Deconstructing Woman

Last season, millions of women tuned in to watch Dr. Meredith Grey nearly die of an apparent suicide. As Meredith herself put it, she simply stopped “struggling.” Gave up the fight. Let go…

But what exactly is she supposed to be struggling against? After watching only one episode, it is made abundantly clear that Meredith is living the good life: she has a “dreamy” boyfriend who adores her, a support system of true friends who are ready and willing to provide her with anything she needs, and a blossoming career as a successful surgeon. The only glitch in her otherwise perfect life was a nasty, uncaring mother dying of Alzheimer’s. But it hardly seems likely that a sick, judgmental mother could cause an adult child to kill herself. And certainly not in light of the extended support system that is constantly available to Meredith.

And then there’s that inescapable feeling that Meredith and her unnamed neurosis seem disturbingly familiar: Another bright, successful career girl on the brink of realizing her dreams suddenly becomes completely dissatisfied with her very successful life.

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In the teen flick She’s the Man (2006), Amanda Bynes plays the likable Viola, a young girl who is passionate about soccer and willing to do just about anything to play her favorite sport. When her high school cuts the girls’ soccer team and the coach refuses to let her try out for the boys team (“Everybody knows girls aren’t as fast or strong or athletic as boys”), Viola decides to impersonate her brother Sebastian and try out for a rival school’s boys’ team.

Not surprisingly, many women and feminists have hailed the movie as pro-feminist, and there are several scenes in the movie that support this contention: When Viola’s boyfriend fails to support her, she immediately dumps him; she resists external influences that attempt to coerce her into a typical feminine stereotype; and she doesn’t shy away from competition. In fact, she seems brazenly comfortable making her own choices and she is not afraid to go after what she wants, no matter how challenging. But in our excitement over finding a fun, spunky, independent female lead, have feminists overlooked some of the traditionally stereotypical and sexist messages found in She’s the Man despite its obvious “girl power” theme?
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This article was originally published by Suite101 in 2001. Reprinted with permission.

During my first English class in university we studied the Shakespearean play Othello. I must confess I did not like it. It was a tragic tale of greed, jealousy and betrayal. And love—at least, that is what the academics professed. Personally, I never felt much love in the tale between Othello and Desdemona. I was never convinced. I was relieved when we moved onto 19th century poetry; I put Othello out of my mind, eager to leave the play far behind me.

Three years later, I enrolled in the second required English course of my program. The course was offered under various themes; I chose love as my theme. As luck would have it, the professor chose Othello as one of the love stories. He, apparently, was convinced of the love between Othello and Desdemona. For our first assignment, we were to write a love letter expressing our deep love for Othello in the character of Desdemona, or vice versa. I could hardly believe it. I adamantly believed, and will always believe, there was never any such love. › Continue reading