[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.18,0:00:13.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A trope is a common pattern in a story or a recognizable attribute in
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.12,0:00:16.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a character that conveys information to the audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.39,0:00:19.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A trope becomes a cliche when it's overused.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.31,0:00:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sadly, some of these tropes often perpetuate offensive stereotypes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.86,0:00:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every now and then, in Hollywoodland a character that's identified as a feminist will magically make its way
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.68,0:00:35.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the production process and appear on our television screens
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.16,0:00:37.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unfortunately this is almost never good.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.87,0:00:41.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What the Hollywood machine churns out is a distorted and warped version of feminism
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.91,0:00:45.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which bares little resemblance to actual feminist movements.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.21,0:00:48.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a desperate quest to distance themselves, their plots and their characters
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.46,0:00:53.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from anything that could in anyway be mistakenly mistaken for feminism
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.05,0:00:59.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hollywood writers rely on one of the most deceptive and disgusting tropes ever to be forged in the fires of mount doom.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.68,0:01:02.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That trope is called The Straw Feminist.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.19,0:01:07.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In television and movies The Straw Feminist works by deliberately creating an exaggerated caricature of a feminist
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.86,0:01:12.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which writers then fill with a bunch of oversimplifications, misrepresentations and stereotypes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.99,0:01:16.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to try to make it easy to discredit or delegitimize feminism.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.58,0:01:22.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The goal is to make feminists and our movements look completely ridiculous, over the top and unnecessary.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.25,0:01:28.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In terms of media representation, one of the most disturbing example of the Straw Feminist can be found in the 3rd season of Veronica Mars.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.76,0:01:33.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sadly, the Veronica Mars writing team turned the last season into a train wreak
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.09,0:01:37.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,partially by introducing a group of Straw Feminists as villains in the series.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.81,0:01:41.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Characters like these serve to undermine and discredit feminist movements
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.48,0:01:46.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they also serves to separate female leads who are smart, strong and witty,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.61,0:01:50.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this case, Veronica, from any association with feminism.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.28,0:01:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Straw Feminist character is part of a fictional post-feminist world that only exists in Hollywood.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.36,0:02:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The trope is a tool that's used to promote the fallacy that everyone is already equal.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.04,0:02:04.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What’s exceptionally frustrating is that these characters often bring up legitimate feminist concerns
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.42,0:02:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about women’s rights and women’s equality but those concerns are quickly undermined
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.54,0:02:13.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the writers making the characters seem over the top, crazy, and extremist.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.72,0:02:19.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example the Straw Feminist appears in Married with Children as Marcy D’Arcy, the irritating and pompous neighbour.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.64,0:02:26.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this case, the Straw Feminist is coded as the castrating wife who emasculates and dominates her docile, stupid husband.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.65,0:02:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We see the trope repeated in Rugrats with Phil and Lil's mother
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.94,0:02:33.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who Wikipedia describes as “Quite the jock and women's-libber”
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.95,0:02:38.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we can also recognize her as a straw feminist because of the giant woman's symbol on her sweater.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.89,0:02:44.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Much like Marcy she's framed as the castrating wife who barks orders at her submissive husband.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.79,0:02:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2001's Legally Blonde the writers threw in a Straw Feminist for cheap laughs
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.00,0:02:52.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who believes that the word “semester” is an evil conspiracy against women.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.39,0:02:57.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Take the word semester okay? It is the perfect example of this school's discriminatory preference
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.34,0:03:00.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of semen to ovaries, that's why I'm petitioning to have next term be referred to as
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.72,0:03:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the winter ov-es-ter."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.71,0:03:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another problematic example comes from the Powerpuff Girls episode, “Equal Fights” in the third season.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.32,0:03:12.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Girls encounter a female villain named Femme Fatale
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.44,0:03:16.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who we can immediately see is a Straw Feminist because she has the
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.12,0:03:19.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,oh-so-terrifying woman’s symbol on her mask, her clothes
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.99,0:03:21.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even as her weapon.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.67,0:03:27.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The episode begins with the traditional pan around Townsville showing us that gender inequality is not a problem.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.63,0:03:30.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"A city where everyone gets their fair turn"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.38,0:03:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even boys and girls on the playground get along.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.45,0:03:35.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Your turn Jenny... think fast"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.63,0:03:36.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oops"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.57,0:03:38.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Very funny Joey.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.38,0:03:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You're gonna get it"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.31,0:03:46.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this harmonious balance is deviously disrupted by Femme Fatale and her conniving, deceptive women's rights rhetoric.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.98,0:03:50.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Curiously though, Femme Fatale brings up some pretty valid points
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.19,0:03:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the lack of female faces on American money,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.90,0:03:55.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the lack of female superheroes in pop culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.41,0:04:01.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Surely, you've noticed, female superheroes aren't nearly as revered as male superheroes."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.16,0:04:02.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Sure they are!"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.16,0:04:03.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"There's Supergirl, Batgirl"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.99,0:04:05.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"They're so lame"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.100,0:04:08.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Merely extensions of their male counterparts."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.42,0:04:13.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Girls are influenced by Femme Fatale’s malicious rhetoric to see benign, routine every day things
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.88,0:04:17.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a conspiracy against women and against them personally.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.38,0:04:22.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writers of the Powerpuff Girls have carefully created a fantasy world without gender oppression,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.51,0:04:26.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that they can have the Girls start seeing oppression where none exists.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.55,0:04:36.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We saw what you did Joey Finklemeyer"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.82,0:04:38.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Whhaaa'd I do?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.15,0:04:39.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Shut up!"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.15,0:04:42.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Don't play dumb with us!"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.03,0:04:45.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I've finally caught up on all the housework and all that's left is your room."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.08,0:04:46.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If you could take care of that please."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.16,0:04:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"uh, I'll just do it later"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.58,0:04:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Why don't you get some big strong man to save your precious city?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.84,0:04:59.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Or better yet why don't you stop making women do your dirty work and do it yourself!"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.17,0:05:04.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem is, all of these things that the Powerpuff Girls are complaining about are actually happening!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.64,0:05:06.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Girls are getting bullied on school yards
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.89,0:05:10.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and women are overwhelmingly responsible for household duties.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.77,0:05:15.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Women are being institutionally oppressed all the time in nearly every facet of our lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.48,0:05:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once again this trope is used to separate the Powerpuff Girls from any notion
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.36,0:05:22.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they could in anyway possibly be feminist characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.45,0:05:27.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because you know you awesome, funny, world saving, independent young women
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.41,0:05:29.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you know, not feminist...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.45,0:05:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The straw feminist trope is taken to a whole new level in adult animation shows
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.04,0:05:35.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as South Park or Family Guy.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.77,0:05:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the episode "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar" the Family Guy writers took a stab at feminist attorney Gloria Allred.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.09,0:05:47.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Allred is known for taking on high-profile cases defending women who have been assaulted or harassed.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.10,0:05:52.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this attack, the Family Guy writers created a character coincidentally named Gloria Ironbox
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.18,0:05:57.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who brainwashes Peter into thinking he is a woman, after he is accused of sexual harassment.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.98,0:06:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The emasculation and feminization of Peter and his sudden transformation into a feminist is played for laughs.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.95,0:06:07.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I can't respect men, men are the reason our world is in such lousy shape."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.78,0:06:10.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If men were as caring as women we wouldn't have crime or violence."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.92,0:06:14.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because you know, nothing is worse in a patriarchal society then being a woman,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.92,0:06:17.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,except maybe being a feminist...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.79,0:06:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In these fictional narratives institutional oppression and wide scale sexism just doesn’t exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.77,0:06:27.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s a carefully constructed world where feminism is no longer needed.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.30,0:06:31.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even the comic book world delves into this trope, with Y the Last Man.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.27,0:06:33.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When all the men on earth die except for one,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.94,0:06:37.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is a extremist homicidal group called the Daughters of the Amazons.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.94,0:06:42.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The violent, vigilante group is founded on the disdain and hatred of men
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.36,0:06:44.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and anyone who mourns the death of men
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.70,0:06:47.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though there aren’t anymore men.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.77,0:06:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's get back to Veronica Mars,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.20,0:06:54.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is a 9 episode story arc in the 3rd season about a series of rapes that occur on the University Campus.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.96,0:06:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A group of straw feminists on campus hold demonstrations,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.92,0:07:01.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,volunteer with the Ride Home Safe campus program to escort young women home,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.98,0:07:06.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and demand that the university institute an official sexual code of conduct.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.38,0:07:11.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of these are logical, rational and important steps to creating safer college campuses.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.60,0:07:17.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, the writer quickly dismisses these characters as irrational, stubborn, pigheaded man-haters,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.44,0:07:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it serves to fulfill the tired old stereotypes about angry and militant women of colour.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.51,0:07:24.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Pig"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.64,0:07:25.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Rapist"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.73,0:07:27.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Pig"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.58,0:07:33.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writers of Veronica Mars takes the Straw Feminist to an obscene level
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.24,0:07:37.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by actually having them "fake a rape" in order to blame the fraternity.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.54,0:07:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Women lying about sexual assault is a grossly overused myth.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.75,0:07:46.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Women generally don’t put themselves through the social shame of admitting assault for petty personal revenge.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.72,0:07:51.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In just a handful of episodes the creators of Veronica Mars undermine the work that
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.14,0:07:55.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of students are doing globally on there campuses to end violence against women.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.73,0:07:59.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While we see the Straw Feminist over and over again in television and movies,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.27,0:08:04.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it’s also unfortunately deployed on a regular basis by American talk shows and news pundits.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.90,0:08:08.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mainstream religious and conservative news media often attack women with
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.24,0:08:12.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deliberate misrepresentations and extreme exaggerations of what feminism is.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.91,0:08:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This false impression has been infused into the mainstream by popular talk show hosts
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.16,0:08:20.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as Michael Savage, Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.58,0:08:24.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You may have heard the slur "Feminazi" popularized by Rush Limbaugh.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.55,0:08:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A term used to discredit and demonize any woman fighting for social equality.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.18,0:08:34.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The feminists, the feminazis have been working for years to this end,"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.14,0:08:37.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"advance women by diminishing men."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.72,0:08:39.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ya...
Dialogue: 0,0:08:39.02,0:08:44.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Straw Feminist is set up to perpetuate and advance the myth that feminism is no longer needed,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.48,0:08:46.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have arrived at gender equality
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.37,0:08:50.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and anyone who disagrees is quickly demeaned and portrayed as an extremist.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.91,0:08:55.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This trope represents a backlash against feminism and groups supporting women’s rights.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.54,0:08:59.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As we make more gains towards equality, the backlash gets stronger.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.33,0:09:04.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s an old yet effective tactic but clearly it's working because I often hear young women saying,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.09,0:09:07.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I believe in the equal rights of women but I'm not a feminist."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.50,0:09:10.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This sentiment is a direct result of the straw feminist trope.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.47,0:09:16.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because women want to distance themselves from the extreme and false representations they are seeing on tv, movies and talk shows.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.97,0:09:24.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We need to proudly claim the title and fight back against these distorted and demeaning representations in the media and in real life,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.13,0:09:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if y’all really do believe in the equality of women then we need to continue this long legacy of feminism and fight for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.32,0:09:33.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Hollywood, get over your fear of strong, smart and talented women
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.78,0:09:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and stop contributing to the backlash by writing absurd and ridiculous Straw Feminist characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.20,0:09:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I will leave you with Polly Bergen saying something pretty awesome
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.54,0:09:45.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the otherwise unremarkable show Commander in Chief.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.71,0:09:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Look just because it matters to mom doesn't mean it matters to me."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.52,0:09:51.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I mean, I'm no feminist."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.09,0:09:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"So you don't believe that women should have rights equal to those of men"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.80,0:09:58.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"w..well of course I do... it's just-"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.47,0:10:01.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Might I suggest my dear"
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.23,0:10:05.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"that you look up the definition of feminist."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.23,0:10:11.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,♪ Feminists don't have a sense of humor ♪
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.94,0:10:16.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,♪ Feminists just want to be alone ♪
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.43,0:10:18.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,♪ Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo ♪