“Wifeys, bitches, and sluts”: the gender burden and other obstacles behind the creation of television’s antiheroines

ABSTRACT

Given the popularity of the male antihero in U.S. television since the late 1990s, it is significant that these characters were not immediately accompanied by a proliferation of antiheroines. Through an analysis of the Lifetime drama UnREAL and the narrative construction of its antiheroine, Rachel Goldberg, this paper seeks to shed light on the obstacles that hinder the creation of antiheroines in television fiction. Our main argument is that due to complex gender politics, in which, women can’t be flawed, manipulative, or unethical without receiving criticism for their attitudes, antiheroines carry a heavy gender burden that doesn’t seem to apply to male antiheroes. The creation of antiheroines is a complicated process that negotiates with the antihero archetype but differs from it because of social and gender expectations placed upon these female characters. Here, we examine two important facets of this problem. First, whilst antiheroes are usually violent, antiheroines often express mental disorders. Second, we criticize the construction of antihero narratives as “universal,” whereas antiheroine narratives are wrongfully reduced to limited and inadequately constructed categories as the “strong female drama.”

KEYWORDS:

• UnREAL
• TV series
• antiheroine
• female characters
• post-feminism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. After Noxon’s exit during the show’s second season, the drama had several narrative shifts including focusing on a female suitor in its third and fourth season.

2. We recognize that several factors can encumber the creation of antiheroines in television. These range from economic, social, industrial, and gender issues, among others. Yet, because of spatial limitations, here we will highlight only a few key aspects of how feminist and female expectations placed upon women become important obstacles to this archetype. Nevertheless, we emphasize the importance of further research that considers the tensions between writers, the industry, the mainstream press, and various other groups in society, in the creation of antiheroines.

3. It is difficult to discuss the lifespan of antiheroine series since there are still few examples of these shows. For now, what we can speak to is Showtime found success with its antiheroine dramas. Some of these shows lasted for eight seasons, as Weeds and Homeland.

4. Arnold (2014) notes the existence of the “Dysfunctional Dramas Featuring a Strong Male Lead” tag on Netflix, however, this category is not available outside the United States’ content library, differently than the several varieties of “strong female leads” tags.

5. It is noteworthy, that The Bachelor announced its first African American suitor, Matt James, only after 24 seasons of the show in 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/06/16/matt-james-first-black-bachelor-rachel-lindsay/

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) – under Finance Code 001.

Notes on contributors

Mayka Castellano

Mayka Castellano is a professor at the Department of Cultural and Media Studies and at the Postgraduate Program in Communication at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in Brazil. Currently, she is developing research on television, new media and progressive themes in TV series. She has several publications in Brazilian journals on topics such as cultural consumption, gender studies, fans, and self-help literature.

Melina Meimaridis

Melina Meimaridis is a post-doctoral researcher at the Postgraduate Program in Communication at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) in Brazil. Presently, she is developing research on the fictionalization of social institutions in TV series with a fellowship from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). Her interests also include media industries, Comfort Series, and internet-distributed television in national and regional markets. She also has ongoing research on Netflix’s transnational expansion and its impact in countries belonging to the global periphery. E-mail: [email protected]