Feminist movies don’t exist

Question

Now, before you start saying “OH YOURE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MEN WHO THINKS WOMAN ARE BLAH BLAH BLAH” or something like that… hear me out…

Last night, me and my friend were talking about many problems woman face everyday, then I wrote this text:

“ Woman aren’t treated differently, men AND woman aren’t being treated the same ”

“ they both have their own representation issues ”

“ Some bigger then others ”

She agreed, and then I said:

“ Men aren’t superior nor are woman… woman get representation but men need them too… feminist films aren’t actually feminist… they are misogynistic… because feminism is for woman and men… and if a movie was really feminist… the portrayal of the woman and men would be the same ”

Because, in most feminist movies, the woman is the strong hero, and the men are just… sidekicks? I don’t know, it depends the movie but the men are clearly written in a kinda stereotypical way. They act all strong and superior and think they control woman, which is in a way, sexist…

I wrote again later to make it more clear:

“ but the thing is… there will never and I mean NEVER be a feminist movie… because there will always be one stereotype or sexist characteristics… I must admit maybe one of my characters is stereotypical and I didn’t realise it because we don’t notice the flaws of our creation at first glance… a true authentic feminist movie would never exist unless it is written by both men and woman who understand… but just a man and just a woman at their own corners… a man and a woman who sit and talk about experience and tell a story accurately ”

If you don’t understand what I mean by my characters, me and the person I am writing with are writers, we write stories in our free time, and currently, we are working on a story for an anthology movie.

And she replied and I think it also sums it up well:

“ Movies will be feminist the day we stop trying to make movies feminist ”

Which makes sense, nowadays movies are are TRYING to make feminist movies, think about it…

I later wrote:

“ I must admit… the story we are writing… The Girl With The Bag, for the anthology… people might see it as feminist because it talks about toxic masculinity and such blah blah blah people will find excuses to why they find it feminist… but actually… it’s misogynistic… because the men are being dimmed for their personality and the woman are being enlightened as the “heroes”… it’s not feminist and it’s not meant to be… it’s just stories of actual scenarios that happen that people will be able to connect to one way or the other ”

The anthology for those curious is called “A Travers Sa Peau” or “Through Her Skin” translated, it’s a movie with three stories with themes of toxic masculinity… which means, the woman are in the spotlight and the men are in the background, which ISN’T feminist…

Feminism is equality for woman AND men, not just for woman… and feminism gets often confused for woman wanting to be superior, which is something I actually heard someone say about it…

Woman are slowly getting the same rights as men which they should’ve had years ago already… and yes, there are men who need to learn how to treat a woman like a human being but there are also woman who need to learn how to treat a man like a human… because think about it, have you seen a sex, treat the opposite sex the same way?

I ended the discussion on my chat with this message:

“ why can’t woman just walk at night without fear? be treated in the streets like a man? be treated the same as men? why can’t woman compliment men without having comments? why do men always have to be the one to ask the girl out? why do men automatically become the perverts? why do woman not get treated the same? why do men get less sexualised? why do men’s mental health come last? why are woman’s mental state dramatic? why are woman being called dramatic? why are men supposed to be tough? why can’t we be the same? why can’t we just all walk outside without fear? why can’t we all walk outside with fear together? ”

So… if you know an ACTUAL feminist movies… please tell me it and I’ll watch it!

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Answer

It's clear you've thought about this extensively, it's great to see someone engaging with gender representation and feminism so thoughtfully. I wanted to chime in with a few thoughts that might help clarify some things:

First, feminism is about equality, not superiority. You're aware of that.
While some feminist films may portray women as strong and or as leaders and men as sidekicks, these films are often reactions to ages of male-dominated stories rather than an attempt to retain the same imbalance but invert it. The goal is to create balanced representations, not to stereotype men as women have been.

Second, you're right that some films fall into creating one-dimensional characters, whether male or female. This isn't a failure of feminism but rather a failure of storytelling altogether. My personal belief on why this is is due to the commercialization of feminist films.

Lastly, your questions at the end of the post highlight an important point. Equality doesn't mean treating everyone exactly the same, that is fundamentally impossible on both sides. It's about ensuring equal rights and opportunities while still acknowledging the differences. For example, women walking at night without fear isn't about making the world identical for men and women but about addressing systemic issues like harassment and violence.

Keep exploring these ideas. your and your friend's perspective as a writer is valuable, and there’s always more to learn. If you’re looking for feminist films that handle some of these issues well, I’d recommend checking out The Color Purple, Persepolis, or Little Women.

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this is so real!! i think most people who make "feminist" movies mostly think about making up for all the super masculine movies but its not really working that well

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