Television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes has once again blown the internet away with her insight. In the midst of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, several female Hollywood directors started a #FemaleFilmakerFriday trend last week on Twitter that celebrated all of the women behind the scenes who make the movies we rave about. Rhimes is an unbelievably accomplished person herself with her show, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder and Grey’s Anatomy on ABC’s “TGIT” segment every week.
Rhimes tweeted something today that some may have been thinking about and other still hadn’t realized until she said it. “Okay. Entertainment industry, time to stop using the phrases ‘Smart Strong Women’ and ‘Strong Female Leads’,” she wrote. “There are no Dumb Weak Women. A smart strong woman is just a WOMAN. Also? ‘Women’ are not a TV trend — we’re half the planet.”
Okay. Entertainment industry, time to stop using the phrases “Smart Strong Women” and “Strong Female Leads”. There are no Dumb Weak Women. A smart strong woman is just a WOMAN. Also? “Women” are not a TV trend — we’re half the planet.
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) February 1, 2018
With over 38 thousand retweets and 147 thousand likes, it’s clear that Rhimes’ tweet struck a chord with many people.
Yes! Can we just call them what they are WELL WRITTEN FEMALE ROLES.
— Lynn Rafferty (@LynnsDelighted) February 1, 2018
This is parallel to when they label an entire corner at the library for “female philosophers”, and the ones written by men are just “philosophers”.
— Areej Al Shammiry (@AreejAlSh) February 2, 2018
I’ve been saying “strong female lead” for years and I never realized how patronizing it sounds. Noted and thank you.
— Elie Chivi (@eliechivi) February 1, 2018
@shondarhimes is right we should aim to have complex, well rounded and human female leads instead – they tend to be more interesting characters to watch/read about. https://t.co/sw0akNGTFb
— Zeinab Ali (@zeinabnali) February 1, 2018
Thanks to Rhimes, we’ve just taken another step toward recognizing the patriarchal beliefs we’ve absentmindedly accepted and changing the way we treat women in not just the entertainment industry, but all industries.