1001 Animations: Equal Fights

Show: The Powerpuff Girls
Episode: S3 E12b
Year: 2001

Writer(s): Lauren Faust, Lynne-Naylor Reccardi, Amy Keating Rogers

When I think back to the original Powerpuff Girls series, one episode that I feel got a very bad rap was this one. Lauren Faust has gone on record to state that she herself wasn't happy with how this episode turned out as an end-product despite heavily sticking by its message of equality for better or worse. The idea of discussing the concept of feminism within a children's cartoon is something that could've easily misfired in a bad bad way to say that girls were superior to boys and the transgendered in every way and that we should kiss the ground they walk upon. It didn't help that Mrs. Faust got earful from every side of the argument, and I do mean EVERY side! From men accusing her of misandry to men-hating feminists. What side am I on? I personally believe the message was handled very well with very little preachiness to it at all.

 

A new female villain hits Townsville and her name is Femme Fatale! What makes this villain stand out as opposed to, say, Sedusa, is not only her feminist motif of only stealing Susan B. Anthony coins as way to justify her own twisted beliefs, but her manipulation of the Powerpuff Girls themselves. She is in essence a strawman feminist type who believes that as a woman, she should have the right to do evil as she pleases with no consequence because she sees herself as the "fairer sex" above all else. Now how she goes about molding the girls to her whims:

 

Not surprisingly, the Powerpuff Girls manage to subdue Ms. Fatale with relative ease, but before they can drop her ass in prison, she manipulated them into letting her go by informing them that in terms of the female gender, heroes and villains alike get the short end of the stick, and that by imprisoning her, it would be a serious blow to womankind. Many female heroes are mere counterparts to their male equivalents like Batgirl, Supergirl, Hawkwoman and even some villains like Harley Quinn, with very few original female heroes and villains going by the likes of Poison Ivy or Wonder Woman. The only other female DC superhero I can recall that's not a counterpart is Zatanna Zatara, and her master was a guy! Of course, they obviously don't mention the likes of non-counterpart female Marvel characters like the Wasp, Mystique, Elektra Natchios, the Invisible Woman, the Enchantress, Scarlet Witch and Jean Grey-Summers, but, of course, that's the point of it since this is coming from a VILLAIN! If you're going to make a badguy, or badgirl in this case, go the strawman route when dealing with an issue like this to make them indisputably in the wrong!

 

So, with this manipulative bitch in their heads, it changes the Powerpuff Girls's perception of males, big time. They basically become total misandrists going after ever boy that looks like they're being insensitive to a girl in any way; going so far as to chew out the Mayor and Professor Utonium for making them do anything at all! But you have to remember that their actions were manipulated by blatant misconceptions by a straw feminist, and also that they are only 5 years old; smart as they are, they're still susceptible to manipulation of that sort. And it's here we get one of the most important parts of the episode and why it is so infamous: the speech.

 

The PPG are given an intervention by Ms. Sarah Bellum and Ms. Keane, two females within the show that could easily also act as role models for kids in this show alongside the superheroes themselves. Not only do the Girls find that what they've done was heavily out of line and misguided, but that the reason they are the ones who always have to save the day isn't because they're mere girls, but they are the ONLY ONES with that Townsville can count on because they have the power needed to protect the city; their gender has nothing to do with their position as the saviors of Townsville! If they were boys, it wouldn't be any different (keep in mind there's the fact that the Rowdyruff Boys are their evil male counterparts and in fact created through evil itself, so their gender doesn't quite affect them much beyond their weakness)!

 

When the Girls finally do decide to stop Femme Fatale, they finally see her as a hypocrite as she has absolutely no qualms about robbing and hurting other women as well as men! Evil is an equal opportunity thing, so why shouldn't justice also be that way? A real feminist wouldn't ask for special treatment because they’re female, they'd ask for EQUAL TREATMENT! Just ask Susan B. Anthony herself, or better yet, watch the PPG school Ms. Fatale on her significance in the advancement of women's rights! It's even more epic than when they schooled Mojo Jojo about Napoleon Bonaparte!

 

As a man, I firmly believe that no matter what race, religion, gender or sexuality you have, you should have the same rights as anybody else. Who among you regardless of those other factors legitimately believe that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men? Should they have the same access to jobs and equal wages as a man? These are just a few of the things I want you to think about and contemplate on this International Women's Day and reflect upon our female friends not as mere women, but as our equals as human beings. I also hope I've cleaned up any misconceptions about this episode and alleviated at least some of the regret Lauren Faust feels about this episode and its execution.

The Powerpuff Girls is owned by Cartoon Network and Turner Broadcasting.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314