Oh female empowerment, why must we label? Don't get me wrong, I am all for women succeeding in the entertainment industry. I myself am a woman who would like to succeed in the entertainment industry. But every time I see women called out for their achievements as women, I get a little queasy feeling. I mean, if we are so successful in the first place then why do we have to make such a big deal about the distinction? I never hear people say, "That movie was great...and it was written by a man!" As silly as that sounds, no one seems to blink twice about saying the same thing about women. I know I am being holier than thou, but I just hate the double standard.
What got my mind wandering down this path was an article my amazing friend, Jessica, sent my way. It was about the new self-proclaimed "Fempire" of female Hollywood screenwriters featured in the New York Times Fashion and Style section (interesting choice) last week called "Hollywood's New Power Posse." My love of alliteration aside, that title alone got my tummy a-girgling.
The piece about the friendship of four successful writers, Diablo Cody (Juno), Lorene Scafaria (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas) and Liz Meriwether, a transitioning playwright, paints the women as insecure, giggling pre-teens, especially when the author adds elements like "They all have dogs!" (I admit I added the exclamation point to that quote, but still) and "But these women also work hard: Ms. Cody, Ms. Fox and Ms. Scafaria can command seven figures to write a movie that makes it into theaters with big stars." Big stars? You don't say!
I realize I am being super sensitive and a little snarky here as well, especially since the article was clearly supposed to be written from a fashion/lifestyle angle, but why was it even written that way in the first place? And who even knows if these women want to be taken that seriously, especially since they are all comedy writers. Still, male writers like Judd Apatow are lauded for their work, however silly it may be, not by what they borrowed from their girlfriend to wear on the red carpet.
