The show Euphoria included impressively feminist themes through the characters in the series. These characters showcase an overweight girl, trans girls, lesbians, people of color, etc. It displays the types of people that usually need feminism the most in their life. Throughout the show, the struggles the characters undergo exhibit the current view of the society towards feminist themes without a clear monologue explaining what is wrong or right. We can draw are conclusion with what we see in the show because it is an actual story.
One of the leading character, Jules, is transgender. Her mother enrolled Jules in a psychiatric center for boys, she had to take medications, and identify as a boy. Until, her father took Jules out of the center, and she was finally able to be herself. We can see that there is this unwillingness to accept Jules’ gender identity which is often the case for many trans children. She was forbidden to wear skirts and dresses because her mother and the society, in general, consider it feminine traits. Therefore, a “boy” (Jules) could not associate himself with feminine features instead he had to represent “masculine” attributes. It demonstrates how we separate, and identify insignificant things to specific genders, and if we do not follow these gender norms we are considered to be odd or weird, and even put in a psychiatric institute.
Now, that she can embrace her real gender she is very confident and passionate about fashion. We can see in the show a trans girl living the life she wants. In the series, she is “fetishized” by the men that she has sexual intercourse with which results to change her behaviors. These sexual activities portray patriarchal ideas such as women being the sexual object for men’s sexual needs, and men’s inability to control their sex drive. It demonstrates that women are in dominance, and obedience space. In this show, sexual intercourse occurs between various characters, and they all promote sexist views. For example, Maddy (a character) is learning what to do to please her partner during sexual activity on pornographic websites which often portrays sexist ideas. In this platform, women are objectified and women put their partners’(man) sexual needs above their own. There is this sexual inequality between genders that occurs during these acts. It demonstrates this pressure for women and men to fit the sexual norms associated with their gender. The male sexual ideal is to be aggressive during sexual intercourse, and the female sexual ideal is to consent to participate in any sexual acts that their partner(men) wants. For instance, one of the male characters, Mckey, choked his girlfriend during sex because he saw this act on a sexually explicit video.
Moreover, Jules has a romantic relationship with a female character name Rue. They both stand up and protect each other. For example, Rue stands up to the man that was blackmailing Jules. Their relationship display women’s unity, and feminist values. Rue respect Jules’ gender identity, and defines Jules for who she is and not her gender. They both believe that gender equality is important in society by acting against the sexist act on the show.
To conclude, there are many different feminist themes in this movie. These themes are not directly mentioned in the movie but are open to interpretation. Characters’ social life displayed gender norms and sexist ideas. We can found these concepts during the characters’ sexual learning process, and sexual intercourse. Jules’ and Rue’s relationship exhibit feminist values like respect, and gender equality.
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