TheSimpsons

Feminism in the Simpsons?

Writing an essay on literary critical theory. We were told that we could apply a theory on a piece of media of our choice. I was thinking feminism in the simpsons. Looking at "Lisa vs Malibu Stacy" mostly but would really appreciate any quotes, interviews or ideas that either show times when the Simpsons reinforces or subverts stereotypical gender roles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/1lvp7b7/feminism_in_the_simpsons/
Reddit

Discussion

Ok-Internet-6881

Can probably use this segment

https://preview.redd.it/ozvuge1z8wbf1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e3136746ac86529bd7cca4f78dd7ef163ce7fb5

7 hours ago
HeftyVeterinarian277

This is a great misdirection joke. If OP can work this humorously into the project it’s a win.

6 hours ago
Leopold_Darkworth
I hate the sea and everything in it

That seems more like an indictment of Lisa as a virtue-signaler.

4 hours ago
PyroKid883
Don't make me close that shade!

Yes I think so too since she's upset when she can't be upset about anything lol

2 hours ago
jaywinner

I always thought Marge cooking the 3 eyed fish in response to this line to be a strong feminist take.

https://preview.redd.it/jobker88zvbf1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=353b136db8ba87ee9c0c5f4ce379e24f495cb011

7 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

That's an amazing quote to use! I have to use it now. Thank you so much!

7 hours ago
PyrrhicLoss2023

Fear of Flying (S06 / E11)

https://preview.redd.it/d4zvcltazvbf1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e2b0c78fa1a460a992200c5dbcded9b7ae23581

7 hours ago
fdetanya

You might say he was an American hero

7 hours ago
KukalakaOnTheBay

Let’s not go nuts.

7 hours ago
Boris-_-Badenov

Lowenstein

6 hours ago
problematic_glasses

my name is zweig

4 hours ago
Boris-_-Badenov

*Lowenstein

3 hours ago
SuperSlayin777

“My father…was a stewardess! 😭😭😭”

5 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

Good point, I hadn't even considered this episode but the backstory of Marge's dad definitely lends itself to breaking stereotypical gender roles

7 hours ago
PyrrhicLoss2023

Yes. This one singular moment upended her preconceived notions of traditional gender roles and traumatized her to the point that, even as an adult, she wasn't able to process the event and ride a plane all those years later.

Well, that one moment and maybe this one ...

https://i.redd.it/ecewcocwfwbf1.gif

6 hours ago
trainercatlady

So that's what a cornfield looks like

5 hours ago
Valonia47

Yes, yes, it’s all a rich tapestry.

2 hours ago
jaywinner

He was going against gender roles but also deeply ashamed about it. And with Marge being a child, this would be somewhere in the 60s?

7 hours ago
thekyledavid

The one where Marge become a handyman, and got Homer to be the face of the company because nobody wanted to let a woman do their handiwork for them

7 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

Another I would have never even thought of! Great suggestion!

7 hours ago
_Jay-Garage-A-Roo_

Marge also becomes a lumberjill!

6 hours ago
MadMaxBeyondThunder

The episode is "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em." Season 18 episode 3.

5 hours ago
Rockguy21

Isn’t that just Remington Steele

6 hours ago
areyouhappynowsmh

most Lisa centered episodes, imo. especially Moanin' Lisa - the whole "girls must smile" stereotype, and Marge breaking the cycle by telling Lisa she CAN be sad and act like it, no matter what everyone else says. :)

7 hours ago
MaddingtonFair

This one really resonated with me as a young kid - literally the first and only time I’d ever heard anyone say it was OK to have your feelings about something and not have to perform for the world. Amazing

2 hours ago
tm16scud

Lisa and Bart playing hockey comes to mind

7 hours ago
JennyIgotyournumb3r

Lisa, if the Bible has taught us nothing else-- and it hasn't-- it's that girls should stick to girls' sports, such as hot oil wrestling, foxy boxing, and such and such.

7 hours ago
FearlessVegetable30

and her scene int he football episode

6 hours ago
redbeard387

How about Homer’s speech at the end of Homer’s Night Out (the one where he gets caught dancing with Princess Kashmiri), about how the girls the audience is ogling are “our sisters, our daughters, our aunts and our uncles. Well, not our uncles. They are our mothers.”

7 hours ago
skyn_fan

Lots to unpack in that episode for sure. Homer making Bart meet Princess Kashmir to demonstrate that she’s a human being but she’s essentially vapid and brainless.

6 hours ago
MaggotMinded

I just watched that episode the other night and I don’t recall her being especially dumb or shallow. When she tells them about herself, she phrases it like a personal ad (“…and my turn-ons include silk sheets and a warm fireplace”) but other than that it’s played pretty straight.

4 hours ago
me_no_no

Yeah they’re strangers harassing her at work, I’d say her reaction was fair!

1 hour ago
Stucklikegluetomyfry

Get out of my cage! My boss will freak out!

6 hours ago
True-Wolverine-9426

When Lisa is trying to expose Jedidiah Springfield, and Ms Hoover says something along the lines of “this is just more dead white male bashing from a PC thug. It’s women like you who keep the rest of us from landing husbands”.

Could be used to show the push and pull between progress and reactionary thought.

7 hours ago
FUCKBOY_JIHAD
and of course in Canada the whole thing's flip-flopped

I’ve been called a greasy thug too!

6 hours ago
PM_ME_UR_FLOWERS
Park your Kiester, Meester.

I never realized Miss Hoover was a Fox News viewer.

5 hours ago
Thewalrus26

I love this line so much!

6 hours ago
Mr-Nice-Bri

"UM, YEAH. OH, I JUST-- I JUST WANTED TO SAY HOW GREAT IT IS... TO FINALLY SEE SOME CHICKS ON THE BENCH. - MM. - KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, TOOTS" -Feminist icon Bart Simpson

https://i.redd.it/mej7wauedwbf1.gif

6 hours ago
Valonia47

S8E25: The Secret War of Lisa Simpson

(Company L? But they smell!)

7 hours ago
TachyonsFixAll

Let me try to understand the situation... You're a GIRL!

7 hours ago
PyroKid883
Don't make me close that shade!

Yes!

2 hours ago
redditsucksbuttz

Yes, we've all heard the chant

5 hours ago
TheRealCthulu24

I would say that Marge on the Lam is another good episode about gender, as is the one where Marge becomes cop (I don’t remember the name). 

7 hours ago
skyn_fan

A lot of blue hair? What a freak!

6 hours ago
HidaTetsuko

Marge becoming a cop is The Springfield Connection

3 hours ago
TheRealCthulu24

You’re right.

2 hours ago
Bighty
Well, my work is done here

Hey, Jiggles! Grab a pad and back that gorgeous butt in here.

Ah, don't act like you don't like it.

7 hours ago
Jerimatic

S5E18: Burns' Heir. "I don't know what 'phallocentric' means, but no girls!"

7 hours ago
nomsterdesign

In Mr Plow, they’re at the car show and EVERY man asks the model standing by the car “do you come with the car?” To which she responds the same “oh you! Hehehehe” every time.

So many Lisa episodes have great feminist moments. But Lisa vs Malibu Stacy is my favorite. Even have Lisa Lionheart tattooed on me

7 hours ago
opermonkey

When they covered this episode in the talking Simpsons podcast, one of the hosts tried explaining the nuance of feminism to the guest. Rebecca Sugar the creator of Steven universe.

5 hours ago
nomsterdesign

Oh damn, I’ll have to find this episode! Love me some Rebecca Sugar. When they were on the history of animation podcast, it was so awesome hearing what different things inspired them to become an animator and creator themselves. And that includes the gender roles and identities explored in SU

5 hours ago
trainercatlady

Oof.

5 hours ago
Frusciante62

Egghead likes his bookywook.

7 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

Make sure to not do what Donny Don't Does

7 hours ago
coolcodez

Aw, they won’t let you have any fun

4 hours ago
thecw

Do something more interesting than analyzing a particular episode or character. Lisa vs Malibu Stacy is already a feminist critique in itself.

How are the citizens of Springfield a foil to Lisa's feminist ideals?

How has the portrayal of feminism evolved over 34 seasons?

How does the Simpsons walk the line between satirization of feminist values versus espousing them?

How does the portrayal of dysfunctional masculinity in the Simpsons reflect its feminist critique?

Talk about how the show's mostly-male writing room has affected its portrayal of feminism over the show's history.

6 hours ago
Jorfogit

Lisa the Simpson?

7 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

That is on my list! I'm hoping to looking into it soon! Thanks for the suggestion

7 hours ago
TheLove-maticGrandpa

That's the first I thought of. Particularly all the Simpson women being intelligent and successful

4 hours ago
anon1992lol

Works for the Lumber King

7 hours ago
ZorkNemesis

https://i.redd.it/5shwijv7bwbf1.gif

6 hours ago
white-eyedfox

Lumber. We need lumber.

7 hours ago
DanPiscatoris

Maybe S17E19? That's the one where the school gets divided by gender and Lisa pretends to be a boy to learn math.

There's also Homer vs. Patty and Selma, where Bart does ballet.

And while not a single episode, I always found the dynamic with Homer's mother interesting. Where she goes on the run leaving Homer to be raised by a single father. Whose competence varies depending on the episode.

Edit. I just thought of another great one. It's S19E07, where Marge opens up a gym for women. She ends up becoming really successful, and Homer ends up getting liposuction because he fears she'll dump him for someone better.

7 hours ago
jiggs4

“Do it Lisa, you’ll be greater than or equal to boys!”
“Even though you’re only eight, your possibilities are infinite!”
“TWENTY SEVEN”

6 hours ago
white-eyedfox

From The Wizard on Evergreen Terrace

Lisa: Dad, women won't like being shot in the face
Homer: Women will like what I tell them to like

Then there was that conversation that Marge and Homer were having at the dinner breakfast table in Girls Just Wanna Have Sums about inventions and it ending with Homer ending up on the couch (according to Homer - a female invention lol)

7 hours ago
RideWithMeTomorrow

https://preview.redd.it/o60r5lgxjwbf1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3af24a30d18c377f1eec168c37431cc2ee32e446

6 hours ago
KukalakaOnTheBay

Homer Alone maybe? All Marge really needed was a vacation.

7 hours ago
_Jay-Garage-A-Roo_

Bart does ballet, and spray paints “the patriarchy is a wiener” on a wall, and there’s that female journalist who outpaces Kent

7 hours ago
trentsteel77

You definitely want to embiggen your essay with perfectly cromulent words and ideas.

7 hours ago
kp026

My husband teaches this exact episode at college level in his Rhetoric courses along with “Separate Vocations” (S3 E18) where Bart and Lisa take career aptitude tests and Lisa’s says she would be a homemaker. He has his students examine the argument the episodes are making about gender, among other things, and how the use of humor is used in that argument. You can look up the Wiki pages for that episode to find a few other literary sources that can support your essay.

6 hours ago
blackstarising

If you want a recent episode, season 36 episode 6, “Women in Shorts” is a female focused anthology episode. There’s also a specific musical number that calls out Homer trying to weaponize incompetence so he doesn’t have to buy Marge tampons.

It’s also interesting because I’m 95% sure in one of the middle seasons there’s one if not more examples of Homer weaponizing incompetence unironically

7 hours ago
Traditional_Fudge374 OP

This would be great to use as comparison to older episodes! I'll definitely have to include some examples of weaponised incompetence 

7 hours ago
InternationalLoss102

Maggie literally shot Mr. Burns in one episode and the mob in another. Idk feels like girl power. 

6 hours ago
Bazz07

Marge being a cop.

7 hours ago
skyn_fan

Women always have trouble with the wall.

6 hours ago
Valonia47

Can never seem to find the door.

2 hours ago
Vivid-Environment-28

They can never find the door.

1 hour ago
TachyonsFixAll

Mother Simpson seems like another good one

6 hours ago
Mr_BlueT

"The Springfield Connection" S6, Ep23. A great episode, plenty of material. Marge becomes a police officer, much to the hilarity of the current Springfield police, after Homer is scammed at Three Card Monty. Despite Marge catching Snake, Homer still thinks he and the police saved "a hysterical woman". Marge proves them wrong. Lisa has a great moment too, questioning the integrity of the police system. Check it out! 🙏

6 hours ago
AbbyDean1985

I love this idea. I think there's a lot you can do with Marge. I think there's a lot here in general, due to the age of the show and the cultural shifts that have gone on during it's run. Not to be a big weirdo, but I'd love to read this when you're done. I don't have any specific ideas, I'm not a super fan of the show and there's such a wealth of material.

5 hours ago
coolcodez

Women invented the windshield wipers…

Homer: yeah, goes great with another male invention. The car!

4 hours ago
BarryWhizzite

is that the sound of butting in i hear?!

5 hours ago
Philodemus1984

Don’t ask me, I’m just a girl

4 hours ago
Pride_Obviously
Egghead likes his bookie-wook!

This Duff advertisement

4 hours ago
lukewarmpartyjar

"So... You're one of those 'Don't call me a chick' chicks"

4 hours ago
Planr158

There’s no fire escape on this lesbian bar!

4 hours ago
wishiwasfrank

https://preview.redd.it/iwxjcb750xbf1.jpeg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d39d9b2e53ceb462a9f9ed1d72dad11006640c87

4 hours ago
Embarrassed-Profit74

You may be interested in two chapters of The Simpsons and Philosophy. One is on Lisa and anti intellectualism, and another on Marge as the Angel of the House archetype that Virginia Woolf lampoons for her self sacrificing for her family. You might also get a lot of material out of the depictions of Patty and Selma, who, are contrasting to Marge in being undesirable and unfeminine, but are interesting characters in their own right as single women who travel greatly, have careers, and are clearly perceptive about Homer's flaws as a husband.

3 hours ago
Inevitable-Gap-9638

Underrated book

2 hours ago
FootHikerUtah

Please avoid the recent plot point that Marge has had secret money all along to help. It was such a gutless story line.

7 hours ago
hardyflashier

Season 20, episode 20 'Four great women and a manicure' has a few segments that might be useful. 

6 hours ago
Cyberhaggis

Not now, I'm...too drunk

6 hours ago
BoonDoggle4

I mean, theres that weird episode from the modern era where Marge starts body building and r-words Homer

Theres a million cross dressing jokes so hard to pick just one from the whole series.

Milhouse and Martin Prince have too many effeminate jokes to list

"large Marge" about objectification from men

"Bart after Dark" has all sorts of gender stuff going on - the burlesque stuff obviously but also the running joke of Homer not looking after the house whenever Marge leaves

all the nearly had an affair episodes like "life on the fast lane" and "last temptation of Homer" have gender as a topic

6 hours ago
Boris-_-Badenov

women will like what I tell them to like

6 hours ago
CelebrationLow4614

Malibu Stacy episode.

6 hours ago
ArbainHestia

“Dad, women don't like being shot in the face." 

“Women will like what I tell them to like.”

6 hours ago
Economy_Childhood_20

All the simpson men being stupid and all the simpson women being doctors and lawyers and researchers. Simpson DNA

6 hours ago
After_Main752

This was stupid and pandering.  Bart is just as deserving of and entitled to a good future as Lisa.  Do they ever show him with a future as someone successful and having a family that doesn't break up?

If he's always going to be some kind of failure as an adult then it proves Skinner right, which completes the failures of the school system that the show has always parodied.  I think it makes more sense if adult Bart is driven to prove Skinner wrong as one last prank.

4 hours ago
colimar
:ADAMWE1:

At the cost of not watching the itchy & scratchy movie

2 hours ago
devospice

The one where Marge joins the police force is a great one. Homer doesn't take her seriously—nobody does, really—and she turns out to be the one good cop in town.

And it has one of my favorite quotes ever, even if it's not related to feminism.
Homer: "When Marge told me she was going to the police academy I thought it would be fun and exciting, like that movie, Spaceballs! But instead it's been painful and disturbing like that movie Police Academy."

6 hours ago
johnny-tiny-tits

I doubt I'll see anyone else mention it, but you should check out an episode from this past season, season 36 episode 6, "Women in Shorts"

5 hours ago
Particular-Status386

Take a step back to see more than just the main characters. The show really does push the idea of what the different waves of feminism have entered into the show and at what times. Patty and Selma' relationships and portrayal with their sister, Mrs Krabapple's impacted on then kids, the Burlesque house's space as part of the town, Lisa and Maggie's athleticism, even the couples response to Arnie Ziff has a lot of 2nd and 3rd waive discourses in them.

5 hours ago
doctorbloodborne

I don't remember the exact one, someone more handsome/beautiful will correct me. There is an episode where Lisa does ballet and feels pressure to smoke cigarettes to "stay skinny". The whole 2000s was brutal for young woman and trying to wear a size 00. Seems relevant. But I'm also a cis dude so my opinion is only from what I've heard and seen, not experienced.

3 hours ago
coraroberta

I honestly don’t remember if I liked this one or not (although I know the podcast Worst Episode Ever hated it) but the episode The Blue and The Gray where Marge stops dying her hair and lets it go gray could be an interesting one to delve into. 

2 hours ago
coraroberta

Oh! And Werking Mom! Where Marge accidentally becomes a drag queen. I personally love that one but lots of fans hate it

2 hours ago
Beautiful-Corgie

My fave episode is "Homer Badman" due to it's take down of media hysteria. However my sister hates it as she says it shows a terrible message on women who are open about a man sexually harassing them, that it's a "misunderstanding". It would be an interesting dive into the feminist values (or not) of that episode 🤔

2 hours ago
colimar
:ADAMWE1:

Many people poiting to marge but in the episodes were she was supposed to be the star, in my (probably wrong) opinion she ends up just doing what the script demands without true character and circles back to just being marge the wife and mother. In the movie she finally got tired of homer assholery and they get back; when she was a cop, real estate agent, bodybuilder and anything else she was the best that ever was, maybe too much for her own good (the cops laughing at her for not accepting corruption); and remember everytime she was worried for what other people will think of her or the family.

2 hours ago
RunAmbitious2593

Please post your essay when you're done, I'd be interested in reading it and I'm sure others would too.

2 hours ago
KissMyAlien

Marge gets harassed for being a SAHM by other women like Lindsey Nagle and points out that's its her choice to do what she wants.

2 hours ago
bluetraveler2015

“Selma’s Choice” and “A fist named Selma” are pretty good looks at how “spinsters” were portrayed in media. Selma wants the stereotyping family, that’s her character, but isn’t willing to comprimise her core values to get it.

2 hours ago
Monodoh45

So you're one of those, don't call me a chick, chicks, huh?

2 hours ago
slynnieZGK

In one episode, Homer becomes a hair stylist. Quite anti-feminist, actually, in how he tires of the women... 🤔

1 hour ago
redyellowblue5031

I’d say maybe Moaning Lisa).

1 hour ago
CapyCouch

Homer only being okay with Bart and Milhouse dressing up like girls and dancing because of their excuse of being drunk.

6 hours ago
Lennnybruce

The best bit is when Lisa is excited to go to the airshow and meet the female pilot who bombed so many mosques during the gulf war. A perfect critique of liberal, girlboss feminism.

6 hours ago