I Enjoy Misogynistic Media: Does That Make me a Bad Feminist?

When I was in high school, I went to see a local theatre’s production of The Pirates of Penzance. I have never wanted to walk out of a theatre more in my life. Everything was sexist to its core. The pirates were comedically assaulting women, a woman was belittled and humiliated for being old, and all of the young women were flirty and ditzy. It was foul.

Two semesters ago, I took a History of Musical Theatre class. One of our assignments was to watch the Pirates of Penzance movie from the early 80s. I rolled my eyes the moment I read that on the syllabus. I couldn’t believe I was going to be forced to watch this outdated misogyny fest for a second time in my life. Begrudgingly, I watched that movie. I fell in love.

So what changed between then and now? One major difference between that production and the movie was the acting. Kevin Kline as the Pirate King delivers one of the greatest comedic performances that I have ever seen. Rex Smith is a fantastic Frederic and Linda Ronstadt is a wonderful Mabel. And who could forget about Angela Lansbury as Ruth?

But the main reason for my change of heart was my brain development. I have just enough critical thinking now to realize that a majority of the sexism in this story is satirical. All of the pirates are buffoons, the British officers are buffoons, the leading male is a total buffoon. The leading lady is a bit strange but not as ridiculous as most of the men in the movie. But the script is still sprinkled with sexism. Women are valued based on their looks and what’s the deal with all that non consensual kissing? So why do I still enjoy it? Am I a bad feminist?

Should I not overlook misogyny in my media that I consume? Should I only watch movies that pass the Bechdel Test? Should I boycott shows with one-dimensional female characters? Do I stop listening to Paramore’s Misery Business? If so, I’m going to miss out on so many good pieces of art!

My answer is… you do you. Sometimes, a movie is so good that I can overlook any misogyny. Sometimes, the sexism in a movie leaves a sour taste in my mouth and drags down the quality of the whole movie. So for my female identifying readers, do what you’re comfortable with. If you can stomach a bit of sexism in your songs, crank that shit! It’s your life and you have the authority to tolerate any amount of sexism that you please. For everyone else, I encourage you to think critically about misogynistic media that you consume. Think about how the words and themes would affect a woman that you love. Or wonder how you would feel if these ideas were directed towards you instead. It's totally fine to enjoy a movie or song that's sexist as long as you don't brush off the valid criticism from women of its portrayal of women.

Ultimately, misogyny and sexism are so deeply ingrained in our society that they’re present in so much of our media. Of course it’s fantastic to speak up about injustices and inequality, but if you have a guilty pleasure movie or song that you hold dear, don’t feel like you’re a bad person for enjoying it. Unless the part you enjoy is the misogyny. Or you like any Adam Sandler comedies.

So don’t worry Hayley Williams, I’ll be screaming your lyrics in my Kia Soul for years to come. I bid you all adieu; I’m going to spend the rest of my day watching F9. Yeah all of the other Fast and Furious movies were sexist, but I love watching Vin Diesel do stunts with an American muscle car! #Sorrynotsorry