The Bold Type in Reverse
ABC's The Bold Type is a television series centered around female empowerment and the strength that lies within using one's voice. The show itself revolves around three female friends, Jane, Kat, and Sutton, who work for Scarlet, a global women's magazine. Many of the episodes deal with current hard hitting issues such as race, sexuality, and women's rights. Due to its high velocity of female empowerment, "gender swapping" the main characters of The Bold Type, casts an interesting light on the show itself and the morals it portrays.
Depicting one of the three friends as a male character instead, changes the entire dynamic of the show. For example, if Jane Sloan, a writer at Scarlet, is "gender swapped" to a male, certain stereotypes and assumptions are now placed upon that character. While it is seen as normal for a female to work at a women's magazine, a man working the same job is seen as less socially acceptable. Due to the hyper masculine attitudes that are instilled within male behavior, the only comprehensible reasoning for a man to work at a women's magazine is if he possessed feminine attributes. Attributes which would otherwise stereotype him as the gay coworker only interested in fashion, makeup, and sex; topics that a woman's magazine is known for.
However, though The Bold Type is progressive towards women's equality, if one of the male characters within the show were to be recasted as a female, more stereotypes and assumptions would be implemented. Ryan Decker, otherwise known as Pinstripe, is a hyper masculine, leather jacket, motorcycle riding, sex columnist for Pinstripe Magazine. Labeled a ladies man, Ryan is the quintessential guy's guy. Yet, if his character is "gender swapped" to a woman, she instantly becomes a male fantasy. With a career centered around sex and casual hookups, the once hyper masculine, leather jacket, motorcycle riding guy's guy becomes a sexualized object for the sole pleasure of the male audience.
Depicting one of the three friends as a male character instead, changes the entire dynamic of the show. For example, if Jane Sloan, a writer at Scarlet, is "gender swapped" to a male, certain stereotypes and assumptions are now placed upon that character. While it is seen as normal for a female to work at a women's magazine, a man working the same job is seen as less socially acceptable. Due to the hyper masculine attitudes that are instilled within male behavior, the only comprehensible reasoning for a man to work at a women's magazine is if he possessed feminine attributes. Attributes which would otherwise stereotype him as the gay coworker only interested in fashion, makeup, and sex; topics that a woman's magazine is known for.
However, though The Bold Type is progressive towards women's equality, if one of the male characters within the show were to be recasted as a female, more stereotypes and assumptions would be implemented. Ryan Decker, otherwise known as Pinstripe, is a hyper masculine, leather jacket, motorcycle riding, sex columnist for Pinstripe Magazine. Labeled a ladies man, Ryan is the quintessential guy's guy. Yet, if his character is "gender swapped" to a woman, she instantly becomes a male fantasy. With a career centered around sex and casual hookups, the once hyper masculine, leather jacket, motorcycle riding guy's guy becomes a sexualized object for the sole pleasure of the male audience.
Comments
Post a Comment