why can’t we believe women could save the day?
Every theater seat is filled to watch the fantasy world come to life when men play superhero's. When women are in the same role.
My favorite genre of entertainment media: women getting their lick back!!!!! If I could summarize Supergirl in one word it would be satisfying. The superhero action filled dramas always find their way into dominating the big screen, yet the films where women lead the charge seem to always fall short for audience retention. Let’s be honest, successful films about women superheroes are few and far between. Could anyone name more than five notable ones off the top of their head? (googling for a refresher is not allowed!!!!). All I could think of was Wonder Woman, Black Widow, The Marvels, and Birds of Prey.
The argument has always been that “men are just more interested in action movies than women” but when you go to the movies to see Superman, or the highly anticipated new Spiderman, it is not only men in the theater. There is a spot for everyone. As a society we love to see an uphill battle where the good guys eventually pull through for the greater good. However, despite the entire world being fantasy, we seem to only find the fantasy believable or worth watching when a man is leading the charge. As a society we continue to reject the narrative that a woman could save the day, even in a “fantasy” world.
Another argument I always hear is that the sequels “just aren’t as entertaining”. My question is, is that true or do people have a harder time taking women in these roles seriously, influencing the perception of “not good”. Not to mention, the budget is almost never close to equal and the women are often supposed to follow in the footsteps of their male “counterparts”. That’s not setting them up for success. Of course there have been a few films where an originating female lead is the star of the film, such as Wonder Woman or Black Widow. Wonder Woman released in 2017 is considered a massive commercial success, grossing over $821 million globally (yay!!), and yet no other solo superhero movie about a woman seems to match that mark. These films don’t stray too far from the tried and true plot line sequence of your typical action movie. The primary difference is always the gender of the protagonist.
Multiple things can be true at once. Maybe the budgets for women-lead superhero films aren’t as high, maybe the scripts aren’t as strong, maybe the marketing campaigns don’t pull out all the stops, and likely as an overall audience, we just don’t feel inclined to go see these movies the same way we do for a male protagonist. At the core of all these possibilities, the latter remains true. Consciously, or subconsciously, we don’t have the same level of excitement for women-lead roles as we should. Although any of these arguments could be made for why these films are never as successful, misogyny seems to be the originating reason for them all.
It takes a strong look in the mirror to recognize some of the internalized misogyny we all carry. No one wants to admit (myself included), that we are guided by social contexts/norms daily that influence everything we do, down to the films we choose to watch and the music we choose to listen to. As women, we are the first to clearly identify with a female protagonist. However, prior to women crafting their own storylines in the media, we were expected to be entertained by whatever male led film/show was on display at the time. That’s the point right there. Women always had to adapt to entertainment catered to men because there was no other option. Entertainment media was designed for the male gaze. As film, television, and music evolved, doors were opened for women in the entertainment world (not easily mind you). Women were finally getting stories told about them, created by them (far too recently) for their enjoyment. The issue is, because men can’t directly see themselves in these stories and characters played by women, they immediately lose interest and write them off.
How many times have you heard a man say “why would I want to see that?” when asked about some new film that just came out led by women? Speaking for myself, the answer is far more than I can count. Think of the contrast between Barbie and Oppenheimer. Barbie is of course intended to discuss the inner workings of being a woman in a patriarchal society. However, what did it get referred to by men? Just some girly movie that had nothing to do with them. Yet, despite Oppenheimer originally targeting a larger male demographic with a majority male cast, telling a story about a man in history, women were more than excited to see the film. The same can be said for the Superman vs Supergirl conversation. EVERYONE and I mean almost everyone saw the 2025 Superman. Superman is a superhero classic yes, but women did not fail to see the film and find their own identities within Clark Kent. The seats in every theater were filled to the brim with people of ALL genders. The same cannot be said for Supergirl, even though as a well rounded character, we can all see parts of our human experience in her. The truth of the matter is simply that men have always had the privilege of seeing themselves represented in media, creating a lack of interest in any subject where they are not at the forefront.
This doesn’t only happen in film and television. Misogyny, both outward and internal, exists heavily in the music industry. Women in music are always seen as too feminine or just for the girls. Women in music have a fan base made of primarily women, understandably so right? Yet the most successful men in music often have a diverse fan base amongst genders. The issue is not that men have to enjoy listening to women artists, instead it is that they are made to feel emasculated if they do. Think about it, how rare is it to know a man who is a Taylor Swift fan? Nine times out of ten they are either a man that’s not straight or have a girlfriend who they listen with. Of course there are exceptions to this rule but speaking in a general sense that tends to be the trend. The same could be said for almost any other woman in music (i.e. Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé). There is nothing wrong with women loving music made by women ( I know I do) chronicling the experience as women we can relate to, but because this is the case, have you noticed how these artists are instantly put in a box titled “girly music” intended to automatically dumb down their artistry? Yet men in music are almost never put in the same box. Think of artists like The Weeknd. He has a strong male fan base yet he’s not only for men. He’s not put in that box and women who listen to his music don’t have a spotlight put on them because of it. Not to mention, if a male artist does have a heavy female fan base, he is also instantly put in a box of “girl music” and if you listen to “girl music” as a man they’ll call you too feminine. Venturing back to the core of this whole conversation, society does not take women seriously and to explore your femininity as a man is considered as weakening yourself.
The discussion of society’s perception of women as “weak” is to be continued at a later date. However the principle of it all still stands. Women in media (film, television, music, etc.) are not taken seriously in the same way men are. Whether it’s because the budget isn’t as big, the marketing campaign isn’t as in-depth, or people simply are not interested in the audience, there is a huge gap in the success and even existence of women in the action media world. What started as a conversation about the disparity between the success of male led superhero films versus women led, turned into the whirlwind of gender disparity and biases across all forms of media. Again, I do not think men have to see a film they’re not interested in just for women the same way I would never want a woman to see something simply for men. Instead, I encourage everyone to just think about it the next time you go to the movies, watch a new show, or are about to listen to a new album. For women, next time a man tells you he doesn’t want to see the new Supergirl or that he wouldn’t watch the new episode of Love Island, have him dig a little deeper into why. For the men, ask yourself why you are so quick to brush all these things off and why you automatically aren’t interested in media that might be considered feminine?
Shelby Ferguson
