Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Wonder Woman, which is not only an upcoming live-action movie featuring our fave Amazonian warrior princess, but also the first ever superhero flick that's centered on a girl. Yup, you read that right—it's the only time a female character has been celebrated in cinema as the superheroine of her own film, instead of just being the love interest or assistant secretary of the lead.
To celebrate, several small theaters in the US like Alamo Drafthouse have begun to sell tickets for girls-only screenings of the film, with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood. After all, following years of women not being allowed to vote, work, or just speak their mind—coupled with the fact that girls usually don't headline their own movies—this feat of feminism must be duly acknowledged. Wonder Woman now stars Israeli beauty queen-turned-soldier Gal Gadot, and she couldn't be more kickass as the fierce heroine.
Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, however, there has been recent "reverse sexism" controversy with both the online and IRL theater community. Several men have spoken out on the issue, declaring that women-only screenings are sexist, as they promote misandry (read: anti-male behavior). They've also accused women of being hypocrites for speaking up about discrimination on women, when they're actually discriminating men as well. Say what?
Thankfully, these men were shut down.
First of all, women have been looked down upon for centuries. Apart from not being able to vote or work until the early 20th century (and even then, there was still a stigma that surrounded empowered women!), they are still on the losing end of the gender wage gap (meaning men still earn way more than women), and still get way more rights.
Them crying all boo-hoo and calling out theaters for having women-only screenings is really unfair behavior, when you think of all the men-only mentality that still exists perversely in the workforce—or actually just in the real world.
Next, these women/girls-only screenings are limited, meaning that the greater majority of theaters will still be showing Wonder Women to all genders, regardless of their age and sexuality, so long as they can purchase a ticket. If men want to see the movie, of course they can. We're just celebrating history being made as the rate of sexism in this world slowly lessens. There's no use getting so petty about it!
Finally, women-only screenings are being held in order to celebrate feminism and the end of sexism, not to promote misandry or any anti-male behavior, for that matter. I mean, come on, men have been getting more than their fair share of rights and privileges since forever. This is the first time we have something for us, something that isn't sexist or degrading.
There's a reason why this is the first female-centric superhero flick in the history of ever, and that’s because several Hollywood higher-ups (composed almost exclusively of men, of course) used to believe that only males had the intellectual capacity to appreciate action films. Uhm, we girls can use our own heads too, you know? Let us celebrate this feat!
Basically, men believing that women-only screenings are a personal attack on them is problematic behavior. It also serves as further proof that we need feminism now more than ever. Men don't realize that women are still treated with sexual discrimination on a daily basis. They don't know that we've fought hard to get where we are now in terms of women empowerment. It's important for them to understand that we are merely celebrating our rights, since they took away ours for so long.
Thankfully, several people still support feminism and understand the significance of a women-only screening to mark this historical time for women's rights. Hopefully, we can all look to Wonder Woman for inspiration. After all, we are all superheroes in our own way, dedicated to fighting for our rights—and for girl power, of course!
Wonder Woman is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
From The Candy Bulletin Community
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