage and political equality in general. Second wave feminism went more in depth about the social and cultural inequalities.

    Read More

  • Relationship Between Pop Culture And Popular Culture

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    For example, the representation of women on television was for a long time restricted to roles of “loving wives, dutiful daughters, gossiping girlfriends, fashion plates, and the occasional dowdy maid, nanny, or granny” (Zeisler 2008, p. 9), which is a reflection on the roles it was considered ‘acceptable’ for women to take on in real life. Often going against the hegemonic gender ideal is used as shorthand for comedy within popular culture, such as men dressed femininely being played for laughs on countless sitcoms. Popular culture that genuinely challenges hegemonic ideology often faces backlash, as was the case when Ellen DeGeneres’ character coming out on Ellen (1997), as did the actress in real life, resulted in the show being cancelled after only one more season. This is reflective of what was the pervasive belief, that heterosexuality is the only acceptable option, though the changing attitudes about this can be seen through the increased inclusion of gay and bisexual characters in pop culture over the past two decades. Looking at the relationship between gender and popular culture consequently becomes important to the field of gender studies as it provides a way to study not only what is considered to be the gender norms in a society, but how these norms have

    Read More

  • Faults In Feminism

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    The term “feminism” tends to have a negative connotation in today’s culture. Feminism is now focusing on female dominance and male disrespect. Women are fighting for equality, yet using personal bias to define equality, claiming identical rights for all will produce an equal culture. The mainstream feminist movement is using this corrupted view of equality to force rights of women. Contrary to popular belief, true feminism fights for true equality for women, as well as other people groups. The false view of feminism causes women to distort gender roles, dishonor themselves, and degrade men.

    Read More

  • The Harmful Effect of Feminism

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea.

    Read More

  • Feminist Movement Essay

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the 19th century, feminism played a huge role in society and women’s everyday lifestyle. Women had been living in a very restrictive society, and soon became tired of being told how they could and couldn’t live their lives. Soon, they all realized that they didn’t have to take it anymore, and as a whole they had enough power to make a change. That is when feminism started to change women’s roles in society. Before, women had little to no rights, while men, on the other hand, had all the rights. The feminist movement helped earn women the right to vote, but even then it wasn’t enough to get accepted into the workforce. They were given the strength to fight by the journey for equality and social justice. There has been known to be

    Read More

More about Examples Of Feminism In Tv Shows

Open Document