The girls and Robin were treated the best in the series. Beast Boy was the comic relief so his lack of respect was justified (to an extent). Cyborg's best shows were typically offscreen (taking out Cinderblock on his own while the other Titans needed help). He's usually always getting thrown around and broken apart.
And the reason that episode's leading characters were rave and star was because of their opposite personalities (and how their powers worked the other way) and not because they were the females.
I have to admit, I was a little worried when I saw the title. But this was a lovely surprise of a review, very well written, thought out, and makes a great deal of sense.
The word 'Feminist' is tainted. When I see it, I expect bile and dogma.
But not so with this review. Here's to the way this show shares our opinion of the irrelevance of gender! ^_^
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. — Mark Twain
Simply great review, one that manages to perfectly convey its point in 400 words and remains positive. Please write reviews more often.
I'm disappointed that it took this long with someone of your intelligence and reviewing ability to show up. I kind of wish to see you do more reviews in the future. Finally, after so long a review.
Not a complaint. Not a Summary. Not bashing or whining, but an honest to god review that actually makes sense and shows the reviewer knows what they are talking about. I wish to see you do a review on Young Justice and other animated series to see your thoughts.
While I agree that the show did good work on that front, I don't think their version of feminism is necessarily "better" than one that shows sexism as having impact on people's lives. There's room for both, really.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
Great review! I agree, although I'd never though of this before.
It is what it is.
Honestly, I never really noticed this when I was watching it, but I was a kid, so it's probably normal that I didn't. Actually, that's probably a good thing, because it meant I was growing up thinking girls could kick just as much butt as guys.
I'm a geek.Leave a Comment:
Teen Titans from a Feminist Perspective
This is one of the few children's cartoons that I can honestly say sets a good example for children as to how to deal with gender relations. Unlike the (amazing) Justice League which feels the need to draw attention to its gender politics by having Hawkgirl protest her treatment in a fifties era setting and Wonder Woman beat up a Femi-Nazi trying to kill all men, Teen Titans never has a feminist aesop, but rather sets an amazing example for boys as to how they should treat girls, and an excellent example to girls as to how they can be just as useful as their male counterparts.
The Super-strong Starfire kicks as much but as anyone on this show, despite the fact that she is an unashamed girly-girl. This show showed girls they don't have to choose between being feminine and being successful/tough/taken seriously. Starfire paints her toenails and wears a mini-skirt, but when push comes to shove she can beat down giant stone monsters, diffuse space mines, and recite from memory the exact number of atoms in one mole of oxygen.
The three male members of the Titans are what cement in my mind that this show is a positive example for children in regards to gender politics. The male Titans never patronize female members of their team or try to "protect the girls"/"save the girls". The male Titans treat the female Titans the same as their fellow males, acknowledging their skills and all they have to contribute to the team. They protect the female members from dangerous villains, but no more than they protect their fellow males, and the girls save the boys pretty often as well. In one episode a weakened Starfire and Raven must save the male Titans and they do so, without ever drawing attention to the fact that the girls have to fight without the boys. Pretty much every character has to be rescued at least once at some point (Robin twice from Slade, Cyborg from Fixit, Beast Boy from Soto, Raven from Trigon, Starfire from intergalactic bounty hunters) and instances where the girls are being rescued are not differentiated from instances where the boys are being rescued.
This show is wonderfully entertaining, but also sets a great example for the children (and adults) who watch it, for that reason I would recommend it to anyone regardless of age or gender.