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The Powerpuff Girls on feminism

bodmon

September 18, 2012

126 upvotes

/r/MensRights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHSCSjabsuE&list=FLyf59yy-7au5d4_sTDA1RUA&index=52&feature=plpp_video

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Post Information

Title	The Powerpuff Girls on feminism
Author	bodmon
Upvotes	126
Comments	57
Date	September 18, 2012 11:43 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/103vqh/the_powerpuff_girls_on_feminism/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/the-powerpuff-girls-on-feminism.1013258 https://theredarchive.com/post/1013258

Comments

[–]cknight18 11 points12 points13 points 13 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

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The problem is feminists who watch the cartoon and think that Femme Fatal is supposed to be a stand-in for feminism. The cartoon obviously doesn't do that -- if anything, it suggests that she is not a feminist.

Femme Fatale isn't a strawman until somebody tries to generalize her actions as representative of feminism in general. And the only people doing that are ironically feminists looking for things to get mad over. Femme Fatale is a villan with a schtick. She wasn't a feminist strawman until people like Sarkeesan declared her one.

I suppose the cartoon does make a statement in that it suggests that people who expect sympathy for rampant perceived social slights are wrong. There are people out there for whom Femme Fatale probably hits a bit close to home. They may self-identify as feminists. That doesn't make Femme Fatale the ambassador of feminism, unless you think nothing more of feminism than outrage. I don't.

people yelling at me for Bendy and Equal Fights

The people yelling at her are 'feminists'.

too touchy a subject

The people being disturbed are 'feminists'.

This is the quote-mine. It was written in response to someone concerned about the episode after having seen a Feminist Frequency video (dishonestly) railing it.

“My first thought is that it is unfortunate that the end of that episode was not discussed or shown [in the Feminist Frequency video]. At the end, the girls put Femme Fatale in jail after a long discussion about Susan B. Anthony (the coins were the only money FF would steal) and what real equality means. There was also a whole scene where several adult women point out to the PPG how Femme Fatale was abusing feminist outrage to steal and commit crimes, which, while cartoonishly unrealistic, isn’t ok. At the end of the day, I have always regretted doing that episode. It’s too touchy and too serious a subject to be treated properly in a cartoon. To make things funny and light-hearted, you have to exaggerate characters and situations—— which is very much what the host was complaining about. Unfortunately, humor and idealism are hard to mix.

I was young (25) and thought I was demonstrating the wrong way and the right way to be feminist. I was also poking fun at myself—- I had a ”Femme Fatale phase” in high school and college. I let myself get angry at very small situations, and I thought I saw sexism everywhere, and in every man. Yes, women taking on most of the housework is still a problem, but when you encounter an individual man who, like the Professor, takes on his fair share of the housework, the justifiable anger about that issue shouldn’t be directed at him. It’s a very subtle message and, again, I wish I didn’t even attempt it. In a later season, Paul Rudish wrote and storyboarded an excellent episode, “Members Only” which was a far better (and much more direct) example of the feminist message in PPG. The girls where being left out of an elite league of Superheroes simply because they were little girls. In the end, the girls proved themselves more than worthy, and changed the league’s mind about girls. When Paul pitched that episode, I was more embarrassed about Equal Fights than ever. I knew that episode would come back to bite me one day. I suppose the only consolation I can offer is that I did receive comments online from guys who said the episode actually changed their minds about feminists. They thought feminists were all like FF, but after seeing Ms. Keane, Sarah Bellum and the PPG shine a different light on what equality should be, they actually opened their minds against the “straw feminist” stereotype. But even that’s not really enough to justify the episode in my mind. I really wish I hadn’t made it.”

Add:

Here's the Feminist Frequency video I referred to.

http://youtu.be/tnJxqRLg9x0

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Directly from the page you linked above, which I assume you read:

"According to the Old Shame page, this ep has been regretted by Lauren Faust, who feels the concept of feminism is to serious to be discussed properly on a kid's show."

From the page that page links to (Old Shame):

"And The Powerpuff Girls episode "Equal Fights", citing that the subject of feminism is too strong for a children's cartoon show."

I guess lying is better than having to admit to making a mistake, right?

However, on her trivia page, it does say:

"Lauren admittedly wishes she didn't write the Powerpuff Girls episode "Equal Fights." In retrospect, she finds Straw Feminism too touchy a subject to discuss in a cartoon so lighthearted."

Again, it's the subject. Not that she regrets the character being a straw feminist, but whatever you have to tell yourself to get through the day.

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There's certainly enough anti-feminist sentiment here in MR but, to be fair, there is just as much anti-MRA sentiment in feminist communities. Neither one excuses the other, but hate begets hate. So, we have a nice circular cluster-fuck of hating on one another to the point we automatically shame and discredit anyone for anything they say that doesn't echo the beliefs of the community. That makes it rather difficult to have any discourse, unfortunately.

It most certainly does go both ways. I just think it's easier to see discrimination or hardship when it happens to someone you can identify with rather than with someone you can't. We just can't let it blind us to the bigger picture, and many on both sides definitely let that happen. If nothing else, I'm glad to have been able to hold a civil conversation with someone who may have differing views than I. Although, now I have to run, but it's been enlightening and enjoyable.

And since I assume you're into riot grrl: Free Pussy Riot!

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