There are so many problems with how women are shown in media. Often, they’re reduced to cheap stereotypes for a laugh.
Here are a few of the most offensive.
The Cheerleader
The stereotype:
She’s hot, mean, and wears short skirts and high heels even around high school. She’s usually got the boyfriend the nerdy girl wants and she has an entourage of bitchy friends.
How she could be improved:
Even popular girls are usually really nice to other women. Just….knock this one off.
The Guy’s Girl
The stereotype:
She’s tough, she’s loud, and she enjoys watching the game with one fist full of nachos and the other holding a beer. Most (if not all) of her friends are dudes, and she dresses just like them.
How she could be improved:
Give her girl friends. Let her enjoy femininity. Stop saying she’s “basically a guy” or “not like other girls,” as though being less traditionally feminine makes her inherently better than other women.
The Gay Best Friend’s Best Friend
The stereotype:
She’s superficial. She objectifies gay men and reduces them to stereotypes. She thinks that just because her best friend is gay, she can use homophobic slurs. She probably thinks lesbians are gross.
How she could be improved:
Let her see LGBTQ+ people as actual people instead of accessories.
The Housewife
The stereotype:
She’s just a background prop with no plotline outside her husband. All she does is clean, take care of the kids, and act as a sounding board for the main man to work out his problems and dump his emotional baggage – unless he’s having sex with her, of course.
How she could be improved:
Let her have her own story. Give her agency in her life and teach her to leave him when he isn’t treating her right. Surround her with friends and let her burst out of the confines of her stereotype, because she’s dying to.
The Lesbian
The stereotype:
She’s cold, her voice is husky, and she likes to sleep around. She’s usually smoking cigarettes and objectifying women, or seducing them away from their loving boyfriends. Alternatively, all she wants is to wear flannel and settle down behind a picket fence with her artificially inseminated babies.
How she could be improved:
Let lesbians act like every other woman. They’re already ostracized from traditional womanhood because they don’t like men, and it’s important to portray a more varied outlook. Stop making it seem like lesbians have to be one type of way and portray them like individuals.
So what’s the running theme here?
Writers seem to think that women are one-dimensional and rude to other girls, which is usually not the case. Women have to go through a lot of shit, and we tend to have each other’s backs because of that. We deserve representation of the fierce bond between women that, usually, can’t be rivaled by any other friendship.
Are there any other stereotypes you’re sick of? Let us know!