Feminist at First Glance

Popular television’s use of a female protagonist is now increasingly more common. Although women are gaining a greater presence in media such as television shows, the stereotypes of women are still extremely prevalent in American culture. Women have always played a major role in American culture, however, the accurate representation on television of the role of women has been minimal. For this reason, many feminist television shows now exist, stressing the need for gender equality and accurate depictions of women in the media. Parks and Recreation is a popular example of a show in which feminism plays a large role. The show follows the life of Leslie Knope, dedicated employee of the Pawnee Parks Department and an advocate of women’s rights. “Pawnee Rangers,” season 4, episode 4, addresses gender equality as a young girl is denied entrance into the all-boys “Pawnee Rangers.” Leslie then creates the “Pawnee Goddesses,” giving girls the opportunity they were originally denied. Although Parks and Recreation contains one of television’s most powerful, feminist women, the show fails to break all gender stereotypes and uses feminism to create satirical humor instead of creating and enforcing gender equality.

Parks and Recreation is generally considered feminist because of Leslie Knope’s presence. Leslie Knope can be seen supporting gender equality. Her feminism, however, appears to be solely a byproduct of her competitive nature. In “Pawnee Ranger,” Leslie successfully proves herself a feminist by creating the “Pawnee Goddesses.” Leslie sees that the “Pawnee Rangers” are not accepting of girls and therefore creates the “Pawnee Goddesses,” generating equality among girls and boys by offering an equal experience to the “Pawnee Rangers” for the girls. However, is separate really equal? Leslie is further seen as a feminist through her defiance of gender stereotypes. “Pawnee Rangers” illustrates Leslie’s true purpose in life: her work. She is not married and does not have a family, the stereotypical duties of a woman. She is instead incredibly dedicated to her job and proves that women are at least equal to men, if not more capable. Leslie furthermore defies the stereotype that women are weak. In the episode, Leslie continues to challenge and defeat Ron, a man who is characterized as incredibly tough. Leslie’s competitiveness, however, can be seen as the reason for her creation of the “Pawnee Goddesses” instead of her want for gender equality. Leslie is seen many times throughout the episode pestering Ron into saying that her “club is better.” It seems that Leslie cares more about having the better club than providing the opportunity to the girls that they were previously denied because of their gender. Later in the episode, Leslie hypocritically denies Derain, a member of the “Pawnee Rangers,” from converting to a “Pawnee Goddess.” This shows that Leslie does not support gender equality as she uses Derain’s want to leave Ron’s club to prove to Ron that her club is better instead of allowing Derain to join. The hypocrisy present is incredibly humorous and targeted at making the audience laugh rather than targeted at making the audience realize the need for gender equality. Clearly, after analyzing what were first considered Leslie’s feminist actions, it appears that these actions were not in the interest of gender equality but were instead as a result of Leslie’s selfish desire to defeat Ron supporting that Parks and Recreation is not aimed toward feminism.

Contrastingly, the episode “Pawnee Rangers” proves the show’s feminism through its destruction of gender stereotypes. Both the “Pawnee Rangers” and the “Pawnee Goddesses” defy stereotypes. The “Pawnee Rangers” defy the stereotype that boys are emotionless and tough. Ron, the leader of the “Rangers,” provides the boys with numerous opportunities to prove their toughness. The boys, however, complain that they would rather be making crafts and playing with the girls than doing activities generally associated with masculinity. The “Pawnee Goddesses” also defy stereotypes as the girls possess interests that are not the “girly interests” that girls are expected by society to admire. When April, one of the “Pawnee Goddesses” adult leaders, draws a murdered, bloody buffalo on her arm, all of the girls surround April in admiration. Lastly, the end of the episode proves that Parks and Recreation is indeed feminist when the “Swanson Club” is created. The club is for all tough kids, regardless of gender, involving strenuous activities. Clearly, the “Swanson Club” supports gender equality as it allows girls and boys alike to prove their toughness. Although the “Swanson Club” is impossible to be seen from an anti-feminist perspective, the stereotypes that the “Pawnee Rangers” and “Pawnee Goddesses” defy can be seen as elements added to the show for pure satirical, comedic purposes instead of elements purposed for the enforcement of gender equality. When the “Pawnee Goddesses” surround April’s image of a bloody buffalo, the purpose of this is not to defy the stereotype that women are weak; the purpose is to add satire to the show and make the audience laugh. The satire present in this instance is situational irony. It would not be expected for such young and innocent-looking girls to be intrigued by violence, causing the audience to laugh at the unexpected. It can further be supported that this instance is for satirical purposes by looking at the juxtaposition of the character of the girls with the image on April’s arm. Throughout the episode, the intelligence of the girls is exaggerated and the girls speak more formally and proper than Leslie, who is both more experienced and better educated. This makes the awe that the girls find in April’s violent drawing even more shocking, creating extreme situational irony. Although Parks and Recreation clearly breaks stereotypes, it is unclear whether the show is actually supporting gender equality, or purely breaking the stereotypes for giggles making Parks and Recreation's feminism questionable.

In Parks and Recreation, it is clear that Leslie’s competitiveness and determination get in the way of her desire for gender equality, making her appear to be a hypocrite which appeals to the audience’s sense of humor. Many modern television shows have female protagonists, but just as in Parks and Recreation, women with power are often degraded and appear foolish for humorous purposes. Furthemore, just as Parks and Recreation defies gender stereotypes satirically in order to create humor, many shows do the same, appearing to be feminist at first glance, but truly just comedic. Although the presence of women on television is increasing, American culture still has many strides to take before women will be able to be represented as powerful, competent, and capable people.

"Pawnee Rangers" Clip: