Jane's no virgin to gender equality: a feminist critique of Jane the virgin
Abstract
Jane the Virgin, a television show airing on The CW, tells the story of a devout,
Catholic virgin who finds out she is pregnant after being accidentally artificially
inseminated during a routine gynecologist checkup. While the plot may be absurd, it has
caught the attention of many female viewers while tackling issues of feminism and
intersectionality. This study encompasses a Feminist Critique of the show by combining
a textual analysis of five random episodes from Season #1 with focus group data that
was collected from real Jane the Virgin viewers. From this data, it can be seen that Jane
the Virgin addresses feminist issues within themes of female characters being in control
of their bodies, female characters being independent of men, female characters having
a strong sense of camaraderie, and female characters being shown with competence in
the workplace. Support was also found for Jane the Virgin addressing intersectionality,
through the two themes of struggle due to intersections and characters who succeed
regardless of their intersecting identities. Feminist Criticism revolves around the belief
that men and women should have equal opportunity for self-expression. Through the
textual analysis and focus groups, it was determined that Jane the Virgin not only helps
to show the views and opinions of the female characters in the show, but it also helps
empower them - regardless of their ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. Lastly, the
focus group discussion supported the belief that television can have a powerful effect on
viewers, as the Jane the Virgin viewers in the focus groups expressed that they are able
to relate to the plot and characters and that they have been inspired by the show.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication
Collections
- ESC Theses [45]
- LAS Theses and Dissertations [560]
- Master's Theses [1204]