The Power of Female Friendships in Popular Culture

The Power of Female Friendshipsin Popular Culture

Popular culture has often highlighted friendships and partnerships between men from the buddy comedy to the superhero and sidekick dynamic. This bond is often looked over in popular culture when the relationships are between women, with stories centering around competition, “mean girls,” and many times the pursuit of a heterosexual relationship that takes priority over the story of friendship. So much so, that feminist scholars have created barometers of a type to evaluate media based on whether it centers the cisgender male at its core, such as the Bechdel-Wallace test. Steel Magnolias is one of those magical films that centers female friendship and the importance of that social circle in one’s life. In Steel Magnolias, the group of women are also intergenerational, which is not as common in media as relationships between peers. If you’re looking for more amazing female friendships, check out these films and television shows next time you’re looking for something to stream:

FILMS

Thelma and Louise Girls’ Trip The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ladybird Girlhood The First Wives Club Ghostbusters (2016) Hidden Figures 9 to 5 The Joy Luck Club Now and Then Waiting to Exhale Pitch Perfect Real Women Have Curves Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion Set It Off Bridesmaids Booksmart Moxie! Grace and Frankie Girlfriends Alexa and Katie Parks and Recreation The Bold Type Laverne and Shirley Living Single Gray’s Anatomy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Good Girls Never Have I Ever Insecure Broad City I Love Lucy Golden Girls Sex and the City

TELEVISION

Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma and Louise. Photo Credit: American Film Institute. Queen Latifah, Kimberley Elise, Vivica A. Fox, and Jada Pinkett Smith in Set It Off. Photo Credit: New Line Cinema.

Loretta Devine, Robin Givens, Angela Bassett, and Whitney Houston in Waiting to Exhale. Photo Credit: Hollywood Reporter. Isabel May and Paris Berelc in Alexa and Katie. Photo Credit: Netflix.

The cast of The Joy Luck Club. Photo Credit: American Film Institute. Rashida Jones and Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation. Photo Credit: NBC.

Tracee Ellis Ross, Jill Marie Jones, Golden Brooks, and Persia White on an episode of Girlfriends. Photo Credit: Paramount Television. Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, America Ferrera, and Alexis Bledel in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Photo Credit: MTV.

Golden Girls promotional photo: Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Betty White. Photo Credit: Medium. Lee Rodriguez, Ramona Young, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in Never Have I Ever. Photo Credit: Netflix.