Gender On Television: It's Like Feminism Never Happened

[Spartan Girl]

I’ve started rewatching Disney’s Aladdin: The Animated Series, and I kind of have to appreciate how they developed Jasmine here. She got to be a badass action girl, yes, yet at the same time the writers weren’t afraid to make her come off as too feminine. She was a princess, she liked jewelry and looking pretty, yet that did nothing to take away the fact that she would end you if you pissed her off.

On the other hand, she was the token girl of the group and the writers never gave her any other female friends, except for Sadira, and I have to side-eye the way the writers rushed her “redemption”. Is it really realistic to be friends with a girl that used magic to steal your life and mind-rape your boyfriend?

The show also gave us a female genie named Eden. Yes, she was Genie’s girlfriend but like Jasmine, she was awesome in her own right. Unlike Genie, she was savvy enough to exploit loopholes in wishes by evil masters. It’s a damn shame Eden never got to have an episode with Jasmine, they could have been an awesome teammate.

Edited December 21, 2024 by Spartan Girl

[Blergh]

On 12/21/2024 at 4:33 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I’ve started rewatching Disney’s Aladdin: The Animated Series, and I kind of have to appreciate how they developed Jasmine here. She got to be a badass action girl, yes, yet at the same time the writers weren’t afraid to make her come off as too feminine. She was a princess, she liked jewelry and looking pretty, yet that did nothing to take away the fact that she would end you if you pissed her off.

On the other hand, she was the token girl of the group and the writers never gave her any other female friends, except for Sadira, and I have to side-eye the way the writers rushed her “redemption”. Is it really realistic to be friends with a girl that used magic to steal your life and mind-rape your boyfriend?

The show also gave us a female genie named Eden. Yes, she was Genie’s girlfriend but like Jasmine, she was awesome in her own right. Unlike Genie, she was savvy enough to exploit loopholes in wishes by evil masters. It’s a damn shame Eden never got to have an episode with Jasmine, they could have been an awesome teammate.

Never saw that series but I have to admit that I'm impressed that they gave the character of the female djini's name as EDEN. Now, of course, as a given name it can be used for either gender. However, what's cool is that it seems they saluted the legendary star Barbara Eden (born 1931) of  the classic TV sitcom I Dream of Jeanie (1965-1970) by bestowing her performing surname to that character.

Oh well, N/M and thanks for straightening me out, @Spartan Girl .

Edited December 24, 2024 by Blergh
Edited to just give the right salute to the supporting character's name instead of having it nearly crash due to a mistaken notion.

[Spartan Girl]

@Blergh he lived at his hovel throughout most of the series, unless he and the others crashed at the palace for some reason or another. Unrelated to the topic but I hope that clears things up.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

@Blergh he lived at his hovel throughout most of the series, unless he and the others crashed at the palace for some reason or another. Unrelated to the topic but I hope that clears things up.

Sorry about that.

Well, FWIW, why didn't the Sultan set him up in a townhouse.N/M

[Spartan Girl]

Interesting video, and it brings to light that moms in TV and movies tend to get automatically idealized no matter what toxic things they do. Yes, being mom is hard, but that’s not a free pass for crappy parenting. There needs to be a middle ground.

Edited February 2 by Spartan Girl

[Spartan Girl]

Another long but very good video from Little Shop of Ali about so-called “male feminists” and a big chunk of it reads Joss Whedon (and Xander Harris) for absolute filth. If you want to skip to that part, it’s 54:51.

 

[tearknee]

^

Susan Faludi also wrote Stiffed but most guys never read it. Even though she was trying to help them by pointing out feminism wants them to be free too.

 

 

[Wiendish Fitch]

I found this 1966 interview with David Susskind from the HBO documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore (I highly recommend it). I have to say, Ms. Moore's defense of the character of Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show sounds positively modern and reasonable, because you know what?

Laura wasn't perfect, she wasn't just the stereotypical TV housewife. Laura could be overly sensitive, snippy, and alternated between adoring her husband and finding him a pain in the ass. Hell, Laura herself could be a pain in the ass and suffered consequences for it (remember when she made the mistake of opening that package meant for Rob?).

Here's the interview. Moore is delightfully candid while remaining classy.

 

[Blergh]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Another long but very good video from Little Shop of Ali about so-called “male feminists” and a big chunk of it reads Joss Whedon (and Xander Harris) for absolute filth. If you want to skip to that part, it’s 54:51.

 

FWIW, Alan Alda (born 1936) and Phil Donahue (1935-2024) were REAL male feminists. No, I'm not saying either were perfect (or always made the best conclusions).

However, they both DID sincerely strive to try to make life better and more fair for women!

[Spartan Girl]

10 hours ago, Blergh said:

FWIW, Alan Alda (born 1936) and Phil Donahue (1935-2024) were REAL male feminists. No, I'm not saying either were perfect (or always made the best conclusions).

However, they both DID sincerely strive to try to make life better and more fair for women!

Like the video said, if you’re a true feminist, you don’t have to broadcast it to the world just so that everyone can see what a supposedly good person you are. Just support and respect women.

The bit bringing up the episode where Buffy is weakened by Giles like “a normal girl”…wow, yeah, the premise of that one is sexist as hell. We don’t all have superpowers but that doesn’t make us weak!

Cordy’s exaggerated toddler slaps were supposed to represent how girls “normally” fight? Are you kidding me? She was more than capable of bitchslapping a guy more effectively than that! And Buffy should have still been able to open a peanut butter jar!

And I’m certain that Whedon did something to Michelle. She probably took it to the grave with her. But I cannot overlook having Dawn make eyes at his self-insert Xander, who later gave himself airs that a supernaturally created fourteen-year-old was into him.** If Whedon’s treatment of Cordy was a way of getting back at all the mean girls that picked on him, and Riley’s cheating was a way to excuse his many affairs (since the bull he gave his ex-wife sounded almost exactly like Riley’s excuses), then it’s hard not to assume there wasn’t something sleazy at the center of how he wrote Dawn.

**Then they actually ended up together in the comics, though Whedon supposedly wasn’t as involved with that. Still 🤮🤮🤮

[tearknee]

Tracht was also horribly bullied at school [and said as much later]. And i have my severe doubts that Whedon was the only one who fucked her around (and, as happened to Cora Sue Collins 50 years earlier, tried to make MT have sex with them for a good part in a script or such)

[Wiendish Fitch]

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Like the video said, if you’re a true feminist, you don’t have to broadcast it to the world just so that everyone can see what a supposedly good person you are. Just support and respect women.

The bit bringing up the episode where Buffy is weakened by Giles like “a normal girl”…wow, yeah, the premise of that one is sexist as hell. We don’t all have superpowers but that doesn’t make us weak!

The episode "Helpless" always left a foul taste in my mouth. Yes, I love that Buffy defeated the MOW with her own innate cleverness and quick thinking*, but between Giles's weakening of her and Xander offering to open that jar for her in the end while calling her "little lady"**, it just gave me a ton of ick.

 

*Though are we really supposed to be surprised? At that point, Buffy had proven multiple times to extremely bright, intuitive, and adept at thinking on her feet.

**Yeah,yeah, I know he was just joking, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. At least Xander couldn't open the jar, either.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

**Yeah,yeah, I know he was just joking, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.

99% percent of Xander’s “jokes” were sexist, cruel, or just plain unfunny. It’s sad that people are only just starting to realize that, while others still insist on giving him a pass.

Between the utter fucked-upness of what Giles did and saying that Buffy’s weakness was “normal” for girls…yeah, he got forgiven WAY too easily.

Speaking of men being forgiven way too easily, the video also brought out how fucked up “The Pack” was in how Xander tries to rape Buffy, and skates any accountability by faking amnesia once the spell is broken, and Giles helps him cover it up. Instead of, you know, Xander showing remorse by admitting that he remembered and apologizing to Buffy and Willow (after they shunned him for a while because they weren’t comfortable being around him for a while).

Once again, fuck you Xander Harris and Joss Whedon, you sexist incel pricks!

Edited Sunday at 03:32 PM by Spartan Girl