The Impossible Woman

Although it may seem like the proliferation of strong women on television is a feminist achievement, a deeper look into their stories tells us otherwise. The Impossible Woman examines a variety of scripted US television series across multiple genres to show how the cultural value of television’s extraordinarily talented female characters often rests upon their ability to endure—but not overcome—sexism. Looking at Parks and Recreation, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Queen’s Gambit, Game of Thrones, and Queen of the South, Hoerl argues that these series contribute to sexist realism, or the cultural assumption that there is no alternative to patriarchy. Situating impossible women’s struggles in the context of contemporary feminist politics, Hoerl explains how the problems facing television’s strongest women illustrate mainstream feminism’s paradoxical dependence upon on cultural misogyny, neoliberal individualism, and racism. The Impossible Woman encourages readers to seek out alternative stories that might help them envision more just feminist futures.

Author Biography

KRISTEN HOERL is an associate professor of rhetoric and public culture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author of The Bad Sixties: Hollywood Memories of the Counterculture, Antiwar, and Black Power Movements.