When was the last time you saw a feminist television show that features a female lead character who is intelligent, independent, strong and accomplished, yet at the same time is also compassionate and caring, able to cry and wants social justice? If you're like me, you probably haven't seen any in recent times, and so it was surprising for me to, as an accident, pick up a DVD of the television series "Bones," a few weeks ago at Blockbuster, and now, I am hooked. I wanted to share with you how awesome this show is.
The lead character is a cultural anthropologist who works alongside the FBI to solve crimes by examining bones of the remains of victims. Like other shows, this show involves a series of investigations in which, at the end, the murderer is caught.
Yet, that's where the similarities end. Just as this show features a powerful woman as a lead character, the boss is also a woman - an African-American woman at that. While the show does not attempt to be politically correct, it does bring a diversity of people in leading/powerful positions. Below are also a series of other reasons the show is feminist.
1) The lead character is an educated, intelligent woman who is a martial artist and who is independent.
2) The show attempts to take on issues like date rape, the Girls Gone Wild culture, women's economic disadvantages and the lives of sex workers.
3) Although she's never referred to herself as a feminist, other characters on the show have referred to the lead characer as "a feminist crusader out to ruin all-American fun."
4) It's the only show where the words "misogyny" and "objectification of women" were uttered.
5) Although the lead character views marriage as an archaic practice that define gender roles, she also dates and falls in love. Likewise, while she does fall in love, the lead character views sex as a biological need and urge that everyone has and has nothing to do with love.
6) In an episode about children beauty pageants, the lead character wonders why parents have to "prematurely sexualize their children" instead of teaching them they do not need to alter their bodies to be loved.
7) In another episode, when the newscaster referred to one of the dead victims as "among others," the lead chacteracter went a rant, asking if that's all the victim was to the media, was merely "an other."
8) The show depicts the lives of sex workers through the feminist lens, one particular scene shows a prostitute being shocked that a man just wanted to pay her money to talk to her rather than use her body. In another, the prostitute says she and everyone she works with uses different names and dreams of different careers to escape the reality of sex work.
9) Taking on a fictitious producer of a show similar to Girls Gone Wild, the lead character charges that the man sees women not as humans, but objects.
I could go on and on, but I'd rather let you see it. Great show. And one you can make a drinking game out of. By the end of every episode, I can promise you'll be pretty sit faced if you take a shot everytime someone says something feminist. It's refreshing. Thoughts of the show for those who have seen it, or any other suggestions of feminist shows?
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I've written about the feminism in Bones before. It's really nice to see a show with that kind of outlook. Off the top of my head I can't think of another one that comes close.
I just wish it were at all good. The acting is pretty bad and the writing is awful and the main characters have no chemistry to speak of. I watch it anyway, because it's kind of entertaining, but it's still frustrating when one of the few really feminist shows on TV is so bad.
I've noticed some decent TV shows that have a somewhat feminist outlook when the subject comes up. BSG and Californication come to mind.
I'm really into crime dramas on tv, and I haven't seen Bones, but I like Law and Order SVU because of Olivia's character.
Also the show the Closer seems good, but I've only seen a few episodes. The lead character is a woman and she's in charge of a homicide team in LA, I think. Neither is explicitly feminist, but both have strong female leads and are fun to watch.
I forgot about the Closer. It's a great show with a strong female lead.
I don't think a show has to have a female lead or more female than male characters to be considered feminist. The Closer has more male characters than female characters -- Brenda and Detective Daniels are the only women I can think of -- but they're both consistently shown as very competent. Also, the cast is racially diverse. In earlier episodes Brenda faces a lot of misogyny before her crew learns to respect her.
I positively love Olivia on Law and Order SVU.
What irks me with Law and Orders, though, is the idea that New York CLEARLY only chooses young, attractive women to be their ADAs. I mean, really. Alex? Casey Novak? And now this new girl, Kim Grey is it? who looks like a cross between Vanessa Williams and a Barbie doll.
I'm all for women being smart and successful and beautiful all at the same time (I hope to be one of them), but a little variety would be nice, instead of parading the same type of pretty girl before us and hoping we didn't notice that its actually a different person.
I have recently started watching Cold Case and Close to Home in addition to Bones, because they too often deal with women's issues.
Cold Case have had a plot where a young woman in the 50s (I think) was killed because she was a feminist - and Detective Rush (white female lead) and the team brings her justice. I generally like the team because there's both a black and a white woman on the team, not to mention Valens who, I think, is supposed to be Latino. Besides - the boss is a black male, so yeah, generally a progressive cast.
Then there's Close to Home which features white female assistant DA (I think) but also black female ditto. I'm not very much into the regular cast yet because I've only just started watching it - I've liked Bones and Cold Case for a while now.
Oh and, even though NCIS has more leading males than females I still like the show. The sexist Tony is constantly being portrayed as stupid and silly for being a sexist prick - while at the same time being smart in many other areas - just like it happens IRL. And there's the slightly awkward McGee(k) who's a genuinely lovable fellow, whom no one thinks will ever have a gf - even though he is shown to have just such a companion in several episodes. And most importantly: the brilliant Kate Todd, profiler and former Secret Service "I-protected-the-president" agent, later replaced by Ziva David who is awesome in her very own "I-can-kill-you-in-seventeen-ways-without-you-noticing" way (Gods, I love Ziva, she's so cool). And there's Abby, the brilliant goth-genius residing in the evidence lab, she's my goddess of genius.
And even though the team is led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he answered to a boss named Jenny Shepard - also an awesome female character, who has unfortunately lately been replaced by a man. I have to admit, though, it is fantastic that the new director is black - even if he is male. I'm still waiting for a black, latina or an Asian female to show up and be of consequence on the regular cast.
Overall, I like the show, though - even if they don't often touch on subjects such as rape in the armed forces. That, I'd really love to see.
You're wrong on a few points here
4) Actually, the first time I heard the word misogyny was on Law & Order. It was in an episode about a painter's violent artwork and how it contributed to the cultural perception of women as objects (but, of course, that didn't justify killing him). L&O often deals with women's issues, and, unlike CSI, it's not exploitative. I'd venture to guess that there are a number of shows like this.
With most of the rest of your points, the thing you seem to miss is that, every time Bones expresses her POV on these topics, she's treated as a socially awkward weirdo; that's the overarching theme of the show- how she's really socially awkward. Showing intelligent women in such a light is hardly progressive, IMHO.
Erm, not exactly.
The point is, Bones studies society. She's essentially apart from it - society's views have no control over her because she knows how it all works. From her point of view, it's just silly to suggest that the things society defines are "true" really are true. And therefore society is at odds with her and uneasy around her, because she's tearing down preconceived notions that it holds.
A lot of times, for example, Booth is in the role of being the bumbling, slightly-bigoted conservative who flows with societal expectations. He's used by the writers as a sounding board for Bones to point out the errors of his ways and intellectually smack him around. Booth IS society, essentially, and Bones rises above it to show that it doesn't HAVE to be that way.
Zack was the male version of Bones, and had virtually the same personality characteristics, so I don't think that showing her as socially out of step is a statement on intelligent women.
I think that there is a sort of othering to Bones though. Everyone, even the other squints think that she just doesn't get most normal social things.
I still love the show, however.
(Sometimes I think of it as a knock-off X-files. Studly guy partner with "hunches", no nonsense, intelligent attractive female partner, sexual tension between the two...)
Recognizing the problems within society doesn't mean one has to be socially awkward. And she's not just shown as kind of detached but really borderline autistic, like she has a hard time understanding other people at all but from her clinical point of view. Not that there's anything wrong with this...well, maybe there is, but it's not 'wrong' per se. Hell, I'm a socially awkward sociology major so I can appreciate where Bones is coming from. I just don't think she's a particularly ground-breaking character.
" Not that there's anything wrong with [being portrayed as autistic]...well, maybe there is, but it's not 'wrong' per se."
Uh, excuse me? Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but that's a really insulting thing to say. "Not that there's anything wrong with this" is possibly the most defensive thing you can say, followed closesly by "I'm just saying". Both statements put the onus on the audience to understand the nuance in your meaning, when the writer should have made it perfectly clear before posting. Also, it allows the statement to be brushed off as inconsequential or a joke, when clearly it is not.
If a functional, intelligent, autistic character on television makes you uncomfortable, just say so. If you don't think she's particularly ground-breaking, give examples of who broke that ground before she did. Just don't tell people, don't tell me, that she's not groundbreaking. With the exception of Doctor Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds), she's the only character on television who's portrayed as both autistic and functional... and unlike Reid, her autistic abilities aren't portrayed as "superpowers".
Show me proof that other autistic characters aren't treated as so-called "superheros" or else intellectually as well as socially retarded, and I'll agree that the television version of Temperance Brennan not ground breaking.
One small correction, and I may be wrong... But although she is an anthropologist, Bones is technically a forensic anthropologist (hence the study of bones) Anthropology is a massive field, ranging from archaeology, to primatology, to cultural anthropology and to medical anthropology (which is what I study). Figured I'd just let you know :)
Oh, an alixana, technically in cultural anthropology, you are never apart form your own society, it is always very difficult to be an objective observer of the culture that you have been steeped in since birth. But, Bones is what we would refer as a highly reflexive character, she demonstrates a willingness to approach cultural practices with an eye for the social construction.
In a way it bothers me that the show writer seem to portray those who are highly reflexive about cultural practices as sectioned off others, or abnormal, that being critical of culture requires othering and social awkwardness. Really she reflects the view that those who are into this sort of cultural analysis just don't get it, or are Ivory tower disconnects.
However I do like the show, lots of good female characters, although a bit heavy on the constant romance issues LOL
I am going to defend CSI. It may not have a single central lead that's female but it does have some strong women in the lead ensemble.
Catherine Willows is pretty badass if you ask me. She's a single mom and a CSI and no one ever gives her hell about trying to "have it all." Sure, she sometimes expresses some guilt about not having more time with her daughter, but that just makes her seem human, and the major outside character that rags on her about it is her ex husband who is supposed to be a giant douchebag anyway. She also doesn't put up with anyone's crap - criminals, cops, other CSIs, anyone. She is the top-ranking CSI on her team after Gil and (spoiler!) is going to ascend to supervisor when he leaves. There are occasional assholes (usually opposing counsel or cops who want to wear down her credibility in court) who give her crap about having been a stripper when she was younger, but I like her response. It's usually, hey, you know what, I needed money so I danced to support my family and put myself through school and basically fuck your judgment. She's on a team with the boys and her gender is almost never even mentioned. Except maybe in the sense of, well the rape victim might be more comfortable talking to a woman than a man. But never in a negative way.
Sara Sidle is a little more complicated. Much in the same way she's strong and good at her job and gender is rarely an issue for her. She has a troubled past - her mother is in jail for murdering her father. Domestic violence and sexual assault cases are triggering for her and sometimes her reactions have gotten her into trouble. Yes they have put a romantic plot with her character - her affair with Gil. But it wasn't portrayed the same way TV relationships usually are. She was attracted to his mind and loved him for years, he turned her down when she said something (mainly because he's her supervisor) and then when they finally were shown to be together there was no montage or movie kiss, just suddenly they were together (in secret). Oh, and during a domestic violence case there was an especially dicky suspect who called her a "handful" (ugh) and that just set her off to solve the case even more. Her awesome line was something like "I'm a woman with a gun and look how he talked to me, can you imagine how he treated [the victim]?"
The show also had a female serial killer which is incredibly rare and awesome. Hey, if we want to be equal we should be the bad guys (gals?) too. :)
Also, I'm not saying the show is perfect. But it has some good characters and moments. The other CSIs have strong women too but I don't watch them as obsessively regularly so I can't really talk about them fairly.
*obsessively* was supposed to be in strikethrough. Damn HTML not working.
Also, no one ever gives her hell about trying to "have it all" should be no one worth paying attention to gives her hell. Some assholes do, but not the main team. :)
I've always been a huge fan of Bones. True, it's not the best-written or best-acted, but it's cute and enjoyable and really is different from a lot of other shows.
NCIS is another good one. Although these days there are only 2 women in the main credits, the female characters are well-evolved. It's also an interesting look at sex within the military and federal law enforcement worlds.
I also have to give props to Without a Trace for being one of the only shows on TV with a racially diverse cast, although I wish they would show more support for interracial relationships.
I am definitly on the trolley of Bones as a feminist show. I watch a lot of television, becuase I really appreciate it as an art form. Some of the shows I watch are really terrible, and some are really great.
Bones has always struck me as a show which works hard to maintain a balance. All of their regular female characters are strong individuals, who contribute valuable work to each case.
For the people who believe showing Brennan as distanced individual is negative, I would counter that it is in fact simply showing human nature. There are also male characters on the show who are considered socially awkward (Zack, Sweets, and even Hodgins at times). Each character is an individual, with their own history which has shaped who their are. Just as it would be wrong to say that all intelligent women are socially awkward, it would be wrong to say that NO intelligent women are socially awkward.
In contemporary society, no tv show is going to be a feminist manifesto. Shows have to get ratings if they want to be on a network. That reality means that writers, producers, directors, and everyone else involved in television production must maintain a balancing act. I dont think this a totally outrageous idea. And accepting that does not mean that no show can be feminist, nor does it mean we cannot critique shows. It just helps to understand that feminism in tv is more comples than "Is it, or is it not a feminist show."
Personally, I choose to view Bones in a feminist light (though I have been known to critique it, as with this seasons episode which concerned a trans victim).
As for other shows with positive feminist messages, I'm putting on the table Little Mosque on the Prairie, Veronica Mars, Six Feet Under, and Carnivale.
Exactly. No show will be a feminist manifesto, and I am really happy about that. If you can slip a feminist message into a show, that's great, but I have no interest in sitting and watching someone's thinly veiled political ideology. Didactism isn't interesting for anyone. A character without flaws is boring. They've already made Bones very intelligent and very beautiful, and if she was also a social butterfly she'd be annoying as hell and the show would suck even more than it already does.
Veronica Mars was awesomely feminist right up until the third season. I guess the producers got sick of having it referred to as a feminist show all the time, and went way out of their way to be as anti-feminist as possible.
What was your problem with the trans victim episode on Bones? I don't remember it that well but I seem to recall it came out as very supportive of transsexuals.
***Possible spoilers***
Overall I was impressed with the trans episode. Although there were occasions where Booth's comments made me uncomfortable. However, I totally belief everything that was said and done by each character was something that was consistent with who they were.
My biggest issue was the automatic assumption of "trans panic," as though a heterosexual man in a relationship with a transwoman would automatical have him feel betrayed, or threaten his manhood. I really felt as though it was treated as strange for a hetero man to be comfortable, happy, and aware of his partners trans identity.
Despite that critique, I was overall happy with the episode. It was just one of the ones I thought of that had given me something I thought could have been handled better.
The thing that ruins the show (Bones) for me is that Booth has to play the role of the wise-cracking fool every week. One of the great things about the X-Files is that both Mulder and Scully were intelligent and independent. The writers did not feel the need to pigeonhole one of the partners as an idiot while the other is the smart problem-solver, occasionally sassy but always dignified. Look at the X-Files for a great feminist show that also featured strong males in the cast.