With it being Women’s History Month and Yellowjackets currently airing its third season, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how the show challenges traditional gender roles, especially when it comes to women and motherhood. Unlike your typical survival story, where women are often expected to be moral anchors or caregivers, Yellowjackets flips those expectations on their heads. Stranded in the wilderness, the characters are forced to confront their instincts and make impossible decisions; decisions that push the boundaries of traditional femininity. Yellowjackets subverts the usual tropes of women and motherhood, focusing on how the show’s depiction of survival forces its characters to redefine what it means to be a woman in extreme circumstances.
Throughout film and television history, women have often been cast in roles that emphasize their nurturing, emotional intelligence, and morality, creating an idealized image of women with these traits. From the classic “damsel in distress” to the more modern trope of the self-sacrificing mother, women in media are frequently portrayed as supporting characters meant to bolster their male counterparts’ journeys. These societal expectations cast women as caretakers and moral compasses, and in many survival stories, these traits are glorified as the feminine ideal even in these extreme situations.
Yellowjackets, however, subverts these traditional notions by pushing its female characters into violent, morally ambiguous decisions. The story centers around a high school girls’ varsity soccer team whose plane crashes in a remote, forested area on their way to nationals. With no immediate way of contacting the outside world and little hope of being rescued, the survivors— which include the girls, their assistant coach (who later becomes amputated from the wreckage), and the two sons of the head coach who died in the crash— are left to fend for themselves. Stripped of civilization and its constraints, they must confront the stark realities of survival.
In this environment, the girls can no longer cling to traditional ideas of femininity or morality. They must abandon societal norms and focus solely on surviving in the harsh wilderness. Characters like Shauna, Jackie, Misty, and Lottie, who are initially seen as more vulnerable or emotionally driven, end up embracing violence, manipulation, and power struggles- traits typically reserved for male characters in similar survival narratives.
The wilderness represents both a physical and psychological space where the girls’ traditional femininity is stripped away, leaving only the raw instinct to survive. However, this transformation comes at a price. As the girls grow into these roles, they are shown struggling with their reintegration into society when they are finally rescued. The contrast between their time in the wilderness and their attempts to re-enter the world they once knew highlights the difficulty of returning to a society that still expects women to adhere to traditional roles. In the end, their time in the wilderness reveals how deeply gendered expectations are ingrained— and how profoundly those expectations can shape (and limit) women’s lives.
Shauna Shipman
Shauna Shipman’s journey in Yellowjackets shows how survival forces her to let go of the expectations placed on her as a woman. Before the crash, she is quiet, unsure of herself, and stuck in Jackie’s shadow, all while secretly sleeping with Jackie’s boyfriend, Jeff. Her unexpected pregnancy adds to her guilt and highlights the pressure on her to be nurturing and self-sacrificing. But, after the crash, everything changes. The wilderness forces her to take on a new, more ruthless role, and when food runs out, she is the one who makes the decision to butcher Jackie’s body. This moment marks her transformation from a passive girl into a survivor willing to do whatever it takes. It also challenges the idea that women are naturally more moral or gentle—Shauna doesn’t just endure the wilderness; she becomes part of it.
Even after being rescued, Shauna struggles to return to normal life. Her relationship with her daughter, Callie, is tense, showing how the things she did to survive still haunt her. The memory of Jackie stays with her, a reminder of how much she has changed. She is no longer the girl who felt trapped by guilt and expectations—she is someone who knows what it takes to survive, even when it means crossing moral lines. Yellowjackets challenges the usual idea of female survivors as nurturing or innocent by showing that Shauna’s survival comes from her ability to adapt, not from being protected. Her story is about more than just making it out alive; it’s about how trauma changes people, and how survival often means letting go of who you used to be.
JAckie Taylor
Jackie Taylor’s character in Yellowjackets represents the traditional idea of femininity– she’s pretty, popular, and the team captain, yet completely unprepared for survival. Before the crash, she was the leader of the team, not because of skill or strength, but because of the confidence and charm that made her fit the classic “queen bee” role. She was the kind of girl who thrives in the everyday world where social status matters more than survival skills. However, when the team is stranded in the wilderness, her leadership quickly fell apart. She lacked the ability to adapt, hunt, or contribute in any meaningful way, which left her isolated as the other girls begin to rely on those who can actually help them survive. Jackie’s slow downfall in the wilderness challenges the idea that traditional feminine qualities of beauty, social influence, and passivity are valuable in extreme situations. In most survival stories, a character like Jackie might have been protected or given a redemptive arc where she learns to toughen up, but Yellowjackets refuses to follow that path. Instead, Jackie’s inability to change seals her fate, and she dies, not from violence or an animal attack, but simply because she refuses to accept that the old rules no longer apply.
Her death and the group’s reaction to it further push against the usual portrayal of women in survival media. In many stories, female characters are either placed in caretaker roles or seen as morally superior to their male counterparts. Yellowjackets challenges this by showing that the girls who survive are not necessarily the ones who are the kindest or the most conventionally feminine, but the ones who are willing to embrace brutality. Jackie’s death is a turning point for the group, as her body eventually becomes their first meal, marking their full transformation into something darker. This moment flips the script on gendered survival tropes of rather than being the helpless girl the others fight to protect; Jackie becomes a symbol of the old world they have left behind. Her presence, even in death, lingers as a reminder of how the wilderness strips away the comforts and roles that once defined them. Through Jackie’s arc it rejects the idea that femininity is a shield in survival stories, instead showing that adaptability, pragmatism, and sometimes even ruthlessness, are what determine who makes it out alive.
Misty Quigley
Misty Quigley starts as the team’s equipment manager and social outcast, often overlooked by her peers. In the pilot, Misty’s caretaking instincts are evident when she rushes to help Allie after her bone pops out during a scrimmage match. She wants to be valued and seen, but her technical skills and desire to care for others go unnoticed, leaving her in the background of the team dynamic. Post crash is where Misty steps up and truly helps the injured survivors, particularly Coach Ben, who is severely wounded in the crash. Misty performs a life-altering amputation on him, making her the one person with the power to decide his fate. Despite her obvious physical pain and emotional exhaustion, Misty is able to control the situation, positioning herself as indispensable to the group’s survival.
However, Misty’s motives are far from purely altruistic. She views Ben’s dependence on her as an opportunity to gain control. Instead of simply providing care, she manipulates him into relying on her completely only for his physical survival but also his emotional stability. By turning a role of care into one of control, Misty challenges traditional expectations of women as selfless caregivers. Her manipulative behavior escalates when she attempts to take advantage of Ben sexually, planning to drug him and sleep with him. This moment in Yellowjackets subverts the typical survival narrative where women are often portrayed as victims of assault. Instead, Misty becomes the aggressor, flipping the usual power dynamic and forcing viewers to confront the complexity of gender roles in survival situations. It shows that the line between victim and perpetrator can blur, offering a fresh perspective on the roles women play in extreme circumstances.
Another pivotal moment in Misty’s post-crash character development occurs when she destroys the black box, preventing the truth about the crash and their time in the wilderness from being uncovered. By breaking it, Misty ensures that the past remains shrouded in mystery, allowing her to manipulate the narrative to her advantage. This act reflects her increasing obsession with control– not just over the present, but over the group’s history. She’s willing to sabotage anything that threatens her power, demonstrating her need to maintain dominance by controlling the story. This moment ties into her earlier behavior as a caregiver turned manipulator, showing that she will go to any lengths, even destructive ones, to maintain control over her future and the people around her.
Lottie Matthews
Lottie Matthews is another character who experiences significant growth in Yellowjackets, especially when it comes to how she challenges traditional gender roles and survivor tropes. Pre-crash, Lottie is portrayed as a wealthy, somewhat fragile girl, struggling with her mental health and a deep sense of disconnection from the rest of the team. Her pre-existing struggles with mental illness create a sense of vulnerability, which aligns with typical expectations of women as fragile or emotionally driven characters. Lottie’s rise to power in the wilderness is shown by her manipulation of the other girls, particularly as they begin to see her as a kind of spiritual leader or guide. She embraces the role of a leader with an almost religious hold, using her ability to tap into the group’s fear and desperation to control them. Her transformation challenges the traditional survivor trope, where female characters are expected to be nurturing, self-sacrificial, or even passive. Lottie’s leadership is not rooted in kindness or cooperation but in fear, control, and the manipulation of belief. Her actions force viewers to reconsider what true leadership looks like in extreme conditions, as she blurs the lines between messiah and capturer.
Lottie’s decision to transfer her power to Natalie at the end of subverts the traditional female archetype of the unyielding, dominant leader. Women in power are expected to hold onto control tightly, embodying strength and assertiveness. However, Lottie’s choice to step aside challenges this expectation, showing a more complex understanding of female power. By acknowledging that Natalie, with her own trauma and strength, is better suited to lead, Lottie offers a more fluid portrayal of leadership. Lottie is the embodiment of feminine power and control, yet her past in the wilderness continues to haunt her. She remains obsessed with the survival tactics she learned in the forest and still carries the weight of the group’s trauma. The adult Lottie is more composed but no less dangerous. Her leadership, both in the past and present, reflects a disturbing shift in what it means for a woman to hold power. Lottie’s character arc challenges traditional gender roles by showing how women can take on leadership roles that are both empowering and morally ambiguous, pushing the boundaries of what we typically expect from female characters in survival stories.