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Feminism is about empowering women. It is about working towards economic, political, and social equality for men and women. Feminism is a noble cause. Yet, our society has let it become a controversial one by making it seem like opportunities for women will be at the expense of those for men, feminism is about women not needing men, and women will gain opportunities because of their gender, not necessarily their merit.
In part, the spread of these controversial narratives about feminism comes from the movies and shows we watch. As cool as it is to watch Wonder Woman dominate fights and save the world, it is also important to understand the negative reflection of feminism that Wonder Woman might be portraying. In particular, WW84 emphasizes Wonder Woman’s gender and her lack of need for the support of men, which makes it seem like the thing that matters about a woman is her gender and that men can be irrelevant.
Nevertheless, some shows put forth glowingly positive reflections of feminism. As opposed to WW84, The Queen’s Gambit does an excellent job of showcasing a brilliant Beth Harmon who rises to success because of said brilliance and men who lift her along the way.
WW84‘s Ironically Poor Portrayal Of Feminism
Since both WW84 and The Queen’s Gambit are relatively new, please note there will be spoilers after this point. That aside, let’s talk about WW84 gender stereotypes and feminism misconceptions.
The Female Hero
Right from the outset, the iconic Wonder Woman name tells us that the story is about a woman. There is nothing wrong with a story of a woman. However, it is upsetting when the woman in the story is admirable, powerful, and wondrous — a hero by every definition of the word and across all genders — yet limited to a female hero’s status through gender stereotypes. Why does it have to be about her being a woman? Not just a person?
Let’s start with her battle outfit. In the first Wonder Woman and most of WW84, Wonder Woman’s battle outfit is a short, strapless dress. She pairs it with heels, and she keeps her hair down. She looks magnificent, which is great except for the fact that it is a completely impractical outfit. Women know that strapless clothing does not stay up (especially when you are doing something really active like fighting), heels are awful to run in, and long hair always gets in the way. So, it seems like Wonder Woman’s outfit is only about the looks, which reinforces stereotypes about women only caring about their looks and women being defined by their appearances.
In addition, WW84 portrays Wonder Woman as a rather whiny character. Let me preface this by saying that I get it. If I had a Steve Trevor in my life, I wouldn’t want to lose him either. Still, throughout WW84, Wonder Woman goes on and on about how she can’t lose Steve, even though his reincarnation comes at the expense of her powers and even though the world needs her to protect it from Max Lord. Ultimately, Steve has to talk her into renouncing her wish, killing him but returning her powers. This emphasizes a very negative stereotype. Women are whiny and emotional, whereas men are the logical ones.
A One-Woman Journey
At a restaurant with Barbara at the beginning of WW84, Wonder Woman tells her dinner date that she does not get out much. We, the viewers, infer that she is usually alone at home or out saving people, still alone. At the end of the movie, she singlehandedly takes down Cheetah (the villain Barbara turns into) and Max Lord. Though she does get some (minimal) help from Steve in a fight at the White House, the common theme with all of her successes is that she accomplishes them alone. Why might this endorse a negative message?
First of all, no one can do it alone. Aside from the fact that we need each other to at least prevent the mental illnesses that come from isolation, we need to build each other up. Whether that is women building up women or men building up women or anything other variation of people building up people, the idea is that no one rises to success without others. Therefore, WW84 puts forth an unrealistic narrative that one can do it alone. That is dangerous because if we truly believe that, we might not help/support others, creating a very divided world.
Moreover, male superheroes never do it alone. Sticking with the theme of DC superheroes, The Green Arrow has Team Arrow, including John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, and an assortment of other changing members. Collectively, they have Arrow’s back in fights, tend to his serious injuries, keep him in his place, and provide emotional support for him. The Flash has Team Flash, and Batman has Alfred and several Robins. More often than not, male superheroes have people supporting them along the way; they are made vulnerable. So why do we make the women overcompensate?
Making it a one-woman show, Wonder Woman and WW84 endorse a misconception that feminism is about women not needing men. Feminism does not work without men. Let’s say we want to equalize the number of women and men in the male-dominated field of finance. Since males dominate finance, it is probably men who would be in charge of hiring said women. If they don’t, women will not be brought into finance. Thus, from a practical standpoint, men are essential in the drive for equality.
More than that, though, it is one thing to say that women don’t need to be reliant on men (for support or money or whatever else), and it is another to say that we don’t need them. By saying the latter, we undermine their value, which inherently places women on a higher platform. True feminism understands that both are valuable because true feminism is about equality.
A Better Portrayal Of Feminism In The Queen’s Gambit
Like WW84, The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of an incredible woman. Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, is a beautiful, female, masterful chess player. Her talent is also especially impressive because she learned at age 9 from a janitor at her orphanage and then did not play another physical game until she was 15 years old when she enrolled in the Kentucky State Championships and won. By the time she is 20, she is the world chess champion. The thing that is beautiful about her story, though, is that its focus is her brilliance and her journey as a human as opposed to her womanhood.
A Chess Marvel
Set in the 1960s, Beth’s story draws attention because she is a female marvel in a game highly dominated by men. And the show makes it no secret that she is a woman. She dresses in gorgeous and feminine clothes (once she has the money to afford them), she lived in an all-girls orphanage, and she even gets her first period in episode two. But when it comes to her accomplishments and an article a newspaper published about her that emphasized that she is a girl, Beth asks why it has to be about her gender.
In 1968, when Beth became the world champion in chess, it was not because it was handed to her or because she took it easy on the woman they were playing. Along the way, not one man took it easy on her; not Harry Beltik, who showed up late to their match and yawned throughout, thinking he’d easily dominate her, not Benny Watts, who beats her in the 1966 US championships and many rounds of speed chess, and especially not Vasily Borgov who unapologetically beat her in Mexico City and Paris. So, when Beth beats Borgov in the world championship, she is just a brilliant chess player.
Because of said brilliance, she gains the respect of many — men and women. Her mentor, Shaibel, tells her she is astounding. Newspapers follow her matches. Grandmaster and former world champion Luchenko tell her that she is the finest chess player he’s faced after beating him. This should be what we, women, strive for. We want to be recognized for our own merits, not for our gender alone.
Not Alone
One of the coolest things about Beth’s story is that she lets herself lean on others. Even though she is considered better than Harry Beltik, she lets him coach her in preparation for Borgov. Similarly, she lets Benny Watts coach her at a later point. When she struggles with her alcohol and drug indulgences, she lets her friend Jolene help fix her up. She also lets Jolene sponsor her trip to Russia for the world championship when she doesn’t have the money. And, after the final match against Borgov is adjourned, Benny, Beltik, and a group of four other men help her plan her endgame.
Two things are particularly beautiful about this scene. One, by leaning on them for support, she shows that even though she is brilliant on her own, she does not act superior. Second, all of these men and women voluntarily supported her because they cared for her, not because they had to. As men, women, and humans, we can lift each other up and accept others’ support. To me, at least, this is a large part of feminism: believing and acting with the mindset that our journeys as women are not about being better than or not needing men but rather cooperating with them and letting them build us up and vice versa.
Her Own Choices
Finally, something that should be praised about Beth is that she makes her own decisions at the end of the day. This is especially notable in two scenes. First, when the church offers to sponsor her trip to Russia, if she makes a statement about her Christian beliefs, she denies them because she doesn’t believe the things they want her to say. Second, after winning the world championship, her American guard implies that she’ll be a symbol of U.S. superiority to the Soviet Union when she gets home. She promptly gets out of the car, ensuring that she’ll miss her flight home. Beth is nobody’s pawn.
This is another part of feminism. Many of the feminism ideals revolve around empowering women, and part of that is making one’s own decisions. If you don’t want to be constrained by social norms or stereotypes, don’t be. If you want a job that many women don’t have, go get it. If we want to be seen as equal, then we can’t sit back and let others tell us what to do or who to be. We need to be like Beth and act in accordance with who we are.
So What’s The Takeaway?
None of this is to say that Wonder Woman is a bad character or that her movies don’t deserve to be watched. It is also not to say that Beth Harmon is a perfect character, deserving of all our admiration. She’s not, and her alcohol and drug abuse are certainly not admirable or desirable. Moreover, we don’t want to make The Queen’s Gambit seem like a one-size-fits-all model for experiences relating to feminism. Beth is just one woman with her own set of struggles. In the show, her friend Jolene has a different set of struggles – largely relating to the fact that she is a Black woman in the 1960’s – and she goes on a very different path than Beth does.
The point is to simply point about that many movies we watch — WW84, for example — showcase feminism incorrectly and negatively. And when we fail to recognize their pitfalls, we allow the movies to enforce misconceptions about feminism, perpetuating its status as a controversial topic. Therefore, it is important that when we notice shows like The Queen’s Gambit that truly portray the essence of feminism, we praise and celebrate them.