“We Have a Heroine Problem” by Carina Chocano
From “Nasty Women” https://www.amazon.com/Nasty-Women-Feminism-Resistance-Revolution/dp/1250155509/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nasty+women&qid=1582579272&sr=8-1
In Carina Chocano’s essay “We Have a Heroine Problem” she explains specifically why we as a country have a heroine problem. She talks about how even though we are living in the 21st century we still don’t know how to tell the story of a strong woman. Chocano talks explicitly about Hillary Clinton and her strength and dominance. When a woman is strong, assertive, and knows what she wants we don’t know how to write her. Writing a woman in a role like that would smash our society so we write her as a villain instead. For Hillary Clinton this resulted in her losing the election to someone who was extremely inferior to her when it came to experience. Our heroine problem is not new, it is a centuries old barrier that women have to face. “Real women, with their flaws, only get in the way…” of how society thinks women should be portrayed. Any woman who does not fit the normal mold, any woman who is independent, and any woman who wants her own power will be written as a villain. Carina Chocano said that “until we change the story, the revolution will not be feminized.” Until we change the way that society looks at women then nothing will change.
Carina Chocano’s essay really struck a chord in me because it showed me how long women have dealt with this issue and how much power this outdated idea has against women. Women deal with many issues where they are seen as inferior to men whether the issues have to do with pay gaps, double standards, or some other problem. Chocano gives us a reason for why strong, independent women struggle to find their strength and power and then when they do, they are hesitant to share it with the world. She points out how during the election all anyone would comment on was the way that Hillary Clinton dressed and the way that she did her hair and I think that shows exactly what women have to deal with. The way that women dress and look is constantly being judged and seen as who they are. It was also pointed out that competent and outspoken women threaten the patriarchal structure of our society because their existence alone destabilizes it. You can see this in today’s society with women who are bold and say what they want being put down for doing exactly that. Women have almost always been written as the soft and quiet damsels in distress and Carina Chocano is telling us that we need to change the way women are written or they are never going to be seen as anything else.
A.B.
Comments