12:56 pm - 01/29/2013
Let's quote one of the best lines from last night's tearjerker of an American Horror Story finale: "Don't you ever let a man tell you who you are or make you feel like you are less than he is." It comes from Jessica Lange, Ryan Murphy's muse and frequent mouthpiece for his feminist thoughts. That's right, feminist thoughts! Ryan Murphy has feminist thoughts! He told reporters last week that season three of American Horror Story would be "all about female power," hardly a surprise since his entire second season was a commentary on female sexual repression, male aggression, and the Catholic Church, which neatly combines the two. Murphy is obsessed with women — our history, our haters, the injustices done to us, our against-the-odds ambition. (He ended the season with a callback to the first episode, when Jude tells Lana: "The loneliness, the heartbreak, the sacrifice you'll face as a woman with a dream on her own ... ") He gets it. And so to celebrate a season well done, here are our favorite female power moments from season two.
Feminist moment: Shelley, Briarcliff's horniest patient, flips out over the word whore. Why was her husband allowed to sleep around without consequence, while her affair with a sailor got her committed to an insane asylum?
Feminist ranking: 7. Shelley is so sex-positive (masturbating since 5!); she doesn't appreciate double standards; and she knows how to work a sailor. But we worry she's selling herself short when she blows the orderlies.
Feminist moment: A priest asks Sister Jude to hand him a prayer book during an exorcism, then tells her to leave the room. It's "no place for a woman."
Feminist ranking: 5. Jude tells him, "I'm stronger than you think" — but then she leaves the room! More than words, Jude.
Feminist moment: Best line of the season, said by the Devil: "It drives you crazy, doesn’t it? To be the smartest person in the room with no real power because of that smelly clam between your legs."
Feminist ranking: 8. It does drive us crazy, but we think our clam smells fine, thanks.
Feminist moment: Sister Mary Eunice sings “You Don’t Own Me" — at one point to a crucifix on her wall.
Feminist ranking: 10-plus. If you don't feel at least the urge to sing along with her, you are probably in a dependent relationship.
Feminist moment: Sister Jude tells Dr. Arden that she will "always win against the patriarchal male.”
Feminist ranking: 6. Ask any gender studies major what word she used most often freshman year, and she'll tell you patriarchy. (Or norms.) But, again, more than words.
Feminist moment: Lana escapes Briarcliff with evidence that will put Bloody Face away. She gives him the finger while doing so.
Feminist ranking: 10. Some might say she seems too "angry." Give those people the finger.
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Ryan Murphy loves women. Ranking American Horror Story's most feminist moments.
Let's quote one of the best lines from last night's tearjerker of an American Horror Story finale: "Don't you ever let a man tell you who you are or make you feel like you are less than he is." It comes from Jessica Lange, Ryan Murphy's muse and frequent mouthpiece for his feminist thoughts. That's right, feminist thoughts! Ryan Murphy has feminist thoughts! He told reporters last week that season three of American Horror Story would be "all about female power," hardly a surprise since his entire second season was a commentary on female sexual repression, male aggression, and the Catholic Church, which neatly combines the two. Murphy is obsessed with women — our history, our haters, the injustices done to us, our against-the-odds ambition. (He ended the season with a callback to the first episode, when Jude tells Lana: "The loneliness, the heartbreak, the sacrifice you'll face as a woman with a dream on her own ... ") He gets it. And so to celebrate a season well done, here are our favorite female power moments from season two.
Feminist moment: Shelley, Briarcliff's horniest patient, flips out over the word whore. Why was her husband allowed to sleep around without consequence, while her affair with a sailor got her committed to an insane asylum?
Feminist ranking: 7. Shelley is so sex-positive (masturbating since 5!); she doesn't appreciate double standards; and she knows how to work a sailor. But we worry she's selling herself short when she blows the orderlies.
Feminist moment: A priest asks Sister Jude to hand him a prayer book during an exorcism, then tells her to leave the room. It's "no place for a woman."
Feminist ranking: 5. Jude tells him, "I'm stronger than you think" — but then she leaves the room! More than words, Jude.
Feminist moment: Best line of the season, said by the Devil: "It drives you crazy, doesn’t it? To be the smartest person in the room with no real power because of that smelly clam between your legs."
Feminist ranking: 8. It does drive us crazy, but we think our clam smells fine, thanks.
Feminist moment: Sister Mary Eunice sings “You Don’t Own Me" — at one point to a crucifix on her wall.
Feminist ranking: 10-plus. If you don't feel at least the urge to sing along with her, you are probably in a dependent relationship.
Feminist moment: Sister Jude tells Dr. Arden that she will "always win against the patriarchal male.”
Feminist ranking: 6. Ask any gender studies major what word she used most often freshman year, and she'll tell you patriarchy. (Or norms.) But, again, more than words.
Feminist moment: Lana escapes Briarcliff with evidence that will put Bloody Face away. She gives him the finger while doing so.
Feminist ranking: 10. Some might say she seems too "angry." Give those people the finger.
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but it serves both purposes - gets the job done for the horror part of the show while also commenting on the monsters in society. why bother having jude, shelley, sometimes lana all call out the bullshit at all? why even bother using the phrase "patriarchal male"? why bother making the monsters misogynists who end up getting their comeuppance? to me, it's beyond obvious that they were coming at this series from a pro-woman angle, deliberately showcasing female perspectives
why'd he do it? idk mb because ryan murphy got bored and decided he'd make everyone watch his own sick and twisted brand of torture porn feminism. i mean, you don't really know. he could enjoy portraying this shit but know no one would watch it if the women were beaten and taken advantage of for an entire season with no resolve or revenge. all anyone knows is he decided to replace horror and genuine creepiness with torture porn for the entire season and let women be at the suffering end AGAIN bc lets be real, rape was a theme in s1 and who was the break out start that most people loved? the rapist. that coupled with how much he fails @ writing women on glee? ya i'm not about to give him the benefit of the doubt just so i can stan a show.
"rape was a theme in s1 and who was the break out start that most people loved? the rapist."
blame the fans. again, the rapist got his comeuppance and violet totally kicked him to the curb and acknowledged that he was a monster.
i'm not a stan of anyone or anything except britney but oh my god am i sick and tired of the ~~ryan murphy hates women!1!!1!! bullshit, it's so tired. he's just really ott and obv for horror he's going to go big - torture, murder, rape, necrophilia. i mean, have you ever seen nip/tuck?
and i cant blame the audience 100% for tate being such a fan favorite. ryan murphy put so much into that character, from how multifaceted he is to his involvement in the promotion of the show. i'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing when he created a rapist and a murderer that people would fall in love with. yeah i think it's ridiculous when people ignore the evil side of him but the point is the juxtaposition is supposed to be there.
idk if ryan murphy hates women, there's certainly a lot of evidence both in AHS and outside of AHS that he doesn't treat them right in his fiction. i don't think season two of AHS does anything to disprove that but whatever you do you.
i also don't think that if he hated women he would really bother creating such interesting roles for them, and he also wouldn't bother with the pro-woman angle because it's risky. but a lot of his female characters in popular and nip/tuck comment of patriarchy, double standards, sexism, etc. it's a long-standing theme in his shows.
again, the world is a fucked up place for a woman to live. i think he just mirrors it and most of the time he's angling for the sympathetic characters to be these mistreated women.
in my opinion, he needs to work on how he handles people of colour, not women. he's got women down (with the characters on both series of AHS, with popular and with nip/tuck)