"Obvi, We're the Ladies": Articulation and Criticism of Third Wave Feminism in GIRLS

Philosophische Fakultät

der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Bachelor-Arbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades

„Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)“

im Studiengang English Studies

“Obvi, We're the Ladies.”

Articulation and Criticism of Third Wave Feminism in GIRLS

Vorgelegt von

Helen May

Sommersemester 2014

Themensteller/-in: Dr. Justin Sully

Zweitgutachter/-in: Dr. Silke Meyer

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................12 Metatextual Commentary and Criticism.........................................................................4

2.1 Racial Underrepresentation.....................................................................................52.2 Self-Entitlement....................................................................................................10

3 Bodies...........................................................................................................................133.1 The Male Gaze and Hollywood Conventions.......................................................133.2 Nudity....................................................................................................................163.3 “Real” Bodies?......................................................................................................183.4 The Female (Body) in Comedy.............................................................................22

4 Sexuality.......................................................................................................................254.1 Sexuality in GIRLS...............................................................................................27

5 Gender Roles and Identities..........................................................................................325.1 Breaking the Female Stereotype?.........................................................................325.2 Construction of Masculinity..................................................................................35

6 Conclusion....................................................................................................................387 Bibliography.................................................................................................................40

7.1 GIRLS Episodes....................................................................................................407.1.1 Season 01.......................................................................................................407.1.2 Season 02.......................................................................................................40

7.2 Other Visual Media...............................................................................................417.3 Literature...............................................................................................................42

1 Introduction

When GIRLS debuted in 2012 it got a lot of praise for being new and refreshing

although the show was, at the same time, often compared to Sex and the City (1998-

2004). There are, indeed, many similarities between both shows. At first glance we can

already see that both focus on the lives of four different white women in New York City,

struggling with the ups and downs of their friendship, love and personal life. Especially

the focus on female friendship makes both shows stand out from most other television

programming in which the focus is often put on male “buddies” and where women only

play the love interest. And both, GIRLS and Sex and the City, have been praised but also

criticized from a feminist perspective as not being radical enough:

the fact we're still expected to jump for joy just to see four young white leads on our screen showswe're nowhere near that point [where female characters live up to the same expectations as maleones](Scott).

However, while the protagonists of Sex and the City are working adults, GIRLS

focuses on “what it's like to be an under-employed, uncertain 20-something woman in a

post-sexual revolution and economically downtrodden world” (Cadenas). One of the

most important motifs in the show is the transition from the end of the college years to

adulthood. And while “getting the guy” is also a constant plot element it is nowhere

near as important as the hunt for Mr. Big (and, ideally, the perfect high heels) that filled

two movies and six seasons of Sex and the City.

GIRLS is written, produced and directed by Lena Dunham. She also stars as

Hannah, the shows main protagonists through who's life the other characters are brought

together. There are many similarities between Hannah and Dunham: both have a degree

from Oberlin College (cf. “Hard Being Easy”, “Cast & Crew”) and Dunham did not

cover up her tattoos while staring as Hannah and even makes a reference to them in the

show (cf. Chapter 3). One of Dunham's tattoos was “done by her friend and co-star

Jemima Kirke, whom she know in high school at St. Ann's” (Nussbaum), in the show

Hannah explains that it was done by Jessa, the character Kirke plays, connecting the

character to the actress directly. The lines between the character and its creator are

blurred.

The criticism the show received did not predominantly address the thematic

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elements of the show – which is surprising because as I will point out the show

constantly breaks medial taboos. GIRLS also gathered a big fan base. As in classic chick

lit viewers

gravitate, in particular, to the protagonists' fallibility: these are not the flawless women of romancefiction waiting to be recognized by their 'perfect' man, but women who make mistakes at work,sometimes drink too much, fail miserably in the kitchen, or [fall for the wrong kind of man]”(Ferriss and Young 93),

in other words: the flawed women are relatable. While the entitlement of the

protagonists, which I will address in this thesis, and Hannah's self-hatred can be

annoying at times they offer a distance between characters and viewers by emphasizing

that the women on screen are no role models with moral authority or a pedagogical

function. This gap between viewers and characters gives the viewers the opportunity to

critically reflect on the actions they see on screen and not buy into everything the

protagonists say and do.

This paper will look at issues of Third Wave Feminism and how they are dealt

within GIRLS. Although, as Angela McRobbie points out there are

elements of contemporary popular culture [that] are perniciously effective in regard to [the]undoing of feminism, while simultaneously appearing to be engaging in a well-informed and evenwell-intended response to feminism […. This suggests] that by means of the tropes of freedom andchoice which are now inextricably connected with the category of 'young women,' feminism isdecisively aged and made to seem redundant” (255),

I will argue that GIRLS, indeed, is a feminist text because it articulates feminist beliefs.

I will analyze the depiction of female bodies and the construction and depictions of

sexuality and gender identities within the show. Apart from issues raised in the

dialogues between the characters of the show I will look at the cinematic depiction with

an emphasis on the male gaze. Furthermore, I will take self-referentiality in the form of

metatextual commentary into consideration and explore its usage and function.

For my analysis of said metatextual commentary and its function I will mainly

focus on the first season of the show. It is much more comedic while the second season

is more serious and focuses on the characters' shortcomings and offers a deeper

portrayal of their inner workings1. As I will point out, GIRLS uses metatextual

commentary as one of its main sources of humor but also to voice criticism. Therefore,

it is of particular interest to this paper.

The issues I will address are often interconnected. Structuring the paper along

1 (I will, of course, also consider the second season but mostly when speaking about the charactersthemselves)

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the lines of focal points allows for better readability and understanding even though this

means that there will be a number of repetitions: certain key scenes are important for

many issues and thus will be considered repeatedly.

Since there is no clear line within Third Wave Feminism on most of the issues I

am addressing in this paper, I will also consider standpoints from Second Wave

feminists that have later been rejected to give a broader theoretical framework. This will

also help to understand the form of criticism of feminism within the show: while it does

not take a clear stand for one articulation of Third Wave feminist ideas over others, the

show highlights the complex issues over which feminists often fought (and continue to

do) and point out the weaknesses and flaws of both sides' arguments, promoting an

undogmatic feminism that highlights individual choices and agency.

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2 Metatextual Commentary and Criticism

Despite the show's success2 there has also been some criticism as I already pointed out.

A lot of this criticism is addressed in the show itself through metatextual commentary:

the characters embody and articulate the extratextual criticism of the show within the

narrative.

An example for this is the scene in which Hannah tells Ray about the essay she

is going to read which is about fear of intimacy and the night she spend in a hoarder's

room while she went to college. Ray “mirrors the frustration expressed by critics when

he brazenly interrogates the personal nature of Hannah's creating writing” (Bell

366) and tells Hannah that she should write about something more “real”:

Hannah: What do you think would be a “real” thing to write about?Ray: I don't know. I mean, lots of things. Cultural criticism. How about years of

neglected abuse? How about acid rain? How about the plight of the giant panda? How about racial profiling? How about urban sprawl? How about divorce? How about death? How about death? Death is the most fucking real, you should write about death. (“Leave Me Alone”)

In the end Hannah takes Ray's advice and writes a trivial text about death to make her

seem more “real” but the text is not received very well by the audience. A similar

argument can be made about the show. While touching several important and

undoubtedly “real” topics like abortion, date rape and college debt, most the first season

centers on privileged white girls and their seemingly petty problems and is not as

radically feminist or “real” as some viewers or critics might have hoped for.

Furthermore, Hannah is writing a memoir and a lot of what she does is for her

story, for example when she tries to seduce her boss (cf. “Hard Being Easy”).

“Everything that happens to her has the potential to become a part of an essay in her

book […] and so – in a metafictional turn – the show becomes material for her memoir

and at the same time her memoir itself” (Grdesic 357). This again also blurs the line

between author and character. Dunham's earlier work explored similar themes, both

writing and directing a movie (cf. ibid. 357). This is why some people might confuse the

2 The first season was nominated, amongst others, at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for BestComedy Series and Lena Dunham for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, the Primetime Emmy Awardsfor Outstanding Comedy Series, Lena Dunham for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series,Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and wonOutstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. Additionally, the show won a Peabody Award and thecategory New Series at at the Writers Guild of America Awards (cf. “GIRLS”)

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writer, director and actor Lena Dunham with her character Hannah and miss the irony

when Hannah says that she “might be the voice of a generation” (“Pilot”). This often-

cited line from the show “simultaneously embraces and mocks the role of the

spokesperson for her generation that the media attributed to Dunham” (Grdesic 356) and

is highly ironic. As Masa Grdesic points out:

Metatextual comments such as these indicate the text's awareness of potential criticism andfunction as a warning to critics and viewers that, that expectations aside, Girls cannot presentanything other than the particular experience of a few fictional girls (357).3

The show often references Sex and the City. Shoshanna has a poster from one of

the movies hanging in her “perfect bachelorette pad” and describes herself and Jessa

through the characters of said show (“Pilot”). This, scene again, takes feedback GIRLS

received and addresses it:

When Sex and The City [sic] was at its height in the early 2000s, it was pop culture's favoritegame to ask women to pigeonhole themselves as either wild sexpot Samantha, dewy-eyedromantic Charlotte, fierce cynic Miranda or everywoman (with a budget to spend $500 a whack ona pair of shoes, natch) Carrie. So it's hardly surprising Girls has been compared to SATC, whenhere we have again wild sexpot Jessa, dewy-eyed romantic Shoshanna (or rather, too naive andcaricatured to be realistic Shoshanna), straight-laced career girl Marnie and slovenly, directionlessHannah. God forbid our media ever depicts a woman as complex, nuanced and defying simplecategoritsation (Scott).

While GIRLS also points to the literary – or in this case broadcast – tradition, both

shows are also criticized at the same time through Jessa's confusion, disbelieve and

resistance to be put into these categories (cf. “Pilot”). Jessa does not want to be labeled

as a stereotype of TV woman but be herself, complex, nuanced and defying simple

categorization, to use Scott's words.

The metatextual commentary makes fun of both, the show and its critics. On a

broader level issues young women face are addressed such as the difficulty to find a

paying job (although Hannah states that she's “an English major, there has to be

something” (ibid.)), gaining financial independence and having a fulfilling relationship.

While I can only speak for myself I think that this resonates with a number of viewers.

The snarky comments and Hannah's refusal to grow up but at the same time claiming to

be “a grown up women” (ibid.) make fun of the characters on screen as well as those in

front of the screen that can relate to the characters without being too harsh.

2.1 Racial Underrepresentation

As I just stated, I could easily identify with parts of the characters on GIRLS. As

3 I will go into more detail about the issue of representation in the following subchapter.

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Wortham argues this feeling resonated with a number of other viewers which is one

possible explanation for the show's success:

Because these girls on Girls are like us, they are like me and they are like you, they are beautiful,they are ballsy, they are trying to figure it out. They have their entire lives ahead of them and Ican’t wait to see what happens next.

But there has also been a lot of criticism of the show for only showing white,

entitled young women and that is most certainly true. The cast of the first season is

white. Within the pilot there are only two non-white person shown, Joy Lynn, Hannah's

coworker who “knows photoshop” (ibid.) and a black man on the street in front of the

hotel Hannah's parents are staying in that appears to be homeless, promoting the racist

stereotypes that Asians are good with technology and African Americans poor. The

show is set in New York City which is known for its diversity which is clearly lacking

from the show.

Those upset with the show's whitewashing have high expectations of the show.

[T]he problem with Girls is that while the show reachers – and succeeds, in many ways – to showfemale characters that are not caricatures, it feels alienating, a party of four engineered to appeal toa very specific subset of the television viewing audience, when the show has the potential to be somuch bigger than that. And that is a huge fucking disappointment (Wortham).

While this criticism is certainly valid, we need to keep in mind that the omission of

minorities is not unique to GIRLS. The same could be said for many other shows that

are currently on air. Although there has been a lot of progress in diversifying television,

in most cases the majority of the cast is still white.

[… I]t is interesting to compare “Girls” to the typical mainstream media fare – fare without indiecredentials, in other words – which generally avoid presenting all white shows but in a way thatarguably does more harm than good. There's always a person-of-color best friend, best buddy, orfriendly co-worker, who provides support, wisdom, and wisecracks, all without conflict. Whenthese figures are presented as true friends, rather than the butt of jokes as one sometimes sees inthe more overtly racist shows, the effect is to paint a liberal, enlightened veneer over a show andavoid the criticism of being all-white (Martín Alcoff).

Although GIRLS escapes the accusation of token casting for the most part by just not

showing non-white charcters at all, Wortham makes an important point. The show is

geared towards young women and it would be great if included more diverse casting

and viewpoints thus relating to a bigger demographic or as she said it herself: “I just

wish I saw a little more of myself on screen, right alongside [the white characters]”

(Wortham).

However, “[t]he title of the series may be partly to blame because it misleadingly

promises to deal with girls, all girls, regardless of their race, sexual orientation, level of

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education, financial opportunities, and place of residence” (Martín Alcoff) but in the end

does not. Indeed, most of the advertising for the show has focused on Lena Dunham's

gender (cf. Grdesic 356) and tried to sell “a show as a representation of young New

York” (cf. Nygaard) which it clearly does not by lacking racial diversity.

But we also need to keep in mind that this show explicitly tells the story of white

girls from a perspective of a white girl. Lena Dunham addressed the issue in an

interview, saying that:

If I had one of the four girls, if, for example, she was African-American, I feel like – not that theexperience of an African-American girl and a white girl are drastically different, but there has tobe specificity to that experience [that] I wasn't able to speak to. […] I did write something that wassuper-specific to my experience, and I always want to avoid rendering an experience I can't speakto accurately (qtd in Franco).

As I mentioned before, Hannah explains to her parents that she thinks she might be “the

voice of [her] generation… or at least a voice of a generation” (“Pilot”). The same can

be said for the show: it is a voice of a generation. It does not speak for everybody and

clearly does not claim to do so4.

While Hannah, Shoshanna and Jessa are sitting on a park bench Shoshanna pulls

out a self-help book called Listen, Ladies! A Tough Game Approach to the Tough Game

of Love. Jessa refuses to take the author's advice, declaring “I'm not the ladies! You can't

force me to be a lady” (“Vagina Panic”). Those expecting the show to give them a voice

who were let down are complaining in a similar fashion that “they're not the GIRLS”, to

paraphrase Jessa, only that oftentimes they wish there was a similar book (or show)

who's ladies they would be.

The question of inclusion has often been voiced in feminism which, too, has

often been criticized as being overwhelmingly white, middle class, Western:

[B]oth first and second wave feminist theory and writings have been criticized on the grounds thatthey assume sameness across the needs and concerns of all women. That blindness wasunderstandable in one sense, in that those feminists were most immediately concerned withrejecting the construction of femininity in terms of dominant (patriarchal) norms that did notdifferentiate between women (or indeed between men) (Eagleton 6f.).

Third Wave Feminism is more diverse and is more of an umbrella term for many

different feminisms. This enables more voices to be heard and encourages diversity in

feminist thought but on the other hand also brings new challenges with it. As Diana

Coole writes:

4 As I have pointed out before Hannah's claim to be the voice of her generation is highly ironic and canbe read as metatextual commentary.

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[Feminists have] been seduced by discourses that distrust structural analysis and emphasizefragmentation instead. We are well schooled in antipathy towards Marxian-style totalizations orreductionism. Yet there has also been a certain retreat from engagement with the real […]. In thissense I think there is a political problem with the postmodernization of feminism – if I can put itthis way – in that our pursuit of both diversity and consensus has distracted us (19).

While a closer relationship between theory and practice would be good, the different

realities of women with different ethnicity, education, age and backgrounds make it

impossible to find a one 'grand feminist narrative' to fit all. As bell hooks points out in

the early 1980s:

Initially, black feminists approached the women's movement white women had organized eager tojoining the struggle to end sexist oppression. We were disappointed and disillusioned when wediscovered that white women in the movement had little knowledge of or concern for the problemsof lower class and poor women or the particular problems of non-white women from all classes.Those of us who were active in women's groups found that white feminists lamented the absenceof large numbers of non-white participants but were unwilling to change the movement's focus sothat it would better address the needs of women form all classes and races (Ain’t I A Woman:Black Women and Feminism 188).

Although Second Wave Feminism borrowed from the slogan of the civil rights

movement, 'sisterhood is powerful',

[t]his desire for a universal sisterhood obscured the white, middle-class reference point at thecentre of Western feminism in all its political shade […]. The logic of feminist critiques ofmasculinist thought, when applied within feminism, meant that white women could no more claimto be or to represent women in general than white men could represent humanity as a whole (ibid.188).

According to Bhavnani and Coulson, white feminist have to be more aware of their race

and employ strategies promoted by the comparatively new discipline of Critical

Whiteness Studies (cf. 78): “No one feminism can speak for all women, and it is not

even desirable that this should be so, although others might disagree” (89).

In the second season racial underrepresentation in the series is addressed more

openly when Hannah dates an African-American, Sandy. He is first introduced in a sex

scene in the season's first episode, “It's About Time”. Hannah and he have the following

conversation:

Sandy: You wanted this.Hannah: I wanted this so bad.Sandy: And now you're getting it.Hannah: And now I'm finally getting it.Sandy: It's about fucking time.Hannah: It's about fucking time. (“It's About Time”)

Here, the criticism the first season received is picked up through the metatextual

commentary which, as I explained earlier, is typical of the show: it is about time that

GIRLS embraced a more diverse cast.

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In the second episode of the second season Hannah and Sandy break up again.

Sandy pretends to not have read the essay Hannah gave him. When she pressures him he

tells her he did not like it, saying that “It wasn't for me, exactly” (“I Get Ideas”). This

alludes to the argument Dunham made that she cannot give a voice to African-American

women because she is white and has a different life experience. As much as Hannah's

essay was not for Sandy the show might not speak to women of color. Hannah, though,

argues that “it's for everyone” (ibid.).

Hannah is upset despite arguing that she appreciates his honest feedback. Sandy

says he did not like the story because nothing happened. Hannah disagrees arguing that

“a girl's whole perspective on who she was and her sexuality changed but if that feels

like nothing…” (ibid.) which, again, can be read as an metatextual commentary on the

critiques the show received.

In the end Hannah claims to break up with Sandy because he is a Republican,

although earlier she told Elijah that she does not understand why his political affiliation

matters so much (cf. ibid.). She asks him how he feels that “two out of three people on

death row are black men” which Sandy replies to with “thank you for enlightening me

how things are tougher for minorities” (ibid.). Sandy accuses her of breaking up with

him because he is black and Hannah accuses him of fetishizing her. This shows

Hannah's racial insensibility. Although she should be aware of racial stereotyping and

fetishizing of the Other because of her liberal arts college education she puts herself in

the center and implies that she is the Other that is exploited.

Furthermore, she claims to have not thought about the fact that Sandy is black

until he brought it up which Sandy thinks is insane and that she should have. Hannah

does not want to “live in world where there are divisions like that” (ibid.). Her self-

proclaimed postraciality makes her seem very ignorant, just like her statement that her

writing is for everyone. This again stresses that GIRLS may not speak to a universal

viewership nor tries to give a voice to every young women.

Lena Dunham made it clear that she “wanted to avoid […] tokenism in casting”

(Obenson) to which this scene also alludes. Sandy is the only African-American to get

an important speaking role within the first two seasons. Sandy tells Hannah that

This always happens. […] This 'Oh, I'm a white girl and I moved to New York and I'm having agreat time and oh, I got a fixed gear bike and I'm going to date a black guy. And we're going to goto a dangerous part of town' – all that bullshit. […] I've seen this happen a million times (“I Get

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Ideas”)

Here, Sandy complains to be a token date to make a white girl that grew up somewhere

outside of the city where the racial diversity is probably less pronounced appear to be

“cool” because she is dating an African-American or to, put it in bell hooks' words,

expresses

the assumption that sexual agency expressed within the context of racialized sexual encounter is aconversion experience that alters one's place and participation in contemporary cultural politics.The seductive promise of this encounter that it will counter the terrorizing force of the status quo

that makes identity fixed, static, a condition of containment and death. And that it is thiswillingness to transgress racial boundaries within the realm of the sexual that eradicates the fearthat one must always conform to the norm to remain “safe” (“Eating the Other: Desire andResistance” 309).

In “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance”, published in 1992, Hooks writes about

white, male students at Yale who try to sleep with as many women of different races as

they can, writing that: “they believe their desire of contract represents a progressive

change in whites attitudes towards non-whites. They do not see themselves as

perpetuating racism” (ibid. 309). On the metalevel of the show the breakup-scene

between Hannah and Sandy addresses the point that the character of Sandy is a mere

token within the otherwise still whitewashed cast. The equivalent of the “dangerous part

of town” is the television industry which is still primarily white. As long as it is only

one single non-white person that is accompanied by an otherwise white cast it is not

threatening and there will not be repercussions.

2.2 Self-Entitlement

Another big point of criticism concerning the show was the characters' entitlement. As

Decarvalho writes:

On the HBO dramedy Girls, the four main women characters […] are trying to make it financiallyin New York City during today's post-recession era. For Hannah, this means doing everything inher power not to have to actually work for a living. This, in itself, appears to be her full-time job(368).

During the first scene of the series Hannah and her parents are having dinner and her

parents tell her that they are going to stop supporting her financially which Hannah

cannot believe at first:

Loreen: We're not going to be supporting you any longer. […]

Hannah: But I have no job.Loreen: No, you have an internship that you say is going to turn into a job.Hannah: I don't know when…Loreen: You graduated from college two years ago, we've been supporting you for two

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years and that's enough.Hannah: Do you know how crazy the economy is right now? I mean, all my friends get

help from their parents. […]

Loreen: We can't keep bankrolling your groovy lifestyle. (“Pilot”)

Hannah even tells her parents that they should be happy: “I'm not a drug addict, do you

know how lucky you are? […] My friend Sophie, her parents don't support her, last

summer she had two abortions, right in a row” (ibid.) and that she's “so close to the life

I want – the life you want for me” (ibid.) which she implies is impossible to achieve

without her parents' financial support.

Clearly, Hannah is in a very comfortable and privileged position. She lives in

New York City despite not having a payed job and does not seem to be particularly poor

and has the chance to explore who she is. Her parents are professors which implies a

certain financial stability as well as a good education from childhood on5. The lead

characters in GIRLS are, without doubt, privileged. Hannah tells her parents: “All that

I'm asking for to finish this book is $11,000 a month for the next two years […] Who

can live in New York for $11,000 a month?” (ibid.). Although this seems ridiculous it

raises the issue of living prices in big urban areas. Rent is becoming increasingly

expensive and although salaries are higher in a nationwide comparison, many with low-

income jobs are pushed outside of the city because they cannot afford living there

anymore. However, the lifestyle of Hannah and her friends is not something unusual. As

Katherine Bell points out:

It becomes clear early on that it is the parents in the show who have successfully chased theAmerican Dream; the generation Hannah claims to be a “voice” of, privileged or not, belongs towhat Ross Perlin refers to as the Intern Nation (2011), in his discussion of modern capitalism andthe workplace. There is an undeniable ubiquity of unpaid work, youth exploitation, and ofteninsurmountable barriers to entry level positions in the US and in other capitalist economies”(364f.)

Still, Hannah cannot take care of herself financially: even if she had enough money

from a paid job Hannah does not even know how to write a cheque (cf. “Bad Friend”).

This, however, is more because of Hannah's unwillingness to grow up and take

responsibility for her life and less because of her entitlement. However, Hannah's

mother tells her that she is spoilt but at the same time confesses “I want a lake house! I

work hard! I want to sit by a fucking lake!” (“Pilot”). Hannah clearly is not the only

entitled person. Her parents are both professors and as such enjoy privileges

5 While I do not want to make a classist statement against working class families and imply that theydo not value education, the profession of Hannah's parents is important. As professors they are likelyto enjoy a high social standing and reputation which must have had an impact on Hannah during herchildhood.

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economically and socially.

Theorists have argued that feminist theory is mostly explored “[w]ithin the

privileged space of the university” (Eagleton 4) and there is a gap between theory,

theoretical discourse, lived feminism and political action. Similar problems have been

voiced with the show: “Hannah is a visible feminist; however, that does not mean

feminist politics is happening in the series” (Tully 115). While the show raises visibility

and awareness for certain issues it does not offer answers to how those should be

addressed. This can either be seen as a negative aspect, arguing that the show is not

radical enough, or be seen as a positive aspect, given that the show does not claim to

have moral authority and present a right way to handle things.

Furthermore, dismissing the problems Hannah and her peer group are facing is

not right either. Yes, some of their problems seem trivial, for example when Marnie

complains to Hannah that she is being loved too much and cannot feel it anymore or

when Hannah tells her friends that she will not work at McDonalds because she has a

college degree (“Pilot”). On the other hand those problems are real to the characters.

Financial worries have started to affect the ever-elusive American middle-class as a

result of the recession. As Kerensa Cadenas points out:

In an economic moment when 12 percent of women ages 20-24 are unemployed and another 40percent work part-time, it's refreshing to see a mostly accurate depiction of the world of few andlow-paid jobs.

While Hannah is still comparatively well-off despite not having a job, the struggle to

make the transition from the unpaid internship to a job that allows young people to stop

relying on their parents support is an issue that needs to be addressed.

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3 Bodies

While I will go into more detail about the depiction of sexuality in the following chapter

there is an obvious connection between bodies, nudity and pornography when it comes

to film. There have been feminists advocating against pornography such as Andrea

Dworkin and Catherine McKinnon and others praising it for liberating female sexuality:

Separatists [like Dworkin and McKinnon] wrote angrily against women who participated in thesemale-identified practices. Sex radicals responded with matching fury at the perceived insult andprescriptivism, scoffing at the notion of 'politically correct sex' (Johnson 6).

Because GIRLS is broadcasted on HBO there can be and is a lot more nudity and

explicit sexuality than in other American TV shows shown on other networks. Being

broadcasted on HBO is also as an interesting aspect when it comes to the audience:

Since HBO is funded by directly by the viewers through subscriptions instead of

advertising the content is more important than ratings: good content attracts viewers

who give money through their subscriptions – how many of them actually watch the

program does not matter. This enables HBO to produce a more diverse program with an

emphasis on quality instead of the need to appeal to as many people as possible by

finding the smallest common denominator. The pilot episode of GIRLS had a viewership

of 0.872 million (live and same day). In comparison: an episode of the crime series Law

& Order aired at 7 a.m. the same day had a viewership of 1.331 million (cf. Kondolojy).

3.1 The Male Gaze and Hollywood Conventions

The term “Male Gaze” was coined by Laura Mulvey. In her essay “Visual Pleasure and

Narrative Cinema” she explains “the way the unconscious of patriarchal society has

structured film form” (342) by using psychoanalytical theory. According to her

argument, the camera has the perspective of a heterosexual man. Since we, as viewers,

are dependent on the view of the camera as there are no other options for us to

experience the movie, or in this case TV show, we have the same perspective, regardless

of our gender or sexual orientation. Therefore, “[u]nchallenged, mainstream film

code[s] the erotic into the language of the dominant patriarchal order” (ibid. 342). In

said order,

[t]he determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styledaccordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and

13

displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be saidto connote to-be-locked-at-ness. Women [are being] displayed as sexual object is the leitmotif oferotic spectacle (ibid. 343f.)

Within this “erotic spectacle”, women serve “as erotic object[s] for the characters within

the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium” (ibid. 346).

In the films Mulvey points to as examples the eroticism is often conveyed by close-ups

of legs or the face (cf. ibid. 347).

In contrast to women, men, however, “cannot bear the burden of sexual

objectification” (ibid. 347) on screen, since “[m]an is reluctant to gaze at his

exhibitionist like” (ibid.). The man serves as figure with which the spectator can

identify, “so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with

the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence”

(ibid.). Women, then, are no longer fully fleshed characters but icons “displayed for the

gaze and enjoyment of men, the active controllers of the look” (ibid.).

Mulvey's essay was first published in 1975. Since then, Mulvey “the Ti-Grace

Atkinson, the Andrea Dworkin, the Catherine MacKinnon of film theory” (Johnson

6) has readdresses some of her statements. However, she still came to the conclusion

that only a few women break out from under the spell of the male gaze (cf. ibid. 7f.)

Although Mulvey's text is canonical for Second Wave feminism it has been

disputed by Third Wave feminist scholars. As Merri Lisa Johnson points out:

the problem with the analytical formula of Feminism without Women is that it boils every textdown to its patriarchal capitalist white supremacist skeleton as if revealing something new (12).

But without doubt, the male gaze still offers an interesting reading of popular TV and

film.

Although Laura Mulvey's seminal, still-central argument around visual pleasure and narrativecinema was based on the workings of classic Hollywood cinema, it's not been re-organizedsignificantly to discuss contemporary Hollywood cinema […]. Yet much contemporaryscholarship does accept the premise, indeed the fact, that contemporary Hollywood films –whatever their actual audiences – are carefully constructed with male 18-24 year-old viewers inmind, since regular research shows that they constitute the bulk of the cinema-going audience(Church Gibson 142).

This can best be seen in sex scenes: here, it is still common practice for the camera for

example to trace the legs of the woman, thus turning her into a sexual image. Male

characters are more likely6 to be shown as agents and active or in a more powerful

position.

6 There are of course exceptions to this rule (cf. Church Gibson 146ff.). However, it can be argued thatin the average mainstream film or TV series the male gaze is still mostly used when viewing women.

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But GIRLS breaks with this stereotypical shot of the male gaze. During sex

scenes the camera remains still throughout them. First, there is usually an establishing

shot from a distance which shows the entire body of the characters. It is shot from about

the same level as the characters heads, thus not looking down or up but straight ahead,

making it the view seem more neutral and less sexualized. Of course there are also

closeups of the faces to convey intimacy during the characters' conversations. Those

closeups are sometimes shot from above the front or the side. When shot from the front

or side the camera again is on the characters' eye level if possible. Within those shots the

camera still remains fixed, not tracing the bodies. Often the camera's view is framed by

an open door. This, in connection with the camera's stable view creates an uneasy

feeling in the viewers, as if we, as spectators of the scene, are intruding the characters'

lives and private moments and makes the voyeuristic aspects of our gaze more open: we

are aware of our gaze.

As mentioned before, Mulvey's theory of the male gaze has often been criticized

for neglecting the perspective of female spectators. This again is an interesting aspect

under which to look at its usage in GIRLS. Since the show is mainly addressed at young

women, similar to those on screen, and written as well as often directed by Lena

Dunham, a young women, the argument Mulvey makes, that because the movie industry

is male their gaze is replicated through the camera, cannot be used when looking at

GIRLS. However, the male gaze is employed strategically and different from its usual

usage. While Adam is working out, the camera traces his body (“All Adventurous

Women Do”) like it usual does with women thus objectifying him and constructing his

body within to-be-locked-at-ness, to employ Mulvey's terminology.

GIRLS not only breaks with the male gaze but also with the stereotypical

Hollywood sex scene. In the first episode when Hannah and Adam have sex she tries to

sound deep and romantic by saying “I like you so much, I don't know where you

disappear to” (“Pilot). Instead of the start of romantic string music and the camera

slowly fading out or turning towards either floor or ceiling Adam stops, looks at her and

asks her “What are you talking about, I'm right here?”. This is followed by more

awkward small talk. The scene even mentions contraception which is usually neglected

in such scenes.

Hannah is not good at seduction and takes her clothes off rather clumsily. While

she is having sex with Adam their conversation is very technical:

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Hannah: So I can just stay like this for a while?Adam: Yeah…Hannah: Do you need me to move more? Like…Adam: What? Hannah: I just wanted to know if you wanted me to like… to be more like that…?Adam: Oh, no, this is fine. You're doing fine, this is all you need to do.Hannah: I'm sorry, I just sorry about the wrong hole thing… […]Adam: Let's play the quiet game! (ibid.)

This scene highlights the absurdity of mainstream Hollywood sex scenes in which the

light is dimmed, the bed freshly made and the camera fades out, as if to give the lovers

some privacy despite viewers starring at them on a big screen. If it does not and we can

actually see the characters having sex they are often covered under the bed sheets and

orgasm at the same time while starring into each others eyes, full of love. This is clearly

not the case in GIRLS: the characters are not having Hollywoodesque, perfect sex but

are clumsy and have awkward conversations. In the pilot Hannah does not even orgasm

and Marnie makes sex with Charlie seem like chore. In one scene Ray dramatically

pulls Shoshanna close, bends her over his arm and kisses her in an old Hollywood

fashion. While doing so, he is holding a bottle of beer which results in him spraying

beer all over the floor (“It's About Time”).

3.2 Nudity

Turning Mulvey's argument about men's depiction around and considering the target

audience of the show there should hardly be any female nudity because women would

be reluctant to gaze at their exhibitionist likes. This however is not the case. The show

repeatedly shows Hannah naked.

The controversy about the nudity in GIRLS has best been commented on during

a skit on Saturday Night Live which Lena Dunham hosted. The skit featured a fake

promotional trailer saying that “before there were GIRLS there was the first GIRL […] a

struggling twenty-something in the Garden of Eden”, using the same style the

promotional clips for GIRLS used, complete with colors, font and music. In the fake

show, the biblical adventures of Adam and Eve, who are modeled on Hannah and Adam

from GIRLS, are supposed to be explored. In the skit false review are cited, for example:

“Even for Adam and Eve, there's a lot of nudity” which is supposed to be from the New

York Times or “If this is feminism then I'm confused” from The Wall Street Journal. In

the end of the skit Adam and Eve are walking through the garden and Adam asks her

whether she would not like to put on a fig leave, like he does, to which Eve replies that

she does not see the reason to give into societal demands. This skit perfectly both mocks

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the show and the criticism it received. While there clearly is a lot of nudity the criticism

the show got was really strong, often having Lena Dunham's body at their center.

Naked female bodies have always been a critical point in feminist discourse.

Following Mulvey's argument of the objectification of women through the male gaze

the difference between showing naked female bodies and pornography is not that big:

both are for the viewing pleasure of men7. Because of this and since “sex sells”, it is

interesting to look at filmic nudity through the lens of Dworkin's and MacKinnon's

writings on pornography. There is a well-known youtube skit, featuring a number of

young actors who explain their new acting job to friends and family which think they

are now working in the pornography industry, ending with the slogan “it's not porn, it's

HBO” and their loved ones rejoicing (“It's not Porn…”). As mentioned before, HBO is

known for its rather explicit language and nudity and certainly GIRLS is no exception.

Andrea Dworkin traces the word “pornography” back to the ancient Greek,

meaning “writing about whores […], specifically and exclusively the lowest class of

whore, which in ancient Greece was the brothel slut available to all male citizens […], a

sexual slave” (199f.). Today, “[i]t means the graphic depiction of women as vile

whores” (ibid. 200) and does not have any other meaning. Since the usage of women as

whores would be “impossible” outside of a system of male sexual domination8 (cf. ibid.)

pornography is ultimately linked to patriarchy. Catharine MacKinnon takes a similar

stance, writing that “[p]ornography, in the feminist view, is a form of forced sex, a

practice of sexual politics, an institution of gender inequality” (197). In her analysis

defending pornography as sexual liberation “is a defense not only of force and sexual

terrorism, but of the subordination of women […]. Pornography turns a women into a

thing to be acquired and used” (ibid. 198f.).

MacKinnon makes a bold claim stating that pornography is a form of forced sex

and therefore liking it to rape “in the feminist view” because implies that she is

speaking for every feminist. A large number of feminists actually embrace pornography:

“feminist anti-porn arguments are controversial even among feminists themselves”

(Nathan 52). Some argue that banning porn under the guise of feminism amplifies the

7 Of course women also consume pornography, although Andrea Dworkin disagrees (Meehan 243ff.).Here, we follow the arguments of Second Wave feminists such as Dworkin and MacKinnon thus theexclusion of women in this statement.

8 Obviously, Dworkin's statement is heteronormative: if we were to expand her argument tohomosexual women it would not make any sense anymore unless some women cross-dress as thepatriarchy and oppress other women. See Chapter 4.

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notion and women do not like sex as much as men do. All women have the right to

choose to appear in pornographic material or to consume it. Nobody can force them to

be “the ladies”, to cite Jessa, and take the standpoint of anti-porn feminists that they do

not have a right to choose and that all porn is oppressing women. Hence, dismissing the

possibility that women enjoy making and watching pornography inhibits women's

sexual liberation and right to choose.

Lena Dunham clearly had the right to choose to appear naked on screen. She

writes the show and directs most of the episodes. She could have not included sex

scenes, directed them differently so viewers to not get to see her whole body or simply

cast somebody else to play the role of Hannah. But she made that choice by her own

agency. Of course the sex scenes are not pornographic in the sense that they are not

produced in order to stimulate the viewer. But they also do not exploit women or depict

them as whores.

Pornography is also closely linked to beauty standards and sexual expectations.

“Because of the new influence of pornography on fashion, millions of women were

suddenly seeing 'the perfect breast' everywhere and, consequently, started to worry

about their own, naturally 'imperfect' breasts” (Wolf 4).

3.3 “Real” Bodies?

As Fiona Carson points out: “Artists and theorists informed by feminism do not reject

the traditional alignment between women and body. Instead they give it a subversive

twist by playing on the concept of idealized femininity” (117). GIRLS received a lot of

praise for showing “real” bodies, those that do not conform to today's beauty standards

and idealized femininity. This, again, is addressed in the show itself: while Hannah and

Marnie are sitting in a bathtub Hannah tells Marnie that “I never see you naked and you

always see me naked which should actually be the other way around” (“Pilot”), echoing

cinematic stereotypes. Hannah compares her body, the one of a “fat baby angel” to

Marnie's “hot Victoria Secret Angel”-body (ibid.). As she says herself, she is “13 pounds

overweight and it has been awful for [her her] whole life” (“She Did”). Throughout the

show constantly stress eats in situations that are emotionally exhausting for her.

Griselda Pollock argues that there is a

delusory appearance of visual perfection offered by a tiny, mostly Caucasian, minority, whoseprofessional success depends upon appetite-inhibiting drugs, excessive exercise or sheer chance in

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the genetic draw. These women model for the cosmetic and fashion adverts and for the animatedversions called movies, creating in every women the internal division between a sense of selfgenerated through an inner range of abilities, characteristics, desires and thoughts, and this 'mask',this external visual image that is offered to us through the vast array of visual representations of'woman' that are manufactured through complex technologies of highly manipulated photographyand cinema, lighting, cosmetics, surgery, and what we can polity call 'body sculpture'. Woman isnot only image but surface (177).

If we compare Hannah's body to the “manufactured” bodies in advertisements9 we can

only come to the conclusion that it is “real”. Her body is not just a surface or an image.

She explains her tattoos to Adam as a sign of empowerment: “I gained a bunch of

weight, very quickly, and I just felt very out of control of my own body and it was this

just like this Rrriot Girl idea like 'I'm taking control of my own shape!'” (“Pilot”). The

tattoos are a sign of Hannah's agency over her own body. She controls and writes upon

it as she likes.

The other girls, however, fit the current definition of beauty. Still, Marnie is first

shown while laying in bed and wearing a mouthguard and later we can see her shaving

her legs (cf. ibid.). This shows that not everybody is beautiful by nature and even

Marnie has to put effort into her appearance to make it fit contemporary beauty

standards. Jessa also complains about her thighs chaffing after wearing shorts because

she does not have a thigh gap like the models in adverts and they rub together (“Weirdos

Need Girlfriends Too”).

The fact that Marnie is shown shaving her legs is very interesting since female

body hair has become taboo-ish in most western cultures. Apart from the head where

hair is wanted and vast amounts of products available to change its color, shape or make

it look shiny or big, the ideal women does not seem to have hairs anywhere else on her

body. Feminists who protest this and let their body hair grow freely are often put into

the corner of the imaginary bitter, man-hating feminist mob. Although Marnie shaves

her legs we can read this as a reference to those feminists and the realness of Marnie's

body, natural leg hair and all. As Naomi Wolf writes about the initial feedback to her

book “The Beauty Myth”:

Frequently, commentators, either deliberately or inadvertently, though always incorrectly, held thatI claimed women were wrong to shave their legs or wear lipstick. This is a misunderstanding

9 While most models shown in advertisements are skinny there have been some campaigns in recentyears showing models with different sized bodies. The ads by Dove for their “Campaign For RealBeauty” are probably most commonly known. This, however, can be seen as a marketing stunt to gettheir clips to go viral through social media because women share it due to their empowering andcomforting message. However, we need to keep in mind that although the campaign claims toembrace “real beauty”, it sells products to create beauty artificially, thus only using empowerment asa trope (see also MyRobbie 255).

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indeed, for what I support in this book is a woman’s right to choose what she wants to look likeand what she wants to be, rather than obeying what market forces and a multibillion-dollar[advertising] industry dictate […] Women who complained about the beauty myth were assumedto have a personal shortcoming themselves: they must be fat, ugly, incapable of satisfying a man,“feminazis,” or – horrors – lesbians (2)

Deciding to adhere to beauty standards is not un-feminist in itself, being unaware of

them and their implications would be.

Another point where taboos can be seen are the scenes in which the protagonists

of the show openly urinate in front of each other (Marnie and Jessa in “Pilot”, Hannah

and Jessa in “She Did” and “Video Games”), again stressing the realness of their bodies

as not just a surface but an organism.

The emphasis on the realness of the female characters' bodies can be also seen

even more clearly when Hannah and Marnie talk about menstruation:

Marnie: I get my period at the same time on the same damn day of every monthly cycle. My entire life. Like, it's never strayed from that.

Hannah: Then you are really lucky. I never know when I'm going to get my period and it'salways a surprise and that's why all my underwear are covered in weird stains (“Vagina Panic”).

This, again, breaks society's taboos and shows that the characters' bodies are not

idealized and abstract but natural and real: in an idealized world where women are

unnatural, man-made surfaces they would probably not have period-stains in their

underwear. Furthermore, it stresses the characters' womanhood10. Genitals are the

embodied difference between men and women. This difference is

at the heart of a great deal of French feminist thought, particularly in psychoanalytic feminisms.The theories of Kristeva, Civous and Irigaray all turn on a recognition and celebration of thedifferences of women from men and staking out a feminine 'space', often in relation to theformation and uses of language (Cregan 57).

The connection between motherhood and menstruation is made explicit when Jessa is

relieved to find she is bleeding and therefore not pregnant (“Vagina Panic”). The

maternal body has long been a big issue in feminist theory as it symbolizes the

difference between men and women and has been used as a scapegoat to naturalize

discrimination and repression of women. As Carson points out:

Male elites used this dichotomy [between 'order = purity' and 'disorder = pollution'] to reinforcetheir power over women, by transcribing this value system symbolically onto the female body,

10 Arguably this is also another scene that stresses the comedic aspect of the show. Menstruation andperiod stains are nothing you would expect to be discussed on television. The topic surprises peoplebut some viewers will probably relate to it, creating an intimate and save space and connectionbetween viewers and characters while making fun of the topic through Hannah's way of mentioning arather mundane topic in a heartfelt and serious discussion. For this instant it can be argued that theshow has a pedagogical function: it tells its viewers that period stains are normal.

20

expressing anxiety around signs of difference such as menstruation and childbirth. Of particularthreat and therefore of symbolic loading are bodily fluids and points of entry and exit from thebody (123).

In the scene at the gynecologist's office the power of the patriarchy is nonexistent. Not

only are Hannah and Marnie talking in a safe and explicitly female space, they also are

not shocked or disgusted by their own body and its fluids. Especially Hannah seems to

be very at ease with her body although she claims her weight has always been a problem

for her (cf. “She Did”). She goes jogging without wearing underwear (cf. “Weirdos

Need Girlfriends Too”) and is not always wearing a bra.

TV, amongst other media, have played a big role in building up societal pressure

women often feel to conform to beauty ideals. As Kate Cregan points out:

Reality television shows where obese contestants compete in a discourse that reinforces that thefat-self is a false, complacent self (the slim 'I' is the real, motivated 'I'), assist in [dividing bodiesinto socially acceptable and unacceptable] (14).

This pressure is also mentioned in the show. After she is fired, Marnie meets with her

mother for lunch.

Marnie: But it's not like I'm starving myself on purpose. I'm just… You know, I had a badbreak-up and it's ok, I think we're going to be able to stay friends, you know. ButI'm not gonna do, like, what Hannah does and order six pizzas to make me feel better.

Mother: All you girls think you look like you're really good. But you just look like floats in the Macy's parade. These big heads on these tiny bodies.

Marnie: You know what? You're just being judgmental of other people's bodies because you lost like – what? – 34 pounds? And you think that that gives you license to control the way the rest of us eat? (“It's About Time”)

Marnie addresses her mother's issues with judgement of others' bodies and tells her that

it's not her place to criticize somebody else's weight. However, she does it herself at the

same time thus being very hypocritical.

Adam is often shown while working out. Hannah tells Adam that she has more

important things in life than losing weight (cf. “All Adventurous Women Do”). When

Adam takes Hannah jogging she tells him that she hates it and sits down on the street,

takes off her shoes and throws them away, like a little kid and sees the ice-cream truck

parked in front of her apartment as a sign (cf. “Weirdos Need Girlfriends Too”). She is

not particularly motivated to lose weight but in order to be herself she does not need to.

Hannah's “having some other concerns in her life” (“All Adventurous Women Do”) than

to lose weight echoes Naomi Wolf's writing:

The ideal, I argued, also served a political end. The stronger women were becoming politically, theheavier the ideals of beauty would bear down upon them, mostly in oder to distract their energyand undermine their progress (3).

21

Hannah does not want to be distracted from becoming who she is (cf. “Pilot”) and

invest her time and energy into adhering to society's beauty standards. When Hannah

visibly wears make-up it prompts Charlie to tell her she looks like she's “gonna put a

hex on some popular girls” (“All Adventurous Women Do”) and Marnie to wonder if

there is “some kind of solstice” (cf. ibid.). However, Hannah wears a lot of skirts and

dresses at the beginning of the first season, stressing her femininity.

Still, when Elijah, her ex-boyfriend, comes out to her and tells her that “this

exploration was very much inspired by [her]” (ibid.), implying that she is not very

feminine:

Hannah: So, then how were you able to have sex with me?Elijah: Well, there's uhm… a handsomeness to you. (ibid.<).

Later on, Elijah even tells Hannah that she should not be surprised if gay men want to

sleep with her because of the way she dresses. This gain stresses that Hannah does not

adhere to female beauty standards – at least in the eyes of Elijah.

3.4 The Female (Body) in Comedy

The relationship between women and comedy has mostly been a complicated one.

“[F]eminist women's standup reverses the traditional image of women and humor”

(Lavin 6). Being a comedian or comedienne has something to do with being unruly and

outspoken which is the exact opposite of the old cultural ideal of femininity. “This

means that comediennes often have to utilize traditional gender roles in their comedy,

for instance, by making fun of their appearances or skills as housekeepers” (Tully 2). In

their performances comediennes break the stereotypical associations of their audiences

with the roles they are playing.

But: “[f]emale stand-ups were often rejected because they violated behavioral

expectations for women” (Lavin 6). There have been countless debates about whether

women can actually be funny as opposed to men who of course can be, even in recent

years. Obviously, this discussion is absurd: there have been shows written by women

with women in them that have been successful such as Golden Girls, Roseanne or the

more recent examples 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. The shows are popular with

both genders which would speak for the existence of humor that is not based on the

gender of the author or recipient. However, comedy remains a rather masculine domain.

But comedy is also an interesting field for voicing feminist opinions. Not only

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does voicing them break with the stereotype of the angry feminist that cannot take a

joke, “[b]y seeking power through personal humor, women not only challenge cultural

restrictions, they amplify humor's already subversive nature” (Lavin 7). Laughter can be

used as a weapon. By writing comedy for television the criticism that is voiced can

potentially reach a lot of people and therefore can be an empowering tool.

However, “scholars found that some female comics […] 'sacrificed' their

femininity by making fun of their physical appearance or developing slapstick routines”

(Tully 23f.). In GIRLS Hannah tells Adam: “maybe I don't want my body to be funny,

has that ever occurred to you?” (“All Adventurous Women Do”). While Hannah's sense

of fashion does not flatter her figure it does not make her look ridiculous or pokes fun at

her. Her clothes look natural though hipster. When it is hot she wears shorts without

seeming to worrying about how it looks thus ignoring the shape of her body and just

taking it as something natural.

While GIRLS does not emphasize the female protagonists' failing in the kitchen

it does utilize their gender to some extend. Hannah does not do well in the traditionally

male working environment. She not get a job because she makes a joke about date rape

implying her interviewer is a rapist (“Vagina Panic”), showcasing her inability to

function in grownup, professional environment. But the male characters are not doing

any better at first. Charlie and Ray become successful in the second season. Jessa does

not seem interested in traditional work and Marnie seems to be rather successful in her

work until she is fired. Her boss cannot fire her other employee because she “fucked

Julien[, the other employee,] so he could sue [her]” (“It's About Time”), turning around

the usual dynamic of the male boss having an affair with his female employee.

The most female domain within comedy probably is the romantic comedy, or

RomCom. However, these movies often have rather problematic depiction of women or

relationships. In the end the man gets the woman, usually because he just stuck around

long enough or helped her over her recent breakup. The plot culminates in a big scene

during which the lovers are united in the last moment and find everlasting love.

RomComs “often imply that women need to find heterosexual romantic partners to find

happiness” (Tully 29), although there are recent examples “like Miss Congeniality and

Legally Blonde [that] ended with celebrations of career milestones for the female

characters rather than the traditional kiss” (ibid. 30). Still, even in these movies love

plays an important role as the name of the genre already implies.

23

Relationships are also an important factor in GIRLS. But so is female

companionship. The tension between the two is expressed when Hannah and Marnie

fight:

Marnie: Because we do [only talk about your problems]!Hannah: It's not true, Marnie. We only talk about your problems. It has always been that

way. Seriously. We talk about what's right with Charlie. And then we start talkingabout what's wrong with Charlie. Now we're talking about how you're never going to meet someone. It's like you think meeting a guy is the main point of lifeso we have to have like a summit every day to make a game plan. (“Leave Me Alone”)

Hannah expresses the main criticism feminists will have with the average RomCom. In

them, romance and relationship are the main focus. Female friendship often only plays a

role when there are problems within the relationship and the best friend comes to

comfort the heartbroken female protagonist. This is also referenced in the Bechdel test,

which checks if movies need to have at least two women in them who talk to each other

about something besides a man (cf. “Bechdel Test Movie List”). While Hannah, Marnie

and Shoshanna try to fulfill their romantic desires they also talk to each other when they

are not heartbroken and share their feelings with each other. Applying the reversed

Bechdel test on GIRLS yields a surprising result: the men are hardly shown talking to

each other and if they do it is mostly about women.

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4 Sexuality

As I have already pointed out in the previous chapter, there is an obvious connection

between (nude) bodies and pornography. Hence, a number of arguments I already

brought forward when writing about feminist debates about pornography can be

extended to sexuality in general. Some points I will be making in this chapter might

seem to be a repetition of what I wrote earlier. However, it is important to look at the

depiction and importance of sexuality in GIRLS more closely.

Similar to the discussion about pornography outlined earlier there is not one

singular Third Wave feminist stance on sexuality or the “right” way to express it. It is,

however, a core issue within feminism. During the feminist “sex wars” (cf. Glick) there

have been numerous debates in which the demand for “a politically correct 'feminist

sexuality' (that is, a sexuality purified of male sexual violence and aggression)” (ibid.

21) have been voiced. Drawing from the discussion about pornography we can already

see two different sides.

While radical feminists see 'female sexuality' as repressed by 'the patriarchy,' the pro-sexualitymovement sees repression as produced by heterosexism and 'sex negativity' – cultural operationsoften seen as institutionalized feminism itself (ibid.).

As in the pornography debate there are those that claim sex can be liberating for women

and those who claim that it is an articulation of the patriarchy and its power structures

thus detrimental to women's rights.

The most obvious way to get rid of “male sexual violence and aggression”, as

phrased by Glick, would be lesbianism.

The theory is that lesbianism comes the closest to being a pro-female sexuality, because it's twowomen together. However, when you acknowledge power between women […] you are told thatyou have a heterosexual model for your lesbian sexuality […]. There's never been anything in thatrap about sex that has much joy, pleasure, power or lustiness (English, Hollibaugh, and Rubin 41).

The idea was to resist patriarchal power structures by uniting the oppressed women “as

if women were the proletariat getting together to relate to each other instead of to the

oppressor” (ibid. 43). Of course this idea is highly problematic as it promotes the idea

that sexual attraction is something one can choose. Reversed, it implies that people

could decide to stop being homosexual and just be heterosexual instead which is not the

case although some people have been promoting this idea. Thus, although the argument

25

is made in favor of homosexual relationships it can be read as heteronormative.

Additionally, it is patronizing heterosexual feminists who, following the logic of the

argument, just are not feminist enough to take the last step and give up men sexually. By

relating sexuality to a political philosophy it also neglects the importance of sexual

attraction.

It can be argued that this view of female sexuality

is predicated on a Victorian model of distribution of libido in terms of male and female 11. There asthe good woman who was not sexual. There is the man who is sexual. So whenever sex happensbetween a good women and a man, it's a kind of violation of her (ibid. 46).

Lesbianism is not addressed in greater detail in GIRLS. There is a homosexual character,

Elijah, but the female protagonists are all heterosexual. Within the first two seasons

there is no homosexual sex scene within the show. Jessa and Marnie almost have a

threesome with Thomas-John but they only kiss before they leave his apartment. While

heteronormativity again is a touchy subject within feminist debate and queer theory that

evolved from feminist theory, this thesis will focus on heterosexual sex within feminism

and the show.

For both, pro-sex and radical feminists, sexual agency and emancipation through

sex is an important issue and goal. Under Second Wave Feminism “the private [was]

political”. Men and women should be equal, not only in the “outside world” but also

the bedroom. The way in which both, Second and Third Wave feminists, want to

achieve this equality, however, differs greatly.

This can be seen most clearly in discussions about sadomasochistic sexual

practices, for example

at the now-notorious 1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality. This conference made clear thatsome feminists regarded sadomasochistic sexual practices as inseparable from patriarchalhierarchies based on relations of dominance and subordination […]. This view diverged from otherfeminists' view that sadomasochistic practices constituted a legitimate form of consensual sexualactivity that women were entitled to enjoy without fear of discriminatory judgement by society orother feminists (Chancer 79).

As with pornography, the main issue within feminist debates is consent, agency and “the

problem of sexist oppression [versus] sexual repression” (ibid. 78).

11 In the same text Rubin also points out that “in the nineteenth century, great social resources wereexpended trying to eliminate masturbation under the theory that masturbation caused insanity,disease, and degeneration” (46). This is also referenced in GIRLS when Marnie mentions that Hannahused to “masturbate eight times a night to stave off diseases of the mind and body” (“Leave MeAlone”), reversing the Victorian ideals about female sexuality and implying that Hannah is aware ofthem and actively rejects them.

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Those arguing against sadomasochism see it as an expression of male oppression

over the women's sexuality. In their understanding women are not given the truly free

choice to engage in such sexual activities. They are forced to participate in them

through patriarchal power structures and are unaware of this.

Other feminists see the problem not with the patriarchy but with feminists

oppressing other women and taking away their agency by prescribing as Glick calls it

“politically correct” ways to have sex (cf. Chancer 83). They argue that all women have

the agency to give consent to have sex – in which ever way they wish – and that it can

be empowering for them. The sexual act and the form it takes is not the important factor,

according to pro-sex feminists but that there is a given consent, not given by force, out

of financial or emotional pressure but by free will. As Gayle Rubin phrased it: “Some

feminists cannot digest the concept of benign sexual variation. Instead of realizing that

human beings are not all the same, that variation is okay, the women's movement has

created a new standard” (English, Hollibaugh, and Rubin 40).

4.1 Sexuality in GIRLS

The division within feminist debates about sexuality is reflected in the “I'm Not the

Ladies”-scene in “Vagina Panic”. Jessa is outraged about the audacity of the author of

Listen Ladies! A Tough Love Approach to the Tough Game of Love to tell her how to

express her sexuality and tell her that “sex from behind is degrading”:

Jessa: That book is so idiotic, I couldn't even read it on the toilet. Hannah: That book might be pink and cheesy but there is actually a lot of real wisdom in

there about how to deal with men…Jessa: That woman is a horrible lady. Hannah: How is this bothering you so much?Jessa: I'm offended by all of this. I don't like women telling other women what to do or

how to do it or when to do it. Every time I have sex it is my choice (“Vagina Panic”).

Here, Jessa stresses her agency and free will to engage in sex and takes a sex-positive

stance, echoing the argument that she can give her consent to “benign sexual variation”,

as Rubin phrased it.

Within the show the depiction of sexuality varies greatly. Already in the first

episode Hannah and Adam have sex. Adam is the active agent as in most sexual

encounters between him and Hannah and is verbally abusive, telling Hannah, who just

lost her job (or rather unpaid internship), “you're not a career-women, Hannah. I know

what you like. And you think you can just come in here and talk all that noise?”

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(“Pilot”). He puts her “in her place” in a traditional sense and reduces her to a

housewife that needs to do as he says. Hannah is rather confused by this at first. He also

tries to role play with Hannah and tells her she is an 11 year-old junkie prostitute he

found on the street. Hannah plays along with his fantasy but does not enjoy it. Adam

tries to take over her sexual agency telling her that if she masturbates she needs to call

him first and get his permission to orgasm which almost delights Hannah as she sees it

as a general wish for her to call him (cf. “Vagina Panic”). In the end of the scene

Hannah tells him that it was so good she “almost came” to which Adam just replies with

“do you want a Gatorade?” (ibid.), ignoring that she is sexually unfulfilled. The intimate

relations between Hannah and Adam embody the sex-negative feminist ideas where the

man oppresses the women within the bedroom as in other aspects of life: Adam only

wants to have his needs fulfilled but does not care about Hannah's.

Hannah and Adam's (sexual) relationship is directly opposed to Charlie and

Marnie's. Charlie, unlike Adam, is concerned about his girlfriend's pleasure. In the

episode “Vagina Panic” their sex scene is directly opposed to Hannah and Adam's.

Charlie and Marnie have lit candles, alluding to the typical Hollywood sex scene full of

romance, and they look at each other. Marnie, however, is not very pleased with this

because she wants to break up with Charlie so she proposed to change positions which

confuses him:

Adam: But you hate Doggie!Marnie: I don't hate it, I just don't like doing it all the time.

In contrast to Hannah, Marnie is in control and voices her sexual agency directly and

clearly. Within her relationship she clearly has more control sexually than Hannah.

But this does not make Marnie happy. Booth Jonathan, an artist she just met at a

gallery, he tells her: “The first time I fuck you, I might scare you a little because I'm a

man and I know how to do things” (“All Adventurous Women Do”). This turns Marnie

on and she locks herself in the bathroom to masturbate, without candles or music, just

standing up, again rejecting Hollywood's stereotypical depiction of female sexuality.

The relationship between Marnie and Booth is more similar to Hannah and Adam's than

Marnie's previous one. It is not clear if they are romantically involved or just having

casual sex. Booth is very clear about his sexual intentions and direct. When he sees

Marnie at her work he tells her that they are about to have sex and actually takes her

home with him (cf. “Bad Friend”). After he fired his assistant for eating a scoop of his

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ice-cream, he asks Marnie to host an evening at his place which she misinterprets and

thinks that they are now, officially, a couple and feels flattered. She even buys a new

outfit that is not “too cute” or “so basic” (“Boys”) but edgy enough for the art scene.

Booth offers to pay Marnie for her “work”:

Marnie: You don't have to pay me. I'm your girlfriend.Booth: I didn't realize I had a girlfriend.Marnie: What? Wait? Did you I think I was, like, working for you tonight… or

something?Booth: Well… You're a hostess for a living, I didn't think it was that weird to ask you to

host.Marnie: But you have sex with me, so? (ibid.)

For Marnie the relationship was clearly of a different nature than for Booth who admits

that he also had sex with his previous assistant. Marnie cries upon hearing this and is

embarrassed by it. The relationship she had with Booth is the opposite of what she had

with Charlie. Booth was not considerate of her feelings and in a way she enjoyed this

relationship and wanted to take it to the next level. She enjoyed his assertiveness. This

stresses the importance of sexual agency: if Marnie wishes to have such a relationship

she is free to do so. This contradicts the feminist argument about sadomasochistic sex as

being oppressive. Marnie is happier having sex with dominant Booth than with Charlie.

However, the sex is disconnected from her emotional life: in a relationship she is

looking for somebody like Charlie who is very considerate.

Besides Marnie and Hannah, Shoshanna's sexuality is very interesting. She is

reluctant to tell her friends about her virginity and is embarrassed by it. While sitting in

the gynecologist's office she tells Marnie: “I've never had sex, ok? A.k.a. I'm almost 22

and I'm a virgin. […] Seriously. It's like everyone and their mother has had sex but me.

[…] Do you think I'm a loser?” (“Vagina Panic”). While watching a show in which

contestants share their “secret baggage” she tells Hannah her virginity is her biggest

secret:

Shoshanna: For me, I think that my littlest baggage would probably be my IBS12. And my medium baggage would be that I truly don't love my grandmother.

[…] Hannah: Then what would your biggest baggage be?Shoshanna: That I'm a virgin… obviously (“All Adventurous Women Do”).

During her first sexual encounter she is turned down by Matt, her date, because he does

not want to sleep with a virgin:

Shoshanna: Well, so… uhm… ok… I just thought you should know something. Just in case

12 Irritable Bowl Syndrome

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it's like weird or I'm weird, which, like, totally shouldn't be, but, like, just in caseI scream, which I won't… uhm, I'm like totally ready to have sex but I just never had sex before, so, I thought I should tell you that.

Matt: What?Shoshanna: What?Matt: Yeah, it's just really not my thing. Shoshanna: What's not your thing?Matt: Virgins.Shoshanna: Oh, but except for the fact that I didn't have sex I'm like totally not even a virgin.

I'm like the least virginy virgin ever!Matt: Yeah, no offense, I'd totally have sex with you once you, like, already had sex. I

just, you know. Virgins get attached. Or they bleed. You get attached when you bleed…

Shoshanna: I so don't get attached when I bleed. You know, it's like, amazing. I'm like totally not an attached bleeder (“Hannah's Diary”).

Shoshanna is embarrassed, mumbles while telling Matt and uses even more “uhm”s and

“like”s than usually.

But the pressure to explore her sexuality and loose her virginity is not put on by

Matt but by herself and her expectations of herself. These in turn are shaped by rather

sex-positive discourses such as in Sex and the City and her Listen Ladies!-book. It can

be argued that the pressure to perform certain sexual acts is further ingrained into

women through women's magazines and the sex tips they give. Most magazines are

plastered with headlines about sex and guides how to be the perfect lover. Together with

hardcore pornography this can give women (and certainly also men) the impression that

their sexual preferences are too “standard” and that their partners expect more from

them.

She does not want to be the prudish, old virgin but a woman13 with sexual

agency. When she finally lost her virginity she proudly tells Elijah and Hannah “I may

be deflowered but I'm not devalued” (“It's About Time”). Historically, virginity has been

linked to purity and in some religious communities still is. Especially for young women

there is an expectation to remain chaste until marriage. Within the American Bible-Belt

there even are ceremonies where daughters pledge to their dads to be abstinent until

marriage. A white wedding gown has also taken on the symbolic meaning of (sexual)

purity.14 While feminists have every reason to reject the emphasis on virginity and to

13 However, she is told she smells like a baby and her bed is full of stuffed animals. Together with theawkwardness of the date this is reminiscent of teenagers dating. Shoshanna wants to end this andbecome a women by throwing her stuffed animals off the bed and having sex instead. This is ironicbecause although she communicates in emojis that “make no sense” (“It's About Time”), is a fasttalker, uses a lot of colloquialisms and is awkward but at the same time is the most grown-up incomparison to the other female characters.

14 GIRLS, Jessa who is definitely not sexually pure marries in white. The first song after her ceremony,however, has the lyrics “this pussy be yankin” (“She Did”), standing directly in contrast to traditionalweddings.

30

stress women's rights to fully embrace their sexuality this can put pressure on some

women: whereas they do not remain virgins for ideological reasons they might not have

had the chance to have sex and feel like “losers”, as Shoshanna does.

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5 Gender Roles and Identities

Although the title of the show makes it clear that GIRLS focuses on women and their

identity construction, the depiction of masculinity is also very interesting. Furthermore,

the images of traditional gender roles need to be considered in connection to the

coming-of-age aspect of the show: all of the show's protagonists are trying to find their

place in life. Society's expectations of what this place look like differ greatly with the

main divide being along the gender.

While a lot has changed within the last generation and women studying

engineering are no longer a nearly unheard of exception, there are still big divides

between both genders and their roles within society. The debates about “pinkification”

of children's toys shows this clearly: toys marketed towards girls are pink and focused

on beauty, the household or childrearing while boys in toy catalogues are playing with

chemistry sets, pirate ships and skateboards. While movements such as PinkStinks do

not want to forbid girls from playing with pink toys they want to raise awareness of this,

saying it enforces stereotypical gender roles on kids from a very young age onwards.

The girls are shown as pretty princesses and the boys as tough pirates when there might

be girls who would like to be pirates and boys who like to play with dolls.

Although this thesis comes from a feminist and women's studies perspective the

construction and deconstruction of male identity offers an interesting perspective on the

works of what is usually referenced to as patriarchal power structures within feminist

writing and the implications it has not only on women's but also on men's identities.

Taking the previous example of pretty princesses and tough pirates this becomes clearer:

While girls and women might feel insecure if they do not adhere to beauty standards,

boys and men might struggle with their idea of manliness if they are not tough but

sensitive or interested in “girl stuff”.

5.1 Breaking the Female Stereotype?

When deconstructing the female identities in the show it is useful to consider old,

maybe even stereotypical roles women held or were expected to hold. Taking the ability

to give birth as the main difference between women and men it is clear that those roles

are closely related to family. While none of the show's girls are homemakers or mothers,

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their circle of friends can be seen as an ersatz-family. But as Meg Tully points out:

Hannah plays no traditionally female roles within this family because she is portrayed as a failureat all of them. Hannah is not a good daughter to her real parents or to her surrogate family. […]She is incapable of accepting any form of guidance or criticism. Despite this, Hannah is the glueholding her makeshift family together. […] However, while Hannah binds the group, she certainlydoes not lead it. She is not the mother in her nontraditional family dynamic (109–111).

Indeed, the most motherly character in this group of friends is not Hannah but

Shoshanna. Despite her obvious youth and almost teenaged awkwardness she is always

truly supportive of her friends:

Marnie wants to be a singer? Shoshanna thinks it is great that she is following her dream. Charliesold an app? Shoshanna forces her boyfriend to go to his celebratory party an, while he grouches,tells Charlie that they are so, so happy for him. Hannah is having [a] party? Shoshanna gets thereearly, compliments the décor, and brings a cheese plate (Wright).

She lets her friends stay at her small apartment, giving them a home when they need one

and even gets Marnie a new job, calling her friend with the words “Hi, it's Shosh, how

are you, I'm amazing” (“I Get Ideas”) again making her seem more like a teenager than

an adult15. She also shows tough love and tells Ray he needs to be more ambitious (cf.

“It's a Shame About Ray”, “Together”).

But there also is a lot of criticism of traditional female roles shown in the show.

Not all of the protagonists have motherly traits such as Shoshanna. Hannah and Jessa try

to fit into the picture of the adult, settled women and homemaker. And they fail.

After Hannah has broken up with Adam she meets Joshua, who is 42 and lives in

a brownstone near the café she works at. Hannah is fascinated by his lifestyle because it

is so grown-up. While she thinks she invited a new word, “sexit”, and holds her

lemonade cup with both hands while she drinks, Joshua is separated from his wife and

works as a doctor. The age difference becomes clear when Hannah calls him “Josh”

repeatedly: it really upsets him and he insists on her using his full name. Additionally,

Joshua is annoyed by his young neighbors, who are about Hannah's age. The

relationship between Hannah and Joshua is the opposite of the one she has with Adam.

She even gets Joshua to beg her to stay at his place and he calls her beautiful which

almost surprises her: “I do [think I'm beautiful] it's just not always been the feedback

I've been given” (“One Man's Trash”). She also puts her sexual pleasure in front of his

and their sex is more intimate than the one she has had with Adam. While at Joshua's

Hannah realizes that she is not content with her life anymore:

15 Shoshanna is 21 (cf. “It's a Shame About Ray”).

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I made a promise such a long time ago that I was gonna take in experiences, all of them, so I couldtell the people about them and maybe save them but it gets so tiring. Trying to take in all theexperiences for everybody, letting anyone say anything to me. Then I came here. Then I've seenyou. And you've got the fruit in a bowl, the fridge with the stuff […]. I just want to be happy.(ibid.).

Although Hannah's description of her problems is highly ironic because she creates

most of them herself, this is not a funny scene. It makes Joshua notice the age difference

and it does not seem like he can relate to Hannah's problems. Furthermore, Hannah

realizes that she needs to change things in her life. After she finally gets a (e-)book deal

(cf. “Boys”) the is eager to start working but this builds up so much stress that she starts

to “counting” again and spirals into the obsessive-compulsive disorder of her childhood.

Although it is her own wish to write a novel she is overburdened by it. Clearly, she is

not yet mature enough to face adulthood.

After Jessa flirted with the dad of the children she babysits and lost her job, his

wife, Katherine, begs her to come back and has a talk with her about being grown up.

Katherine tells Jessa “I feel like I wanna help you. Like I want to be your mother, which

is insane” (“Leave Me Alone”). She attributes the drama in Jessa's life to her

unwillingness to grow up and thinks Jessa creates it to “distract [her] from becoming the

person [she is] meant to be” (ibid.):

She [, the person Jessa is meant to be] might not look like what you pictured her when you wereage 16. Her job might not be cool. Her hair might not be flowing like a mermaid. And she mightreally be serious about something. Or someone. And she might be a lot happier than you are rightnow (ibid.).

Jessa and Katherine look very similar, the only difference between them is their age and

that Katherine wears her hair pulled back and Jessa wears her hair free with two colored

pins, those a child would wear. Katherine is the adult version of Jessa. Without a doubt,

Jessa is deeply impressed by Katherine's words. Shortly after the talk she marries

Thomas-John, a man she “found very creepy but […] also very boring” (“She Did”).

Only after he talked about travel and finance, grown-up topics, she became interested in

him. After they take their vows she tells her wedding guests “your dreams are not what

you thought they'd be!” (cf. ibid.), echoing what Katherine told her, and later tells

Hannah that she “kinda” (ibid.) feels like a real adult. After her honeymoon she tells

Hannah: “I am so good, are you kidding? I have never been this well in my life. […]

This is what it's like when the hunt is over” (“I Get Ideas”). She sounds like a housewife

from more conservative times which is ironic in itself since Jessa is the free spirit of the

group. On the overt level she seems to have changed her entire personality. She even

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patronizes Hannah and tells her to read a newspaper, implying that this is what

grownups do. However, the marriage between her and Thomas-John does not last very

long. The life of a settled women is not what Jessa wants, at least for now.

The failure of the protagonists to adhere to traditional roles gives an empowering

message to the young female viewers: they do not have to fit into the expectations of

others. It might seem like falling into role models is easier and promises happiness but

this is not always the case. However, everybody is free to explore them to see whether

they can be happy with them.

5.2 Construction of Masculinity

Whereas I do not want to go into greater detail, male gender construction must also be

considered, especially in connection with feminism which analyses female identities

and their construction. While feminism has long been deconstructing patriarchal power

structures and their influence on women, men are also influenced by them. As I pointed

out earlier they, too, are expected to follow certain unwritten rules on what it means to

be a man. Over time the definition of what it means to be a man have changed greatly.

The difference between being an old-fashioned “manly man” who is rough and strong

and a modern, more sensitive man can be seen best in the way in which Charlie and

Adam are contrasted and develop during the first season.

Adam represents the “manly man” at first. He works out regularly and although

he is still comparatively slim built he has the most muscular body of all protagonists and

often shows it since he is not wearing a shirt most of the time. His apartment is full of

old things and tools for his “honest” (“Pilot”) woodworking which link him to a more

conservative past with stronger prescribed gender roles.

With the disappearance of the long-term link between masculinity and industrial labor now thatWestern societies are post-industrial and post-Fordist, many men may have lost their traditionalrole of the family breadwinner, while large numbers of those who are in employment now workwithin areas previously coded as feminine – in the service industries, say (Church Gibson 144).

Adam is very controlling and dominant. His assertiveness can be intimidating and it

seems like Hannah secretly wishes Adam could be more sensitive and supportive.

In contrast to Adam, Charlie is a more modern man who shows his emotions and

is sensitive and caring. Charlie tells his female friends that they are beautiful and sends

them big kisses (cf. “Pilot”), something Adam would hardly ever do. When Marnie tells

Hannah she wants to break up with him, Hannah says to her: “I think you need to admit

35

something to yourself which is that you're sick of eating him out… Because he has a

vagina” (“Pilot”). Here, Hannah links Charlie's sensitive side to perceived female ideals

which is of course problematic because not only does it imply that men cannot be

sensitive but the way in which she says it implies that sensitivity is something bad, thus

making women seem weak for being sensitive. During the visit at the gynecologist

Marnie tells Hannah that she wants to become a mother:

Marnie: Seriously, I need to become a mom, Hannah! I was put on this planet to be a mother!

Hannah: Maybe Charlie has a really low sperm count?Marnie: I'm sure Charlie has a really low sperm count. (“Vagina Panic”)

Again, they undermine his masculinity, linking his gender identity to his biological sex

and his reproductive abilities and belittling him.

Hannah's parents do not follow the traditional gender roles. Her father, Tad, is

very caring and soft while her mother is more assertive. It is her mother, Loreen, who

cuts Hannah off financially and her father is always giving in and trying to understand

her side of the story. Her mother is in charge and calls the shots while Hannah's father is

supportive of both Hannah and her mother, often trying to mediate between the two.

When Hannah visits her parents at the hotel this becomes clear.

Loreen: Why don't you get a job and start a blog? You are so spoilt!Hannah: Well, who's fault is that, mom?Loreen: Your father's?!Tad: This is making me so unhappy! I'm having such a horrible feeling. (“Pilot”)

Instead of being upset that his wife blames him for Hannah's self-entitlement he stays

calm. In the discussion that follows Hannah's drug-induced breakdown the traditional

father-mother-relationship is inverted. While Hannah's dad is worried about her, her

mother calls for tough love.

Tad: This is the immediate result of a cold approach. You can't just pull the rug out from under her suddenly. We should stay a few more days.

Loreen: Look, I admire your kind heart, I really do, but you're getting played by a major fucking player!

Tad: I know but it's hard for me to watch her struggle.[…]

It's like watching her get a shot!Loreen: Shots keep people from getting sick! (“Pilot”)

During the fight, Tad's voice is rather calm and soft and he is looking at the ground

while Loreen is loud and gestures towards him. However, Hannah's parents have a very

loving relationship and are happy with each other. This implies that the traditional

gender roles do not have to be kept up within a relationship or marriage but on the other

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hand also conveys the impression that the roles develop and are natural only that the

gender of the one filling the role does not matter.

GIRLS not only offers several roles to its female characters, from motherly

Shoshanna to career-driven Marnie but the men can also fill several roles. While Adam

is a traditional man with his tools, Charlie is sensitive. However, Adam is also visibly

touched at Jessa's wedding and Charlie becomes a successful business owner. Even they

at first glance fall into one category of men they can transcend its boundaries if they

would like to.

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6 Conclusion

The show is well aware of its flaws. This is addressed through metatextual commentary

which also gives the show is humorous undertones. As Masa Grdesic rightly concludes,

the

metatextual commentary [makes it] evident [that] the series is highly self-conscious and attuned topotential criticism, and therefore deeply political as well, bringing to the fore some of the majorissues of feminist media and cultural studies (358).

While these issues are brought forward, the show, at the same time, does not offer any

clear answers to questions feminists have long been debating. The characters in GIRLS

do not serve as a moral authorities. The show only highlights several conflicting ideas

and aspects of feminist theory. The “criticism” promised in my title therefore is not in a

traditional form arguing for one answer to an issues. GIRLS rather gives a voice to many

different sides and provides illustrations of the differences within feminist thinking

while not belittling one side of the argument or choosing one over the other thus

offering feminist self-critique and the opportunity for the viewer to reflect on and come

to an own conclusion. This is partially achieved by unlikable sites the characters have

and the wrong decisions they make: this creates a distance between the viewer and the

character.

This can be seen in many aspects. In GIRLS there is no clear answer as to how

female sexuality should be expressed. Marnie enjoys Booth's assertiveness while

Hannah is intimated by Adam's. However, both are given a chance to explore what they

like and take control over their sexuality. To Shoshanna being a virgin is something

shameful because as an emancipated women she wants to renounce the notions of purity

that have traditionally been inscribed into virginity. She even calls herself the “least

virginy virgin”. Her felt failure to live up to feminist standards of sex positivity

intimidates her. This points to the pressure feminist sex positivity can have on women:

if they want to overcome Victorian ideals of female purity they need to be sexual

women, otherwise they are repressed by the patriarchy to rightfully embrace their

sexuality. While GIRLS is sex-positive overall and its female protagonists can “like [a]

cock and not be a whore”, as Natalia tells Adam (“Together”) and be in control of their

sexuality Shoshanna is also given a voice with her insecurities.

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In GIRLS the idea of one big feminism that incorporates each and every women

is seen as problematic. Nobody wants to be “the Ladies” that are told what to think by

other ladies. Following this argument it is also understandable that the show focuses on

white, privileged women, although the underrepresentation of women (and men) of

color in television is a serious topic and must be addressed.

Furthermore, the show breaks with the male gaze and stereotypical sex scenes.

There is lots of nudity in the show but it is not an exploitive presentation of female

bodies for viewing pleasure but seems natural. The characters in GIRLS are flawed.

Hannah does not have a perfect body and even Marnie, who does, has to shave her legs

and wear a retainer at night. By showing characters on screen that are not perfect GIRLS

gives an empowering message and does not promote traditional beauty ideals as

strongly as other shows often do.

Overall, the show underlines the female characters agency. They can choose to

have sex, be it dominated by their male partners or not, and choose their roles in life. If

they think they can find true happiness in traditional gender roles they can but if they

find out that this is not who they are then they can live their life differently. Either way,

they are not judged. The same is true for the male protagonists: they, too, can overcome

stereotypical gender roles.

In the end, in GIRLS nobody has to be “The Ladies” if they do not want do.

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7 Bibliography

7.1 GIRLS Episodes

7.1.1 Season 01

“All Adventurous Women Do.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season

01, Episode 03. HBO, 29 April 2012. Television.

“Hannah's Diary.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Richard Shepard. Season 01,

Episode 04. HBO, 6 May 2012. Television

“Hard Being Easy.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Jesse Peretz. Season 01, Episode

05. HBO, 13 May 2012. Television.

“Leave Me Alone.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham and Bruce Eric Kaplan. Dir. Richard

Shepard. Season 01, Episode 09. HBO, 10 June 2012. Television.

“Pilot.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season 01, Episode 01. HBO,

15 April 2012. Television.

“She Did.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season 01, Episode 10.

HBO, 17 June 2012. Television.

“Vagina Panic.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season 01, Episode

02. HBO, 22 April 2012. Television.

“Weirdos Need Girlfriends Too.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham and Dan Sterlin. Dir. Jody

Lee Lipes. Season 01, Episode 08. HBO, 3 June 2012. Television.

7.1.2 Season 02

“Bad Friend.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham and Sarah Heyward. Dir. Jesse Peretz.

Season 02, Episode 03. HBO, 27 January 2013. Television.

“Boys.” GIRLS. Writ. Murray Miller. Dir. Claudia Weill. Season 02, Episode 06. HBO,

17 February 2013. Television.

“I Get Ideas.” GIRLS. Writ. Jenni Konner. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season 02, Episode 02.

HBO, 20 January 2013. Television.

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“It's a Shame About Ray.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Jesse Peretz. Season 02,

Episode 4. HBO, 2 February 2013. Television.

“It's About Time.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. Dir. Lena Dunham.

Season 02, Episode 01. HBO, 13 January 2013. Television.

“On All Fours.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. Dir. Lena Dunham.

Season 02, Episode 09. HBO, 10 March 2013. Television.

“One Man's Trash.” GIRLS. Writ. Lena Dunham. Dir. Richard Shepard. Season 02,

Episode 05. HBO, 10 February 2013. Television.

“Together.” GIRLS. Writ. Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham. Dir. Lena Dunham. Season

02, Episode 10. HBO, 17 March 2013. Television.

“Video Games.” GIRLS. Writ. Richard Shepard. Dir. Bruce Eric Kaplan. Season 02,

Episode 07. HBO, 24 February 2013. Television.

7.2 Other Visual Media

30 Rock. NBC, 2006-2013. Television.

Golden Girls. NBC, 1985-1992. Television.

“It's Not Porn… [Official Video].” YouTube. YouTube, 10 September 2013. Web. 24

June 2014.

Legally Blonde. Dir. Robert Luketic. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2001. Film.

“Lena Dunham/The National.” Saturday Night Live. Season 39, Episode 15. NBC,

2014.

Miss Congeniality. Dir. Donald Petrie. Warner Brothers, 2000. Film.

Parks and Recreation. NBC, 2009- . Television.

Roseanne. ABC, 1988-1997. Television.

Sex and the City. HBO, 1998-2004. Television.

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7.3 Literature

“Bechdel Test Movie List.” bechdeltest.com. N. p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

Bell, Katherine. “‘Obvie, We’re the Ladies!’ Postfeminism, Privilege, and HBO’s

Newest GIRLS.” Feminist Media Studies 13.2 (2013): 363–366. Print.

Bhavnani, Kum-Kum, and Meg Coulson. “‘Race.’” A Concise Companion to Feminist

Theory. Ed. Mary Eagleton. Malden: Blackwell, 2003. 73–92. Print.

Cadenas, Kerensa. “Feminism and Flawed Women in Lena Dunham ’s ‘Girls.’” Ms.

Magazine. N. p., 2012. Web. 13 June 2014.

Carson, Fiona. “Feminism And The Body.” Feminism and Postfeminism. Ed. Sarah

Gamble. London and New York: Routledge, 2001. 117–128. Print.

“Cast & Crew.” TinyFurniture.com. N. p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.

Chancer, Lynn S. “From Pornography to Sadomasochism  : Reconciling Feminist

Differences.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

571.September (2000): 77–88. Print.

Church Gibson, Pamela. “‘Is That What They Think a Ream Man Looks like?’:

Hollywood, Gender, and Consumption.” American Studies as Media Studies. Ed.

Frank Kelleter and Daniel Stein. Heidelberg: Winter, 2008. 141–157. Print.

Coole, Diana. “Feminism Without Nostalgia.” Radical Philosophy 83.May/June (1997):

17–24. Print.

Cregan, Kate. Key Concepts in Body & Society. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2012.

Print.

Decarvalho, Lauren J. “Hannah And Her Entitled Sisters: (Post)Feminism,

(Post)Recession, and GIRLS.” Feminist Media Studies 13.2 (2013): 367–370.

Print.

Dworkin, Andrea. Pornography: Man Possessing Women. Middlesex: Plume, 1989.

Print.

Eagleton, Mary. “Introduction.” A Concise Companion to Feminist Theory. Malden:

Blackwell, 2003. 1–10. Print.

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English, Deirdre, Amber Hollibaugh, and Gayle Rubin. “Talking Sex: A Conversation

on Sexuality and Feminism.” Feminist Review 11 (1982): 40–52. Print.

Franco, James. “A Dude’s Take on Girls.” Huffington Post. N. p., 2012. Web. 13 June

2014.

“GIRLS.” imdb.com. N. p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2014.

Glick, Elisa. “Sex Positive Feminism, Queer Theory, and the Politics of Transgression.”

Feminist Review 64 (2000): 19–45. Print.

Grdesic, Masa. “‘I’m Not the Ladies!’: Metatexual Commentary in GIRLS.” Feminist

Media Studies 13.2 (2013): 355–358. Print.

Hooks, Bell. Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. London and Winchester,

MA: Pluto Press, 1982. Print.

---. “Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance.” Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks.

Ed. Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas M. Kellner. Malden: John Wiley &

Sons, 2012. 308–318. Print.

Johnson, Merri Lisa. “Ladies Love Your Box: The Rhetoric of Pleasure and Danger in

Feminist Television Studies.” Third Wave Feminism and Television: Jane Puts It in

a Box. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2007. 1–27. Print.

Kondolojy, Amanda. “Sunday Cable Rating: ‘Game of Thrones,’ + ‘Real Housewives

ATL’ ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Khloe & Lamar,’ ‘The Client List’ & More.” zap2it. N. p., 2012.

Web. 28 June 2014.

Lavin, Suzanne. Women and Comedy in Solo Performance: Phyllis Diller, Lily Tomlin,

and Roseanne. New York and London: Routledge, 2004. Print.

MacKinnon, Catharine. “Pornography: On Morality and Politics.” Towards a Feminist

Theory of State (1989): n. pag. Print.

Martín Alcoff, Linda. “The Nerve of Lena Dunham.” The Feminist Wire. N. p., 2012.

Web. 13 June 2014.

McRobbie, Angela. “Post‐Feminism and Popular Culture.” Feminist Media Studies 4.3

(2004): 255–264.

Meehan, Eileen R. “Gendering the Commodity Audience: Critical Media Research,

Feminism, and Political Economy.” Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. Ed.

43

Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas M. Kellner. Malden: John Wiley & Sons,

2012. 242–249. Print.

Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Media and Cultural Studies:

Keyworks. Ed. Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas M Kellner. Malden, Oxford:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2001. 342–352. Print.

Nathan, Debbie. Groundwork Guides: Pornography. Toronto: Groundwood Books,

2007. Print.

Nussbaum, Emily. “It’s Different for ‘GIRLS.’” New York Magazine. N. p., 2012. Print.

Nygaard, Taylor. “Girls Just Want to Be ‘Quality’: HBO, Lena Dunham, and Girls’

Conflicting Brand Identity.” Feminist Media Studies 13.2 (2013): 370–374. Print.

Obenson, Tambay A. “Lena Dunham Addresses ‘Girls’ Diversity Criticism & Why I

Just Don’t Care….” Indiewire.com. N. p., 2012. Web. 17 June 2014.

Pollock, Griselda. “The Visual.” A Concise Companion to Feminist Theory. Ed. Mary

Eagleton. Malden: Blackwell, 2003. 173–194. Print.

Scott, Catherine. “‘Girls’ Is Not Diverse, Not Feminist and Not Empowering.”

Independent.co.uk. N. p., 2012. Web. 13 June 2014.

Tully, Margaret. “The Season of the Vagina: A Third-Wave Feminist Analysis of the

Television Series New Girl and Girls.” Ball State University, 2013. Print.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth. New York and London: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.

Wortham, Jenna. “Where (My) Girls At?” The Hairpin. N. p., 2012. Web. 16 June 2014.

Wright, Jennifer. “In Defense of Shoshanna.” Jezebel.com. N. p., 2013. Web. 8 July

2014.

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