fall-skies

Don’t you just love when they slide a controversial topic in between the entree and dessert? This was a shot at those who still in this day and age believe that a woman should remain relegated to the roles traditionally outlined for us by long dead patriarchs. 

I love the way this show displays the diversity that exists in womanhood and in feminism, and how each female character seems to embody various combinations of characteristics that shades her existence. These ladies don’t easily fall into well established tropes. 

All this gnashing over Shonda seems like a waste of energy to me. I can admit that she talks side ways at times, but I take away from her product what I will. Besides, I don’t believe her when she says that there are no lessons learned. There have been plenty of times when things have been presented in a manner that leaves things to interpretation and others (like the above) where there is a clear message being put out there.

There is always something to take away from what’s being presented. It may not be Shonda’s intent to have Scandal be seen as a show that walks you right up to the fountain for a drink, but as is/can be the case with most writers, there is a message being conveyed. It may not even be a conscious thing, but  with this show, much has been deliberate. The subjects of race, gay rights, the institution of marriage, the definition of love, relationships, sexuality, masculinity and femininity, abuse (physical, emotional, substance), national security, patriotism, patriarchy, feminism, and now sexism have all been addressed in some form. If you’re not watching for it, some of these may actually be missed.

Shonda can’t say that there are no lessons learned with a straight face, and y’all can’t sit here and tell me that you believe her on that score either. That chick be trippin’ and she got y’all trippin’ along with her.

I see the points that have repeatedly been made with regards to Olivia being referred to as a “whore.” I can’t say that I necessarily disagree with the assessments, but from my vantage point, I believe (as you say above) that this is done by design. Is this “slut-shaming” intentional? I wouldn’t go so far as to say that “most viewers sorta accept it as status quo” since we have no evidence to really back that up. The only person calling Olivia a whore on repeat is Mellie, and there is nothing in the text suggesting that Olivia sells her sexual favors or is even promiscuous. 

So is Mellie really “slut-shaming” Olivia or behaving as a wrathful wife? Is Mellie endearing herself to a large segment of viewers by repeatedly calling Olivia a “whore”? It’s already gotten tired. And who’s going to “check” Mellie on this? Olivia or Fitz?

Olivia has asked not to be referred to as such with the condition that it not be to her face. Why didn’t she say for Mellie to never call her this? Could it be that at times Olivia does feel like his whore? Could it be that she understands the place from which it is coming from with Mellie and takes the insult because she feels somewhat remorseful about the situation? And what’s Fitz going to say to check Mellie? That’s the only barb Mellie has against Olivia, so she’s being allowed to have her way with it. That’s how I’m seeing it anyway.

Seemingly in the same manner that the sexuality of the black woman is routinely demonized? There is a perceived power in a woman’s sexuality, particularly in that of a black woman, that is threatening to who hold a particular world view. I’ll leave it at that.

“the woman behind the Feminist Ryan Gosling meme writes the Vulture recaps, if anyone were to come at it from that angle it would be her, but nope.”

I have no idea who this person is, but generally speaking, if those writing recaps are unable to acknowledge something because it is invisible to them, how can you expect them to address it? This reminds me of how some writers approached the whole “you have to work twice as hard to get half of what they have” that Rowan delivered to Olivia in 301. That went over the heads of many, but struck home for those who are familiar with the refrain.

“And my takeaway from this is that people don’t care to critique because on some subconscious level, we think that it’s Mellie’s right as the scorned wife to call Olivia a whore, that Olivia shouldn’t defend herself against the verbal denigration because she’s the mistress. That so many people ( again, just from what I observe on twitter and in dicussions with friends who are casual fans) seem to have no response to this “whore” refrain is troubling to me, and I’m inclined to believe that it’s because such behaviour towards Olivia has been normalized.”

Do you think maybe your reaction is what was intended? That maybe as audience members we should be asking ourselves these kinds of questions and be outraged by the lack of response that comes when things like this transpire? Calling someone a whore IS normalized. Calling and viewing a black woman as a whore has long been an acceptable image/idea. It is time to change that.

"And the media recaps and reviews that followed just reminded me that Olivia’s feminism isn’t praised in the same way that Mellie’s or Josie’s feminism is praised."

Who are the people writing the recaps?

"It just further reaffirmed that Olivia thinks of herself as Fitz’s whore and that she deserves it. It’s troublesome to me that Olivia has been stuck in the same mindset from when she left the campaign trail to the point that we’re at now. At some point, there has to be a change in this dynamic because it’s getting tired."

Given what we have come to know about Olivia thus far, are you arguing that it is wrong for her to view herself in such a way or to feel the way that she does? I do agree that it is frustrating as a viewer and I’d much prefer for her to stand up for herself when such is tossed in her direction, but given how much we have been shown of Olivia’s need to be tied to this “white hat” concept, my feeling is that she believes that she deserves this word being leveled at her. She may on some level understand that this isn’t her and that her relationship with Fitzgerald is far more than people from the outside comprehend, but I do think that her lack of response to the word is in keeping with her character.

Now to backtrack to the “no lessons learned” statement, I can’t speak to why Shonda chose to respond to that tweet in the manner that she did, but the situation with Jake in 218 was left intentionally ambiguous to me. Did he push her or did she fall from struggling with him in her panic? Based of what we have seen since, it would seem like the writers have settled on it being the latter. At the time that the incident transpired, we were left to view Jake a particular way. I, too, thought he had violently pushed her to the ground, but have since pulled away from that because there has been no material to support this point of view.

As for what happened with Huck, it would be nice if Olivia had addressed his behavior, even if it is for the benefit of the audience. However, at the same time, from a character point of view, selectively moving on from ugliness that has been afflicted upon her seems to be an active thing for Olivia. This could be one of her character flaws that she must overcome before she can experience true happiness. I don’t know.