Ginny & Georgia

The Way the Popular Netflix Show Portrays the Theme of "Beauty as a Weapon:

by Carolina Kawabe Design by Valentina Vidal Cabrero

If you have Netflix, you’ve likely heard about Ginny and Georgia. As the Netflix original series remained on the top of the charts for weeks, viewers around the globe were enthralled with its modern day take on a mother-daughter coming-of-age show.

The show explores many topics, including sex, domestic abuse, LGTBQ+ relationships, femininity, and friendships. However, one theme that became extremely apparent to me personally, as a viewer, was the idea of “beauty as a weapon.”

The program follows Georgia, a young mom, who had Ginny, her first daughter, at the age of 15. Later on, Georgia had Austin, a younger son, both of whom have different fathers. Georgia grew up in a very unhealthy, abusive, and dark environment. She was homeless for a while, was taken in by a biker gang, and even went on the run for a while. She did not grow up with any money or support system, so she was determined to give her kids the opportunities she never got. Georgia wanted to give them the life she never had, no matter what it took.

In the series, Georgia is often referred to for her beauty and “power” she has over men. Georgia is an extremely beautiful woman, but the thing that makes her even more attractive as a character is the way she knows how to use her looks to her advantage.

The show tells the narrative of a girl who had been beaten down, abused, and taken advantage of by men her entire life, and how that eventually shaped her to grow and look for her inner strength and desire to take the power back— and that she certainly did.

She often tells her daughter Ginny, “for a woman, life is a battle… and beauty is a machine gun.”

Coming from a broken home and finding herself in troubling relationships, Georgia quickly gained a “survival of the fittest” mentality. She did not have much money, but what she did come to realize was the wealth she held in her looks. With trial and error, Georgia began to learn the dangers and power of beauty.

This fuel for a resurgence and change allowed her to take advantage of what she did have — looks and street smarts. Though her methods may have been dark and insane at times, I believe that is exactly what the show was going for.

The show provides the message of don’t mess with a woman, which is also incredibly empowering as a woman to watch. Georgia is a bad-ass, and she shows viewers that a woman can be femininity and power are not mutually exclusive in the slightest.

The show shows the depth of beauty — that is one of a complex, multi-faceted, deeper nature than we often make it out to be. It isn’t just an appearance, it is a tool, it is a danger, it is a weapon.

Beauty can be viewed in so many different ways. Nowadays, beauty standards terrorize people into taking actions on their body they may not have otherwise taken. The program shows many of the different ways beauty can both be perceived and used.

Ginny and Georgia takes back the narrative. Instead of beauty being a way for men to judge women, the show uses beauty as a way for a woman to control a man.

The show by no means is aiming to send the message of following in Georgia’s footsteps or mindset, but it does show the way we as women can take back the power and use beauty as a tool for confidence rather than insecurity.

Ginny and Georgia provides a dark, new, and encapsulating take on feminism. As a viewer, I certainly felt like more of a badass after watching. Georgia is strong. Though she makes mistakes, and sometimes gets overly-passionate… nothing can take away from her strength and intelligence.