Feminism- Chloe Whelan

Feminism is defined as the advocacy for women’s fundamental rights on the basis of equality among the sexes. Though significant progress has been made since the start of the feminist movement, achieving equality for women has been and continues to be drawn out for far too long. A huge proponent of this issue lies in the portrayal of women in the media. Although many television programs have actively made efforts to promote strong female characters, in this lies several examples of blatant hypocrisy. An example I am often reminded of is the character Renata Klein from the HBO television series “Big Little Lies.” Renata is a successful businesswoman, married, and has a young daughter in school. Although her character is meant to represent an empowered woman, who is known for her ambition and financial success, she is villainized by the other mom’s at her daughter’s school. Because the other mothers don’t have demanding careers outside the home, Renata is ostracized for her reputation of negligence towards her daughter. Despite the show’s efforts to empower women through their successful corporate female character, her success is what causes her to be portrayed in a negative light. Our country is overflowing with powerful and capable women, though this example is one of many that shows the societal villainization of powerful women. We have come a long way fighting to empower women and enforce equality in the world, but with the continuation of negative stereotypes appearing in the media, it is clear there is still work to be done.