Could Television Be the Medium for Female Super Heroes?

I started to get into the super hero genre last year after seeing my first episode of the CW’s Arrow. It’s become a personal favorite despite some of the flaws I addressed here. After binge watching Arrow over the summer I bought myself a ticket on the comic book hero bandwagon and hopped on. In the fall, I expanded my viewership to Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, which remains my current obsession. I’m also not ashamed to say that I watched all nine Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in the span of one week, after all what else was I going to do during finals week?

Given my newfound love for classic super heroes (and super spies) and old love for the medium of television, it goes without saying that I am thrilled at the expanding super hero market on the small screen. During the upcoming TV season, three new shows pertaining to the worlds of our favorite classic super heroes will premiere on major networks: Fox’s Gotham, the CW’s Flash, and ABC’s Agent Carter. Gotham is set in Batman’s hometown and takes place before Bruce Wayne becomes Batman, telling to story of two male police detectives. Flash is a more traditional take on the super hero genre centering around Barry Allen aka Flash. It looks like it will be comparable to Arrow in this way; Flash is in fact a spinoff of that show. Finally, Agent Carter surrounds the life of Agent Peggy Carter, Captain America’s love interest, after World War II and is set to premiere in January. It’s likely to give us more background on SHIELD in the organization’s early days.

Of course, Agent Carter stands out among the other super hero genre shows not only because of it’s late premiere, but because of it’s female lead. Out of the five genre shows that will grace our television screens next season, Agent Carter is the only one that can make this claim. While SHIELD has a strong ensemble cast that is equally male and female, it would be easy to argue that the lead is Agent Phil Coulson, not surprisingly a man.

My regular readers might expect that I’m dismayed at the lack of female leads in these upcoming shows. And they would be right. But I’m also hopeful that television will prove to be a friendlier medium for female super heroes and comic book characters than film has. I often lament the lack of a Black Widow movie or a Wonder Woman feature film. I’m genuinely hopeful that Agent Carter will do well and that all super hero and comic book genre shows will continue to do well on television. Ideally it will clear a path for more female lead characters in such shows and perhaps will provide that final push for studio execs to invest in a movie about one of our favorite female heroines.

Any female super hero or super spy faces a tough battle to mount this spectacular challenge. Geek-ery, especially the world of comics, remains a very male pursuit, or so the powers that be would have you think. While the number of female fans is ever expanding, content that caters to them is not expanding at the same rate. There are more female super hero and comic book fans, but not that many more female characters and female fans often express discomfort in fan spaces like comic book stores, online forums, and conventions. The offensive “fake geek girl” meme remains a problem as does sexual harassment. Until the comic book and super hero fan base fully embraces female fans, it seems unlikely that it will embrace female heroes. Furthermore, movie and television executives are still reticent to producing female-centric films and shows because of the age-old believe that movies about women just don’t do as well despite the recent success of movies like Maleficent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Frozen and television shows like Girls and Broad City. The archaic idea will hopefully wane in the face of stars like Melissa McCarthy and Angelina Jolie who are opening box offices at much higher numbers than Tom Cruise currently is.

Between the relentless march of female progress at the box office, and at the Emmys, and the expanding genre of super hero television shows, female super heroes may still have their day. Maybe it will be on television, or perhaps television will spur movement on the film front. Either way, I can only hope that one day I’ll be able to tell people Black Widow is my favorite super hero or super spy without being asked who she is.

#YesAllWomen, #BringBackOurGirls, #StandWithWendy, and "Hashtag Feminism"

Since Friday, May 24th, #YesAllWomen has been trending on Twitter. It began as a response to the UCSB shootings that occurred on Friday and the “manifesto” written by the shooter, Elliot Rodger, about his life and hatred towards women. If you want to read it go ahead, but I’m not here to discuss the shooting or the shooter. I’m here to discuss the women of Twitter and their inspiring response. Since Friday the hashtag has becomes something else entirely. #YesAllWomen has become a space for women to tell their stories about harassment, sexual assault, fear, and misogyny. Brave women all over the world have opened up about the pervasiveness of misogyny in our lives, the fear of walking down the street at night, the crawling feeling sent down our spines by street harassment, and many other things. Celebrities like Adelaide Kaine, Mia Farrow, and Neil Gaiman have also offered their contributions. When scrolling through the million-plus tweets, it is hard not to feel like a movement is building. Feminists across Twitter are finding each other, women are finding their voices, and many women and men are finding a reason to label themselves as “feminists”.

#YesAllWomen, however, isn’t the first of its kind. Just weeks ago #BringBackOurGirls captivated the globe and spurred action to rescue and recover over 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls who have yet to be found. A little less than a year ago #StandWithWendy drew the attention of the nation to a restrictive abortion bill on the floor of the Texas Senate. Each of these trends is characteristic of something I like to call “hashtag feminism.” It’s a relatively new phenomenon and it may be one of the most powerful tools in feminists’ arsenals.

The efficacy of “hashtag feminism” comes from its ability to quickly spread awareness and prompt action. In the case of #BringBackOurGirls the massive social media response including tweets from Michelle Obama, Amy Poehler, Emma Watson, and Pope Francis helped draw attention to a story that may otherwise have gone unnoticed and forced a response from politicians which included aid in the search for the girls from multiple governments. In the case of #BringBackOurGirls, the enormous social media movement put pressure on governments and politicians to take action as well as forcing major media outlets to cover the story. The crowds of people tweeting about the crisis in Nigeria in addition to a handful of powerful people adding their voices brought action to the dire situation that may otherwise have been brushed off.

Similarly, #StandWithWendy drew attention to Texas State Senator Wendy Davis’ 11 hour filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill. While major media outlets mostly ignored the story as it was unfolding, feminists rallied using social media and #StandWithWendy to organize a huge rally as the Texas State Capitol that forced the legislative session to end even after Davis’ filibuster was cut off based on her three violations of Senate rules. In addition to inspiring the rally at the Capitol in Austin, the #StandWithWendy trend caught the attention of young women across the country and helped inspire a new generation of feminism and eventually helped Wendy Davis raise money to run for governor this fall.

Critics of “hashtag feminism” say it’s all talk, no action. Sometimes that’s true, but I offer three responses. The first is that often the trending topics generate action like they did in the case of #BringBackOurGirls and #StandWithWendy. Second, at the very least “hashtag feminism” helps draw attention to issues and stories that might otherwise be ignored by many media outlets. Finally, sometimes talk is action, especially in cases like #YesAllWomen, where issues like street harassment are so far-reaching and so often not talked about that we have to start conversations to educate men and to formulate viable solutions. Even if all that these hashtags do nothing but generate conversation, we are still better off than we were when we weren’t talking about women’s issues at all.

For modern feminists the battles we must fight are often less clear than those our grandmothers and mothers fought and the results are often less tangible than things like the right to vote or the Roe v. Wade decision. Given the challenges we face and the environment we must fight in, it is only reasonable that we adapt the tools we are given to the jobs we must accomplish. Twitter, Facebook, and social media are some of the strongest organizing tools we’ve been granted. Yes, we still need to pass legislation and hold rallies and write petitions and contact our legislators and work to elect more women, but in order to do that we have to be able to spread the word and “hashtag feminism” allows us to do that. The next battles for women’s rights won’t end on Twitter, but they could very well start there.

Farewell Cristina: Female Friendship and Non-Traditional Soul Mates on "Grey's Anatomy"

I have to admit that I’ve been stressed lately. May Sweeps always makes me anxious and this year is no different. As I wait to learn the fates of my favorite shows, characters, and relationships, this year a particular story’s end is on my mind: Meredith and Cristina, whose relationship is practically synonymous with Grey’s Anatomy.

I have long had an off-on relationship with Grey’s Anatomy, but the last two seasons Grey’s and I have been decidedly “on” so it is with much trepidation that I approach the end of Sandra Oh’s ten-year run as Cristina Yang tonight. One of my favorite parts of the show has always been the relationship between Cristina and Meredith, a beautiful representation of the complex nature of female friendship and something I like to call “non-traditional soul mates.”

For ten years Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey have been the definition of female friendship in pop culture. Their relationship is complex, layered, and emotional. Cristina is not the stock BFF character nor is Meredith the stock strong female protagonist. Each is endlessly complicated and neither falls prey to stereotypical writing thanks to the lovely and talented Shonda Rhimes. It’s refreshing to see when meaningful relationships between women are so often left out of the storytelling on popular shows, even shows with female protagonists. Haven’t you ever wondered why Olivia Pope doesn’t have any ladies to have a wine night with? What ever happened to Dr. Mindy Lahiri’s girlfriends? And just whom does Black Canary complain to about Oliver Queen’s behavior? Other shows suffer by providing female friendships but never fully exploring them like, often times, the relationship between Robin and Lily on How I Met Your Mother or between Mary and her ladies on Reign. These relationships are often put on the back burner to tell stories about love interests and scandals. As a woman, I always find this odd as the most important and significant relationships I have had have typically been with my female friends. I am just as interested in seeing representations of similar relationships on TV as I am in seeing any other kind of love story or friendship. Meredith and Cristina have not fallen prey to these traps. Their relationship with each other is just as important to them and the show as any other relationship they have had. This season particularly reinforced that idea with a long arc about a falling out between the two and it's consequences.

But Meredith and Cristina are more than just friends. They’re each other’s person. Chances are if you’re at all familiar with the lore of Grey’s Anatomy and, perhaps even if you aren’t, you know the importance of being someone’s person. Cristina first uses the phrase “You’re my person” in episode 1 of season 2. To Cristina and Meredith, your person is the person you can always count on, the one who will always be there for you. That is what they are to each other and they have proved it time and time again throughout the series. The phrase has taken on a life of it’s own, a way for a friend to tell another friend just how much they mean to each other and is often emblazoned on mugs, t-shirts, and other merchandise. It also means that sometimes the person you can’t live without isn’t your significant other; it’s your best friend. It’s what I referred to when I mentioned earlier the phrase “non-traditional soul mates” and it’s what I believe Cristina and Meredith are to each other. The idea is one that was first widely popularized by Sex and the City when Carrie Bradshaw mused that maybe our friends are our soul mates, after all. Meredith and Cristina have always seemed like the perfect example.

Given all that Meredith and Cristina represent, it is no surprise that many are saddened to see Cristina go. Meredith and Cristina do, after all, have the longest-lasting, most consistent, and most enduring, meaningful relationship on the show. It has struck a chord with viewers all over, especially between best friends and the on-screen end of such a relationship is already making waves without even airing yet. Tonight’s season finale is likely to be one of the most emotional episodes of Grey’s

Anatomy we’ve ever seen and that’s saying something. So cheers to you Cristina Yang. You’ve left an indelible mark on our hearts and we’ll miss you for everything you are.

Marvel Does Right By It's TV Women

I’ve long been waiting for a Black Widow movie along with most fans of the Marvel cinematic universe. After three Iron Man movies, two Captain America movies, and two Thor movies, I think it’s about time that fans get to enjoy a movie about their favorite lady Avenger, one Natasha Romanoff. But alas, it seems film executives are still caught in the trap of thinking that dude-bros will only go see movies about other dude-bros, leaving characters like Black Widow out in the rain, though Marvel hasn't completely nixed the idea. Until executives get past this, I’ve turned to a different medium for my fill of Marvel’s kick-ass women: the small screen.

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD premiered on September 24, 2013, aka my birthday. It was basically the best birthday gift ever. If you’ve never watched it, the premise is essentially that a super-secret team of spies working for the clandestine security organization SHIELD fly around on a plane and save the world on a regular basis. Aside from the excitement, Marvel references, and perfect mix of super-snappy comedy and high stakes drama, one my favorite parts of the show is the main cast, a cast that is an even split between men and women. For each male lead, there is an equally matched female lead. What’s more is that the women are equally as nuanced as the men and their stories are given the same amount of screen time. Melinda May is portrayed as an agent equally as skilled as Phil Coulson, Jemma Simmons is shown to be just as smart as fellow scientist Leo Fitz, and Skye is just calculating and cool under pressure as Agent Grant Ward.

 It might not seem like that big of deal to have an evenly matched set of characters, but when you consider that men still outnumber women on television in starring roles the feat becomes that much more impressive. It is also encouraging that the women’s stories are not typically thrust offstage to give more of the spotlight to the men. SHIELD has skillfully split it’s storytelling time between all of the characters almost equally and, though it could be argued that Phil Coulson is the main protagonist he is surrounded by characters with stories that are just as rich and important. Furthermore, SHIELD has shown that it isn’t afraid of putting women in the pilot’s seat, literally and figuratively. While Melinda May pilots a jet, Maria Hill and Victoria Hand fill some of SHIELD’s top ranks. With the likes of Joss and Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen as producers and writers, SHIELD is proving to be a beacon of hope for the future of Marvel’s female characters and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it’s first season.

After much speculation over the fate of Agents of SHIELD, today ABC announced that in addition to renewing the inaugural Marvel television series for a second season, it is picking up another Marvel production, this time a spin-off of Captain America about the Cap’s former love interest Agent Peggy Carter. Agent Carter is set to explore Peggy’s life as a woman in what is unquestionably a man’s world, the world of mid-20^th century spy work. Hopefully, the show will succeed and be another boon for Marvel’s women, perhaps even proving once and for all to Hollywood executives that Marvel fans are just as interested in the women of Marvel as they are in the men of Marvel, clearing the way for the Black Widow movie we've all been waiting for.

The TIME 100 and Some People TIME Forgot

Yesterday TIME published its famed “100 Most Influential People.” I love browsing this list, reading profiles of fascinating people written by other fascinating people, and every year look forward to it. I was thrilled to see some of my favorite feminist icons featured on this year’s list: Beyonce, Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai. However, this year as I was reading some entries from the “Icons” section I got a sinking feeling that the list would not achieve gender parity this year. After finishing my perusal of the list, I went back and counted and my gut was right. This year only 41 of the world’s most influential people were women.

I can’t say I was shocked, but I’ll admit I was disappointed. The “100 Most Influential People” list is inherently subjective which gives the editors some leeway in who ends up on the list. If the editors wanted to achieve gender parity on the list, they would be absolutely within their rights to do so. I have to wonder why it isn’t a priority especially in 2014.

However, rather than wallow in my own disappointment I set out to fill in the gaps. I decided to pick out nine women to complete the list. I thought, at first, that this might be difficult given that TIME couldn’t come up with nine more women to add to the list and I found very quickly that I was right. It was difficult, but not for a lack of influential women, rather for a preponderance of them.

So many women seemed to deserve a place on this list. A few names immediately jumped to mind: Wendy Davis, Dilma Rousseff, Sheryl Sandberg, Elizabeth Warren. But even then I couldn’t stop naming amazing, fascinating, diverse, influential women. In fact, the longer I went on naming women, the easier it got to list off accomplished ladies. I ended up with a list of 19 individual women, one two-woman team, and one three-woman team, and I could have gone on if I let myself.

I stopped myself at a list that included these 24 women: Mindy Kaling, Wendy Davis, Shonda Rhimes, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Fey, Dilma Rousseff, Drew Gilpin Faust, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, Sheryl Sandberg, Amy Purdy, Michelle Obama, Laverne Cox, Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita N’yongo, Piper Kerman, Amy Poehler, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Robin Roberts, Lorde, Katy Perry, and Geena Davis.

Each of these women is, in her own way, redefining something about the world we live in. They are leaving indelible marks on our culture and our world and it’s a little bit ludicrous that none of them was recognized on TIME’s list, if you ask me. I hope in future years that TIME’s editors will consider making gender parity a must for the “100 Most Influential People.” I believe almost any relatively informed person could list 50 incredibly influential women so it shouldn’t be that much of a challenge to TIME’s editors.

Here’s to this year’s “100 Most Influential People” and to the many women on the list, the many women who should be on that list, and the many women who will one day be on that list.