There is not one, singular way to be a woman, but looking at the ways women are represented in mainstream media, one may start to believe that’s the case.
All too often, the “ideal” woman is portrayed in media as thin, femme, cis, and white. We are told that is what’s desirable, that is who is worthwhile. Yet everyone wants to be represented — to see other bodies like the ones they inhabit depicted on-screen. To see people who look like them on-screen, and not just as underdeveloped sidekicks, but as leading characters at the center of their own stories.
There have been strides to show diversity among woman on-screen, but we must continue to fight for more. “Shrill” is a comedy that depicts an unapologetic fat woman at its center, while “Orange Is the New Black” features an ensemble cast of women of different shapes, sizes, races, and gender identities. “Grace and Frankie” shows two women in their 70s striving to sexually empower older women and “Insecure” follows Black female friends as they figure out what they want. There is a long way to go before we achieve true equality and representation for women on-screen, but shows like these have undoubtedly moved the needle in the right direction.
In a similar vein, this week’s VOD picks challenge the standards of womanhood and beauty that continue to be perpetuated in Western society. “Define Beauty: Process” pays tribute to natural Black hair, which has long been stigmatized, underlining its beauty. “Women Walking” celebrates women’s bodies in all their different shapes and sizes, and “Get Off My Turf!” depicts a trans woman refusing to let transphobia dictate her life. The final pick is a short animation, “Devenir,” which questions the very notion of how one becomes a woman.
Dedicated to changing restrictive, exclusionary perceptions of womanhood, these films are powerful reminders that there is, of course, no one way to be a woman.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s VOD selections.
“Define Beauty: Process” (Short) – Directed by Rhea Dillon
Black hair has long been stigmatized in the United States by those outside of the Black community. This stigmatization has its roots in the racial discrimination this country was founded on. To this day, Black women are being told they are not allowed to wear their hair in natural styles in the workplace because it is “unprofessional.”
In “Define Beauty: Process,” director Rhea Dillon reimagines the world as a place where natural Black hair is the norm.
The film opens with the mantra “Beautiful people know true beauty is natural.” Throughout the film, Black women of all ages are shown with natural hair styles. A few of the steps they take to care for their hair are shown throughout the film. This maintenance is not often depicted in mainstream media, and is therefore a mystery to those who have not actively taken steps to educate themselves. This film aims to unshroud this mystery and invite new individuals to deepen their understanding of Black hair.
“I feel there is so much more that needs to be unpacked; to be processed,” Dillon explained. “This is a film that opens up the sensory experience of the hair ritual of a black person from start to finish. To provocatively push the audience to experience and therefore understand the weight of five little words, ‘Sorry, I’m washing my hair.’”
This short is Dillon’s contribution to Nowness’ “Define Beauty” series.
Watch “Define Beauty: Process” on YouTube.
“Women Walking” (Short) – Directed by Netti Hurley
One thing traditional media has hammered into the general consciousness is that pretty women are thin. Women with fat or the “wrong kind” of curves are rarely portrayed as beautiful or desirable. They are often the butt of the joke, simply for existing.
“Women Walking” is a short film by Netti Hurley that aims to show women that their bodies, with all their supposed faults, are not only acceptable but beautiful. The film portrays women of different shapes and sizes doing the simple things people do every day, like walking. The women are not wearing much, and they are shown on a white background, so there’s not anything to distract the viewer from their bodies.
There is nothing in the film that tells the viewer how to feel about the bodies on-screen. Instead, we are simply encouraged to look at the bodies before us, and to celebrate their unique beauty. The film is a powerful deconstruction of the way women are shown in the media and challenges us to question what has been normalized, and consequently idealized.
Watch “Women Walking” on Vimeo.
“Get Off My Turf!” (Short) – Directed by Fox Fisher
Warning: This pick depicts transphobia.
“Get Off My Turf!” focuses on a transgender woman and her relationship with her transphobic neighbor. Chloe (Owl Fisher) overhears her neighbor Penny (Persia West) stating that she believes trans women are just men pretending to be women — and that she can always tell when someone is transgender.
Chloe, rightfully upset hearing these transphobic comments from someone she considers a friend, confronts Penny, saying, “What can’t you tell? I thought you could always tell.” The film goes on to explore the uncomfortable aftermath of this conversation, how the two women avoid one another at all costs. When a confrontation with an ex-boyfriend brings them together, Penny starts to see Chloe and her trans friends in a new light.
Unfortunately, there are many real-life Pennys in the world, but their views can never diminish trans women’s womanhood. Chloe does not alter her behavior or her appearance to make her transphobic neighbor more comfortable; instead, she continues to live her life, choosing to not worry about the opinion of transphobes. Chloe is confident in her gender, and she does not allow bigotry to snuff out her identity. The film suggests that outside validation isn’t what makes a woman, and that accepting your own gender identity and body for yourself is something to be proud of.
“Get Off My Turf!” was created by an entirely trans cast and crew. It is part of the My Genderation film project. Watch “Get Off My Turf!” on YouTube.
“Devenir” (Short) – Directed by Géraldine Charpentier-Basille
Devenir: the French word meaning “to become.”
An animated short by Géraldine Charpentier-Basill, “Devenir” takes a quote from philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler and looks at the ways in which society has created the gender binary of female/male. It poses the question: Is one born as a woman or as a man, or do they become one through society’s prescription of gender and identity?
Images of masculine and feminine individuals flash across the screen as Butler describes how she started to philosophize the idea of gender. As she explains how she sees gender, not as something you are but as something you become, the images change, merging to show that one’s gender identity is often complex, not merely a reflection of how they appear on the outside or how society perceives them based on arbitrary characteristics assigned to them at birth.
There is no correct way to be, or to become, a woman. If being a woman is more of an idea than a hard truth, the possibilities for the ways in which to be a woman are endless.
Watch “Devenir” on Vimeo.
