Small town, Big Issues: The Internal Misogyny of Gilmore Girls

As another school semester rolls around, we find ourselves watching our favourite comfort 2000s shows, Gilmore Girls. A cosy small town, romance, and most importantly; independent female characters who the show revolves around, their love interests and romances are just the side plots that come and go. It is ultimately Rory and Lorelei’s future and navigation through academics and life that we are interested in.

At first glance, Gilmore Girls is the perfect show for female empowerment. Lorelei, played by Lauren Graham, is an independent, clever, single mother who, alongside raising her 16 year old daughter, manages an inn and ultimately ends up the owner of one. Her daughter Rory is an academically gifted student who is the top student at an intense private school where she graduates as valedictorian, attends Yale and ends the show with a successful grad job as a reporter. Alongside Lorelei and Rory, the show is dominated by female characters; Emily, Sookie, Babette, Miss Patty, Lane, Paris and countless others.

When rewatching the show, the proclaimed feminism started to unravel through the attitudes the main characters display. Lorelei, who was a teen mum, is constantly reprimanded and degraded by her own mother for getting pregnant. In the eyes of her mother, her choice to independently raise Rory is undermined and she is seen as a failure who threw her life away by becoming a single mother. The double standards of teen parents is reinforced as Rory’s father, Christopher, is adored by Emily and praised for the mistakes Lorelei is constantly shamed for. He is an absent father yet seen as an ambitious eligible bachelor, while Lorelei is an attentive mother whose independence is a source of conflict rather than empowerment.

This idea that a woman’s worth is tied to her sexuality is prevalent throughout the show, Lorelei’s young single motherhood is often seen as a source of shame throughout her parent’s social circle, her sexual promiscuity from a young age is seen as a moral failing. As a result of getting pregnant, she does not go college and ends up as a maid at an inn while living in a garden shed for a considerable amount of time in her life. This is similar to Paris’ character who seems to be ‘punished by the universe’ for losing her virginity, by not getting into Harvard.

 In contrast to this, Rory’s purity is exemplified throughout  the show, when she gets accepted into Harvard, Yale and Princeton, Lorelei’s comments about Rory’s virginity shows the negative connotations that women’s sexuality holds in the show.

Rory and Lorelei are the epitome of the ‘Cool Girl’ myth, they are renowned for their ability to blend feminine traits with behaviours that appeal to men. They are exceptionally pretty and thin, but without any effort. They gorge themselves on coffee, ice cream and takeout because they will never be that ditzy girl who worries about her looks or minds what she eats on a date, yet they make snide comments about women’s bodies as seen in Season 4 where Rory writes a degrading article about a show, distasteful commenting on the ballerina’s ’back rolls’ .

 Rory and Lorelei’s  superiority complex of being ‘not like other girls’ is very noticeable through her treatment of other female characters, she shames her best friend Lane for becoming a cheerleader and constantly vilifies Lindsay for not working and wanting to be a homemaker and wife. Emily is a constant source of mockery for Lorelei for being a traditional homemaker; Rory and Lorelei’s feminism only seems to extend to women who meet their standards- independent, educated career women. Women who do not meet these standards and are traditionally feminine are perceived by them as shallow and dumb and not worthy of their support.

Despite its flaws, Gilmore Girls continues to hold a special place in the hearts of many viewers, myself included. Its witty banter and small-town coziness makes it the perfect binge for the colder months. However, it is important to critically look at the subtle misogyny it perpetuates and the messages it sends to our audiences. Gilmore Girls may not be the feminist masterpiece we once thought it was, but perhaps its enduring popularity is because of its realistic portrayal of contemporary