Season 1 Episode 1
The show starts with Ilana video chatting with her best friend, Abbi, as Ilana is having sex with her friend, Lincoln. The girls end the call, and Lincoln asks Ilana about what their relationship is. She goes on to explain that she wants something purely physical and refuses to be in a codependent relationship with a man. Both Abbi and Ilana are very sex positive, which is typically seen as raunchy and unlady like for women. Examining this from the sex role perspective can help the audience examine how this media resists feminine stereotypes. The main characters are feminine in a way where they embrace their gender however; they aren’t portrayed in an objectifying way.
Another moment in this episode that caught my attention was when Abbi saw her neighbor Jeremy bringing in his groceries. We typically see the male gaze all throughout the media, but this time it was reversed. Viewers saw that Abbi was gawking over Jeremy as he was smiling, looking handsome, and just making small talk. Abbi was freaking out, and the camera angles and portrayal of her inner thoughts helped convey that. This scene was not objectifying to Jeremy, but Abbi’s thoughts about his appearance and the situation as a whole were told. Despite Ilana and Abbi resisting some feminine stereotypes, the stereotype of young women being boy crazy was reinforced for Abbi.
Shared by: Meghan Lowery
Image Credit: https://gfycat.com/serenelinedbumblebee