Personal “failures” (e.g. unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, singlehood/widowhood/divorce, non-chosen childlessness, physical pain/illness, emotional/mental issues, being overweight, undereducated etc.) are supposed to be held in secrecy and not be publicly revealed. There is a certain amount of shame that airs through our defeats/failures/failings, so we become social media-trained to withhold those embarrassing life facts about us.

To create this imagined, shame-free existence on social media, there are buttons that can correct our momentarily honesty that accidentally spilled into our status updates/photos/links: delete, unlike, undo and unfriend. Every status update/link/photo is thoroughly premediated as social media, but Facebook in particular, has this ultra-tailored vibe of what to disclose and what not. This is specifically evident when it comes to relationship status. If we are to believe that FB was initially created as some sort of a hook-up platform – according to The Social Network – then this could be the reasoning why some relationship statuses are left out of the newsfeed. FB gently ignores our intimacy failures, so when we change our relationship status to “single”, “separated”, “divorced” and ”widowed”, those “changes will not appear in News Feed”. We are punished with social media invisibility if we fail. This is a soft disciplinary tactic that teaches us to hide our failures.

This is why we never see the formal “negative” side of relationships in our FB newsfeed. One has to deliberately put it in the status update to make others know about her/his/their divorce/separation/breakup (or DSB) because DSBs are not events to socialize or brag about unlike engagements, weddings, pregnancies and childbirths. If people (i.e. mostly women) disclose their intimate failure, it is usually in an embellished or encrypted manner (e.g. “a journey”, “a spiritual awake” or “conscious uncoupling”) that hides the rawness of DSB and keeps the social façade intact. But to address it in a matter-of-fact honesty (e.g. “I’m divorced/separated/break up with xy”), it reduces the potential brewing of shame and anxiety in that person, but – sociologically speaking – also acts as a subversive feminist move.

To disclose DSB on social media that “forces” us to be personal, but not fully honest and caters the artificial positivity is an act an abandonment of the internalized social guidelines about proper and improper behaviour on social media. Most importantly, it is a feminist step. When a relationship/marriage is about to dissolve, it is culturally and subconsciously expected for a woman to do all the emotional work to keep it alive or to be selfless enough to stay in it anyway and shifts the responsibility, alongside with the blame to women instead of all parties involved. This is a sexist mind-set that understands the role of women as being merely part of a couple/marriage/family with no autonomy or credibility to decide about their intimate dissatisfaction. Not to forget that divorce has become part of human rights not so far ago.

However, failure of any kind is not a part of Western thought, that cherish and reward success/winning and deliberately avoids any loss/defeat. To disclose something that is constructed as failure (DSB on social media in our case) is to reject the old dichotomous framework where success is everything and failure is nothing. As we know, only nothing grows out of nothing or no shit, no flowers.

This new phenomenon has arisen on the behalf of (1) a large use and popularity of social media where anyone can carefully curate and portray better (or worse) versions of them or broadcast an opinion/gut reaction to the world, (2) the urban impersonal living, (3) the possibility of an online anonymity, (4) the users’ need to overshare and (5) a human practice to Other anyone who acts/looks/thinks unconventionally and is not a part of our in-group.

Strangers are the ultimate Other – we do not know them, so we do not care about them. French anthropologist Lévi-Strauss has stated ways of handling persons who are stigmatized as Other and one of them is public ridicule or humiliation. Public humiliation it is a form of social control that occurs when a person violates the norms of the community and other people respond by publicly criticizing, avoiding, or ostracizing her/him/them. Before the 19th century, when legal systems were rudimentary and the system of modern prisons has not yet been institutionalized, the use of this tool was to keep public order intact. But more important was the fact that it kept delineation between Us (i.e. the good, normal, the in group) and Them (i.e. Others, outsiders, social or moral deviants).

Stranger shaming is therefore nothing new, as it has its roots in public humiliation. In the past, there were shaming parades, scold’s bridle, the pillory and the cucking stool for those in-group people who violated the norms, but for Othered or out-groups, there were Victorian freak shows (or shows with human biological oddities), human zoos (also called ethnological expositions), auctions of black slaves and lynching of black folks in American history.

Frank Embree was handcuffed, stripped naked and whipped, later lynched and castrated. Before and after images of him were sold as postcards. Source: Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America

Witches, religious groups (Jews and now Muslims), war collaborators (mostly women who were stripped naked with shaved heads), prisoners of war/citizens of defeated countries in war, refugees, and foreigners in general were submitted to public humiliation with one intention only – to assert power over her/him/them by degrading them, taking away of their pride, dignity, status and humanity. Public shaming is a moral warning (“it can happened to you if you don’t follow societal rules”) and at the same time, it is a spectacle or entertainment for the public.

To shame a stranger publicly online because he/she/they do not conform to our worldview, is a digitalized form of public humiliation. The photographer/uploader has a power over other people and is convicted that she/he/they has the moral right to punish someone for behaving or being different by publicly posting that photograph. As Dr Aaron Balick put it, ‘the photo shared is a psychological reflection of the person who took the picture, not the photographed. Individuals may shame strangers to evacuate their own bad feelings through the process of projection, thereby giving them a better sense of security at the expense of another person.’ But speaking sociologically, stranger shaming contains sexism, ageism, racism, sanism, classism/snobbism as it is mostly directed toward women and other minorities (e.g. LGBT+ folks, black and brown people, economically disadvantaged, folk with in/visible disabilities, those who do not conform to mainstream beauty/fashion rules …). Here are some examples of current stranger shaming.

• People who dress “extravagantly“,“tastelessly”, or “age inappropriate” defy the rules of the most disciplinary regimes of modern times – fashion, who can be classist, ageist, sexist and trans/homophobic,
• people who are overweight/underweight/disabled are being fat-shamed/body-shamed because they do not conform to the norm of a “beautiful body”,
• people who sleep on public transport are prone to classism or sanism,
• women who eat in public are subjected to sexism (“women should stay thin”) and sexualisation (a never tired man-created association between eating a banana and giving fellatio); who eat in public transport break the rule of not dining in the domestic sphere/home where they should prepare food for others; who drink/are drunk in public defy the societal rule of enjoying themselves, being hedonistic and abandoning the women’s responsibility to be serious and take care of others instead of themselves, which – within the rape culture context – translates into unwanted sexual invitations from men who don’t respect the rule on ongoing, enthusiastic consent and who don’t remove their body hair ignore the rule of the beauty regime (“smooth and hairless body is the only right body”),
• people who behave “differently” are subjected to classism and ableism/sanism,
• the last one is hacking of nude photos of female celebrities, where women are usually victim blamed of having them instead of people who illegally obtain them being prosecuted. But illegal ogling at nudes of some beautiful female celebrity serve as a means of degrading them to sex objects and making them falsely “accessible” to average Joe’s. This crème a la crème female objectification is reserved for wealthy and famous women.

Modern stranger shaming is a reflection of people’s obsession with other people’s bodies – what they look like, how they behave, how they are adorned. At the same time, it is an affirmation that we live in the society where discipline and self-discipline of the body remains our main focus.

People who stranger shame are self-proclaimed socio-moral crusaders who want to reimpose disciplinary rules on those who escaped them. Fruitless mission, I must say.

To be awarded with one, two or three F’s a film must be: (1) directed by a woman, (2) written by a woman and/or (3) have significant women on screen in their own right. So, when a film is directed, written and has a woman’s narrative as a central premise, it gets 3F. Getting 2F rates means that a film is either directed and written by a woman, or written by a woman about a woman’s story, or a woman is directing a woman’s story. A film gets 1F, if it’s directed or written or revolves around a woman’s narrative. For other films, zero F—s.

The point of the F-rating system is to highlight films that have women in front of and behind the camera. It is not a perfect classification, but it’s a start of facing the fact that film industry is still mostly male-driven.

Here is a guide of films that I have seen, arranged chronologically and then alphabetically, according to the fulfilment of F-rates if you ever feel the urge to watch that has a women-centric seal of approval.

Btw, this is work in progress, perpetuum mobile… Enjoy though!

3F

American Honey (2016), Star (Sasha Lane) is a teenage girl with nothing to lose who joins a traveling magazine sales crew and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love; written and directed by Andrea Arnold,

Les Innocentes (2016), a story about a young doctor, Mathilde Beaulieu (Lou de Laâge), who helps raped and pregnant nuns after the end of WW2; directed by Anne Fontaine, written by Sabrine B. Karine, Alice Vial and Anne Fontaine,

Les Innocentes, 2015

The Love Witch (2016), a modern-day witch, Elaine (Samantha Robinson) uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her; written and directed by Anna Biller,

White Girl (2016), a college girl, Leah (Morgan Saylor) gets in troubles while residing in Brooklyn, NY in the summer; written and directed by Elizabeth Wood,

Wild (2016), a young, meek Ania (Lilith Stangenberg) abandons civilisation to connect with a wild wolf; written and directed by Nicolette Krebitz,

La Belle Saison (2015), a love story with not such a happy ending between Carole, a feminist activist (Cécile De France) and Delphine, a farmer (Izïa Higelin), set in 1970s France; directed and written by Catherine Corsini,

Maggie’s Plan (2015), Maggie Harden (Greta Gerwig) wants to have a baby on her own, but when she gets romantically involved with a married man, things get complicated; story by Karen Rinaldi, written and directed by Rebecca Miller,

Maggie’s Plan, 2015

Mustang (2015), a story about five Turkish sisters (Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan and Ilayda Akdogan) who are about to enter forced marriages; directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven and written by Alice Winocour and Ergüven,

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), an acapella girl group (Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee and Hailee Steinfeld) heads for the international competition; directed by Elizabeth Banks, co-written by Kay Cannon,

Sangailes vasara (Summer of Sangaile, 2015), a lesbian coming-of-age love story between Sangaile (Julija Steponaityte) and Auste (Aiste Dirziute); directed and written by Alante Kavaite,

Suffragette (2015), about an early feminist movement in UK, starring Carey Mulligan, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep; directed by Sarah Gavron and written by Abi Morgan,

Suffragette, 2015

The Dressmaker (2015), a glamorous seamstress, Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet), returns home to her small town in rural Australia to get revenge on those who did her wrong, also starring Judy Davis, Julia Blake, Kerry Fox, Rebecca Gibney, Caroline Goodall, Sacha Horler, Sarah Snook and Alison Whyte; novel by Rosalie Ham, co-written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse,

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), a vengeful and lonesome vampire (Sheila Vand) stalks men in ghost-town Bad City; written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour,

Bande de Filles (Girlhood, 2014), a story about a young Marieme/Vic (Karidja Touré) with few real prospects finding herself and her ways, also starring Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh and Mariétou Touré; written and directed by Céline Sciamma,

Bande de Filles, 2014

Life Partners (2014), a story about friendship between Sasha (Leighton Meester) and Paige (Gillian Jacobs); directed by Susanna Fogel, written by Joni Lefkowitz and Susanna Fogel,

Le Beau Monde (2014), a story of a gifted young fashion designer Alice (Ann Girardot) who gets her breakthrough with the help of a wealthy patron Agnès Barthes (Aurélia Petit); directed by Julie Lopes-Curval, written by Sophie Hiet and Julie Lopes-Curval,

Le Beau Monde, 2014

Obvious Child (2014), a twenty-something comedienne’s unplanned pregnancy forces her to get an abortion, starring Jenny Slate, Gaby Hofmann and Polly Draper; story by Karen Maine, Elisabeth Holm and Gillian Robespierre, screenplay and directed by Gillian Robespierre,

Obvious Child, 2014

Party Girl (2014), a sixty-year-old cabaret dancer, Angélique (Angélique Litzenburger), decides to get married but she changes her mind; written and directed by Claire Burger and Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq,

In a World … (2013), a story about a voice coach Carol (Lake Bell) who wants to enter the male-dominated field of movie trailer voice-overs; written and directed by Lake Bell,

The Bling Ring (2013), inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities’ whereabouts in order to rob their homes; starring Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien; based upon an article by Nancy Jo Sales, written and directed by Sofia Coppola,

2 Days in New York (2012), Marion’s (Julie Delpy) family dynamic gets muddled when her family from Paris comes for a visit; written by Alexia Landeau and Julie Delpy, directed by Julie Delpy,

American Mary (2012), the allure of easy money sends Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle), a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries; written and directed by Soska Sisters,

American Mary, 2012

Klip (2012), a teenager Jasna (Isidora Simijonović) documents everything around her with a mobile phone camera while winding up in an emotionally non-reciprocal hetero relationship; written and directed by Maja Miloš,

Få meg på, for faen (Turn Me On, Dammit, 2011), a 15-years old Alma (Helene Bergsholm) is sexually healthy teenager who fantasies a lot about sex, while others might shame her for that, also starring Malin Bjørhovde, Beate Støfring, Henriette Steenstrup, Julia Bache-Wiig and Julia Schacht; written and directed by Jannicke Systad Jacobsen,

Turn Me On, Dammit, 2011

Sleeping Beauty (2011), a portrait of Lucy (Emily Browning), a young university student, making money as an erotic worker; written and directed by Julia Leigh,

Sleeping Beauty, 2011

The Iron Lady (2011), a biopic about the aging former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), also starring Olivia Colman; screenplay by Abi Morgan, directed by Phyllida Lloyd,

Tomboy (2011), a coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old non-binary Laure/Mikhael (Zoé Héran), also starring Malonn Lévana and Jeanne Disson, written and directed by Céline Sciamma,

Tomboy, 2011

The Kids are All Right (2010), a story about a lesbian family (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) that gets a bit muddled by the arrival of a biological father of the children; co-written by Lisa Cholodenko, directed by Lisa Cholodenko,

The Runaways (2010), a biopic about the all-girl 1970s rock band The Runaways (Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Stella Maeve, Scout Taylor-Compton and Alia Shawkat); book by Cherie Curie, directed by Floria Sigismondi,

Tiny Furniture (2010), a grad student Aura (Lena Dunham) tries to figure out what to do in her life, also starring Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz and Jemima Kirke; written and directed by Lena Dunham,

Tiny Furniture, 2010

Winter’s Bone (2010), Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) tries to track her father down through the unhospitable social terrain of Ozark Mountain; screenplay by Anne Rosellini and Debra Granik, directed by Debra Granik,

Winter’s Bone, 2010

Coco before Chanel (2009), a biopic about pre-fame Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou); screenplay by Camille and Anne Fontaine, directed by Anne Fontaine,

Coco before Chanel, 2009

Cracks (2009), a look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite boarding school in 1930s England, starring Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, Imogen Poots, Ellie Nunn, Adele McCann, Zoe Carroll, Clemmie Dugdale and Sinéad Cusack; novel by Sheila Kohler, co-written by Caroline Ip and Jordan Scott, directed by Jordan Scott,

Fish Tank (2009), everything changes for 15-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) when her mum, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), brings home a new boyfriend; written and directed by Andrea Arnold,

Fish Tank, 2009

It’s Complicated (2009), a divorcée and bakery owner Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) is torn between two men; written and directed by Nancy Meyers,

Jennifer’s Body (2009), a popular high school girl Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) turns into a succubus after a failed human sacrifice, performed by an indie band, also starring Amanda Seyfried, Amy Sedaris and Valerie Tian; written by Diablo Cody, directed by Karyn Kusama,

Jennifer’s Body, 2009

Julie & Julia (2009), Julia Child’s (Meryl Streep) story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with food blogger Julie Powell’s (Amy Adams) 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book; book by Julie Powell and Julia Child, written and directed by Nora Ephron,

Nothing Personal (2009), a young divorcée (Lotte Verbeek) heads to austere landscapes of Connemara, Ireland, to lead a solitary existence; written and directed by Urszula Antoniak,

Nothing Personal, 2009

The Countess (2009), a biopic about a 17^th century Hungarian countess, Báthory Erzsébet (Julie Delpy); written and directed by Julie Delpy,

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), a story about reflections on a one woman’s life, Pippa Lee, starring Robin Wright, Blake Lively, Zoe Kazan, Maria Bello, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore and Monica Bellucci; written and directed Rebecca Miller,

Whip It (2009), an indie-rock loving Bliss Cavendar/Babe Ruthless (Ellen Page) blossoms after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin, also starring Alia Shawkat, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Zoë Bell, Eve, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis and Ari Graynor; novel and screenplay by Shauna Cross, directed by Drew Barrymore,

Whip It, 2009

Sagan (2008), a biopic about Françoise Sagan (Sylvie Testud); written by Claire Lemaréchal, Martine Moriconi and Diane Kurys, directed by Diane Kurys,

Sagan, 2008

2 Days in Paris (2007), Marion (Julie Delpy) visits her parents in Paris with her boyfriend; written and directed by Julie Delpy,

Kid Svensk (2007), a coming-of-age story about 12-years old girl, Kid Svensk (Mia Saarinen), spending her summer of ’84 in Finland with her mother, Ester Ruotsalainen (Milka Ahlroth) and her family; written and directed by Nanna Huolman,

Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies, 2007), a-coming-of-age lesbian love story, starring Pauline Acquart, Adèle Haenel and Louise Blachère; written and directed by Céline Sciamma,

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), five women (Kathy Baker, Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman and Maggie Grace) and one man start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships – both old and new – begin to resemble 21^st century versions of her novels; book by Karen Joy Fowler, screenplay and directed by Robin Swicord,

XXY (2007), a story about 15-year-old intersex Alex Kraken (Inés Efron); written and directed by Lucía Puenzo,

XXY, 2007

Marie Antoinette (2006), a postmodern biopic about Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst); directed and written by Sofia Coppola,

Marie Antoniette, 2006

The Holiday (2006), two women, movie-trailer maker Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and wedding columnist Iris Smipkins (Kate Winslet), swap their houses and their lives are changed; directed and written by Nancy Meyers,

Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), an eccentric performance artist, Christine Jesperson (Miranda July), finds love; written and directed by Miranda July,

Me and You and Everyone We Know, 2005

North Country (2005), a fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States – Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, starring Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Linda Emond, Jillian Armenante and Michelle Monaghan; book by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy, directed by Niki Caro,

North Country, 2005

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005), a biopic about a pin-up legend, Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol), also starring Sarah Paulson and Lili Taylor, co-written by Guinevere Turner and Mary Harron, directed by Mary Harron,

Iron Jawed Angels (2004), a story about suffragettes’ fight for women’s rights in 1917, starring Hillary Swank, Margo Martindale, Anjelica Huston, Frances O’Connor, Vera Farmiga and Adilah Barnes; story by Jennifer Friedes, teleplay by Sally Robinson, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer and Jennifer Friedes, directed by Katja von Garnier,

Somersault (2004), a haptic teenager Heidi (Abbie Cornish) runs away from home to Australian Alps; written and directed by Cate Shortland,

In the Cut (2003), New York writing professor, Frannie Avery (Meg Ryan), has an affair with a police detective who is investigating the murder of a young woman in her neighbourhood, also starring Jennifer Jason Leigh; novel by Susanna Moore, screenplay co-written by Susanna Moore and Jane Campion, directed by Jane Campion,

In the Cut, 2003

Monster (2003), a biopic about a serial killer, Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), also starring Christina Ricci; written and directed by Patty Jenkins,

My Life without Me (2003), due to her terminal illness, Ann (Sarah Polley) decides to live her life as never before, also starring Amanda Plummer, Leonor Watling, Debbie Harry and Maria de Medeiros; book by Nanci Kincaid, written and directed by Isabel Coixet,

Thirteen (2003), a teenage girl, Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood), forms a new relationship with a wild girl, Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed) that worsens relationship with her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter); written by Nikki Reed and Catherine Hardwicke, directed by Catherine Hardwicke,

Thirteen, 2003

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), a divorced writer Frances (Diane Lane) moves to Italy to start a new life, also starring Sandra Oh and Lindsay Duncan; book by Frances Mayes, screenplay and directed by Audrey Wells,

Under the Tuscan Sun, 2003

À la Folie … Pas du Tout (He Loves Me … He Loves Me Not, 2002), a young woman, Angélique (Audrey Tautou) is obsessively in love with a married man; written by Caroline Thivel and Laetitia Colombani, directed by Laetitia Colombani,

Bend It like Beckham (2002), a story about two friends, Jasminder “Jess” Kaur Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) and Jukie “Jules” Paxton (Keira Knightley), joining girl’s football team, also starring Archie Panjabi, Shaznay Lewis, Juliet Stevenson and Shaheen Khan; co-written by Guljit Bindra and Gurinder Chadha,

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), a story about a rocky relationship between mother Vivi (Ellen Burstyn) and daughter Sidda (Sandra Bullock) and its reconciliation, also starring Fionnula Flanagan, Cherry Jones, Ashley Judd, Shirley Knight and Maggie Smith; novel by Rebecca Wells, written and directed by Callie Khouri,

Frida (2002), a biopic about Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), also starring Mía Maestro, Valeria Golino, Saffron Burrows and Ashley Judd; book by Hayden Herrera, screenplay co-written by Anna Thomas  and Diane Lake, directed by Julie Taymor,

Frida, 2002

Hysterical Blindness (2002), a story about a female friendship between Debby (Uma Thurman) and Beth (Juliette Lewis), set in the 1980s; directed by Mira Nair, written by Laura Cahill,

Hysterical Blindness, 2002

Laurel Canyon (2002), a subplot involves a sexual relationship between Alex, a Ph.D. candidate (Kate Beckinsale), and her mother-in-law, Jane, a record producer (Frances McDormand); written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko,

Roozi Ke Zan Shodam (The Day I Become a Woman, 2000), three interconnected vignettes depicting women at three stages of life in Iran: a 9-year old girl, Hava (Fatemeh Cherag Akhar), cannot play with her friend, a boy, a young wife, Ahoo (Shabnam Tolouei), enters bicycle race against her husband’s objections, and an old woman, Hoora (Azizeh Sedighi), decides to live on the ship for the rest of her life; co-written and directed by Marzieh Makhmalbaf,

Boys Don’t Cry (1999), a biopic about a trans man, Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank); directed and co-written by Kimberly Pierce,

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), a teenager, Megan (Natasha Lyonne), is sent to a conversion camp to be cured from lesbianism, also starring Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, Clea DuVall and Katrina Phillips; directed and story by Jamie Babbit,

But I’m a Cheerleader, 1999

Holy Smoke (1999), a young, spiritual woman, Ruth Barron (Kate Winslet), must be de-programmed from her cult convictions; written by Anna and Jane Campion, directed by Jane Campion,

Mansfield Park (1999), after major social turbulences, a low-income Fanny Price (Frances O’ Connor) marries a wealthy man, whom she loves; novel by Jane Austen, directed and written by Patricia Rozema,

Romance (1999), a woman’s journey of sexual exploration; starring Caroline Ducey, written and directed by Catherine Breillat,

Virgin Suicides (1999), a story about five Lisbon sisters (Kirsten Dunst, A.J. Cook, Hanna R. Hall, Leslie Hayman and Chelse Swain), sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s; written and directed by Sofia Coppola,

Strike! (1998), in the 1960s, a group of friends (Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Monica Keena, Heather Matarazzo and Rachael Leigh Cook) at an all-girls school are opposing to the plan to be joined with a nearby all-boys school, also starring Lynn Redgrave; written and directed by Sarah Kernochan,

Strike! 1998

A Thousand Acres (1997), “King Lear”, set on a farm in Iowa, starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jennifer Jason Leigh; novel by Jane Smiley, screenplay by Laura Jones, directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse,

Bound (1996), Corky, a tough ex con (Gina Gershon), and her lover Violet (Jennifer Tilly) concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet’s crooked boyfriend; written and directed by The Wachowski Sisters,

Bound, 1996

Foxfire (1996), a story of five teenage girls (Hedy Burress, Angelina Jolie, Jenny Lewis, Jenny Shimizu and Sarah Rosenberg) who form an unlikely bond after being sexually harassed by a teacher; novel by Joyce Carol Oates, screenplay by Elizabeth White, directed by Annette Haywood-Carter,

I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), a biopic about a radical feminist and lesbian, Valerie Solanas (Lili Taylor); research by Diane Tucker, co-written and directed by Mary Harron,

I Shot Andy Warhol, 1996

The Portrait of a Lady (1996), a wealthy and trusting American, Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman) get scammed by a charming and sociopathic husband; screenplay by Laura Jones, directed by Jane Campion,

Antonia’s Line (1995), a Dutch matron, Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) establishes and, for several generations, oversees a close-knit, matriarchal community where feminism and liberalism thrive; written and directed by Marleen Gorris,

Antonia’s Line, 1995

Clueless (1995), Jane Austen’s Emma, set in a modern L.A., starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Elisa Donovan; written and directed by Amy Heckerling,

Now & Then (1995), a coming-of-age story about four friends and their reunion years later, starring Christina Ricci/Rosie O’Donnell, Thora Birch/Melanie Griffith, Gaby Hoffmann/Demi Moore and Ashleigh Aston Moore/Rita Wilson; written by I. Marlene King, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter,

Little Women (1994), the coming-of-age tale about March sisters (Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Claire Danes, Samantha Mathis/Kirsten Dunst) during post-Civil War era; novel by Louisa May Alcott, screenplay by Robin Swicord, directed by Gillian Armstrong,

The Piano (1993), a mute woman, Ada (Holly Hunter) is sent to 1850s New Zealand along with her young daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a wealthy, insensitive landowner, but soon finds passion with an attentive worker; written and directed by Jane Campion,

A League of Their Own (1992), all-women baseball teams replace men during WW2, starring Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Bitty Schram, Ann Cusack, Anne Ramsay and Freddie Simpson; directed by Penny Marshall, story by Kim Wilson and Kelly Candaele,

Gas Food Lodging (1992), a story about a mother, Nora (Brooke Adams) and her daughters, Trudi (Ione Skye) and Shade (Fairuza Balk), living in New Mexico desert; written and directed by Allison Anders,

Orlando (1992), centuries long story about an aristocratic gender-bending Orlando (Tilda Swinton); novel by Virginia Woolf, written and directed by Sally Potter,

Orlando, 1992

This is My Life (1992), a stand-up comic, Dotie Ingels (Julie Kavner) juggles between motherhood and her career, also starring Samantha Mathis, Gaby Hoffmann and Carrie Fisher; book by Meg Wolitzer, screenplay by Nora and Delia Ephron, directed by Nora Ephron,

An Angel at my Table (1990), Janet Frame’s “Otherness” kept her in a mental institution but she became an awarded and well-known author, starring Kerry Fox; autobiography by Janet Frame, screenplay by Laura Jones, directed by Jane Campion,

An Angel at my Table, 1990

Blue Steel (1990), a rookie cop, Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) enters a cat-and-mouse game with a psychopath; directed and co-written by Kathryn Bigelow,

She-Devil (1989), a smart and resourceful housewife, Ruth Patchett (Roseanne) takes revenge on her husband when he begins an affair with a wealthy romance novelist, Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep); novel by Fay Weldon, directed by Susan Seidelman,

She-Devil, 1989

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), set in New York, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife Roberta Glass (Rosanna Arquette)  and a bohemian drifter Susan Thomas (Madonna) – linked by various announcements in the personal column of a newspaper; written by Leora Barish, directed by Susan Seidelman,

Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985

Sans Toit Ni Loi (Vagabond, 1985), a young woman, Mona Bergeron (Sandrine Bonnaire) is found dead and through flashbacks is explained what led to this tragedy; directed and written by Agnès Varda,

Yentl (1983), a Jewish girl, Yentl (Barbra Streisand) disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training; co-written and directed by Barbra Streisand,

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), a lonely housewife, Jeanne Dielman (Delphine Seyrig) is also a sex worker; written and directed by Chantal Akerman,

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, 1975

Sedmikrásky (Daisies, 1966), a story about two adventurous teenage girls Marie I (Jitka Cerhová) and Marie II (Ivana Karbanová); directed and written by Vera Chytilová,

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), a short experimental film about a woman’s (Maya Deren) dreams; co-directed and written by Maya Deren,

Mädchen in Uniform (1931), at an all-girls boarding school, Manuela von Meinhardis (Hertha Thiele) falls in love with a teacher, Fraulein von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck) to terrific consequences; play and co-written screenplay by Christa Winsloe, directed by Leontine Sagan,

Madchen in Uniform, 1931

2F

Wonder Woman (2017), Diana (Gal Gadot), princess of the Amazons, becomes Wonder Woman, leaves home to fight a war to end all wars to discover her full powers and true destiny; directed by Patty Jenkins,

Ah-ga-ssi (The Handmaiden, 2016), Sook-Hee (Tae-Ri Kim) is is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Lady Hideko (Min-Hee Kim), but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her; inspired by the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Walters and screenplay co-written by Seo-kyeong Jeong,

Ghostbusters (2016), physicists Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), together with nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), and subway worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) fight the otherworldly threat; co-written by  Katie Dippold,

Hidden Figures (2016), a biopic about three African-American women mathematicians, Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji B. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) who had a significant role in the 1960s NASA’s space program; based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, co-written screenplay by Allison Schroeder,

Hidden Figures, 2016

Julieta (2016), after a casual encounter, a brokenhearted Julieta (Emma Suárez & Adriana Ugarte) decides to confront her life and the most important events about her estranged daughter, Antía (Blanca Parés); adapted upon stories by Alice Munro,

Love & Friendship (2016), a story about friendship between Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) and Alicia Johnson (Chloë Sevigny); adapted upon a novella by Jane Austen,

By the Sea (2015), co-starring, written and directed by Angelina Jolie,

Carol (2015), a love story between Theresa (Rooney Mara) and Carol (Cate Blanchett); adapted upon a novel of Patricia Highsmith for a screen by Phyllis Nagy,

Carol, 2015

Córki dancing (The Lure, 2015), a story about two killer mermaids, Srebrna (Marta Mazurek) and Zlota (Michalina Olszanska) in 1980s Poland; directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska,

The Lure, 2015

Dark Places (2015), a story about a 30-something years old woman, Libby Day (Charlize Theron) who survived the massacre of her own family when she was eight years old; novel by Gillian Flynn,

Joy (2015), a biopic about Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence), the inventor of Miracle Mop, based upon a story by Annie Mumolo,

Mistress America (2015), Tracy’s (Lola Kirke) lonely life is turned upside-down by her NYC impetuous, adventurous stepsister-to-be, Brooke (Greta Gerwig); co-written by Greta Gerwig,

Mistress America, 2015

Victoria (2015), a young Spanish woman (Laia Costa) get to know the other side of Berlin; co-written story by Olivia Neergaard-Holm and Eike Frederik Schulz,

Fehér Isten (White God, 2014), a young girl, Lili (Zsófia Psotta) tries to find her dog, Hagen that was released by her father; co-written screenplay by Kata Wéber and Viktória Petrányi,

Wild (2014), a chronicle of one woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy, starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Gaby Hoffmann; memoirs by Cheryl Strayed,

Maleficent (2014), a tale about a witch, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) seeking justice; screenplay by Linda Woolverton,

Maleficent, 2014

Feuchtgebiete (Wetlands, 2013), the adventures of an offbeat young woman, Helen Memel (Carla Juri) with peculiar attitudes towards hygiene and sexuality; novel by Charlotte Roche, co-written screenplay by Sabine Pochhammer,

Ida (2013), Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, must before taking her vows, confront herself; co-written screenplay by Rebecca Lenkiewicz,

Ida, 2013

La Vie d’Adèle (Blue is the Warmest Colour, 2013), a lesbian love story through eyes of Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), also starring Léa Seydoux as Emma; comic book by Julie Maroh, co-written screenplay by Ghalia Lacroix,

Reaching for the Moon (2013), a chronicle of the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires); based on the novel Flores raras e banalíssimas by Carmen L. Oliviera, screenplay co-written by Julie Sayres and Carolina Kotscho,

Tracks (2013), a young woman, Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) goes on a 1,700-mile trek across the deserts of West Australia with four camels and her faithful dog; book by Robyn Davidson, screenplay by Marion Nelson,

Byzantium (2012), vampire sisters, Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) and Clara (Gemma Arterton) must survive in a postmodern world not to be overtly suspicious; play and screenplay by Moira Buffini,

Byzantium, 2002

Frances Ha (2012), Frances Ha (Greta Gerwig) tries to find her place under the NYC sun; co-written by Greta Gerwig,

Hunger Games (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), a tetralogy about a young woman, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) rebelling against an injustice of their class system; novel and co-written screenplay by Suzanne Collins,

Just Like a Woman (2012), Marilyn (Sienna Miller) and Mona (Golshifteh Farahani) hit the road, heading to Santa Fe to escape their lives, each with their own dreams and secrets; written by Marion Doussot and Joelle Touma,

Just Like a Woman, 2012

Pitch Perfect (2012), Beca (Anne Kendrick), a DJ and a freshman joins an all-girl acapella group; screenplay by Kay Cannon,

Pitch Perfect, 2012

The Girl (2012),  a biopic about Tippi Hedren’s (Sienna Miller) relationship with a stalking male director; co-written with Gwyneth Hugnes,

Albert Nobbs (2011), Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) is posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin’s most elegant hotel where she meets Helen (Mia Wasikowska);  co-written screenplay by Gabriella Prekop and Glenn Close,

Alice in the Wonderland (2010), nineteen-year-old Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure; screenplay by Linda Woolverton,

Alice in Wonderland, 2010

Bridesmaids (2011), a story about female friendship and wedding stress, starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Bryne, Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey; written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo,

Hysteria (2011), directed by Tanya Wexler and co-written by Jonah Lisa Dyer,

Hysteria, 2011

Jane Eyre (2011), a tale about a woman’s social mobility, set in the 19^th century England, starring Mia Wasikowska; novel by Charlotte Brontë, screenplay by Moira Buffini,

Red Riding Hood (2011), set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) falls for an orphaned woodcutter; directed by Catherine Hardwicke,

Red Riding Hood, 2011

The Help (2011), an aspiring white author, Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone) during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book, detailing the African American maids’ point of view (Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer) on the white families (Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain) for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis; novel by Kathryn Stockett,

The Help, 2011

Young Adult (2011), a young adult writer, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) heads home for her ex-boyfriend baby-shower; written by Diablo Cody,

Young Adult, 2011

Tout Ce Qui Brille (All That Glitters, 2010), two low-income friends, Lila (Leïla Bekhti) and Ely (Géraldine Nakache) from suburbs of Paris want to overcome their class while their friendship is put to the test, also starring Virginie Ledoyen and Linh Dan Pham; co-directed and co-written by Géraldine Nakache,

Tout Ce Qui Brille, 2011

Chloe (2009), a young sex worker, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) enters a relationship with the wrong client, Dr. Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore); inspired by Anne Fontaine’s film Nathalie, screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson,

Enid (2009), a biopic about an English children’s writer, Enid Blyton (Helena Bonham Carter); written by Lindsay Shapero,

Easy Virtue (2008), a story, set in 1920s about a glamorous American, Larita Whittaker (Jessica Biel) who is not accepted by her in-laws; co-written by Sheridan Jobbins,

Easy Virtue, 2008

Mad Money (2008), three female employees (Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes) of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed; directed by Callie Khouri,

Rachel Getting Married (2008), a young woman, Kym (Anne Hathaway) is out of rehab and headed home for her sister Rachel’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding; written by Jenny Lumet,

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), two sisters, Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johansson), compete for the love of King Henry VIII; novel by Philippa Gregory,

Becoming Jane (2007), a biopic about pre-fame Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway); letters by Jane Austen, co-written by Sarah Williams,

Becoming Jane, 2007

Juno (2007), a teenager, Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) gets pregnant and decides to give the child up for adoption; written by Diablo Cody,

La Vie en Rose (2007), a biopic about Edith Piaf (Marion Cotillard); co-written by Isabelle Sobelman,

Ma Vie en Rose, 2007

Persepolis (2007), a story about an Iranian girl, Marjane (Chiara Mastroianni), growing up during the Islamic revolution; co-directed by Marjane Satrapi, comic book by Marjane Satrapi,

Persepolis, 2007

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), a biopic about a photographer, Diane Arbus (Nicole Kidman); book by Patricia Bosworth and screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson,

Notes on the Scandal (2006), a story about friendship between a middle-aged, single, lesbian schoolteacher Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), and her young, married, straight colleague, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) who engages in an affair with her male student; novel by Zoe Heller,

She’s the Man (2006), Viola (Amanda Bynes) disguises herself as a boy to get into football team and falls for her male colleague; co-written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah,

Beauty Shop (2005), a black entrepreneur, Gina Norris (Queen Latifah), opens a beauty salon; story by Elizabeth Hunter, co-written by Kate Lanier,

Beauty Shop, 2005

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), wealthy widow Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) buys an old London theatre and transforms it into the Windmill, a performance hall that includes also all-nude revues; book by Sheila van Damm, co-idea by Kathy Rose,

Mrs. Henderson Presents, 2005

Pride and Prejudice (2005), a love story that surpasses social class, starring Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, Kelly Reilly and Brenda Blethyn; novel by Jane Austen, screenplay by Deborah Moggach,

Catwoman (2004), a woman, Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) becomes endowed with catlike capabilities; co-story by Theresa Rebeck,

Mean Girls (2004), a story about a high school clique of popular girls (Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried and Lindsay Lohan) and their subordinates (Lizzie Kaplan); book by Rosalind Wiseman, screenplay by Tina Fey,

My Summer of Love (2004), a coming-of-age lesbian story about trust and deceit, starring Emily Blunt and Natalie Press; novel by Helen Cross,

Vanity Fair (2004), a life of a 19-th century socially savvy, Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon); directed by Mira Nair,

Vanity Fair, 2004

Calendar Girls (2003), a group of middle-aged British women (Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton) decide to pose nude for a good cause; co-written by Juliette Towhidi,

Something’s Gotta Give (2003), starring Diane Keaton as a successful playwriter, Erica Barry; written and directed by Nancy Meyers,

Sylvia (2003), a biopic about a poetess, Sylvia Plath (Gwyneth Paltrow); directed by Christine Jeffs,

Veronica Guerin (2003), an Irish journalist, Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) writes mercilessly about drug dealers; story by Carol Doyle, screenplay by Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue,

Secretary (2002), a masochistic young woman, Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) finds a perfect partner in her male employer; story by Mary Gaitskill, screenplay and story co-adaptation by Erin Cressida Wilson,

Secretary, 2002

White Oleander (2002), a teenager, Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) drifts through several foster homes (Robin Wright, Renée Zellweger and Svetlana Efremova) after her mother, Ingrid Magnussen (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes to prison for committing a crime of passion; novel by Janet Finch, screenplay by Mary Agnes Donoghue,

Josie and the Pussycats (2001), a girl group, Josie and the Pussycats (Rachael Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson and Tara Reid) find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy to deliver subliminal messages to masses through popular music; co-written and co-directed by Deborah Kaplan,

Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) finds a perfect woman, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), instead of a man; written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen,

Legally Blonde (2001), a young woman, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) wants to become a lawyer while almost everyone discourages her; novel by Amanda Brown, screenplay by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith,

Prozac Nation (2001), a young Elizabeth (Christina Ricci) struggles with depression during her first year at Harvard; book by Elizabeth Wurtzel, adaption by Galt Niederhoffer,

The Piano Teacher (2001), a story about a masochistic piano teacher, Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert); book by Elfriede Jelinek,

American Psycho (2000), co-starring Reese Witherspoon, Chloë Sevigny and Samantha Mathis; directed by Mary Harron, written by Guinevere Turner and Mary Harron,

Erin Brockovich (2000), an unemployed single mother, Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company, accused of polluting a city’s water supply; written by Susannah Grant,

Ginger Snaps (2000), two death-obsessed sisters, Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) must deal with the consequences when one of them is bitten by a werewolf; co-story and written by Karen Walton,

Ginger Snaps, 2000

Miss Congeniality (2000), a FBI agent, Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) goes undercover to enter a beauty pageant; co-written by Katie Ford and Caryn Lucas,

What Women Want (2000), starring Helen Hunt as a successful creative director, Darcy McGuire; directed by Nancy Meyers, co-written by Diane Drake and Cathy Yuspa,

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), a mockumentary about a small-town beauty contest, starring Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Allison Jenney, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, Brittany Murphy, Amy Adams and Alexandra Holden; written by Lona Williams,

Girl, Interrupted (1999), a biopic about a writer Susanna Kaysen’s (Winona Ryder) 18-month stay in a mental hospital in the 1960s, also starring Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Clea Duvall, Elizabeth Moss, Jillian Armenante, Vanessa Redgrave and Whoopi Goldberg; book by Susanna Kaysen, co-written screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan and Lisa Loomer,

Girl, Interrupted, 1999

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1999), two inseparable friends, Romy White (Mira Sorvino) and Michelle Weinberger (Lisa Kudrow), want to impress old classmates at the 10^th high school reunion; play and screenplay by Robin Schiff,

Beau Travail (1998), directed and written by Claire Denis,

Practical Magic (1998), two witch sisters, Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) Owens must deny their nature to find love; novel by Alice Hoffman, screenplay co-written by Robin Swicord,

You’ve Got Mail (1998), starring Meg Ryan as a book owner, Kathleen Kelly, who goes out of business because of a disloyal competition; directed by Nora Ephron, screenplay by Nora and Delia Ephron,

G.I. Jane (1997), a young woman, Jordan O’Neill (Demi Moore) wants to be become a U.S. Navy Seal on behalf of the new politics of gender equality in military; story and co-written screenplay by Danielle Alexandra,

Emma (1996), in rural 1800s England, a young matchmaker, Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) falls in love with a man she meant for another woman; novel by Jane Austen,

First Wives Club (1996), ex-wives (Betty Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn) in their 40s plot revenge against their husbands, but along the way, a strong female bond and social cause are created; novel by Olivia Goldsmith,

First Wives Club, 1996

Nénette et Boni (1996), co-starring Alice Houri and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; directed and co-written by Claire Denis,

Stealing Beauty (1996), a young girl, Lucy Harmon (Liv Tyler) seeks for her father in an artistic colony in Italy; co-written by Susan Minot,

Stealing Beauty, 1996

Home for the Holidays (1995), Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter), thirty-something woman with a teenage daughter, Kitt (Claire Danes) visit her parents for Thanksgiving and family drama arises; directed by Jodie Foster,

Home for the Holidays, 1995

Sense and Sensibility (1995), two sisters, Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet) Dashwood must be married due to their social situation, yet turbulent journey is ahead; novel by Jane Austen, screenplay by Emma Thompson,

Sense and Sensibility, 1995

Tank Girl (1995) set in the dystopian future, Tank Girl (Lori Petty) with her friend, Jet Girl (Naomi Watts) fight mega-corporation for water; directed by Rachel Talalay,

Tank Girl, 1995

To Die For (1995), an ambitious want-be news anchor, Susan Stone (Nicole Kidman) will do anything to succeed; book by Joyce Maynard,

To Die For, 1995

Heavenly Creatures (1994), a story about intense friendship between Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme (Kate Winslet) that takes a horrific turn; co-written by Frances Walsh,

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1992), a teenage girl, Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is chosen to fight vampires; directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui,

Como Aqua Para Chocolate (1992), a story about Mexican matriarch, Elena (Regina Torné) and her daughters, Tita (Lumi Cavazos), Gertrudis (Claudette Maillé) and Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), along with the pain of the forbidden love; novel and screenplay by Laura Esquivel,

Como Agua Para Chocolate, 1992

L’Amant (The Lover, 1992), in 1920s French Indochina, a French teenage girl (Jane March) embarks on a romance with a wealthy, older Chinese man; novel by Marguerite Duras,

Don’t tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991), a teenage Swell (Christina Applegate) tries to provide for the family while their mom is on vacation; co-written by Tara Ison,

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), a tale of strong-willed Southern women from 1920s to the 1980s (Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker and Cicely Tyson); novel and screenplay by Fannie Flagg,

Rambling Rose (1991), a 1930s housemaid, Rose (Laura Dern) has sexual agency, but men only objectify her; directed by Martha Coolidge,

Rambling Rose, 1991

The Butcher’s Wife (1991), a clairvoyant islander Marina (Demi Moore) moves with her newly husband to NYC helping others to find love; co-written by Marjorie Schwartz,

Thelma & Louise (1991), a road movie about two women (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon) who shot a rapist and are therefore on the run from police; written by Callie Khouri,

Thelma and Louise, 1991

Europa, Europa (1990), co-starring Julie Delpy; directed and co-written by Agnieszka Holland,

Julia Has Two Lovers (1990), Julia (Daphna Kastner) is torn between two men; story and co-written screenplay by Daphna Kastner,

Mermaids (1990), a female-headed Jewish family (Cher, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci) relocate to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds; novel by Patty Dann, screenplay by June Roberts,

Mermaids, 1990

Postcards from the Edge (1990), a biopic about a celebrity mother, Doris Mann (Shirley MacLaine), and her daughter, Susanne Vale (Meryl Streep); book and screenplay by Carrie Fisher,

Postcards from the Edge, 1990

Troop Beverly Hills (1989), a divorced Beverly Hills socialite, Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) embarks on a different life; written by Ava Ostern Fries, Pamela Norris and Margaret Oberman,

Troop Beverly Hills, 1989

Gorillas in the Mist (1988), a biopic about the primatologist Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver); based upon a story about D. Fossey, co-written by Anna Hamilton Phelan,

Gorillas in the Mist, 1988

Mystic Pizza (1988), a coming-of-age story about three friends, Kat (Annabelle Gish), Daisy (Julie Roberts), and Jojo (Lili Taylor); story by Amy Holden Jones,

Baby Boom (1987), a career woman, J.C. (Diane Keaton) must change her life after she inherits a baby from a distant cousin; co-written by Nancy Meyers,

Crimes of the Heart (1986), three sisters, Lenny (Diane Keaton), Meg (Jessica Lange) and Babe Magrath (Sissy Spacek) reunite after the tragic family incident; written by Beth Henley,

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), a bank employee, Terry Doolittle (Whoopi Goldberg) helps escape a British agent; directed by Penny Marshall, co-written by Nancy Meyers,

Jumpin Jack Flash, 1986

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) goes back in time (i.e. the high school); co-written by Arlene Sarner,

Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1985), a military kid, Janey (Sarah Jessica Parker) wants to become a TV dancer; written by Amy Spies,

The Color Purple (1985), a black Southern woman, Celie Johnson (Whoopi Goldberg) struggles to find her life after decades of abuse; novel by Alice Walker,

U raljama života (1984), two tales about 1980s women, shy typist Štefica Cvek (Vitomira Lončar) and director Dunja (Gorica Popović) who’s making film about Štefica; novel and co-written screenplay by Dubravka Ugrešić,

La Boum 2 (1982), a sequel of a love life of Vic Beretton (Sophie Marceau); co-written by Danièle Thompson,

Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), a biopic about a country singer, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek); autobiography co-written by Loretta Lynn,

La Boum (1980), a story about a teenage girl, Vic Beretton (Sophie Marceau) experiencing love for the first time; co-written by Danièle Thompson,

La Boum, 1980

Private Benjamin (1980), a privileged young woman, Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) joins U.S. Army; co-written by Nancy Meyers,

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), three students (Anne Louise Lambert, Jane Vallis and Karen Robson) and a school teacher (Vivean Gray) disappear on an excursion to Hanging Rock, in Victoria, on Valentine’s Day, 1900; novel by Joan Lindsay,

The Group (1966), the lives of eight friends (Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet, Mary-Robin Redd, Jessica Walter and Kathleen Widdoes) from an all-girl college after their graduation into the adulthood; novel by Mary McCarthy,

Marnie (1964), a story about a thief, Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren) and her getting “rehabilitated” by a man; screenplay by Jay Presson Allen,

Marnie, 1964

The Birds (1963), a wealthy socialite (Tippi Hedren) goes to a small Californian town and gets attacked by birds; story by Daphne Du Maurier,

The Children’s Hour (1963), a troublemaking student, Mary Tilford (Karen Balkin) at a girls’ school accuses two teachers, Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) of being lesbians; written by Lillian Hellman,

The Children’s Hour, 1961

Gidget (1959), Gidget (Sandra Lee) discovers surfing, co-written by Gabrielle Upton,

Imitation of Life (1959), a story about working mothers (Lana Turner and Juanita Moore), their young daughters (Sandra Dee and Susan Kohner) and internalized racism; written by Fannie Hurst and Eleanore Griffin,

Imitation of Life, 1958

Mädchen in Uniform (1958), a story about a schoolgirl, Manuela von Meinhardis (Romy Schneider) falling in love with her schoolteacher, Elisabeth von Bernburg (Lilli Palmer); written by Christa Winsloe,

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable), Pola Debevoise (Marilyn Monroe) and Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall) are looking to marry millionaires, instead they found love (and money); co-written by Zoe Akins and Katherine Albert,

Rebecca (1940), a self-conscious bride, Mrs. De Winter (Joan Fontaine) is tormented by the memory of her husband’s dead first wife; based upon a novel by Daphne Du Maurier, screenplay co-written by Joan Harrison,

The Women (1939), a story about lives of various interconnected women (Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Phyllis Povah, Joan Fontaine, Virginia Weidler, Lucile Watson, Marjorie Main and Virginia Grey); written by Clare Boothe Luce, Anita Loos and Jane Murfin,

The Women, 1939

Triumph des Willens (1935), directed and written by Leni Riefenstahl,

Queen Christina (1933), a tale about a queer queen Christina of Sweden (Greta Garbo); co-written by Salka Viertel and Margaret P. Levino,

1F

A Quiet Passion (2016), a biopic about  American poet, Emily Dickinson (Cynthia Nixon),

Arrival (2016), a linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) can connect with alien species,

Arrival, 2016

Elle (2016), Michèle Leblanc (Isabelle Huppert) is a successful businesswoman who gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down her rapist,

Personal Shopper (2016), Maureen Cartwright (Kristen Stewart) is a personal shopper, living in Paris with psychic abilities who wants to reconnect with her dead, twin brother,

Amy (2015), a documentary about singer Amy Winehouse,

Far from the Maddening Crowd (2015), a story about independent Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) and her three suitors,

Queen of the Desert (2015), a chronicle of Gertrude Bell’s (Nicole Kidman) life, a traveller, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century,

Queen of the Desert, 2015

Sicario (2015), an FBI agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico,

The VVitch (2015), a young girl, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is accused of being a witch in the 1660s New England,

the VVitch, 2015

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), a film star, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche), and her PA, Valentine (Kristen Stewart), resort to a remote region of the Swiss Alps for play rehearsals,

Deux Jours, Une Nuit (Two Days, One Night, 2014), a factory worker, Sandra (Marion Cotillard) is trying to persuade her co-workers not be dismissed from work so they can get a bonus,

It Follows (2014), Jay Height (Maika Monroe) must escape unknown supernatural force,

It Follows, 2014

Lucy (2014), Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) transforms into a godlike entity,

Lucy, 2014

Selma (2014), co-starring Carmen Ejogo, Tessa Thompson, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Niecy Nash and Ledisi Young; directed by Ava Duvernay,

The Duke of Burgundy (2014), a lesbian, BD/ASMR love story between Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna),

Duke of Burgundy, 2014

August Osage County (2013), a family gathering of Weston family women and their families (Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis),

Blue Jasmine (2013), a New York socialite’s (Cate Blanchett) financial and mental downfall,

Dvojina (Dual, 2013), a night of an intimate bonding between Tina (Nina Rakovec) and Iben (Mia Jexen),

Finding Vivian Mayer (2013), a documentary about an unknown street photographer,

Finding Vivian Maier, 2013

Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful, 2013), Isabelle (Marine Vacth) has a secret life as a call girl,

Jeune & Jolie, 2013

Nymphomaniac I & II (2013, 2014), a journey of sexual exploration of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg),

Spring Breakers (2013), four friends Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson), and Cotty (Rachel Corinne) head for the spring break and killing spree,

Spring Breakers, 2012

Stoker (2013), about India’s (Mia Wasikowska) sexual awakening and personal growth,

Stoker, 2013

Under the Skin (2013), a mysterious young woman (Scarlett Johansson) is an alien,

Anna Karenina (2012), a married woman, Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) embarks on an affair with a count in Russian 19^th century high society,

Anna Karenina, 2012

King Kelly (2012), Kelly (Louisa Krause), a web cam sex worker wants fame and fortune,

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present (2012), a documentary about a performance artist, Marina Abramović,

Melancholia (2011), a story about two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), alongside with an inevitable apocalypse approaching,

Melancholia, 2011

Black Swan (2010), a story about a ballerina, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a perfectionist who struggles mentally and professionally,

Dirty Girl (2010), a teenage Danielle (Juno Temple) running away from home,

Potiche (2010), a middle-aged trophy wife, (Catherine Deneuve) becomes a CEO of her husband’s company when he’s taken hostage by his disgruntled workers,

Potiche, 2010

Berlin ’36 (2009), a tale about a Jewish athlete, Gretel Bergmann (Karoline Herfurth) uncertain if she is going to be allowed  on the German team,

Berlin ’36, 2009

Grey Gardens (2009), a biopic about Edith Bouvier Beale (Jessica Lange) and her daughter, Little Edie (Drew Barrymore),

Grey Gardens, 2009

Slovenka (2009), a story about Aleksandra (Nina Ivanišin), a student who also works as a call girl,

The Young Victoria (2009), a biopic about an early reign of Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt),

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), a story about a joyous schoolteacher Poppy (Sally Hawkins),

Happy-Go-Lucky, 2008

Hurt Locker (2008), directed by Kathryn Bigelow,

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), a middle-aged London governess, Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), accidentally steps into the glamorous world of an American actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams),

Margot at the Wedding (2007), a story about tempestuous visit between two sisters, Margot (Nicole Kidman) and Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh),

Teeth (2007), a high school student Dawn (Jess Weixler) discovers her vagina has teeth in it,

Teeth, 2007

Factory Girl (2006), a biopic about Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller), a socialite and one of Andy Warhol’s superstars,

Miss Potter (2006), a biopic about a children’s books author, Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger),

Volver (2006), a story about daughters, mothers, and death, starring Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas and Blanca Portillo,

Flightplan (2005), a story about a young daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston), who disappears mid-flight, and a mother/widow, Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster), who’s trying to convince the crew about her disappearance,

Imagine Me & You (2005), a love story about sexually questioning bride, Rachel (Piper Perabo), and her lesbian florist, Luce (Lena Headey),

A Good Woman (2004), a distinguished Mrs. Erlynne (Helen Hunt) reunites with her daughter, Lady Windemere (Scarlett Johansson) in 1930s Italy,

Being Julia (2004), a tale about stage star Julia Lambert (Annette Bening), set in 1930s London,

Kill Bill II (2004), Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her guest of vengeance,

Ladies in Lavender (2004), two elderly sisters, Ursula (Judi Dench) and Janet (Maggie Smith) befriend a mysterious foreigner, who washes up on the beach of their 1930 Cornish seaside village,

Ladies in Lavender, 2004

Vera Drake (2004), a story about Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton), a woman who performed illegal abortions in 1950s Britain,

Vera Drake, 2004

Kill Bill I (2003), Bride (Uma Thurman) is seeking revenge,

Mona Lisa Smile (2003), a free-thinking art professor, Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts) teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley students (Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ginnifer Goodwin) to question their traditional social roles,

Mona Lisa Smile, 2003

View from the Top (2003), Donna (Gwyneth Paltrow), a small-town woman achieves her goal of becoming a top scale flight attendant,

8 Femmes (8 Women, 2002), eight women (Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Ledoyen, Firmine Richard and Ludivine Sagnier), one murdered man and whodunit,

8 Femmes, 2002

Fine mrtve djevojke (Fine Dead Girls, 2002), a tale about lesbophobia, violence and moral hypocrisy in Croatia, starring Olga Pakalović and Nina Violić,

Panic Room (2002), a divorced mother, Meg Altman (Jodie Foster), and her daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart), must fight off the intruders in their new house,

The Hours (2002), an intertwined story about three women, linked with the book “Mrs. Dalloway”: Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), Laura Brown (Julianne Moore), and Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep),

The Magdalene Sisters (2002), a story about “fallen” young Irish women (Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh and Mary Murray) who are subjected to the dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum,

The Magdalene Sisters, 2002

Amélie (2001), an everyday life of a socially awkward Amélie (Audrey Tautou),

Ghost World (2001), a tale about friendship between two high school outsiders, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson),

Mulholland Drive (2001), a love story between amnesiac woman, Rita/Camilla Rhodes (Laura Harring,) and struggling actress, Betty/Diane Selwyn (Naomi Watts),

Malèna (2000), a male perspective about the most objectified woman, Malèna Scordia (Monica Bellucci) in an Italian village (and cinema),

Malèna, 2000

Saving Grace (2000), a small-town English widow, Grace (Brenda Blethyn) in financial troubles becomes a cannabis agriculturist,

Election (1999), a story about an ambitious, young go-getter, Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon),

Election, 1999

Jawbreaker (1999), a clique of popular girls (Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart and Julie Benz) gets a new member, Fern/Vylette (Judy Greer), after the last one, Liz Purr (Charlotte Ayanna), is accidentally killed,

Todo Sobre mi Madre (All About My Mother, 1999), a story about mothers, pregnant nuns, lesbian actresses and trans women, starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Penelope Cruz and Antonia San Juan,

Elizabeth (1998), a biopic about the early reign of Queen Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett),

Elizabeth, 1998

Gia (1998), a biopic about supermodel Gia Carangi (Angelina Jolie),

Sliding Doors (1998), a story about parallel lives if Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) catches a train or not,

Career Girls (1997), two friends from college, Hannah (Katrin Cartlidge) and Annie (Lynda Steadman) rekindle their friendship as adults,

Contact (1997), a story about a space researcher, Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) and her struggle with funding and general disbelief about her experience with time travelling,

Jackie Brown (1997), a story about middle-aged, low-income black woman, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) who profits from deceiving everyone involved,

Jackie Brown, 1997

Mrs. Brown (1997), an intimate story about widowed Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and her relationship with servant Brown,

The Associate (1996), a black business woman, Laurel Ayers (Whoopi Goldberg) must disguise herself  into a white, older man to succeed solo in Wall Street,

Diabolique (1996), two schoolteachers, a dean’s wife, Mia Baran (Isabelle Adjani) and dean’s mistress, Nicole Horner (Sharon Stone) plan to murder the dean, also starring Kathy Bates,

Matilda (1996), a story about a smart young girl (Mara Wilson), trapped in a world of a less smart authority figures,

Scream 1-4 (1996, 1997, 2000, and 2011), a tetralogy about a woman Sidney (Neve Campbell) who survives all attempts of a serial killer,

Secrets & Lies (1996), an adopted black woman, Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) looks for her biological white mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn),

Secrets & Lies, 1996

Set It Off (1996), four black women from the inner city, Stony Newsom (Jada Pinkett), Cleo Sims (Queen Latifah), Frankie Sutton (Vivica A. Fox), and T.T. Williams (Kimberly Elise) rob banks, when the mistrust kicks in,

Boys on the Side (1995), three women – each with their own story – on a road trip, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore,

Dolores Claiborne (1995), a tale of an emotional reconnection between mother, Dolores Claiborne (Kathy Bates) and her daughter, Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh) after years of domestic abuse from Dolores’ husband/Selena’s father,

Dolores Claiborne, 1995

La Flor de mi Secreto (The Flower of My Secret, 1995), an emotional struggle of a successful pulp writer, Amanda Gris/Leo Macias (Marisa Paredes),

Showgirls (1995), a story about an ambitious dancer, Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) who wants to be top Las Vegas showgirl,

Strange Days (1995), co-starring Angela Bassett and Juliette Lewis; directed by Kathryn Bigelow,

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), a life of an awkward teenager, Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) in New Jersey,

Welcome to the Dollhouse, 1995

Muriel’s Wedding (1994), a tale of friendship between Abba-obsessed Muriel Heslop (Toni Colette) and foul-mouthed, newly disabled Rhonda Epinstalk (Rachel Griffiths),

The Last Seduction (1994), an abused, by super smart Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) steals her husband’s drug money and hides in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme;

The Last Seduction, 1994

Trois Couleurs: Rouge (1994), a model, Valentine (Irène Jacob) discovers her neighbour is keen on invading people’s privacy,

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), a look at about Sissy Hankshaw (Uma Thurman) and her enormous thumbs travelling across the country,

Hocus Pocus (1993), three witch sisters, Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy) are resurrected in modern era to cast spells,

Hocus Pocus, 1993

Kika (1993), adventures of a young cosmetologist, Kika (Verónica Forqué),

Poetic Justice (1993), a world through the eyes of a poetess Justice (Janet Jackson),

Poetic Justice, 1993

The Real McCoy (1993), a freed bank robber, Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger) is forced to do one more heist,

Trois Couleurs: Bleu (Three Colours: Blue, 1993), Julie Vignon-de Courcy’s (Juliette Binoche) struggle to live her life after the loss of her husband and child,

Death Becomes Her (1992), two frenemies, Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn), are bound for eternity,

Single White Female (1992), Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) becomes obsessed with her roommate, Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda),

Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua (Raise the Red Lantern, 1991), a story of a fourth wife, Songlian (Li Gong), set in the 1920s China,

Raise of the Red Lantern, 1991

La Double Vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Véronique, 1991), two women, Weronika and Véronique (Irène Jacob), living in different cities are connected,

La Double vie de Véronique, 1991

Little Man Tate (1991), co-starring and directed by Jodie Foster,

Point Break (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow, also starring Lori Petty,

Tacones Lejanos (High Heels, 1991), a story about neglecting mother, Becky del Paramo (Marisa Paredes) and her neglected daughter, Rebeca Giner (Victoria Abril),

Alice (1990), about a New York socialite, Alice (Mia Farrow), who changes her lifestyle,

La Femme Nikita (1990), a convicted felon, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) becomes a top assassin,

Shirley Valentine (1989), a bored middle-aged housewife, Shirley Valentine (Pauline Collins) goes to Greece to rediscover herself,

Shirley Valentine, 1989

Steel Magnolias (1989), a story about female friendship, set in Louisiana, starring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts,

When Harry Met Sally (1989), co-starring Meg Ryan and Carrie Fisher; written by Nora Ephron,

Another Woman (1988), an intellectual, Marion (Gena Rowlands) gets intrigued by confessions of an unknown woman, Hope (Mia Farrow),

Heathers (1988), a snobbish clique of popular Heathers (Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker and Shannen Doherty) is being destroyed by Veronica (Winona Ryder),

Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, 1988), centres around Pepa (Carmen Maura), being abandoned by her married boyfriend and her effort tracking him down,

The Accused (1988), a story about a raped woman, Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster) and her prosecutor, Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) seeking justice in court,

Working Girl (1988), a story about women in business and social mobility, starring Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver,

Black Widow (1987), a cat and mouse plot about an investigator, Alexandra (Debra Winger), and a man-killing opportunist, Catherine (Theresa Russell),

Black Widow, 1987

Moonstruck (1987), Loretta Castorini (Cher) is torn between two men,

The Witches of Eastwick (1987), three local witches, Sukie Ridgemont (Michelle Pfeiffer), Jane Spotford (Susan Sarandon) and Alex Medford (Cher) in a relationship with the same man,

Pretty in Pink (1986), a low-income yet creative Andie (Molly Ringwald) is torn between two men,

Agnes of God (1985), a story about psychiatrist, Dr. Martha Livingston (Jane Fonda) who’s investigating a case about a nun, Sister Agnes (Meg Tilly) with a dead child,

Sweet Dreams (1985), a biopic about Patsy Cline (Jessica Lange),

Flashdance (1983), about a working-class welder/exotic dancer Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) who wants to be a ballet dancer,

Terms of Endearment (1983), about an intense relationship between daughter, Emma Horton (Debra Winger) and mother, Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine),

Terms of Endearment, 1983

Frances (1982), a tragic biopic about Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange), an actress who was more than her looks,

Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981), a biopic about a drug scene in the 1970s  Berlin, seen through the eyes of Christiane F. (Natja Brunckhorst),

Foxes (1980), a coming-of-age story about four friends, Jeanie (Jodie Foster), Annie (Cherie Curie), Madge (Marilyn Kagan) and Deidre (Kandice Stroh) in Los Angeles,

Ubij Me Nežno (1979), a pulp writer (Duša Počkaj) imagines her new story,

Autumn Sonata (1978), a story about a love-craving daughter, Eva (Liv Ullmann) and a self-absorbed mother, Charlotte Andergast (Ingrid Bergman),

Carrie (1976), Carrie’s (Sissy Spacek) telekinetic powers get unleashed after being humiliated,

The Stepford Wives (1975), after moving to suburbia, all of Joanna Eberhart’s (Katharine Ross) female neighbours seem strange,

The Stepford Wives, 1975

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), a mother and a widow, Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn) wants to start a new life,

Viskningar Och Rop (Cries and Whispers, 1972), a tale about sibling’s resentment, set in the early 20^th century Sweden, starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann,

Vampyros Lesbos (1971), a campy tale about lesbian vampire, Countess Nadine Carody (Soledad Miranda) and her new lover, Linda Westinghouse (Ewa Strömberg),

Persona (1966), a story about two women, a nurse, Alma (Bibi Andersson) and her patient, the mute actress Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann), submerging into each other,

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), three go-go dancers, Varla (Tura Satana), Rosie (Haji) and Billie (Lori Williams) try to scheme others for money,

The Sound of Music (1965), an ex-nun, Maria (Julie Andrews) becomes a governess to seven children and eventually marries their father,

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), a story about two showgirls, Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell) who seek love and fortune,

All about Eve (1950), a story about an aging movie star, Margo Channing (Bette Davis) and her fan/ personal assistant/replacement, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter).

All about Eve, 1950

The postmodern, Western culture is an ocular-centric or even somatophobic one: we observe the world around us and therefore, necessarily (or deliberately) distant ourselves from others to get a more “objective” view of it. As much as we watch others, others watch us back. Some social groups are more conditioned to be watched (e.g. women, PoC, LGBT+, refugees, animals, disabled persons), while others have the privilege of an uninterrupted and entitled goggling (i.e. members of hegemonic masculinity with their male gaze). Sight creates distance or space between people, but touch nullifies that because it establishes a physical meeting (“meating”) between two subjects, or a person and an object; one can feel the texture of things or the warmth of the other person’s skin. The sensory impression replaces the “rational” one.

Eyesight has the top position on how we learn about the world around us; it is the “civilised” method unlike touch that is regarded as less credible or unruly sense. Touch is more egalitarian than sight since the one who is touching is also being touched back. The act itself triggers so called skin-ego, where skin as the protective surface marks our physical boundary with the outside. With touch we transgress boundaries of ourselves, of our bodies. Touching also implies intimate cosiness (e.g. children, mother-child, lovers, close friends, family) and therefore must be cultivated – whom, what, where, how and when it is appropriate to touch.

To Somersault’s lead, a 16-years-old Heidi (wonderfully portrayed by Abbie Cornish), touch represents her hidden modus operandi; she is a haptic person. By caressing things and people, she is establishing communication and connection with the world. When touching other people is being done by a young and beautiful girl, men easily frame and shame those acts as sexual. However, the ultimate manifestation of touch is the sexual act so Heidi engages a lot in casual sex. More sexist or patriarchal viewers would label her as “slut”, focusing on her “angelic looks” or “sexual magnetism”, but all this reduces her haptic sexual agency to being a sexual prop for male consumption which is not the case in Somersault. Those descriptions just signal an inept stereotyping of women’s sexuality and sensuality.

Director Cate Shortland generously reveals Heidi’s haptic character by largely focusing on her hands – what they do, whom they touch. Heidi’s desire to touch is a feminist tactic that subverts the male gaze, a man’s social entitlement in an ocular-oriented culture to look at Others without being looked back. Men may eye her as an object, but her reaction is to touch them. And objects don’t react so now they are transformed into equal subjects of touching. But there is another aspect of subverting the gender of a person who touches. Along with the privilege of male gaze, men also exhibit the behaviour called “mantouching” which allows men of certain age, social class and power to touch others without any consequences. In her own gentle way, Heidi is changing that paradigm not to subordinate others but perhaps to destigmatise touch as a secondary sense.

Taking pleasure in touching can also be a proof that Heidi might be ASMR; she is soft-spoken, her caressing of things and people gives her satisfaction, she enjoys being undressed by someone else or being non-sexually touched, and she revels in personal attention from sexually ambiguous Joe (Sam Worthington) when he slowly washes her face. Regardless of the current cultural snub about ASMR (“does it exist or not?”) if any sensual activity gives women major enjoyment…

Somersault also excels visually with the blurry, dreamlike cinematography by Robert Humphreys and subtle soundtrack by Decoder Ring. It is a mesmerizing piece of cinema that celebrates Other types of senses.

Ne glede na materino češko poreklo, je Ivanka polnokrvna Američanka (ergo: ni priseljenka za razliko od njene matere in mačehe). Kot hči milijonarja je bila izpostavljena neizprosni poslovni klimi očeta, zato se je bolj ali manj sama “naštimala”, da bi postala več kot le trofejska žena nekega poslovneža in s tem na nek način presegla svoj spol (vseeno ima dva brata, ki sta pravilnejšega spola) ter se dokazala očetu. Nekaj malega manekenske kariere (tj. prvi poslovni pristop k unovčenju videza), ustrezna poslovna izobrazba, zaposlitev v enem izmed podjetij očetove korporacije, sodelovanje pri očetovem resničnostnem šovu  in kasneje znamčenje svoje top poslovne ženskosti (tj. oblačila, nakit, knjige/priročniki, skrbno izbrano projiciranje svojega življenjskega stila preko socialnih omrežij, predvsem vizualnega Instagrama). Ob tem je zadostila tudi kriterijem tradicionalne ženskosti, saj je mati treh otrok, žena in občasno verjetno tudi kdaj kaj skuha/pospravi.

Ivanka je fantazma post-feminizma oz. neoliberalne spolno slepe smeri, ki trdi, da so spol in ostali družbeni faktorji (razred ali barva kože recimo) preseženi in da sta trdo delo in žrtvovanje dovolj za kakršenkoli uspeh. Ivanka zagovarja zaposlene ženske, a ni feministka, saj je za to preveč … poslovno usmerjena, ker vé, da je včasih treba zamižati na eno oko, ko se gre za biznis. Feminizem zna bit’ poslu škodljiv. A kot pripadnica ameriške kulture pozna feministični besednjak (npr. spol, plačna vrzel, seksizem, spolno nadlegovanje itd.) in je politično pismena, če ne že politično lačna, saj je zanimanje za politiko prav tako zelo ameriško. Vé, kako se mora vesti in odreagirati na twitterske neslanosti, kampanjski sovražni govor in nagle politične odločitve svojega očeta (tudi zato je njen mož svetovalec njenemu očetu-predsedniku).

Ivanka oddaja avro politične zmernosti in skorajda materinskega razumevanja oz. slepega zaupanja, ki se ga a priori pripisuje materam. To, da se Ivanka tu in tam “znajde” v kabinetu očeta-predsednika in govorice, da naj bi prevzela mesto prve dame, je le dokaz, da politične ambicije z njene strani obstajajo (Ivanka za preDCednico nekoč?) in da trenutna ameriška vlada ne (pri)pozna “navzkrižja interesov”. Kot prava Američanka je elokvetna, kar je posledica ameriške medijske kulture, kjer je javno nastopanje in debatiranje nujno pridobljena veščina iz osnovne šole, kjer je medijska pismenost in spinanje medijev nuja in kjer imajo Hollywood, tisto močno industrijo, ki trosi vrednote ameriške kulture širom sveta. Je tudi družabna, saj njen socialni kapital seže celo do Chelsea Clinton. Da je vajena kamer in nastopanja, je jasno iz njene manekenske kariere in sodelovanja pri očetovem resničnostnem šovu.

Melanija pa je – po drugi strani – vse to, kar Ivanka ni in kar njena ameriška pastorka ne bo nikoli razumela. Zato pa jo bolj razume slovenski narod. Melanija je primer ultra tradicionalne ženskosti: rada je tipi top urejena (lasje, obleka, nohti, make-up), predana je zasebni sferi (tj. domu in prebijanju časa z otrokom) in je v zvezi, kjer je plačna vrzel med zakoncema enormna (tj. ekonomsko je ultra šibkejša od svojega moža).

Izhaja iz nižjega srednjega razreda iz mesteca z manj kot 5000 prebivalci/-kami, ki ji je uspel preboj med elito, a se tam zdaj ne znajde najbolje. Nihče je ni leta in leta pripravljal na vlogo politične žene, zato ne vé najbolje, kako se obrniti pri protokolih, niti ji njen mož ne koristi kaj prida, ker še sam ne vé. Tako kot večino slovenske populacije, je politika ne zanima kaj dosti, zato sta njen odpor do preselitve v Washington, D.C. in opravljanja nalog prve dame morda zgolj odraz njene politične nepismenosti in tujosti, ki jo čuti. Za razliko od Ivanke, politične pismenosti ni pridobila ne v matični družini, zakonski zvezi ali samoiniciativno niti ni to samouveni del slovenske kulture. To, da nima visoke izobrazbe, da je za njo kratka kariera manekenke (zdaj se pojavlja le še kot predsednikova žena), nekaj golih fotografij in govorice, da naj bi bila spremljevalka za plačilo, je irelevantno za strast, ki jo oseba lahko čuti do politike. Tudi javno nastopanje ni zanjo, medijske nastope opravlja z dolžnostjo dobre žene, a jih je težko gledati, saj izhaja iz slovenskega okolja, kjer medijsko pojavljanje in pismenost nista niti običajna niti pomembna.

Tudi digitalno je nevidna, je brez Instagram profila, njen Twitter račun in Facebook stran sta bolj ali manj neaktivna. Deluje kot introvertirana Slovenka, ki ne govori dosti, nekaj malega si misli, a je preveč potrpežljiva in podrejena ponotranjenim spolnim normam, da bi povzdignila glas. Raje se kaže v senci svojega nastopaškega moža, kot da bi jo poslušali/slišali. Ne vé se, kdo tvori njen družabni krog (kdo so njeni/-e prijatelj/-ice, ali ima kaj lastnega socialnega kapitala, ki bi si ga napaberkovala skozi svoje dvajsetletno bivanje v ZDA), liberalna ženska populacija jo vidi kot žrtev intimnega nasilja (po medmrežju kroži #Free Melania) oz. vase zaprto samotarko, kar je za glasne in super družabne Američan/-ke nepojmljivo.

Lahko bi jo slabšalno označili za “trofejko”, tj. oportunistično lepotico, ki omoži bogatega starejšega moškega, a koristoljubje je slovenska lastnost – okoristiti se (na račun nekoga, če je treba) je prej plus kot minus v slovenski skupni zavesti. Je dovolj pismena glede intelektualne lastnine in lastnega potencialnega znamčenja, da ne dovoli, da bi kdorkoli v Sloveniji profitiral na njen račun kot prve dame (ne glede na to, da teh nalog še ne opravlja v popolnosti), saj se njeno ime obravnava kot blagovna znamka. Tu ni sentimentalnosti za rodno grudo, četudi bi jo njena materinska požrtvovalnost lahko označila za arhetip slovenske matere; táko, na katero je sin tesno navezan in ona nanj, táko, ki ves svoj čas preživi s sinom in pri tem resnično uživa. Melanija je slovenska mati, ki bi ji Nace Junkar ali Franjo Bobinac z veseljem zapela.

Zato se je hčeri Ivanki nekaj časa pripisovala vloga prve dame, kar je ob ženi Melaniji, ki je to zmožna in dolžna opravljati, nelogično. Ivanka pač razume ameriški red (in vse podsisteme, ki ga tvorijo), ker je zrasla v in z njim. Melanija ga ne more.

Michael Akers’ drama Morgan (2012) deals with a young man named Morgan who used to be an enthusiastic cyclist. He had won a lot of medals and awards but after having had a severe accident Morgan sees himself confronted with paraplegia. His mother, his friend Lane and Dean, his new love(r), become important people on his way back to everyday life.

In this text I investigate stereotypes, the characters’ language in regard to disability and the filmmakers’ decision not to use a disabled actor on the one hand, and the film’s innovative beginning, the fact that there are no flashbacks, its easy-going representation of sexuality in a romantic relationship and, Morgan’s need for help and an adjusted environment on the other.  The main assumption of this text is: the empathetic approach (of the film) and the deliberate research done regarding the main character’s disability makes Aker’s drama Morgan a rare example of a realistic portrayal of a disabled person who can not only live with his sexual orientation but have a romantic relationship, too.

Stereotypes

The film Morgan uses several stereotypes that add additional meanings to disability. These include the triumph over fate or disability, disability as personal tragedy and the super cripple. The triumph over disability and disability as personal tragedy are extremely present in this drama. In fact they go hand in hand because they justify all of Morgan’s behaviour and actions. The desire to be a ‘winner’ again spurs Morgan to be a top athlete as a wheelchair user, too. His training keeps Morgan’s body in shape and keeps up the ideal of a perfectly shaped body even with a disability. Swantje Köbell, professor at the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin, University of Applied Science underlines that ‘die mit Behinderung assoziierten Eigenschaften mit einem traditionellen Bild von Männlichkeit weit weniger in Einklang bringen [lassen] als mit dem gängigen Bild von Weiblichkeit’ (it is much more difficult to accommodate the characteristics associated with disability in the traditional image of masculinity than in the traditional image of femininity) (Köbsell 2010: 22).[i] She says:

‘Die Rollenerwartungen an Männer und Frauen werden dabei nicht nur unterschiedlich bewertet, sondern auch hierarchisch gegliedert. Männer gelten auch heute noch als stark, aktiv, unabhängig und mutig; Frauen dagegen als schwach, passiv, abhängig und hilfsbedürftig, wobei die männlichen Eigenschaften positiv und die weiblichen negativ bewertet werden.’ (The role expectations placed on men and women are not only judged differently but also subdivided hierarchically. Men are said to be strong, active, independent and courageous while women [are perceived] as weak, passive, dependent and needy and the male characteristics are considered to be positive the female [ones] negative.’) (Köbsell 2010: 20)

Thomas J. Gerschick, professor of sociology at the Illinois State University, emphasises:

‘Bodies are central to achieving recognition as appropriately gendered beings. Bodies operate socially as canvases on which gender is displayed and kinesthetically as the mechanisms by which it is physically enacted. Thus, the bodies of people with disabilities make them vulnerable to being denied recognition as women and men. The type of disability, its visibility, its severity, and whether it is physical or mental in origin mediate the degree to which the body of a person with a disability is socially compromised.’ (Gerschick 2008: 361).

Nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that there are more definitions of bodies than the binary man/woman and it is equally important how people perceive and define themselves and their (gendered) bodies.[ii] Morgan’s definition of himself as a ‘winner’ is also part of Morgan’s and Dean’s conversation after they had made love for the first time. Dean wants to know if the accident or the disability has changed Morgan. He replies:

„Of course, I was a winner.“

D: „I can see that.“

M: „I look at those things [his trophies, P.A.] and wonder who that guy was. I’d give anything to be him again.“

D: „I think you can still compete.“

M: „It’s not the same.“

D: „Why is that?“

M: „’Cause I’m not the same.“

Credits: United Gay Network

The feeling of having lost everything due to the accident and its consequences becomes obvious at  the beginning of the film when Morgan lies on the sofa, watches TV and drinks beer all day. In the above-mentioned conversation with Dean Morgan finally says: ‘It took everything.’ Later in the film there are several scenes in which Morgan says that he would prefer to be dead than in the wheelchair. At one point he even insults his mother by assuming that she also wishes he would be dead.

The stereotype of the super cripple is questioned in the film. Nevertheless Morgan manages to climb a rock and get back into his wheelchair and makes it home alone even after he had a heavy crash.

In this film music serves primarily to boost the mood of certain scenes as well as to underline the emotions of the characters and to intensify the emotions of the audience.[iii] The combination of sound and vision in the scene that shows Morgan in the wheelchair shortly before he leaves to meet Dean for their first date corresponds with the stereotypes mentioned above. Whilst the song’s line ‘Get up and dance’ symbolizes on the one hand his personal tragedy, because it has become impossible for Morgan to get up and dance, it stands on the other hand for the confidence Morgan feels in this very moment. Despite his own negative attitude towards his paraplegia he is quite sure that he and Dean will have a real date. Morgan’s confidence corresponds with the positive message of David Raleigh’ song Get up and Dance which, however, is only obvious to those in the audience who know all the lyrics.

The Characters’ Language in Regard to Disability

There are scenes in which the people who talk to Morgan immediately realize that they used expressions which are rather unsuitable because of the situation he is in. His mother suggests, for example, that Morgan should move in with her at least for a while and uses the phrase ‘back on your feet’. In another sequence Lane, a friend of Morgan, rather spontaneously but very clearly refuses to sit in Morgan’s wheelchair because in her opinion that would be ‘bad karma’. But even if there are scenes in which the characters themselves reflect on their speech other dialogues must be criticized from the Disability Studies’ point of view: for example, those in which Morgan adds additional meanings to the expressions ‘winner’ and ‘loser’ or those moments in which he expresses that he wants to die. In these cases the characters’ language in regard to disability helps to establish the stereotypes mentioned above.

No Disabled Actor

The pictures in Morgan’s apartment which show Morgan’s life before the accident preclude an actor who is a wheelchair user in real life from starring as Morgan – which would have accorded to the requests of Disability Studies. But the director/writer of the film, Michael Akers, and the producer/writer Sandon Berg, who had been inspired by an audition with an actor and wheelchair user, have done detailed research into the topic (Cf. United Gay Network 2012). In addition, Leo Minaya, the actor who stars Morgan, spent at least fourteen days in a wheelchair prior to shooting the film (Cf. United Gay Network 2012). In this way both the filmmakers and with the story they tell avoid what Lauri E. Klobas terms a ‘”quick fix” syndrome’ (Klobas 1988: xv). This means that disability in this case does not serve as quick solution for a bad story or a poorly researched story. What is more, filmmakers usually tend to use disability as a prime example of deviation. David Mitchell and Sharon Snyder point out: ‘Disability lends a distinctive idiosyncrasy to any character that differentiates the character from the anonymous background of the “norm.”’ (Mitchell/Snyder 2006: 205). This mechanism is fostered by the fact that disabled people are a very heterogeneous minority. Instead of sharing a common language, culture or sexual identity people with disabilities – apart from deaf people who usually understand deafness as culture – ‘share’ a medical feature or a legal category. That’s why the ‘blind’ person or the ‘wheelchair user’ do not exist. Even an identical diagnosis – as in the case of Morgan’s paraplegia – can, for example, have very different forms and thus different impacts and consequences for each individual. This makes research and accuracy in regard to a character’s disability even more important in my opinion.

Innovative beginning and no flashbacks

The protagonist’s initial situation becomes already obvious during the opening credits.  Surprisingly enough the filmmakers use neither words nor do they shoot Morgan. Rather, they use e.g. a  balloon that says  ‘Get well soon’ on it, and various aids for disabled people indicate that the person living in this private apartment must be disabled.

At the same time there are no flashbacks in the film Morgan. The way the filmmakers do without visualizing the fatal moment that caused Morgan’s disability is quite uncommon for films featuring such a scenario. The film’s audio commentary proves that this was a deliberate decision. By placing emphasis on the here and now Akers and Berg don’t need to change the film’s chronology.[iv] Above all, however, they avoid using flashbacks as a cinematic key to Morgan’s psyche. Instead Morgan’s mood regarding that fatal moment in his life is revealed in his interaction with Dean at the scene of the accident.

Still, Morgan’s bicycle is present not only in his apartment but also as a symbol as, for example, in the scene where the traffic lights for cyclists switch to red a second before Morgan’s doctor withdraws the medical permission for this year’s race (in the wheelchair division).

Easy-going Representation of Sexuality in a Romantic Relationship

The quintessence regarding a disabled person’s sexuality becomes obvious when Morgan talks to his physiotherapist:

M: „I met a guy. So we play [basketball, P.A.] together.“

P: „Friends? Or friends?“

M: „I can’t even imagine. I mean: What can I, you know, do in that department?”

P: „You can do whatever you wanna do.“

M: „I mean: How? Like with my legs… I can’t feel them. Who…“

P: „Maybe you should get him to do some of these exercises with you. That way he can learn how your body works and get used to touching you.“

Credits: United Gay Network

Everything else that happens in connection to sexuality and a relationship can be grouped around this dialogue: Morgan’s futile attempt to masturbate, the first encounter between Morgan and Dean where Dean touches Morgan almost coincidentally, their first date, their conversations about life and their wishes, the question of whether they should show their affection in public or not, their first kiss, the question of whether and how they can meet their sexual needs and desires, the experience of a happy relationship of which physical attraction forms a natural part, as well as the medical aspects and consequences of Morgan’s erectile dysfunction medication.

The easy-going representation of a disabled person’s sexual desires in a relationship seems to contain a ‘romantic overload’ in this drama: The first encounter of Morgan and Dean leads to their first date and a little later Dean adapts his apartment to Morgan’s needs so Morgan can feel comfortable there and it can become ‘our home’. This corresponds with the fact that in Dean’s eyes Morgan is ‘sexy as hell’ even with his disability. Thus, he is not only experiencing some sexual adventure but also an adorable and attractive partner. Conversely, Morgan may need erectile dysfunction medication for a fulfilled sex life. But above all, thanks to his romantic relationship with Dean Morgan does not depend on sex cinemas, prostitution and sex workers, or technical aids like penis pumps in order to satisfy his sexual desires. The (rare?) fortune of his situation becomes even more obvious when the Canadian short film Hole is taken into account, in which Martin Edralin’s main character Billy has to cope with the fact that he longs for intimacy but does not have a partner.

Aker’s main character is above all concerned with meeting Dean’s possible expectations. His own sexual needs and desires are still secondary at this point. This is the case even though Dean assures Morgan: ‘I wish you could walk and do some of the things I wanna do and I know you wanna do them, too. But you can’t. It’s not your fault.’ Nevertheless Morgan is worried: ‘I’m just afraid that… that I can’t do the things that you want… ’cause I can’t.’

As Aker’s film Morgan allows a disabled character to experience sexual desire and a romantic relationship it employs a traditional storyline: Dean and Morgan meet, have dates, are in a relationship, argue, separate and so on. These dramatic standard situations help turning their relationship into something ‘normal’ or – in Berg’s words – ‘universal’, too.[v] If in the end Morgan’s struggle over whether to show or to hide his affection for Dean in public reminds you of Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (2011) this is just another aspect of the universality of Aker’s film: The gay wheelchair user Morgan faces the same conflict as the gay character Russell, who is able-bodied.

Morgan’s need for help and an adjusted environment

Morgan is quite independent. He manages to handle a lot of things on his own. At times it even seems as if he has the superhuman powers of a super cripple. Nevertheless, the film does not conceal the fact that Morgan needs help with housework, for example. It also shows that Dean sometimes needs to help Morgan or that he is willing to help Morgan. Moreover, Dean doesn’t mind having aids for disabled people like Morgan’s shower chair in his apartment. Even if these aids look rather ‘unsexy’ anyway. What really counts for Dean is that Morgan needs them.

Apart from that the film shows how important an adjusted environment with elevators and ramps is for Morgan. In some of these scenes the standard height of the camera which is generally at the height of a walking or standing adult is lowered to the height of the wheelchair user.

Credits: United Gay Network

Conclusion

One of the questions raised by the disabled gay protagonist in Michael Akers’ film Morgan is whether masculinity and a body that has been changed due to a disability go together. Correspondingly, the main conflict of this drama is caused by Morgan’s wish to be a top athlete on the one hand and his new physical limits on the other. He still needs to adjust to his new situation and learn how to treat his body correctly. At the same time Morgan asks himself if and above all how he can enjoy his sexual identity after the accident. As I have mentioned above Morgan talks about this aspect quite openly with his physiotherapist. The easy-going approach of Akers and Berg, who give their character the opportunity to have a romantic relationship, does not minimize the problems the disabled gay character Billy faces in the Canadian short film Hole. The romantic aspect of Morgan simply adds an important aspect to the bigger picture. In addition, many short scenes in Morgan e.g. at the physiotherapist or Morgan’s training together with Dean prove that Akers, Berg and Minaya have done a lot of research to depict Morgan’s disability realistically. In comparison to many other films with disabled characters this may almost make up for the – nearly unavoidable – stereotypes of tragedy and triumph. Especially because many young people – mostly men? – would do everything to be their able-bodied ‘me’ again during their first year after an accident that left them with severe disability.

References

Berg, S. (2016, February 27). Morgan (E-Mail).

Berg, S. (2016, March 3). Morgan (E-Mail).

Gerschick, T. J. Toward a Theory of Disability and Gender. (2008). In K. E. Rosenblum & T.-M. Travis (Eds.), The Meaning of Difference. American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender. Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability (5th ed., pp. 360–363). New York NY: McGraw-Hill.

Hartmann, B. Rückblende. In T. Koebner (Ed.), Reclams Sachlexikon des Films (pp. 517–519). Stuttgart: Reclam.

Hickethier, K. (2001). Film- und Fernsehanalyse (3., überarbeitete Auflage). Sammlung Metzler: Vol. 277. Stuttgart, Weimar: Metzler.

Klobas, L. E. (1988). Disablity Drama in Television and film. Jefferson: McFarland.

Köbsell, S. (2010). Gendering Disability: Behinderung, Geschlecht und Körper. In J. Jacob, S. Köbsell, & E. Wollrad (Eds.), Gendering Disability. Intersektionale Aspekte von Behinderung und Geschlecht (pp. 17–33). Bielfeld: trascript Verlag.

Koebner, T. Dramaturgie. In T. Koebner (Ed.), Reclams Sachlexikon des Films (pp. 130–132). Stuttgart: Reclam.

Mitchell, D., & Snyder, S. (2006). Narrative Prothesis and the Materiality of Metaphor. In L. J. Davis (Ed.), The Disabiliy Studies Reader (2nd ed., pp. 205–216). New York: Routledge.

United Gay Network. (2012). Morgan: A Michael Akers Film. Press Kit. Retrieved from http://www.unitedgaynetwork.com/morgan/press_kit_downloads/MORGAN_PK_100112.pdf

[i] Translations from German texts are mine.

[ii] Cf. also Berg’s email on 03^rd March 2016

[iii] Regarding the functions of music in films cf. Hickethier 2001: 98-102.

[iv] Regarding the flashbacks in films cf. Hartmann 2002: 517.

[v] In regard to cinematic standard situations cf. Koebner 2002: 130f., in regard to Michael Akers’ and Sandon Berg’s concept of universality cf. Berg’s email on 27^th February 2016.

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Dr. phil. Petra Anders writes and talks about the representation of disability as well as about otherness, identity and films of all kinds in various contexts. Her dissertation dealing with the representation of disability and mental health in contemporary German film is entitled BEHINDERUNG UND PSYCHISCHE KRANKHEIT IM ZEITGENÖSSISCHEN DEUTSCHEN SPIELFILM. EINE VERGLEICHENDE FILMANALYSE and was published with Köngishausen & Neumann in December 2014. In 2016 her chapter ‘More than the “Other”?: On Four Tendencies Regarding the Representation of Disability in Contemporary German Film since 2005′ will be published in CULTURES OF REPRESENTATION: DISABILITY IN WORLD FILM CONTEXTS, edited by Benjamin Fraser.

In the mainstream cinema industry, polyamory is rarely a central story plot, but when it is employed as an intimate arrangement between characters, it is usually irrelevant to the storyline; in some cases it is glorified as an “unconventional lifestyle”, in some latently disapproved and in some just created without any backstory.

The glorification of polyamory as merely an “artistic whim” occurs in films Henry and June (1990), Head in the Clouds (2004) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), where polyamory sinks into more important film narratives of human creativity (Henry and June), war (Head in the Clouds) or a woman’s indecisiveness (Vicky Cristina Barcelona – here it is, the bi-stigma of a bisexual’s inherent inability to pick sides).

Credits: Mediapro

The latent discursive disapproval of polyamory is depicted in Threesome (1994) and Savages (2012), where protagonists are being ridiculed by other students (Threesome) or are primarily labelled as savages – their “savageness” emerges from their criminal activities – they are drug smugglers (i.e. undisciplined citizens) or polyamory (i.e. “uncivilized” intimacy).

Credits: Relativity Media

In the monogamous society (and to some extent films do reflect general societal values), poly relationships or characters in films are prone to an inevitable ending or death; relationships dissolve, some characters die. The message is clear: poly relationships are not supposed to exist in our society because of their abjection (polyamory creates displeasure in others, but also stimulates curiosity) and potential disruption of the existing social, sexual, moral and emotional orders.

However, in the German film Three (Drei, 2010), directed by Tom Tykwer, it is quite the opposite; it is the monogamous relationship that is futile and headed for death just to be resurrected as a polyamorous relationship. Three is revolved around a high-profile upper class childfree couple (Hanna and Simon), based in Berlin, who are in their early 40s, when each of them gets sexually and emotionally involved with the same man (Adam), not being aware of each other’s involvements.

Credits: Tom Tykwer

What separates Three from other, aforementioned polyamorous films?

Firstly, it is the transformation of a relationship from dyadic to triadic, a film’s central premise, which happens very organically and poetically. The futility of Hanna and Simon’s monogamous relationship is quickly explained in the first sequence of the film – they are not having sex anymore and quarrel a lot which signals that their relationship of 20 years will either dissolve or mold into something else. If this was a monogamous narrative, they would engage in adultery, an “acceptable” solution that would keep the relationship artificially alive. However, both of them will later engage in “an affair” with Adam, but none of them is being labelled a “cheater” nor is the mood of the film condemning those actions.

In any other film (Unfaithful, for example) the narrative would have been preoccupied with the crucifixion of cheaters and the restoration of monogamy. The semiotics of this film poster maintains the prevalence of monogamy as the only acceptable arrangement of intimacy through carefully positioned symbols. A husband is overlooking the “cheating” situation from above, almost godlike, a lover’s head is cut from this frame – because he is an element that should and will be eliminated, a cheating wife is positioned beneath her husband. The exclusive visibility of hetero monogamous couple is the strategic move that indicates that monogamous marriage will be restored and that the unequal dynamics of a dominant husband and submissive wife will stay intact.

Credits: Regency Enterprises

Three also defies the ageist assumption of who can be polyamorous (not only young and beautiful). Simon, Hanna and Adam are not young, they are in their 40s, and they are not too pretty, but still visually relatable. At the beginning of the film, the couple is childfree and at the end, the now poly family is expecting twins. Not only does this encourage the idea of polyamory as a more fertile relationship, it also resists the ageist notion of a woman being pregnant only if she is young/er.

One of the most important aspects in Three is the representation of bisexuality. It is men (Adam and Simon) who are bisexual and not Hanna. There is a lack of positive representations of male bisexuality that can be contributed to the overall cultural bi-invisibility. Adam as a bisexual man, comfortable with his sexuality, is more than just his sexual orientation; he is a human being with several hobbies (e.g. singing in a choir, playing football, being an avid football fan, successful at his profession, practicing karate) and good social skills. It is rare to see a portrayal of a bisexual man so realistic and positive. However, Simon, who was straight so far, must rethink his sexuality but ignorantly falls into a cultural trap of sexual binarism when he wants to redefine himself; after the second sexual encounter with Adam, he explains to Adam that he is not gay. Unfortunately, this bi-erasure is still a common cultural reaction when it comes to non-heterosexualities.

Intimate encounters with Adam leave both of them (Hanna & Simon) pleasantly confused – Hanna’s love for Simon didn’t fade despite her lust for Adam and Simon must also rethink his new sexual identity. Their fulfilled sex lives revitalised their dying monogamous relationship up to the point that they get married. Adam embodies the new relationship energy in now poly relationship.

There are a lot of symbols that indicate or imply the death of monogamous relationship and an ascendance of polyamorous one.

Death is an omnipresent theme in Three and its metaphors are encoded in the death of Simon’s mother (she had pancreatic cancer), Simon’s testicular cancer (he survives) and Hanna’s miscarriages that can be interpreted as futility of the monogamous relationship.

Credits: Tom Tykwer

Water as a symbol of rebirth is prevalent in Simon’s redesign of himself; he usually goes for a swim in the public swimming pool which is also the place where he meets Adam. Here, water  has a double meaning for Simon – he is “reborn” as a human being (still amongst the living after his cancer) with the new sexual identity (i.e. bisexual).

Credits: Tom Tykwer

There are several implications that 3 is the new form of intimacy; for example, the dance piece at the beginning of the film shows a triad, engaged with each other, “good things come in three”, said Adam when Hanna and he met for the third time and then there is an almost Amelie Poulain sequence that explains the nearly fatalistic importance of the number 3: Simon’s mother had only three months to live, but she died by taking 39 sleeping pills on September 3rd at 3:09, Simon’s sister moved to Stuttgart in 1993 and was aged 39, came to see dying mother by train at 9:30 at moonlight tariff 39 euros …

Credits: Tom Tykwer

Eventually, they do find out that they are in a triadic relationship with each other (Hanna + Simon, Simon + Adam and Hanna + Adam) and after the first shock and breaking up, they get back together, forming a poly relationship. The last scene shows their potential not just for a polyamorous relationship, but also for a poly family.

On the other hand, Three also has its weaknesses. Protagonists are quite privileged, they are white (despite the fact that the film was shot in multi-ethnic Berlin, there are no other ethnicities present but Caucasian or white), highly educated and well off (Simon is into building arts, Adam and Hanna are both Ph.D.’s.), all of them are cisgender, able-bodied and able-minded.

Three may not be a perfect film, but it manages to be a trailblazer for a more realistic and mature approach on how to represent poly relationships and families in the mainstream cinema.

To point out someone’s flaws is a weapon of microaggression and policing against someone’s personhood that does not live up to be flawless (or perfect). When a person has failed at something and is therefore self-defined and societally defined as “incompetent”, “improper” or “inadequate”, he/she/they are comprehended as a small-scale failure. Even a small-scale failure, manifested as a flaw, is not allowed in Western (although pluralistic) society, which is constantly striving for success and perfection.

Flaws can be found everywhere, because everyone’s a critic and interpersonal criticism, based on someone’s body shape, size, behaviour or taste is a self-perpetuating machine that disciplines the ones who criticize (people with internalised disciplinary regimes) and those who are criticized (people who have not yet internalised them). Flaws can be bodily-, behaviour- or fashion/art-related, but their denominator is taste or the lack of it. Taste, as Pierre Bourdieu (1984) has stated, is a cross-breed of the socio-economic (money and other monetary belongings) and cultural capital (education and social origin) and those with high amounts of both capitals are trendsetters; they define what is tasteful and what is not. A flaw is therefore a lack of taste or even worse, a bad taste that carries a classist implication – those with no money and/or education are tasteless and cannot possess impeccable taste. Otherwise, they are flawed by default.

Flaws that are bodily-related differ from the tasteful conception of how male or female body should appear in public. Scars on the body are not aesthetic and should be corrected with the help of cosmetic surgery. Boldness, shortness, man boobs and excessive body hair on men’s bodies are a sign of men’s unfamiliarity with “normal” beauty regimes for men, because being bold, short or hairy is unappealing for women and straight men, but not necessarily for gay men. Women’s bodies are framed as flawed by default (size, age, body hair, aesthetic merits and skin colour), so the highlighting of women’s bodily flaws is not needed.

Behavioural flaws are much more embedded in the gender ideology and sexism. Derogatory name-calling, such are slut, bitch, sissy, cry-baby or crazy cat lady just reaffirm that certain behaviours, mostly connected with women’s sexuality, outspokenness, men’s gender identity and singleness are considered bad because they deviate from the traditional gender arrangements (e.g. silent women and hyper masculine men).

dr. Eleanor Abernathy or “Crazy Cat Lady” (The Simpsons) Credits: Fox Channel

Fashion’s faux pas are most ridiculed flaws. Examples of “no fashion taste”: wearing (white) socks with sandals or crocs, men in feminine clothing or high heels are mocked, women without bras with visible nipples and outlining of breasts are shameful, older women who do not wear age-appropriate clothing are regarded as caricatures, showing camel toe is distasteful, wearing too much make-up is trashy, those who take pleasure in kitsch (without irony) are the uneducated “cattle” of consumers and sporting black natural hair is still viewed as unkempt. The racist and sexist implications of the latter are obvious.

Despite the fact that the dominant definition of taste is practically maintaining and reproducing itself via ideological apparatuses (e.g. family, education system, culture, media, religion), we share this dominant concept (e.g. being a cultural snob and Othering anyone who lacks any type of capital – cultural, economic, social, symbolic) up until deliberately deconstructing and defying it, because we did not create it. By being aware of being flawed (a person is culturally clueless/naive or culturally advanced/rebellious), flaws can be culturally re-written and filled with different meanings instead with those that degrade them.

One of the options is reappropriation, a linguistic and cultural process, when an existing word or label is being cleansed of its negative or unpopular connotations (for example: geek, queer, fat, crazy cat lady) by taking the standpoint of that label and reappropriate it (“take the negative meaning and change it into neutral or positive”). A person, whom society has been describing with negative evaluations, can show her/his/their power by rejecting the presumed meaning and transform it into empowering one, which is possible because words and labels are socially constructed. This only exposes the notion that meaning of the label can be challenged, and that what is considered to be negative or a flaw is not a “bad thing” and that challenging negative labels by positively reappropriating them exposes the subtle forms of discrimination (or microaggressions) to become visible and furthermore, addressable.

Here is an example of reappropriating the label “crazy cat lady”. The dominant definitions via Urban Dictionary describe crazy cat lady as “An elderly suburban widow, who lives alone and keeps dozens or more pet cats, usually many more than municipal code allows, in a small house, and refuses to give away or sell them even for the sake of the safety of the cats or herself”, “a woman, usually middle-aged or older, who lives alone with no husband or boyfriend, and fills the empty lonely void in her life with as many cats as she can collect in one place. Their homes are usually very stinky and the aforementioned woman may also very likely be white trash”, “A woman who loves her cats more than people”, “That old lady that lives down the street from you that has over a dozen cats named after each of her ex-boyfriends that have done her wrong”.

Being called crazy cat lady (CCL) is a negative and hostile label that is directed against women, who do not take part (willingly or not) in the heteronormative and speciest lifestyle. CCL is always (1) a woman (2) single/unmarried, (3) lonely by default, (4) middle-aged and older (5) with mental issues (hoarding), (6) lacking in personal hygiene, (7) economically disadvantaged and (8) loving cats. The label carries several different aspects that stigmatize CCL: sexism (only women), heteronormativity (unmarried and childfree), ableism (“crazy”, asocial), ageism (middle-aged and older), lookism (unkempt and dirty), classism (poor) and speciesism (love for cats). CCL is a patriarchal warning sign to those women who are single, still young and love animals (cats in particular), because it projects the worst case scenario for women on how to spend their lives. I can think of several scenarios that surpass being a CCL: unemployment, sexual assault, homelessness and refugeeism. CCL can also be a postmodern and desexualised version of the medieval witch – an old woman, who is living alone with cats.

To reappropriate the CCL label, individuals must identify with the label that will be socially recreated from the negative to the positive. When this occurs and the negativity of CCL has been addressed, the negative meaning starts to weaken and is in the case of CCL replaced with irony, wit and genuine (e.g. non-anthropocentric) appreciation of cats. The group identity for cat-loving persons is now easily established via social media due to its ability to distribute and produce any counter-discourse against the dominant one.

Credits: Gemma Correll

CCL is becoming an empowering, self-referential and even self-mocking part of someone’s social identity. Big part of reappropriating CCL is via art, mostly done by women artists, and fashion that vocally express this “flaw”.

Cat Meditation

So, go with the flaw. Love cats.

The term “Smurfette principle” was coined by an American journalist Katha Pollitt in 1991, when she was analysing children’s programmes on television which led to the conclusion of children’s shows being highly gendered (“Boys are the norm, girls the variation; boys are central, girls peripheral; boys are individuals, girls types. Boys define the group, its story and its code of values. Girls exist only in relation to boys”, she stated). The Smurfette principle, named after The Smurfs and their living arrangement (one woman – plenty of men), describes a situation where “a group of male buddies are accompanied by a lone female, (usually) stereotypically defined.” However, a “Smurfette” can also be an exceptional (and only) woman in a man’s world, for example, the only woman in a company’s boardroom or the only credible female character among men in a film. When just one person of an underrepresented group is included in the otherwise gender-homogeneous environment, that one person is a token. Tokenism as a practice of how minorities should be included only imitates equality, because it usually accepts only one outstanding individual and not a group of average ones.

The Smurfette principle, used in the cinematic surrounding, is not a monolithic trope; it is an adaptable one, depended on its context. In the television or film storyline, the “chosen” woman can be either (1) a part of the all-male team; (2) a lonely antagonist against the male team or (3) a decorative and unessential-to-the-story sidekick, created to dilute the possible homoerotic subtext of the narrative.

The “one of the guys” version appears in films, such are Gone in Sixty Seconds (Angelina Jolie/Sway), Inception (Ellen Page/Ariadne), Ocean’s 11 (Julia Roberts/Tess Ocean), The Imitation Game (Keira Knightley/Joan Clarke), Flatliners (Julia Roberts/Rachel Manus) and Michael Clayton (Tilda Swinton/Karen Crowder). Sway, Ariadne, Tess Ocean, Joan Clarke, Rachel Manus and Karen Crowder are the only women, allowed to be in the all-male ensemble and they function as antisexist tokens. The TV sitcom Seinfeld had this syndrome, too – Elaine Baines (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was the only woman in the cast.

Seinfeld cast (Credits: NBC)

The reversed type of the Smurfette principle is a lonely female antagonist, set against the male team, which treats her as a threat. This trope can be found in film characters; such are Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3), Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises), Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter in Fight Club), Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone in Casino), Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams in Sherlock Holmes) and The Lady (Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead). Jodie Foster was quite often cast as a proponent of this cinematic trope; she was dr. Eleanor Arroway in Contact, Annabelle Bransford in Maverick and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. All those characters were outsiders for not fitting into the masculine concept of good (or domesticated) femininity; they were lone warriors for justice or truth (Ripley, The Lady, Eleanor and Clarice) or self-reliant grifters (Selina, Marla, Irene, Ginger and Annabelle).

Jodie Foster in Contact (Credits: Warner Bros.)

The last version of the Smurfette trope is an unessential sidekick, who is introduced into the homosocial storyline only to remove any potential homoerotic subtexts. These are some of the examples: Skylar (Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting), Miss Piggy in The Muppet Show and Penny (Kaley Cuoco in The Big Bang Theory).

However, the image of the only woman among men was predominantly present in the 90s alternative and rock music (pop music is considered to be too “feminine”), where she would usually be a front(wo)man (i.e. singer), but less often a band founder or a leader. The “one-woman-in-all-men-band” trope is also a variable principle of femininity that must be aligned with the band’s masculine vision of how to represent themselves as unique artists, but also how to be appealing to the public (media, consumers and record labels). The visual appearance of the only woman in a man band still upholds the common signifiers of femininity (e.g. beautiful face, thin body, young/ish, embellished clothing, creative fashion choices), but it is done with an alternative twist to fit into the masculine conception of rock performance. Here are some illustrations of alternative femininities within one-woman-in-all-male-band contexts.

Garbage’s Shirley Manson sported an edgy alternative beauty, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani was a blonde, stylish femme-tomboy and Skunk Anansie’s Skin was presented as a black androgynous handsomeness, while The Cardigan’s Nina Persson embodied a blonde fragile femininity. Sonic Youth’s bassist/singer Kim Gordon shared the same blond coolness with Smashing Pumpkin’s bassist D’arcy Wretzky, while The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan and Texas’ Sharleen Spiteri were symbols of casual androgyny. Katrina and the Waves’ Katrina Leskanich exhibited the queer femininity, Joan Jett and the Black Hearts’ Joan Jett toyed herself with the femme-masculine brashness, while Sade’s Sade Adu exuded the modelesque beauty. Blondie’s Debbie Harry was synonymous for what a sensual and daring blonde should behave and look like, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O radiates an artistic aloofness and Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic campy seductiveness is hidden in her stage persona, while The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde was just all about her ambivalent coolness.

The Pretenders (Credits: Rolling Stone)

Regardless of its location (entertainment, politics or every-day life), the main problem with the Smurfette principle  is that it reinforces the idea that there is only enough room for one (exceptional) woman to be engaging and profiting from male (or female) professions which leads to the misguided belief of who the enemy is. Well, it is not anOther woman.

The western understanding of a woman’s body is – alongside with its reproductive power – also built around its aesthetic (decorative) and mobile (inactive) nature. It is expected for a girl to be pretty and a woman to be attractive, so to stay pretty/beautiful, a girl/woman should not engage in activities (sports mostly) that could ‘ruin’ her appearances. Bruises ruin skin to a degree of transforming skin colour from natural to ‘unnatural’ – blue, green, violet, yellowish. But most of all, they bluntly expose the fragility and mortality of the human body.

To gain a bruise is a positive message about body vitality and reaffirmation of the corporeal toughness for boys and men only; girls can be covered with bruises until they reach puberty. Puberty is a gender game-changer for girls, because it is assumed that a girl should abandon her free-spirit roaming and willingly submit herself to the docile young femininity – to be looked at as a ‘beautiful object’ instead of being primarily a looking subject. Bruises, scars or pimples on the body can be compared with cracks on the porcelain – they are a sign of imperfection or failure, something that is not well received in the western neoliberal society that strives for permanent success and cannot or will not see ‘defeat’ as a time to recess, recuperate or grow.

The societal imperative to be beautiful and perfect (although disguised as a woman’s choice and not an obligation) is a heavy burden in every woman’s life. Despite the fact that beauty standards vary in society, every culture and subculture has the ideal upon other members are measured and valued (e.g. too butch or too femme for a lesbian, too dark or too light for a black person, too masculine for a straight woman …). Women’s bodies should aim to be beautiful – impeccable and “bruiseless” to conform to the arbitrarily established standard(s).

Philosopher Iris Marion Young claims that adult women are caught between states of immanence (i.e. being an ‘object’ or immobile) and transcendence (i.e. being a subject or motile). Every time women are predominantly defined as immanence, their autonomy, creativity and subjectivity (e.g. voice, mind and body) are being destroyed or rejected. The model of conventional femininity does exactly that; it gently forbids any opportunity for a woman to be ‘outside’ of her inactive role if she wants to remain a feminine and beautiful insider.

When a woman engages in sports, she is expanding her spatial, motile, behavioural and physical limits and by not squeamishly avoiding the potential injuries, she is experiencing and embracing physical pain, produced by her own actions. Culturally, there is only one type of physical pain all women are allowed to participate in – childbirth, so by exploring her own pain thresholds besides the imposed one, she transgresses her gender role of a beautiful object and positions herself as an active agent of her own body, possibly covered with bruises, scars and dirt.

Not only does an adult woman, who is getting bruised, transgress her gender role of a delicate flower, she also deconstructs the dominant belief that when a woman’s body is bruised, it must be the case of domestic violence (e.g. intimate, family or elderly abuse). Bruise as an age-specific injury is quite unproblematic with pre-pubescent girls, but over time that fleshy symbol of an active life becomes an undisputable marker of an abuse. When a woman is abused, she is ultimately objectified yet her objectification is intensified with random people’s glances at her bruises and assumptions about getting them.

Bruises are and should only be “kisses” between the flesh and inanimate objects, never between two human bodies – an objectified subject and an abusive subject. But the naming of bruises as kisses is not mine. Finnish photographer Riikka Hyvönen has beautifully documented bruises of roller derby players, a now revived all-female (and feminist) sport, whose global recognisability can also be contributed to Drew Barrymore’s Whip it (USA, 2009), a film that celebrates independence, companionship, wit and women.

Babe Ruthless (Credits: Mandate Pictures)

With portraying bruises as “kisses”, the discourse of what is producing women’s bruises is changing. Instead of being exclusively embedded into a paradigm of an abuse, women’s bruises can arise from pleasurable fun.