The feminist Gilmore Girls

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Which TV show would you say is the most feminist one of them all?

I assume that even if Gilmore Girls did not emerge in your mind in the first place, you can agree that it is definitely up there on the list. The show comprises the stories and the lives of several female protagonists. The feature of the show reflected the feminist image and conveys the faith that women have the power to be independent and to achieve their goals.

The depiction of every female characters’ personality is unconventional.

Without a doubt, Lorelai is not only the main protagonists but also the one whose characteristic and story can mirror the main idea of the show. Her situation and the way she deals with that are ahead of her time. In other words, she is the opposite of how the society consider an “ideal woman” should be. First of all, she is a single mother who got pregnant when she was 16 years old. Back at that time, most of the women would just choose the path of having an abortion due to the young age. However, she decides to carry the baby, Rory, by her own. Second, she was born in a wealthy family which can fully support her financially. But instead of relying on her parents, she started working in an inn while having Rory. She refuses to take any penny from her parents since then on. Later on, she also establishes her own business with her best friend, Sookie.

As for her daughter, Rory, she is depicted as a young girl who has the ambitious dream of getting into the prestigious university -- Harvard University. Throughout the show, the audience can observe the efforts she put for going after her dream. She also serves as the Manic Pixie Dream Gril in the show that her charm attracts different types of boys. Rory uses her fun characteristic along with her wise humerous words to teach the boys other aspects in their lives.

On top of that, Rory’s best friend, Lane, is living in a Christine Korean family. Her mother is so religious that her way of raising Lane represents the ideology of how women should be like (or at least the standard Christian aspect of how a traditional woman should be, which is also another gender-related ideology). Lane is passionate about music, but she has to hide all her CDs away from her mother. She could not even wear the outfits that she actually likes either. Nevertheless, in the later part of the show, Lane convinces her mother to let her join a band and starts pursuing her dream.

The storylines and the development of the characters’ personality are all demonstrating that women have the ability to change, to be independent, to be ambitious without living within society’s expectation.

Surprising Pregnancy

Another feature of the show is that there are lots of “surprising pregnancy” happening in the plot, including Lorelai, Sookie, and Lane (at the latter part of the show). However, the consequences or the decision that these characters made are what that give the show most of its meaning -- They all decide to keep the babies and raise them up, either alone or with someone together.

The amazing part of the show is how the writer just weaves these feminist features into the simply daily lives of the characters, which can also be reflected by the audience. It makes us feel like these stories are something that happens around us, and we can also be as strong as the females in the show are.

BUT! At some trivial part, the show still illustrates the gender ideology. For instance, in Lane’s storyline, she married one of her bandmates, Zack, and gets pregnant. After the twins are born, Zack gets an offer to go on a world tour with another band, which left Lane alone in the house to take care of the children with giving up on her own dream. This is the reflection of “the cult of domesticity” that women should stay at home maintaining the house perfectly and taking care of the children while men are having a “real job” that pays to raise the whole family.

Overall, the show did showcase the feminist ideas to the audiences, but there is still some influence of the gender ideology left in the show.