The burden to live up to social expectations is omnipresent. As such, the struggle to be free of modern society’s demands — from unattainable body standards propagated through social media to the pressure of embracing marriage and parenthood in the name of tradition — is a major hurdle, especially for women.

If we are to resist the idea that the “obvious” or “natural” roles for women are the angel of the house and “baby making machines,” we need representation of the problematic ideals society holds women to. The discrimination that goes on in the name of fitness and healthy living breeds compulsive attitudes toward weight watching, body shaming, and fatphobia. These gendered stereotypes of what a woman should conform to, be it in matters of appearance, marriage, or family life, are detrimental to women feeling at ease with their choices, bodies, and lives in general.

Dismantling the idea of fitting into prescribed molds, this week’s VOD, web series, and podcast picks explore the plight of women in various socio-cultural and socio-economic environments and spotlight ways to shatter the repressive and controlling social order.

Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia’s “Leftover Women” documents the life of three women living under a government that stigmatizes being single. Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s “Made in Heaven” addresses the hypocrisy of Indian elites, and their obsession with finding the “right match.” The web series also discusses the stigmas faced by elderly women, single women, and nonbinary people in Indian society. “I Weigh with Jameela Jamil,” a podcast by the “The Good Place” actor, seeks to inform people about the toxic diet cultures and pseudo-feminist attitudes that predominate social media, while emphasizing self-acceptance.

Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest VOD, web series, and podcast selections.

VOD

“Leftover Women” (Documentary) – Directed by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia

“Leftover Women”

In 2007, the Chinese Government deemed unmarried women over the age of 27 as “sheng nu” or “leftover women.” This documentary by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia explores this concept of the “leftover women,” a “derogatory term used across China to describe educated and professional women over the age of 27 who are still single,” says Shlam. 

“The film follows three women contending with the stigma and social pressure forcing them to go on a grueling quest in search of ‘Mr. Right,’” Shlam and Medalia describe in an interview with Women and Hollywood. Following the lives of three successful women — Qiu Hua Mei, a 34-year-old lawyer; Xu Min, 28, who works in public radio; and Gai Qi, 36, an assistant college professor in Beijing — the documentary portrays the difficulties of having thriving careers in a community which looks down upon women who choose to remain single and childless after their mid-20s. Even as they excel professionally, they are still expected to handle domestic responsibilities and pursue a family.

The documentary begins with Qiu visiting a Beijing dating agency, where she is told by the matchmaker that she is “not beautiful in the traditional sense” and that she is too “old” for husband-hunting. Through “marriage markets,” where parents look for prospective partners for their children, the film shows a mother shying away from Qiu, as she is a lawyer. A woman having a degree is considered “bossy” and “not obedient,” says Qiu. We later witness Qiu rejecting a suitor as he says he wants to be the “dominant” one in his marriage.

In a poignant depiction of the coercive social order which presents fulfillment in the form of marital bliss, Gai Qi is ultimately seen settling for a much younger suitor, after having lied about her age to the suitor’s family. “She got pregnant very quickly, and she got married very quickly. She didn’t say it loudly, but her actions said it: she wanted to run away from the stigma, and that’s what she did,” Shlam says.

While Gai Qi chooses to compromise and evade social scorn, the last scene of the movie sees Qiu leaving for France, to pursue her dream of studying abroad. The tender departure underlines society’s inability to accept women as they are, and at the same time shows the gradual approval Qiu has been able to garner from her family. As Medalia puts it, “I’m very proud that we gave these women a voice and allowed them to say what they think and share it with the world.”

“Leftover Women” is available on PBS and available for rent on Amazon Prime.

Web Series

“Made in Heaven” – Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti

“Made in Heaven”: Amazon Prime Video

“Made in Heaven” follows Tara and Karan, two wedding planners based in the upper-class society of Delhi, India. 

The web series is a commentary on the “Great Indian Wedding” where antiquated traditions like astrological superstition, outmoded practices like the dowry system, and other regressive attitudes dictate lavish modern-day weddings.

Created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, co-written by Alankrita Shrivastava, and co-directed by Nitya Mehra, the web series channels the issues that the creators have faced as women and the discrimination that is still rampant in contemporary society. Narrating her own story as a single woman in her 40s, Akhtar recounts how every time she visits the capital, people who barely know her question her marital status.

Drawing upon personal, as well as second-hand experiences, “Made in Heaven” showcases the hypocrisies in the vibrant world of India’s upper crust. Tara is caught in a marriage where she is perpetually made to feel like an outsider, due to her humble middle-class origins. Karan is a semi-closeted gay man who is constantly forced to hide his sexual orientation, as it will affect the attitudes of clients and landlords alike. The duo handles several challenges that crop up in the nine-episode series, ranging from stigmas that surround late marriages, to the refusal to accept a daughter-in-law based on her sexual history.

The system of the dowry — an amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage — though prohibited by the Indian government, but an active practice in arranged marriages throughout the country, is depicted in the series. In one of the episodes, a seemingly progressive high-ranking government official’s family asks for a dowry for their son’s marriage, the moment representative of the regressive perception of women as a financial burden that has not evolved over generations. The bride cancels her wedding upon knowing that the bridegroom was complicit in this demand.

The series paints a realistic picture of intolerance in the supposedly educated sphere of Indian society — with Karan being brutally beaten and sexually assaulted by the police when his landlord informs them of his sexual orientation, and a bride being asked to go through a virginity test after a private detective reveals the possibility of her having had an abortion to the bridegroom’s family. Co-creator Kagti says “all of this was always a vehicle for us to explore Indian society, to make some kind of social commentary.” She notes in another interview, “This kind of show is difficult to remove from who you are and your politics,” adding that the point of the series “is to really look deep within oneself to find out their identity and what makes them happy.”

“Made in Heaven” is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Podcast

“I Weigh with Jameela Jamil” – Created by Jameela Jamil

“I Weigh with Jameela Jamil”

“I Weigh” is the podcast offshoot of Jameela Jamil’s “community allyship platform” of the same name. Starting off as a post on Instagram, the podcast provides a platform to discuss and look for solutions to the various challenges, stigmas, and mental health issues that Jamil and the guests face day-to-day.

The weekly podcast features guest speakers from diverse backgrounds and professions each week, including thought-leaders, performers, activists, influencers, or even Jamil’s friends. According to its mission statement, “’I Weigh’ connects, empowers, and amplifies diverse voices in an accessible way.”

Celebrating progress rather than perfection, the podcast covers a plethora of mental as well as physical health issues. Bringing to light the contemporary toxic diet culture through her own disordered eating, Jamil also sheds light on topics like feminism, racism, LGBTQIA+ issues, body positivity, and marginalized experiences. In one episode, actor and singer Demi Lovato opened up about their body image issues, post-rehab experiences, and pansexuality. In another, Reese Witherspoon broke down into tears and candidly expressed her feelings of being marginalized in corporate boardrooms dominated by men. 

Inspecting this idea of not belonging, the podcast urges people to be kind and accepting of themselves. In an interview with Variety, Jamil says, “If we just had a little bit more empathy, a little bit more patience, a little more kindness, a little more self-reflection and education, this entire world would be a completely different place.” 

Instead of a reflection of physical weight, the title “I Weigh” is an expression of self-worth and self-love. The podcast actively works to denounce fatphobia, and many of the episodes focus on how women have struggled against the toxic diet fads and body shaming that have proliferated during the digital age.

Learn more about “I Weigh with Jameela Jamil” on its website, and listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Earwolf.