The Feminist Eye: Double Standards with Female/Male Characters

As I've mentioned, Musicals are my escape. Right now, I am binge-watching Glee. There are some issues with Glee from a Feminist Eye perspective. Two cliché teen pregnancy plots, one that leads to adoption and the other simply a pregnancy scare. The slutty boys (and let's face it, if they were female characters they would be called sluts) who slept with the girls only to have one punishment for being slutty, get the girls pregnant or almost pregnant and perhaps losing the girl. Which, in most cases, doesn't really harm the boys. It's the girls who become outcasts, harassed, called sluts, etc. As if girls are responsible for getting themselves pregnant by immaculate conception. 

Then there is the bully, Coach Sue, whose punishment fluctuates throughout the show but ultimately ends on a high note. She becomes the principal only by planting incriminating items to oust the current principal. And then, in the "5-years-later" plot, is the Vice President? How does that show that bullies are the bad ones?

However, two moments stand out to me the most. This is because of a double standard. When a female and male character are put into similar situations, the reaction and dialogue differ, and, as is common, it favors the man. Let's break down the situations.

Season 4, Episode 12: Naked
To raise money for Sectionals, the Glee club did a "Men of Glee" Calendar. The six boys in the group will split off the months and show off their chests and abs. Artie, who's in a wheelchair, is uncomfortable taking his shirt off, feeling as if his body is not as buff as the other boys'. Finn, as the substitute Glee teacher, tells Artie it's okay. He doesn't want to make Artie do anything he's uncomfortable with. In the end, Artie does the calendar, and he, along with Sam, keeps their shirt on. Everyone was okay with it.

Season 5, Episode 4: A Katie or a Gaga
To get out of their comfort zones, the Glee club splits into a Katie group and a Gaga group. Those who believe they're more like Gaga must perform a Katie song, and those who believe they are more like Katie must perform a Gaga song. This includes using props and wearing clothes that the pop icons would wear. Marley is uncomfortable dressing like Gaga in a seashell bikini, so she dresses like Katie for their performance. Everyone yells at her for not wearing the bikini, and Mr. Shu suspends her for the rest of the week cause she "put her personal agenda over the team." Everyone agrees with him.

Why is it that when Artie didn't want to take his shirt off, it was okay, but when Marley didn't want to wear a bikini, something that would have been more revealing than no shirt, she's not a team player? It's as if it's women's responsibility to be objectified for the good of others. The writers could have put her into a different Gaga outfit that wasn't as revealing but still fit the assignment. Instead, they set the example that it's okay for a man to feel uncomfortable, but not for a woman.​

Oh, and because Marley is a good girl and not ready for sex, her boyfriend cheats on her. In the same episode. As if to say, if you don't give it up, be prepared to get hurt. Oh, and know, if you do give it up, you will be deemed a slut.

---

Another Double Standard

This is just one of the MANY double-standard examples out there. Here's another one of my pet peeves: My Best Friend's Wedding vs. Made of Honor. Both movies are about female/male best friends, where one of the friends is getting married, and the other realizes that they want to be with the other. 

In My Best Friend's Wedding, the male is getting married, and the female decides to do whatever she can to sabotage the wedding and break them up. It doesn't work, and the male gets married.

In Made of Honor, the female is getting married. After a bridesmaid sabotages (cause only females are saboteurs) the bridal shower in the hopes of getting the male fired as maid of honor so she can have it, the male is a responsible maid of honor. As the pre-wedding events progress, the female develops feelings towards the male. Ultimately, she doesn't go through with the wedding, and the two begin a relationship.

So, the female in My Best Friend's Wedding is the bad person, and the male in Made of Honor is the good person. And, of course, a bad girl doesn't get what she wants. I wonder if the story was reversed, and she was good, would she get the guy? 

---

Sometimes, I wish that female characters were treated the same as male characters. Why can't female characters be strong, intelligent, and ethical without having something taken away from them because of it? And why is it that when they aren't strong, intelligent, and ethical​, they still have something taken away from them? 

​It's a lose-lose situation for female characters.