Anybody who has watched one episode of Glee knows that Ryan Murphy loves to tackle social issues in his TV shows. That’s why it was inevitable that he and his Glee co-creators Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk would continue to do the same in their new hit show Scream Queens.
In the fourth episode, titled “Haunted House,” the show dedicated an entire scene to catcalling and just how disgusting, degrading and unacceptable it is.
Let’s set the scene: Four members of Kappa house, Chanel and Chanel #3, #5 and #6 are walking out of their school cafeteria when they get whistled at by a frat boy who openly admits that he would and wants to sleep with all four of them. They appear openly upset, to which another guy comes up to them with the defense that, “he was just trying to be nice.”
That’s when things get serious, with Chanel telling him that when men treat women like meat, they’re no better than the serial killer running loose across the campus. Chanel #3 asks the frat boy if he’s going to ask the girls to give him a smile and when he says yes, Chanel #6 steps up and begins the full-blown attack on the catcalling frat boy.
This is obviously such an important topic to talk about, but half the reason it meant so much is because of the context of the show it is in. So far in Scream Queens, while these girls are all friends, they are always trying to sabotage each other and tear each other down. Considering what the show is about, some might even consider murdering each other.
However, in this moment, they stood together as the sorority sisters and fellow women that they are. A lot of women have experienced how awful and violating catcalling is and may oftentimes be frightened of the catcaller or uncomfortable when it happens. What these girls did in this scene shows solidarity between women that needs to prevalent among real women. These characters will take any opportunity to call each other shallow and compete for unimportant things, but when it matters, they are there for each other.
The best part of the scene is when Chanel says, “Hey, that’s my sister, and she’s no b*tch. But I am.”
We are living in a society where girls are taught to hate other girls from a very young age. They are taught to compare themselves to each other in terms of looks, popularity and status. This leads to eating disorders, problems with body image, and low self esteem. This attitude transcends into adulthood. These women will sl*t-shame each other when they and their friends start being sexually active. When they start competing for jobs, they want the better one. They want to be the woman to get married first.
The solidarity the Chanels show to each other in this scene, and this primal instinct to protect their own through any means necessary, whether it be verbal or violent, is an example that needs to be set among young girls and women alike in society today.
Hopefully a scene like this being shown on TV will set an example for female viewers. If Scream Queens continues to mix important messages like this with the already entertaining show it’s becoming, it’s sure to be a hit.
Watch the scene below: