Women’s Power Part III

Welcome back! We will be continuing this week with our Women Power series, where I talk about media that celebrates the many facets of women. We are not just one thing. Many moments make us into the women we are today. We will continue our series with the following: Women Are Allowed To Be Messy.

There is a double standard in society where women are expected to be perfect. They should know how to make themselves presentable, be able to appease the masses, keep their emotions checked, and handle things with grace and stability. However, it is unrealistic expectations like these that make women struggle to accept themselves. The following pieces of media explore women who are not at their best and show that it’s okay to be a mess. Aiming for perfection is fine, but it isn’t the end of the world if not achievable. It is better to be yourself instead of trying to reflect the norms of society.

Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones has incredible superpowers. She decides to become a superhero to fight crime, but her tenure is short-lived when the villain Kilgrave does something so unspeakable that it haunts her for the rest of her life. 

Why Watch: This show is the first time I remember seeing a superhero struggle with her trauma. Even though the terrible thing she did is not her fault, it haunts her waking thoughts. We see Jessica drown in booze and despair while trying to hold on to a semblance of her messy lifestyle. I remember people being upset that she wasn’t rising to the call of the hero. However, her agency is taken from her. It takes a while to bounce back from that, and I believe the show illustrates that perfectly by showing Jessica’s slow progression of taking the hero mantle again. 

Supergirl (2026)

Kara Zor-El sees her ship get raided by space pirates. Her dog, Krypto, goes to save and protect her ship, but is shot in the process with a biological weapon. Kara has three days to find a cure before her last reminder of home fades from existence. 

Why Watch: Kara is similar to Jessica Jones. She experiences extreme trauma from watching her planet die, and the only other Kryptonian, her cousin Clark, has no ties to her Kryptonian heritage or knows the language. She is truly the last daughter of Krypton. 

She drowns her sorrows with booze and parties on planets with a red sun so she can experience pain and grief. She also has to struggle with the expectation of being the same cheerful superhero as her cousin. I like that the film was an exploration of finding her own way and dealing with the grief that has been holding her back. It shows that superheroes have just as many problems as everyone else and shouldn’t be put on a high pedestal as if nothing could bother them or weigh them down. 

Twit by Hwasa

Why Listen: It talks about how toxic relationships can be, especially if no one breaks the cycle. I like how Hwasa identifies that both she and her partner are equals in keeping the messy relationship going and being frustrated about not walking away when she knows better. 

Jealousy, Jealousy by Olivia Rodrigo 

Why Listen: It talks about how social media creates unrealistic standards that young women place on themselves, which not only causes them self-doubt but also self-hatred. They envy others instead of being proud of who they are. 

Scandal

Olivia Pope runs her own crisis management firm, which protects the public image and erases the dark past of Washington DC’s most powerful and wealthy. 

Why Watch: It is interesting to see Olivia straddle the line between professionalism and rage, given the unsavory behavior some of her clients do. It makes the viewers wonder if she is on the right side of justice throughout the entire series. It also shows that Olivia doesn’t have any room to judge, considering some of the dalliances that she has, especially with the president of the United States. It was interesting to watch how her public persona didn’t correlate with her personal one and how much she tried to straddle the line between the two. 

That’s it for now. Thanks for joining me as I celebrate these wonderful women. They illustrate that perfection can be overrated, and that women shouldn’t judge themselves so harshly that they don’t have their life together. It is more important that they are taking care of themselves and living the life they want to lead, even if it is outside of societal norms. Join me next time as we continue our exploration of women with Part 4: Women Can Be Misunderstood.