Document Type
Humanities
Date
2024
Submission Date
November 2024
Abstract
In recent years, Elizabeth Meriwether’s television show New Girl has begun to reach the status of a cult classic. The show’s sharp humor and quirky protagonist have captured the hearts and minds of many. But is this all for the good? New Girl features a controversial protagonist, Jessica Day, whose personality grates on some and resonates with others. Jessica represents stereotypically feminine interests and ideals yet takes on a leading role and independence not always afforded to female characters. This opens her, and the larger show, up to feminist readings and critiques. Surprisingly, little scholarly research has been conducted on New Girl. In my paper, I examined the feminist implications of the show. I researched choice feminism and investigated its manifestations within New Girl. I compared and contrasted New Girl with the 1960s television show That Girl, to consider how both shows reacted to and exemplified the feminism of their times. I explored the similarities and differences between the shows and determined what this meant for New Girl’s politics. Through my research, I determined that New Girl amplifies harmful aspects of choice feminism, a subsect of third wave feminism. The ways in which New Girl addresses feminism frames misogyny and oppression as a matter of personal responsibility, and ignores systemic issues and their impact. A show that is as culturally significant as New Girl has a wide audience, and the ideas presented within it will be spread. We can see this research as a call to more critically develop future television and media.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
Auctus
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25886/z15e-q716