Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Half mortal, Half Witch, Completely Feminist?

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series of the exact same name. The show premiered on September 27, 1996 on the channel ABC in its  “T.G.I.F” line-up.  It ran for seven seasons officially ending on April 24, 2003.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch won the hearts of many young girls when it first aired, including myself. I was awed by the powers that occupied Sabrina and her aunts (Hilda and Zelda). Each character has every wish at their fingertips, clothing options in seconds, full course meals in a whip of the wrist, and spells to do anything and everything one can possibly imagine, -- Want to have a date? Lets whip up some bread and shape it into a person! Voila! Instant hunk! --

Most young girls who watched this show viewed Sabrina as a powerful role model, someone they wish they could be like. Sabrina stood up for herself, won Harvey’s heart over the evil school bully Libby, lived with her two awesome aunts, fell in love, and yet still made mistakes and learned life lessons along the way. With all the good that came out of the show for teenage girls it was also viewed as having a feminist portrayal to the audience, one article states, “All of the main characters are female. Not only that, but they were strong, powerful women.  Though this might seem like it’s barely enough to qualify a show as being feminist, just take a look at all the other shows and movies out there.  Though they exist there just aren’t that many that focus solely on women and women’s lives.  While all of the other characters on Sabrina (especially the men) are kind of hapless and innocent, Sabrina and her Aunts Hilda and Zelda use their powers unapologetically.  The control and direct their own lives, as well as the lives of those around them.  They see no problem in using their powers to take control of any situation.” ("Little feminists –," 2012)

So, lets get one thing straight, Sabrina and her two aunts, are witches, and are therefore magically inclined. They are empowered women who live in a massive house, with no man in sight except their talking cat Salem who depends on them for all for survival. Hilda and Zelda are both shamelessly at the top of their fields. Hilda is a talented violinist, while Zelda is a respected physicist, and later in the series, chemist.  Sabrina is portrayed as an extremely bright student who concentrates on her studies but still deals with the constant struggles of a normal high school student like, the occasional turning people into goats, making frogs come back to life, and putting constant spells on the school bully. Throughout the series Sabrina dates a couple of different men, who are admittedly important to the storyline. But what’s often more important is what she is doing in her life.  In high school, she actually breaks up with her boyfriend in order to focus more on her studies. Sabrina’s life is portrayed as being pretty realistic. She learns who she is, grows a lot as a person, and sees many people come and go in her life.

So is Sabrina the Teenage Witch really portraying feminism? I don’t believe so and I do not think that was the intention of the show at all.  One article said it best when they commented stating; "Sabrina" follows a trend of 1980s and 1990s programs that portray the ideals of equality, inclusion and free choice. The show criticizes gender and other discrimination, emphasizes acceptance and equality on the basis of both gender and sexuality, and portrays Sabrina's aunts as self-confident, independent and talented, and Sabrina as following their model.” (Susanne, 1999) 

Now does that really sound like a show entirely based on feminism? If you still think so, take a look at it this way; with the exception of Harry Potter representations of witches are still typically female. Historically, witches have been outcasts and much of this unease clearly stems from a fear of female force. The teenage witch genre articulates a new powerful image of femininity. It’s not that the Hag and herb potions have become hip, rather witchcraft has become synonymous with power and girly magic. (Mosely, 2003)

If a mother and father would have raised Sabrina think about how different the series would have been. The non-traditional family unit makes the series that much more intriguing.   The three women form a family that seems stronger than most and remember that Sabrina does have contact with her real parents, her dad is able to visit once a month and she can still talk to him daily if she chooses and she is also able to call her mom in Peru.

If we learned anything from the show it was that high school is tough, whether you're the jock, the cheerleader, the nerd, the theater kid, or a witch.  Life will always throw obstacles your way and even magic cannot help you solve all your problems and although the show showed females to be powerful. I don’t think it’s fair to ignore that even as powerful “super” females the aunts and Sabrina could not do everything, anyone remember when they all could not get the jar of pasta sauce open and Sabrina’s dad had to save the day. BOOM! 

Susanne , R. (1999, Novemeber 10). [Web log message]. Retrieved from

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=4772

Little feminists – sabrina the teenage witch. (2012, May 3). Retrieved from

http://beafeminist.wordpress.com/tag/sabrina-the-teenage-witch

Mosely , R. (2003, February 27). Soaring teenage fascination with witchcraft is rooted

in glamour and girl power. Retrieved from http://www.religionnewsblog.com/2502/soaring-teenage-fascination-with-witchcraft-is-rooted-in-glamour-and-girl-power