Toxic Gender Representation in Hit Netflix Show 'Riverdale' - How Could This Be Affecting My Generation?
I have so many problems with the new hit Netflix binge 'Riverdale'. Riverdale hit our screens some time during 2017, around the time the (also controversial) '13 Reasons Why' became an internet phenomenon, encouraging mental health discussions nationwide.
I will admit, I can't help but binge Riverdale. It's binge-worthy. There's nothing I like more than sitting in bed with my boyfriend with a cup of tea or glass of wine having a bit of cheeky giggle at just how ridiculous it all is. The majority of the ridicule is in a fun, almost a darker High School Musical, kind of a way.
However, my main issue with the show is an issue with thousands of TV shows and films; inappropriate age acting. For example, Riverdale shows 23 year old Camilia Mendes playing hyper-sexual and hyper-sexualised Veronica Lodge, despite the fact that the characters are supposed to be 15 going-on 16 years old (as a few of them have their 16 year old birthdays on-screen). This kind of casting has been seen to be damaging in a kind of reverse way in the shows I used to watch when I was growing up - such as Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montanna. Cyrus has recounted publicly before about how playing a 16 year old when she was 11 affected her psychologically.
How do you think this is going to look to a 15/16 year old? Without sounding like an old woman, the character Veronica is shown in almost every episode in revealing clothes attempting to fix any relationship/life problem of boyfriend Archie Andrews (K J Apa) by turning to sex.
First of all, the scantily clad Veronica creates a kind of paradox for me. Believe me, I mean no slut-shaming intended - women should be able to wear whatever they like without any assumptions being made on their nature, my only problem with this is, is that it perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards for young women of 15/16. Camilia Mendes has the body of a 23 year old woman, not of a 15 year old. Which could perhaps lead to self-consciousness, or issues with younger women strongly desiring an older, 'sexier' body, reversing any attempts at body positivity Riverdale could possibly attempt.
AND YET, the only female character that is designed to be on the fringes of the school social hierarchy and on the show itself is Ethel, who is overweight.
Again, the hyper-sexual nature of Veronica as a character is toxic within itself. Whilst it is true that in the UK the average age of the loss of virginity is 15, it almost becomes a default of '#Varchie'. So much so that it is actually quite nauseating to watch. This peaked for me when in the first moments of season 2, Archie's father, Fred Andrews (played by Luke Perry), is shot (not gonna lie - I cried) and rushed to hospital by his young son. Upon seeing her boyfriend so distressed and anxious, Veronica again turns to sex. Gross and insensitive, right? Well, again with the paradox. Feminism and sexual equality is a far wider and more complex issue that it's really given credit for. Everyone deserves to know that they can have consensual sex with whoever they like, whenever they like and as much as they like - it's up to the rest of us to make that okay within our society. However, for the 15-year-old character Veronica, she is unable to consent, and I can't help but think there's a level of sensitivity that ought to be involved. It often seems as though the producers of the show exploit emotions of the male characters for the sake of revealing and sexual shots of their female partners.
There are also studies that suggest that this kind of sexualisation of young women could be causing earlier puberty (although of course there are other factors associated with this!). Maybe I'll write more on this another time, if people are interested.
Maybe it's just me, the ramblings of an 18 year old that grew up in an isolated town and small school, outside of such damaging beauty and sex standards, failing to fathom the pressures on those a few years younger than me. Who knows eh. Either way, watch Riverdale (and everything for that matter), with caution.
I will admit, I can't help but binge Riverdale. It's binge-worthy. There's nothing I like more than sitting in bed with my boyfriend with a cup of tea or glass of wine having a bit of cheeky giggle at just how ridiculous it all is. The majority of the ridicule is in a fun, almost a darker High School Musical, kind of a way.
However, my main issue with the show is an issue with thousands of TV shows and films; inappropriate age acting. For example, Riverdale shows 23 year old Camilia Mendes playing hyper-sexual and hyper-sexualised Veronica Lodge, despite the fact that the characters are supposed to be 15 going-on 16 years old (as a few of them have their 16 year old birthdays on-screen). This kind of casting has been seen to be damaging in a kind of reverse way in the shows I used to watch when I was growing up - such as Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montanna. Cyrus has recounted publicly before about how playing a 16 year old when she was 11 affected her psychologically.
How do you think this is going to look to a 15/16 year old? Without sounding like an old woman, the character Veronica is shown in almost every episode in revealing clothes attempting to fix any relationship/life problem of boyfriend Archie Andrews (K J Apa) by turning to sex.
First of all, the scantily clad Veronica creates a kind of paradox for me. Believe me, I mean no slut-shaming intended - women should be able to wear whatever they like without any assumptions being made on their nature, my only problem with this is, is that it perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards for young women of 15/16. Camilia Mendes has the body of a 23 year old woman, not of a 15 year old. Which could perhaps lead to self-consciousness, or issues with younger women strongly desiring an older, 'sexier' body, reversing any attempts at body positivity Riverdale could possibly attempt.
AND YET, the only female character that is designed to be on the fringes of the school social hierarchy and on the show itself is Ethel, who is overweight.
Again, the hyper-sexual nature of Veronica as a character is toxic within itself. Whilst it is true that in the UK the average age of the loss of virginity is 15, it almost becomes a default of '#Varchie'. So much so that it is actually quite nauseating to watch. This peaked for me when in the first moments of season 2, Archie's father, Fred Andrews (played by Luke Perry), is shot (not gonna lie - I cried) and rushed to hospital by his young son. Upon seeing her boyfriend so distressed and anxious, Veronica again turns to sex. Gross and insensitive, right? Well, again with the paradox. Feminism and sexual equality is a far wider and more complex issue that it's really given credit for. Everyone deserves to know that they can have consensual sex with whoever they like, whenever they like and as much as they like - it's up to the rest of us to make that okay within our society. However, for the 15-year-old character Veronica, she is unable to consent, and I can't help but think there's a level of sensitivity that ought to be involved. It often seems as though the producers of the show exploit emotions of the male characters for the sake of revealing and sexual shots of their female partners.
There are also studies that suggest that this kind of sexualisation of young women could be causing earlier puberty (although of course there are other factors associated with this!). Maybe I'll write more on this another time, if people are interested.
Maybe it's just me, the ramblings of an 18 year old that grew up in an isolated town and small school, outside of such damaging beauty and sex standards, failing to fathom the pressures on those a few years younger than me. Who knows eh. Either way, watch Riverdale (and everything for that matter), with caution.
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