Why Girl Meets World Is The TV Show Every Feminist Needs To Watch
Move over Boy Meets World, there's a new (feminist) show in town!
There are some pretty great feminist shows on today. I'll binge watch Jessica Jones and Orange is the New Black all day long, praising the shows for some really badass female characters. But while all of these shows are lauded for being openly "feminist" there's another show that hasn't got as much attention but really deserves a little praise.
"Girl Meets World" is quietly becoming a show that every feminist should watch. While you won't read the headline "Girl Meets World is the BEST Feminist Show" in your Facebook feed, if you give it some time, you'll realize the importance of developing young, strong females and how the show is making some great strides for young women.
A perfect example of why the show is quietly becoming one of the best feminist shows comes from the relationship between Maya and Riley. In season 2, the female characters struggle with liking the same guy, a boy named Lucas. This love-triangle could obviously go the wrong way--pulling the dynamic duo apart. It's a plotline that was once seen as frustrating and overplayed.
"Of course! The two girls are fighting over a boy! EVERY female character's worry is getting the boy of their dreams! That's their biggest struggle in life!" might just be a conversation we had back in the golden age of "Hannah Montana" or "Lizzie McGuire".
But instead, the dilemma pays off, and it teaches the viewers a much bigger lesson.
In the end, Riley and Lucas try being boyfriend and girlfriend. But later in the episode, Maya and Riley decided one thing together-- that their relationship is the extraordinary one. Nothing can ever change between the two just because a guy was there.
No doubt, this scene is a television first! To leave the season with a non-romantic ending, no broken hearts, and no broken friendship. There was one simple truth to the ending of the season that left me in awe--the one extraordinary relationship is between a girl and her best friend. And nothing could ever change that relationship.
The show goes onto to address some other really great issues for feminists: bullying, insecurities, the way women seem to be pushed from STEM subjects, and other struggles of being a young woman. It's safe to say that the first three seasons of "Girl Meets World" are addressing some much-needed topics for young females. And it should be on the watchlist for any feminist.
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