Feminism in Girls

 

            HBO’s Girls, created by Lena Dunham, is a show about young women in their twenties learning who they are and who they want to be while living in New York City. The show captures the struggles of what it means to be independent both financially and personally and how to find your place in this big world. There has been much praise to Lena Dunham for her ability to portray “real” characters on the show and touch on issues that every twenty-something year old will face. However, there is a certain criticism surrounding the feminism on the show and whether it is doing more harm than good. Like any argument there are two sides and in many ways the show is doing the right thing in terms of showing how women can be independent. However, there is also a certain negative stigma to the way the girls act sometimes when it comes to men and the problems in their lives. There is not doubt that the show is feminist, but the question is whether they are portraying it in the right way.

            One of the main characters Hannah, who is played by Lena Dunham, usually finds herself in complicated situations. Whether it’s not having a job that she wants or having “boy trouble” there is always something that you will find her complaining about or stressing over. Lena has been acclaimed for her performance on the show and her ability to show all aspects of the struggles of a woman growing up after graduating college. When asked about the feminism on the show she responded by saying, “On Girls I like being a mouthpiece for the issues I think young females face today. It’s always shocking when people question whether it’s a feminist show. How could a show about women exploring women not be? Feminism isn’t a dirty word. It’s not like we’re a deranged group who think women should take over the planet, raise our young on our own and eliminate men from the picture. Feminism is about women having all the rights that men have. (Chasman, 2013)”

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ozi3oEiSY0 (Hannah, Shoshana, and Jessa talk about relationship problems)

HBOS’s Girls shows the positive aspects of feminism in many ways. First of all, every girl on the show is trying to live on her own and be independent. They are trying to steer away from their parents help and learn to make a living without them. They all have struggles when it comes to finding a job and coming up with the rent money, but these are things that every girl will face. This is depicted perfectly in the first episode of season 1 when Hannah’s parents tell her that they will no longer be giving her money and that she needs to come up with it on her own. Hannah is devastated and at first argues with her parents and tells them she won’t be able to survive if they do not give her money. Every child has to leave its parent’s nest eventually and this scene was the perfect way to show that initial struggle. The character Marnie who is Hannah’s best friend and roommate is more successful and ends up having to pay all of the bills for Hannah until she is able to find a job. This shows the independence that Marnie already has and her ability to support herself without the help of anyone else.

The show does a good job of touching on issues that every girl may face. For example the second episode of the first season talks about abortion and in a later episode there is an STD scare. The characters also aren’t all skinny and don’t have perfect bodies. This is refreshing to see because of the idea that all girls have to be skinny in order to appear attractive to the opposite sex. The girls have real relationship problems that any viewer can most likely relate to. The characters are able to mess up and do things wrong and there is no judgment (Cadenas, 2012). We don’t all need to be perfect and I like that Girls emphasizes this idea.

While the show depicts the positive aspects of feminism it also goes against it in many ways that has caused much controversy. Hannah finds herself in sexual relationships throughout the show that are questionable. She lets all the men that she hooks up with degrade her in some way. In the first season she is shown hooking up with Adam who does not see her as a real person in anyway but more of a sex object that he can have when he feels like it whether its convenient for Hannah or not. Hannah throws herself at him in everyway and calls him constantly asking to hang out. This goes against the example that the show is trying to put forth about being independent. Hannah is in constant need of some sort of attention and does not know what to do when she does not get it. Writer Sarita Sarvate says it perfectly, “Therefore, she can safely depict her TV character as a desperate girl who, to get attention, will do anything, like having one-night stands, exposing her chubby body, and serving men sexually."

Girls is making an effort to portray real girls and is one of the few shows attempting to do that right now. It has succeeded in the way that the girls are learning to grow up however, it is also emphasizing the idea that women are only objects to men, which goes against everything feminism stands for. The point of the show should be to portray women as strong enough to not have to use just sex to get a man’s attention. They shouldn’t have to throw themselves at every guy and the show is teaching younger viewers that, that is what you have to do in order to get a guy.

Works Cited

Chasman, Julia. "HBO’s Accidental Feminism." Hollywood Journal. N.p., 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Cadenas, Kerensa. "Feminism and Flawed Women in Lena Dunham’s “Girls”." Ms Magazine Blog. N.p., 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Sarvate, Sarita. "The Feminist Illusion of "Girls" | India Currents." The Feminist Illusion of "Girls" | India Currents. N.p., 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.