New Girl, my favourite sitcom, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year!
I could talk about New Girl for hours—the value it places on platonic relationships, its mastery of the ensemble comedy genre, how wonderfully weird every character turns out to be—but today, I want to talk about its leading lady: Jessica Christopher Day.
I absolutely adore Jess (played by Zooey Deschanel) and the way she wholeheartedly and unapologetically embraces her femininity.
She loves baking, knitting, and throwing parties; wears a lot of twirly skirts and ballet flats; and watches Dirty Dancing on repeat after breakups. She’s also unabashedly sexual, undaunted in male-dominated spaces, and as career-oriented as she is relationship-driven.
New Girl received some backlash from viewers during its pilot season, calling Jess’ brand of stereotypical femininity retrogressive. Zooey Deschanel and producer Elizabeth Meriwether confronted this criticism head-on in one episode where Jess confronts her character foil, a tough lawyer.
“I brake for birds. I rock a lot of polka dots. I have touched glitter in the last twenty-four hours. I spend my entire day talking to children,” Jess said. “And that doesn’t mean I’m not smart, and tough, and strong.”
To me, Jess beautifully exemplifies the female protagonist of my dreams: a strong woman who isn’t strong merely because she doesn’t care about makeup or was raised with ten aggressive brothers, but because she’s kind, authentic, and acts with agency.
Jess stands up for herself, the people she loves, and what she believes in. More and more, I’m learning that my femininity doesn’t detract from my autonomy, and I’m gravitating towards women and female characters—like Jess—who show it.