The Misogynist Writing for Belly Conklin
I find the writing for Belly this season very disappointing. Her volleyball career was given zero spotlight despite her getting injured and having to find a different path. All we know about her interest in sports psychology is from a throwaway line in the first episode. Her interest in Paris? Due to Susannah’s influence. Her friendship with Anika and her group in Paris? Non existence and ultimately irrelevant. We know more about everyone else’s goals for the future than our protagonist. We don’t know when she graduates, we don’t know why sports psychology fascinated her and we never saw how being injured impacted her mentally. Jenny claims this is a coming of age story but she isn’t interested in Belly as an individual. And this is further confirmed by what she stated in an interview:
She states that Belly’s core, who she is as a human being, is loving Conrad.
First of all, this is ridiculous after we had Taylor tell Jeremiah that Belly shouldn’t be his whole word (which was correct). But it’s somehow okay for Belly to do the same with Conrad? Her loving Conrad to the point of leaving nothing for herself (which was stated by her) was ultimately a good thing? Because her core is loving him?
This explains why her character is so male centered. Her life revolves around the Fisher boys. And despite Paris being portrayed as a growth arc for her, she decides at the end that she never actually changed or did anything wrong because she followed her heart. We watch her kick out Conrad out of her apartment but she only changes her mind after she sees a picture of herself at 6 years old. She concludes that just like she has brown hair and brown eyes, she also loves Conrad. This is the biggest teen show of the 2020s and it’s pushing a misogynist narrative. There’s no self love for a character whose core is only loving a man.
The idea that she isn’t Belly unless she loves Conrad is concerning. Why is she only herself if she is tied to a man? The idea that she spent years lying to herself and lost because she wasn’t with a man who treated her poorly is a terrible message to send. She’s portraying Belly as someone whose words can’t be trusted and someone who simply doesn’t understand herself. But wait, it’s okay because a man, who she has barely spoken to in 5 years, somehow knows her better. She is simply a dumb girl who needs a man to guide her through life.
This doesn’t include the weird undertones of Bonrad. Both characters are shown to be in love with who they were as kids, not the adults they currently are or even the teenagers who dated. The “romantic” flashbacks are them as kids and that is what they can only talk about. The infinity, Junior Mint, etc. It’s a couple whose bond is only nostalgia and past memories. So having Belly make her big decision due to seeing a picture of her 6 year old self makes the ship… very weird. Not to mention how Belly is infantilised with Conrad and how much their dynamic resembles the older man/younger girl dynamic despite the 2 year age gap. Its weird and the Christmas photos where she wears the childish pajamas while Conrad looks like a grown man doesn’t help. Also add in the weird sex scene in 3x05 where Conrad talks about wanting to protect innocence about Susannah’s illness (weird way to view your girlfriend) but proceeds to have sex with her at the same time. Its as if he gets turned on by her childish naivety.
Ultimately the show’s message is that you shouldn’t grow up and that your first love is the only person you should be with even if the relationship was toxic. A guy who disrespects you, crosses boundaries, insults you, called her a mistake, took her virginity without saying “I love you”, etc is someone to aim for. Why? Simply because he was her first love.
Belly showed significantly more growth and maturity in S2 when she was only 17 years old vs the woman she turned out to be at 22 years old. She regressed to a child because that is the only way for Bonrad to stay together. She had to unlearn everything in order to be with Conrad. Jenny had to degrade her character because she believes her misogynistic writing is superior. In the end, Belly doesn’t see her family for a year and doesn’t speak to anyone significant outside of Conrad in the finale. Her and Conrad are shown to be isolated when they go to the beach house which is a sharp contrast with Jeremiah being with all his loved ones for his day.
Belly never got to truly grow as a woman and as a 22 year old, her mentality is closer to a teenager instead. Her agency disappeared this season and she became a passive woman whose decisions were constantly undermined by the characters and narrative. But that is okay, because of infinity ♾️
First time I’ve seen a coming of age show that discourages the protagonist from growing up. The lack of backlash to how her character have been written explains a lot about the political climate. It’s ultimately a show for conservatives, whether Jenny realises it or not. Its a show that believes woman doesn’t exist without a man and that her words shouldn’t be trusted unless its regarding Conrad. And when Belly says no, she really means yes.
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