i can’t stop watching this

Bridesmaids was a movie long overdue—-a film that presents strong female leads, comedy that is not based on sexism (for the entirety) and characters that transcend stereotypical femininity—-also it’s seriously hilarious.

The representation of female masculinity in the character of Megan (Melissa McCarthy) was particularly interesting to me because I can’t recall ever having seen this gender representation portrayed in mainstream media. I might not go so far as to say her character is radical, but I WILL say that it was refreshing on a few fronts:

1. She presents masculine-recognized behaviors and language (donning a golfer’s hat and saying “I’m gonna take a whiz”) but is not an offensive portrayal of a butch lesbian meant to be grotesque to a heterosexual male audience.

2. She is a confident character NOT on the butt-end of jokes from the other characters

3. She is sexual, and although her sexual activity is portrayed as comedy, she is not de-sexualized

4. She is not another “Pat.” She makes the audience laugh at her quirkiness (stealing 9 puppies for example) but not at her gender, per se.

Where else do we see female masculinity in a fully developed character?

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