Veronica Mars - A Strong Feminist Role Model for Girls and Women

YOU GO GIRL – Veronica Mars' Strong Feminist Voice

I was watching the TV show Veronica Mars, a TV show geared toward teen girls.  This particular episode was from 2006, Episode 49, (entitled “My Big Fat Greek Rush Week) and Veronica is now a freshman in college.

I’ve seen the show a few times, from time to time, but I guess I never realized before how much feminist commentary it has running throughout.  I must say, I’m glad someone got a show on TV that helps spread healthy, strong ideas to young women audiences, and brings up topics that young women should be aware of and thinking about.

For example, here is a small smattering of some voice-over narrative and dialog that Veronica speaks in the show:

(Veronica voice-over) “I guess ‘dress to impress’ meant dressing as your favorite Pussy Cat Doll”

(Veronica voice-over) “The 70s had the Hustle, the 90s had the Macarena and we have the Faux Lesbian Dance” (she was referring to the visual of three girls, dressed like Pussy Cat Dolls, dancing closely and evocatively together on the disco dance floor).

In her dialog to another person while riding in the car together, Veronica comments “A Vagina Monolog perhaps” making a pun with the name of a famous one-woman live theater show.

In the next episode of the show that followed, Episode 50, there were several other feminist-themed statements by Veronica, including:

In the dialog to another character she states, “If you have words written on yourself, it’s not nudity it’s political speech. [It’s] Taking control of one’s body to turn the objectifying male gaze back onto itself.”

Shortly after that comment, she expounds that “Yes, it’s college.  We are supposed to expand our horizons beyond video games and binge drinking.”

I never realized how feminist a show that Veronica Mars is, and I am very glad to see the work that was done on that show.  Even though it was (and still is, in re-runs) geared toward teenagers, it deals with very adult subject matter and situations. 

This is effective because for one thing, teens hate being treated like they are children who don’t know what goes on in the world.  And teens now, in this day and age, grow up with adult sin, vice, and graphic sex and nudity all around them.  They are certainly not ignorant to it.  The show Veronica Mars accepts this fact and gives them a show that can help them navigate such a confusing adult world with a role model that demonstrates mature and healthy behavioral choices and feminist concepts to help girls be strong and wise.

I wish there were more TV shows on television that would help developing boys and girls sort out their beliefs on all the adult sex that is thrown at them, often at times when they themselves are very confused about their own physical changes and development.  Teens are navigating their way through sex, drugs, insecurity, doubt, intrigue, arousal, jealousy, relationships, their own sexuality, media and an insane amount of female sexploitation that is thrown at them. Veronica Mars is unique as a show that addresses this—and other feminist issues—in an interesting and healthy way.  I wish more adult women were as pro-actively feminist as young, 18-year-old Veronica Mars is.