Sign up for a free recipe e-book →

Clarissa's Blog

Models of Femininity

Published by

Clarissa

on

The abortion scene from Girls we’ve been discussing portrays a woman who is completely in control of her emotions. She’s not emotionally incontinent, doesn’t pose as a victim, and doesn’t screech about mental loads. She projects strength and self-reliance.

And she’s a total sociopath.

This always happens. Whenever a competent, emotionally contained woman appears on the screen or in mass market books (think Gone Girl or House of Cards), she’s a total evildoer and murderer. This is how we learn that a good woman is an emotional wreck and we end up with all those women posting their freakouts on TikTok and writing screeds about mental loads.

4 responses to “Models of Femininity”

  1. ShadowsCollide Avatar
    ShadowsCollide

    And what’s crazy is that Girls was marketed as a feminist show with strong women, but a woman acting like a stoic man doesn’t mean they’re a psychopath, it means they have self control. I’m a stoic which is a side effect of living with an emotionally incontinent mother and younger brother, I’ve had people accuse me of being a psychopath since I’m not yelling and screaming at people over every little thing. This is gender fundamentalism masquerading as feminism, women shouldn’t have to act like a female hysteric out of the Victorian era to be seen as feminine

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      My whole life I hear that I’m a man, I act like a man, I think like a man. I always ask, there are several billion men, which one of them am I like? Because I have a suspicion that they are all very different.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. oldcowboy3 Avatar
        oldcowboy3

        No, Kid, you are not particularly masculine, far from it ;-D

        And no, a woman sometimes “projects strength and self-reliance” in screen and literature, for example as mothers or nurses, but frankly anywhere those traits are required. But sadly, feminist authors like Lena Dunham clearly seem to despise the existence of both the masculine and the feminine, or possibly simply cannot enjoy the marvelous difference.

        Like

        Reply
        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          I think the best way to end a relationship of any duration is by text message.

          Like

          Reply

Leave a comment

A conservative literary critic and college professor

Recent posts