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Here's an idea: BMO from Adventure Time is expressive of feminism!
So if you STILL have not seen Adventure Time and need some background WE have got YOU covered.
We made this. Earlier. You should watch it. But for those of you who aint got time for
that -
- and this is YouTube so lets be honest AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT -
- here's a very quick refresher: Main characters jake the dog and finn the human go on all
kinds of mathematical adventures in the MAGICAL. LAND. OF OOO.
Alongside Finn and Jake there is a cast of weird and crazy characters like the Ice King,
Peppermint Butler, Flame Princess and the weirdest slash craziest of them all: The Earl
of Lemongrab.
UNACCEPTABLEEEE!
Right now we're gonna talk about BMO, who lives with Finn and Jake and is a sentient,
thoughtful videogame system... and alarm clock. and outlet. aaaannnnddd TV. and camera.
A surprising little gadget, BMO is all the more intriguing because she ... he ... doesn't
have a strictly assigned gender.
BMO self identifies as both male and female, and loves other unclearly-gendered objects.
I wonder... could this... make BMO a 3rd Wave Feminist?
Now, before we get much further: YES. We are going to talk about feminism.
Not about the role or effectiveness of feminism - which for the record - I am 100% and completely
for. But my support of feminism has nothing to do with this episodevideo.
But about how gender and feminist theory might be applied to BMO, and once applied what the
effects might be.
Which brings us, presently, to an important question: what IS 3rd Wave feminism? Well,
lets work our way there.
First Wave feminism was focused on institutionalized inequalities; like women gaining right to
vote, execute contracts or own property.
Second wave feminism broadened it's focus to cultural inequalities: the treatment of
women as generally inferior or unfit for tasks outside of the home.
Third wave feminism's approach is EVEN wider.
Where previous feminist movements felt focused on white, heterosexual women, 3rd Wave feminism
tries to account for women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, *** orientations and genders.
Yes. You heard correctly. Women of all genders.
A central tenet of modern feminism is that gender is not as strictly embodied or experienced
as our language and cultural structures make it out to be.
The "gender binary" - that EVERY PERSON is strictly male or female, determined solely
by their biology - isn't as straightforward as all of that.
Something which David Bowie or Grace Jones, for instance, clearly demonstrated in the
70s and 80s but which for some reason we seem to have distanced ourselves from.
In Gender and Language, linguists Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet write that
"It is our social world and not biology that insists on a binary classification and on
the permanence of that classification."
They explain that "gender discourse is about is connecting the concepts of woman and man
that are grounded in reproductive biological theory and practice to a wide array of other
theories and practices."
This can be /frustrating/ for people who simply want to do things a little outside their genders
role... like girls who cut their hair short or... guys who carry tote bags.
But downright *IMPRISONING* for people who do not FEEL the gender their biology has ASSIGNED
them.
With all that social insisting, the burden can get pretty massive. BMO and her friends
kinda provide a model for how it COULD be... with much less... insisting.
BMO implicitly challenges the genderness of all his wacky adventures and even goes one
step further to challenge whether a character need even BE a single gender at all.
I mean, it's a little easier for her because she... is a video game system. And doesn't
HAVE a biology grounding gender expectations...
But then again... neither do R2D2 or Rosie from the Jetsons and there is no question
of their gender or what's expected of them based on it.
BMO, on the other hand, is a kind of Gender Ubermensch or... Uberfrau: he exists in a
perfectly nonbiological, personal, fluid gender zone.
BMO has role-played as a hard-boiled, presumably male, noir detective and referred to herself
as both a "little boy" and "real baby girl" while talking to her mirror alter-ego FOOTBALL.
Other characters - including Finn and Jake - refer to him as "he", "she", "m'lady" and
"man" depending upon the context.
In the gender swap episode, where all of the characters' genders... are... swapped... BMO
is the only character who is essentially unchanged.
And sure, BMO IS always voiced by a woman but SO! is Bart Simpson. So that easy answer
isn't so easy.
Finally! Amongst her objects of desire, BMO most famously falls in love with a BUBBLE...
...who, though voiced by Lavarr Burton, is similarly of an unclear gender. Because. Y'know.
Bubbles don't have gender. Unless you speak French, in which case they're feminine.
Which, actually, raises a really good point:
Grammatically gendered nouns like la maison or le stylo don't EXPRESS a gender; they are
expressive OF a gender.
La Bulle - the bubble - is not a feminine noun in French because bubbles themselves
are innately feminine ...
...but because a cultural impression OF bubbles or sound of "la bulle" itself is in some way
suggestive or EXPRESSIVE OF femininity.
Similarly, BMO doesn't EXPRESS feminism; BMO is not a feminist mascot. He is simply EXPRESSIVE
OF some feminist ideals:
She is a silly little being who leads an awesome, love-filled life with friends who think she
is red hot like pizza supper. Oh and also she might be male. Or female. Or neither or
something else all together. WHATEVER!
No one needs to ask, or challenge because that's just who BMO is.
His multivalent gender is part of his character but not his DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC like Jakes
Can-Do attitude or Finn's Love of Adventure. Time. C'mon and grab your friends
This is arguably the most forward thinking thing about BMO's characterization by the
creators of adventure time:
By not radicalizing her gender situation, they make her... totally normal. Which she
is! Well, except that she's a talking video game.
They reinforce the notion that this is just... how some people are. But it's not ALL they
are.
That WHEREVER their gender is on the continuum, is PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE.
What do you guys think? Is BMO expressive of feminism? Let us know in
the comments. And if you wanna subscribe, just click on this BMO that my friend Michelle made.
Hey BMO.
Hey Mike!