The Olivia Pope Problem

As I sat watching the fast-paced and popular premiere of “Scandal,” a problem once again forced its way into my consciousness and it came in the form of Olivia Pope. Don’t get me wrong. I love Olivia. She’s a certified badass by anyone’s standards. The problem is that that bad-assery stops at the office door. As soon as Olivia leaves the professional realm, it seems her life falls apart. Her personal life is in shambles, to say nothing of a growing lack of agency on Olivia’s part. The most troubling aspect of this is that the “Olivia Pope problem” is more and more an archetype of modern television.

It seems that Olivia isn’t the only woman on our screens who is super-competent professionally but whose personal life is an absolute mess. A growing stereotype on our screens is that of the uber-professional woman who can’t seem to get the rest of her life in line. From Oliva Pope to Liz Lemon to Mindy Lahiri to Alicia Florrick, we continue to see the stories of women who are rather personally challenged. It’s a stark contrast to the long gone days of women like Mary Tyler Moore, who could be professionally competent and personally competent without lacking interesting stories to tell. Instead of stories like that glorious woman, Hollywood is increasingly feeding us stories of women like Olivia Pope and the message is clear: You can’t have it all. You can’t be professionally savvy and have a well-balanced life. It’s not allowed.

Clearly, that message is problematic. Women continue to be told that they can’t have it all. And why? Women who successfully balance work and life can still have interesting stories. I’m just as interested in Meredith Grey as I am in her more relationship challenged counterpart, Christina Yang. Just because Meredith has managed to be professionally and personally successful doesn’t mean she lacks interesting stories to share.

As a culture, we must stop acting like all women face an ultimatum: work or relationships. In fact, we can achieve balance, even if it’s difficult, and our lives and stories become no less interesting when we do manage that delicate balance. So stop with the “Olivia Pope problem,” Hollywood. Stop telling women that they can’t have it all. Stop telling women that they must be emotionally fractured to be interesting or successful. Stop. Just stop.