Women Empowering Women
As goofy as it sounds, children’s media can be particularly helpful, because it is a complete change of pace from the expectations of adult/academic life. I find that the simplicity of children’s media can be its greatest strength, revealing profound lessons and truths in a simple, comforting package. Lately, my comfort food of choice has been a junior graphic novel by Misty Wilson called Play Like a Girl.
November 12, 2023 marks the second anniversary of the termination of the conservatorship that dictated Spears’ life for well over a decade. The release of her memoir, The Woman in Me, signals a powerful move towards her personal healing and is a reclamation of her life and her voice.
By creating a conversation around patriarchy and the effects it has on individuals, Barbie (2023) subsequently begins a smaller, lesser explored conversation surrounding the concept of antagonism. Barbie (2023) has brought to light how eager we, as a community, are to establish a black and white narrative and label people “villains” and “heroes” despite obvious attempts of storytellers, like Greta Gerwig to emphasise the lack of a villain/heroes.
This is a prevalent issue which is undoubtedly exacerbated by poor media representation, a lack of comprehensive sex education, and a continued societal prioritization of heterosexual, male sexuality over all others.
Often when women are fans of something that has a predominantly male fanbase, they are made to prove themselves worthy of being a fan. For some reason, women gaining an interest in something that is typically liked by men raises tensions within the fandom communities.