Lahm, Sarah. "'Yas Queen': Postfeminism and Urban Space Oddities in ." Space Oddities: Difference and Identity in the American City. Ed. Stefan L. Brandt and Michael Fuchs. Vienna: LIT Verlag, 2018. 161-177. ISBN 978-3-643-50797-6 (pb).

"VAS QUEEN": POSTFEMINISM AND URBAN SPACE ODDITIES IN BROAD CITY SARAH LAHM

Broad City's (, since 2014) season one episode "Working Girls" opens with one of the show's most iconic scenes: In the show's typical fashion, the main characters' daily routines are displayed in a split screen, as the scene underline the differ­ ences between the characters of Abbi and Ilana and the differ­ ent ways in which they interact with their urban environment. Abbi first bonds with an older man on the subway because they are reading the same book. However, when he tries to make ad­ vances, she rejects them and gets flipped off. In clear contrast to Abbi's experience during her commute to work, Ilana intrudes on someone else's personal space, as she has fallen asleep on the subway and is leaning (and drooling) on a woman sitting next to her (who does not seem to care). Later in the day, Abbi ends up giving her lunch to a homeless person who sits down next to her on a park bench, thus fitting into her role as the less assertive, more passive of the two main characters. Meanwhile, Ilana does not have lunch at all, but chooses to continue sleeping in the of­ ficebathroom, in which she smoked a joint earlier in the day. At dinner, the screen stays split, but Abbi and Ilana share the same space, as they are eating dinner at a restaurant together, during which Ilana's arm reaches over into Abbi's frame and onto her plate as she continuously picks off Abbi's dish. They conclude their days in drastically different ways, as well: Abbi finishes a drawing . In the context of this highly stylized depiction of two 162 SARAH LAHM women's urban realities, Ilana's corporeal experience becomes a karmic payback for her routinely inconsiderate behavior. Abbi and Ilana's different actions within and reactions to their urban surroundings inevitably raise questions about their identifica­ tion as (post)feminists, as well as their sense of agency in con­ temporary . Indeed, many of the oddities Broad City's New York City ac­ commodates are linked to Abbi and Ilana's identification as postfeminist women. By combining images portraying femi­ nist empowerment and (stereo)typical gender specificities, the show reflects the contemporary cultural trend of feminist trans­ gression and the need (or perhaps even contemporary women's right) to explicitly thematize gender-specific aspects of every­ day life. Thus, the audiovisual rendering of Abbi and Ilana's di­ vergent daily routines exemplifies the postfeminist lifestyle the show celebrates, while simultaneously giving a nod to the spatial oddities that define their urban lives. In fact, Broad City's urban space oddities and its postfeminist agenda feed offone another, for postfeminism is in itself an odd concept, as it tries to define a new zeitgeist that is neither feminist, nor anti-feminist, but in the process of constantly (re-)defining itself. Consequently, an­ alyzing Abbi and llana's movements through urban spaces in terms of agency is equally complex. In addition, many of the show's comedic moments can best be described as 'oddities', and very often, these oddities are linked to postfeminist ideas and a contemporary understanding of cityspace. Accordingly, my contribution to this volume will focuson the interconnections between postfeminism and the urban experi­ ence, for Ilana and Abbi's postfeminist mindsets make possible the emergence of New York City's spatial oddities. Broad City's main characters Abbi and Ilana put themselves into a myriad of absurd situations, which are not simply creating comic effects, but are also used in order to portray the complex experiences of young women living in an urban environment. Thus, Abbi and Ilana repeatedly become the center of odd situations in various places in New York City, including streets, bars, banks, restau­ rants, parks, and doctors' offices. The oddities of their urban ex­ istences are, I will suggest, consequences of their postfeminist mindsets, which, because of postfeminism'selusive qualities, of­ ten contradict each other. Despite, or perhaps precisely because URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND P0STFEMINISM IN BROAD CITY 163 of these contradictions, urban practices and the use of diverse urban spaces are questioned. Thus, the comedic situations that are portrayed in Broad City and the paradoxical forms of identi­ fication that the show's characters go through ultimately fostera critical comment upon urban spaces as Abbi and Ilana attempt to make sense of their urban environment.

POSTFEMINISM ANO ODO URBAN SPACES When discussing a contemporary television show focusing on young women such as Broad City (but also Girls and Two Broke Girls), 'classic' traits of feminist action, as defined in the firstand second waves of feminism, do no longer apply, or are present alongside elements that reject a feminist agenda. Postfeminism is an elusive and, accordingly, contested term. According to Jane Gerard, postfeministsperceive "gender differences, such as want­ ing to look sexy and flirt" as "playful, stylistic, and unrelated to the operations of social power and authority" (37). Ilana's remark that "we're the sexiest girls here. 'Cause we have like the fattest asses, you know? Like, we're the most fuckable" in the episode "Fattest Asses" encapsulates exactly this aspect of postfeminism. Gerard's definition raises the question whether postferninists may be unaware of the interconnections between gender differ­ ences and gender politics; and if they are, whether they choose to embrace said differences, anyway.Judith Butler has cunningly observed that "sexuality and power are coextensive and that we must not think that by saying yes to sex we say no to power" (152). Since the political agenda of postfeminism thus seems indefin­ able, scholars have wondered whether 'postfeminism' is a valid or usefulterm, to begin with. Chris Holmlund has tried to impose a definitionand typology onto the elusive beast. She has divided postfeminism into three separate groups: The category of 'chick' postfeminist women in­ cludes such diverse expressions of femininity as working girls who date and party and women who stay at home. 'Riot grrrls' are more "eager to carry on first- and second-wave feminist struggles," while postfeminist academics engage in "postmodern, postcolonial, poststructural, queer, (etc.) theory" (Holmlund 116). Sometimes, these different elements are divided between Abbi 164 and Ilana. Ilana, forexample, embodies a steadfastfeminist when it comes to her status as a single woman for whom a monoga­ mous relationship is not a priority at all. Abbi, on the other hand, represents the modern woman always on the lookout for a ful­ filling long-term relationship. However, neither 'chick' postfem­ inism, which takes forgranted the achievements of second-wave feminism or opposes them, nor 'riot grrrl'-dom, which implies a desire to take earlier feminists' achievements further, can con­ vincingly describe Abbi and Ilana's identities. Instead, the two characters occupy a liminal, odd, space between these two cate­ gories. In "What a WonderfulWorld," Ilana advertises herself and Abbi (without her knowledge) as ''.just 2 Jewesses tryin' to make a buck" on Craigslist, and promptly, the two of them get booked by a man who wants them to clean his apartment in their under­ wear. Abbi is more than hesitant at first, but eventually gives in to Ilana, who wants to go to a Lil' Wayne concert so badly that she throws her feminist pride overboard, readily accepting this particular formof objectification. However, when the man refus­ es to pay them, Abbi and Ilana quickly rediscover their agency, state what they want, and, when that verbal request leads to no­ where, they undo their previous work by creating a mess Oiter­ ally and metaphorically undoing their anti-feminist deed) and taking items from the apartment with them. Thus, both 'chick' postfeminism and '1·iot grrrl'-dom have been captured within this one, poignant incident. Abbi and Ilana display tendencies of both 'chick' postfeministsand 'riot grrrls' in their statements and actions, showcasing how the characters are caught in a network of postfeministparadoxes. Accordingly, each of the two characters does not simply rep­ resent one type of contemporary femininity; instead, both dis­ play a complex mixture of various femininities. This notion of the female subject in constant flux has the potential to be a pos­ itive (dare I say 'progressive'?) representation of femininity, as "feminism has been the victim of media stereotyping and draws strength from its 'chameleon-like organisation"' (Brooker 101). Broad City is situated within a contemporary New York City in which women are hopeful that the United States will celebrate the election of its first female president. As a serial narrative, Broad City thus has the opportunity to display a multiplicity of facets that are all part of what can be considered the feminine. URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND PosTFEMINISM IN BROAD Crrv 165 PUBLIC SPACE, AGENCY, AND URBAN SPACE ODDITIES "An attachment to place," Linda McDowell remarks in her essay "Place and Space," "whether voluntary or chosen, retains its sig­ nificance forlife chances, ways of living, access to resources and cultural identities" (12). This argument applies to Broad City in several ways. For example, Abbi and Ilana's expressions of their cultural identities reflect the diversity and inclusivity present in New York City. When it comes to the "life changes" and "ways of living" McDowell mentions, Abbi and Ilana's attachment to the spaces they inhabit may be significant, but there is another, stronger component that plays a significant role in virtually all plotlines of Broad City, namely randomness. In his 2007 book Ludie City, Quentin Stevens stresses that "people can be capri­ cious and unpredictable." As a result, "urban spaces and the ac­ tivities which occur in them constantly generate disorder, spon­ taneity, risk and change. Urban public spaces offer a richness of experiences and possibilities for action" (1). This statement ex­ actly describes the manner in which most events in Broad City unfold. In fact, some episodes are completely dedicated to this notion of unpredictability. For example, the episode "Destina­ tion: Wedding" simply consists of comedic mishaps that occur across Manhattan, as Abbi and Ilana, together with some friends, try to make it out of the city to a Wedding in Connecticut. How­ ever, they get entangled in a seemingly endless string of spon­ taneous and disastrous encounters that prevent them from ever leaving Manhattan. These events which keep them from getting to the wedding are at the heart of this particular episode's hu­ mor. Accordingly, at end, there is no despair, but only a contin­ uation of the episode's spontaneous humor. The string of events even had a cathartic effect on Abbi and Ilana, as they are able to let go of an old judgmental friend. As Stevens has put it, "the city is the most intense manifestationof the tensions of modern life, but urban public spaces also provide the conditions forresolving these tensions, by stimulating playful practices" (3). Indeed, all the obstacles the characters encounter on their search for a way to Connecticut provide the "stimulating, playful practices" Ste­ vens speaks of, offering liberation, rather than restriction, in the odd places Abbi and Ilana move through on their mission. Abbi and Ilana findthemselves in odd situations in many dif- 166 SARAH LAHM ferent urban spaces, as their postfeminist self-expression often drives their need forrepresentation in differentparts of Manhat­ tan, , and Queens. Significantly, there are virtually no places in New York City-especially in Manhattan and most parts of (gentrified) Brooklyn and even Queens-left where women cannot go, as New York has transformed significantly in this re­ spect over the past thirty years. As Abbi and Ilana traverse the ur­ ban space, the mere act of movement "demands space" (Mitch­ ell 33). The way that space is demanded by Broad City's main characters is, partly because of the genre within which the show operates, always playful. "Play," according to Quentin Stevens, "involves controversial expenditures of time and energy, 'un­ functional', economically inefficient, impractical and socially un­ redemptive activities" (I). ln this way, "play reveals the potentials that public spaces offer" (I). This idea can be applied to the vast majority of experiences Abbi and Ilana have in public spaces, and sometimes they get caught up in these playful experiences because of their need forpostfeminist self-expression. This need forself-expression becomes particularly prevalent in "Co-Op," as Abbi and Ilana turn a public basketball court into an arena to defend their female identities. Aftergetting catcalled by a group of boys who are approximately ten years old, Abbi and Ilana spontaneously decide to play against them. After they win against the boys, Ilana, in feminist fashion, yells, "Tellyour mom you got schooled by two women!" However, this victory is rendered less successful in terms of proving a feminist point when Abbi adds, "and remind her I'll be by later to fuck the shit out of her," while deflating the boys' basketball and subsequently making them cry. Even so, this scene exemplifies just how play (in this case, quite literally) can turn a public place designed fora specific activity (playing basketball) into something entirely dif­ ferent (an arena for fighting a feminist battle). In addition, this instance provides a perfect example of how agency-that "capacity to originate social acts in ways that pro­ duce impact, independently of the constraints imposed by so­ cial structure" (Mikula 5)-can operate. Keeping in mind that the concept of agency, not unlike postfeminism and countless other cultural concepts, occupies "varied and oftencontradictory posi­ tions" and that its meaning depends on "specific circumstance ," Abbi and Ilana express their views in response to the sexism they URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND P0STFEMINISM IN BROAD CITY 167

encounter by literally occupying a rather odd urban space (for white women, in particular). At the same time, they verbally con­ tradict their actions when Abbi uses a misogynistic phrase at the end of their victorious remarks. Since they are women in their twenties who at times display feminist ideologies and at other times do not seem to care about feminism at all, Ilana and Abbi truly embody postfeminist paradoxes. Abbi and Ilana's sense of agency and claiming public spaces is complicated in "Do the Right Thing" (webisode 1.18). In this epi­ sode, Abbi and Ilana find themselves in three differentsituations in which they experience public sexual harassment. First, when a man comes too close to Abbi as she is making a call on a pay­ phone, she yells at him, "You're grossing me out, I'm an adult, dude, I'm a person." When Ilana subsequently hisses at him, he runs away. In this specificcase, Abbi's and Ilana's stance and their feelings toward unwanted advances in public are made clear. A few minutes later, a man approaches Abbi and llana in a small supermarket. In a narrow aisle, he gets physically close to lla­ na, bends down to retrieve an item close to her, and eventually breathes in deeply as his head passes her breasts. The women re­ act to this boorish behavior with silent disgust. When a third man approaches them with the words, "New ladies on the block, I love it! You're beautiful, you know that?" and furtherasks them if they know what proportions are, just in order to tell them that they "got the right proportions," the girls finallyburst with disgust and anger, as the scene climaxes, already reminiscent of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989). "Can't we just hang out without this shit happening?" they ask the guy, and they make him aware of the fact that they "are people," yelling at him, "You have to treat us with respect!" Ilana further tells him, "You're grossing me out, this is uncomfortable;' and after a rant featuring close-up shots of the girls cursing at their harasser, the webisode ends with Ilana and Abbi reconstructing the opening dance scene of Do the Right Thing, with both of them even wearing boxing gloves in some of the shots. As New Yorkers, and even more importantly, as wom­ en, Abbi and Ilana are unwilling to accept harassment and real­ ize that they indeed have to "fight the power," which is accen­ tuated when they dance to the same opening song that became iconic with Do the Right Thing. However, the staging of the dance scene proves somewhat problematic from a feminist perspec- 168 SARAH LAHM tive. While Abbi and Ilana are empowered, their empowerment is wrapped in hip hop music video aesthetics, which thrives on female objectification. However, this paradox transforms the entire sequence into a textbook example of postfeminism, as it combines objectification and empowerment, even with a slight twist, as-chronologically speaking-empowerment tellingly precedes objectification,which, on top, the characters consent to. This episode is, however, merely one example where Abbi and Ilana's behavior can best be described as postfeminist, trapped as they are in the paradoxes of everyday lifein the big city. Another aspect of Abbi's and Ilana's lives as (post-)feminist women in a city that stands for freedom and prosperity in the American cultural imagination is the factthat they frequentlyget thrown out of, or even denied access to, places. These situations are set in a contemporary context and thus never entail Abbi and Ilana being denied access simply because they are women, but because of their behavior, which usually reflects their postfemi­ nist identities. For example, in "Pu$$y Weed," Ilana's tax attorney tells them to leave his office after they were rude and damaged his desk. In this instance, Ilana is simply frustrated because her plan to do her taxes herself for the very first time (her parents have been doing them for her so far) does not turn out satis­ factory forher, and faced with this disappointing ending to her effort to become yet more independent, she attempts to destruct someone else's space. In "Two Chainz," they get thrown out of a gallery aftersplashing ink from a security tag on Abbi's top on a painting. This incident has been sparked by Abbi's desire to buy a new top in order to look hip for the gallery event, and esca­ lates when Abbi is afraidto lose her old friend'srespect. In addi­ tion, Abbi and Ilana are banned from a food co-op after sharing shifts. In this case, Abbi impersonates Ilana, but then gives up their scheme because she wants to go on a date with a potential love interest. By prioritizing a potential date over protecting her best friend's identity, Abbi opts for the chance of heterosexu­ al love rather than standing with a woman. Granted, not all of these instances necessarily happen because of how Abbi's and Ilana's postfeminist ideas interact with the urban environment, but they doubtlessly feel strongly about their rights as women to do what they think i necessary or right (forthem). URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND PosTFEMINISM I BROAD c,rr 169

"Mapping," James Corner explains in Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Theory (1999), "is a fantastic cultural project, creating and building the world as much as measuring and describing it" (213). When looking at the map of New York City that comes with the first season of Broad City on DVD (see lllustration IX.1), it becomes clear that the New York City por­ trayed on the show is Abbi's and Ilana's subjective version of the city, as it contains all the elements (and only these elements) that make up their world. Moreover, titling the map "Welcome to Broad City" not only underlines the fictional nature of the nar­ rative, but also points to the highly personalized nature of Man­ hattan, Brooklyn, and Queens the viewer is looking at. Tellingly, when discussing the "'agency' of mapping," Corner argues that "we have been adequately cautioned about mapping as a means of projecting power-knowledge, but what about mapping as a productive and liberating instrument, a world-enriching agent" (213), thus providing a means to understanding the odd urban playfulness characteristic of Abbi and Ilana's map-making. Cre­ ating this subjective, somewhat distorted map of New York City becomes a tool in sketching a city whose urban spaces belong to them not simply as individuals, but ratheras young, single wom­ en. On this map, Manhattan truly becomes their own reality, as it contains everything that is meaningful to Abbi and Ilana, be it places, stores, or occurrences. The layout and proportions are especially significant: Houston Street is approximately where Midtown would be on a "real" map of Manhattan, 14th Street is even further north, where Central Park would otherwise be, while Central Park is unreasonably small and located in an area that would otherwise be in Harlem. This representation makes perfect sense forAbbi and Ilana, however, forthey spend most of their time south of 14th Street, which is underlined by the num­ ber of places highlighted in this area. Rather than simply filling a preexisting map with personal items and miniature stories, the outlines of the boroughs, their sizes and proportions are based on their urban experiences. Accordingly, the map ultimately takes its specificshape fromAbbi and Ilana's emancipatory acts. As a result, since Abbi and Ilana are never seen anywhere in the 170 SARAH LAHM

Illustration IX.1: Abbi and llana's subJective map of New York City. Scan of the map included in the Broad City season one DVD box set© Comedy Central. 2014. URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND PosTFEMINISM IN BROAD CrrY 171

Bronx, this borough is marginal, whereas Brooklyn and Queens receive more attention because Ilana lives in Brooklyn, and Abbi Jives in Queens. In its entirety, this map thus perfectly illustrates the way Abbi and Ilana see themselves in the city - as the main characters of their own story, and as active agents who create their city rather than trying to fitinto the official cityscape with­ in which they are moving, demonstrating that "mapping acts may emancipate potentials, enrich experiences and diversify worlds" (213). However, Abbi and Ilana's movements through the urban space are repeatedly influenced by outside forces. For example, when Abbi loses her phone in "Stolen Phone," and Ilana points out that they could look forit with the Find My iPhone app, Abbi and Ilana's subjective experiences of the city become interrelat­ ed with its digital mapping. Consequently, they follow a dot on the digital map of Manhattan. Each step they take is thus pre-de­ termined by wherever Abbi's phone goes, mediated (and also premediated) by Ilana's phone. The randomness with which the dot moves forces them to explore parts of the city they would otherwise not go to, rendering their agency as urban dwellers insignificant. Searches like this repeatedly facilitatethe exploration of parts of the city Abbi and Ilana would otherwise not encounter. For example, in "Apartment Hunters," Abbi looks for a new apart­ ment, while Ilana searches for a long forgotten remote con­ trol-both quests lead them to surprising locations in the city. In "The Lockout," on the other hand, they are "homeless" fora day, since Abbi's apartment is bug-bombed and Ilana cannot findher apartment keys. Finally, in "Two Chainz," Ilana drops the key to the lock of an extremely heavy bike chain she is wearing around her waist into a sewer-an incident with far-reaching implica­ tions for their movements through the city for the rest of the episode. These lost objectsbring about the unpredictable, capri­ cious, spontaneous, and sometimes risky activities that reveal "the potential that public spaces offer" (Stevens 1). These random encounters, in turn, become so significantto Abbi and Ilana that they eventually formpart of their map. Apart from Abbi and Ilana's individual mapping of the city and the (random) encounters that constitute their own map of New York City, the subway system provides another import- 172 SARAH LAHM

ant representation of the city. In contrast to the girls' subjective mapping of the city, the subway network is a complex, fixed sys­ tem. However, scenes that center on their encounters in the sub­ way focus on their randomness, which celebrates these random interactions with other people and turns them into part of New York City's essence. In New York City:An Outsider's Inside View (2004), Mario Maffi describes the subway as "the very underneath of New York, [ ... ) but also that underneath that each of us experiences on a more personal basis." Among these personal experiences characteristic of riding the subway, he includes "the rainbow variety of faces and behavior" and "the idiosyncrasies of individual passengers" (31; emphasis in original). This heterogeneous conception of the New York City subway is "somehow metonymic for the expe­ rience of the city as a whole, perhaps even constitutive of New York's identity," as Christoph Lindner has suggested (163). In the opening episode of season two, a single train ride en­ capsulates all kinds of oddities that New Yorkers might encounter

Illustration IX.2: Abbi and llana's subway ride is filled with filled with odd moments. Screenshot taken from the Broad Cityseason two DVD box set

Illustration IX.3: In the end. Abbi and Ilana become a spatial oddity themselves. Screenshot taken from the Broad Cityseasontwo DVD box set© Comedy Central, 2015. 174 SARAH LAHM

Illustration IX.3), in whose presence even Ilana tries to cover up her scarcely clothed body (it is summer). Yet as Ilana and Abbi walk out the door, Ilana hits one of the men on the rear with a flat hand, prompting the whole train car to protest loudly, but these sounds are quickly stopped by the doors closing and the train's departure. This very last part of this subway sequence un­ derlines that anything that happens in the New York City subway is temporary, and thus, the subway is one of those places in New York City that most clearly embody the kind of 'play' Quentin Steven discusses. Moreover, the randomness of these encounters suggests that a truly objective mapping of the city is, ultimately, for naught.

The oddities Abbi and Ilana encounter in New York City are often a product of a clash of their actions as postfeminists with those of other city dwellers, whose actions are motivated by equally diverse desires and convictions. Consequently, these encounters frequently develop out of chance, because "neither people's de­ sires nor their actions are sovereign, well-understood and fixed; both are contingent, a product of circumstance, and continually changing" (Stevens 2). Ilana, for example, wants to be an open person, an experimental person, in an environment which facil­ itates relationships between very diverse people. Sex in the city, for Ilana, means more than just sleeping with many different (Caucasian) people, at least in theory. She considers the city a place many different people inhabit that it becomes imperative forher to engage in (sexual) relations with as many differentpeo­ ple as possible. Accordingly, Broad Citymakes a spirited effort to present diversity when it comes to Abbi's and Ilana's love inter­ ests-albeit only to a certain degree. The show parodies this hypocritical approach to representing a diverse cast of characters (and love interests, in particular) in "Coat Check," when Ilana starts a brief affairwith a girl that looks exactly like her. This discrepancy between a show's intentions (or its awareness of a lack of diversity) is directly mirrored in llana's realization that despite her openness, the desire to get intimate with someone exactly like herself has con urned her. Whether URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND PosTFEMINISM IN BROAD CiTY 175 viewers identify with Ilana or judge her for her hypocrisy does not matter, as long as viewers understand the construction of hi­ erarchies of difference. Drawing on anthropologist Judith Okely, Linda McDowell has suggested that "different groups inhabiting the same spaces can create and shift boundaries by subtle means" (Gender 5). When , in her guest appearance in "I Heart New York," moves through the city with Abbi and Ilana, the three women high-five in all sorts of ways while waiting at a traffic light. The scene culminates in them "titty-bumping" each other. "And nev­ er forget: we bumped boobs. And they can't take that away from us," Amy Poehler says, before they venture on. This moment of female camaraderie functions as an exclamation mark to the topic of claiming urban space that runs through the entire webi­ sode: Abbi and Ilana move through the city, but they repeatedly stop-forexample, once to harass basketball players and once to separate two women holding hands and to take their drinks. Abbi and Ilana's repeated claims to public spaces becomes especially significant within the capitalist world New York City emblematizes. Afterall, capitalism, as Don Mitchell has asserted, is "defined by property" (34). As a result, "public space (as the space forrepresentation) takes on exceptional importance" (34). Accordingly, "I Hean New York" becomes one of Broad City's most iconic moments with regard to the girls' identities as urban (post)feministsand their need to express their identities through representation within the urban space of New York City. Abbi and Ilana playfulencounters with 'their' city create chaos within the urban environment, leading to a portrayal of the city that is as oddly complex as their identities as postfeminist women are fluid. The episode thus demonstrates that postfeminismand urban space intersect in both interesting and odd ways, opening up a new dialogue about these contemporary, postfeministchar­ acters and the representation of their identities in urban spaces.

WORKS CITED "Apartment Hunters." Writ. Tami Sagher. Dir. Nicholas Jasenovic. Broad City. Comedy Central, 19 March 2014. Prime Video. Web. 17 April 2016. 176 SARAH LAHM

Butler,Judith. Gender Trouble. London: Routledge, 1990. Print. "Coat Check." Writ. and Paul W. Downs. Dir. Jeff Tomsic. Broad City. Comedy Central, 10 March 2015. . Web. 17 April 2016. "Co-Op." Writ. Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs. Dir. Ryan Mc­ faul. Broad City. Comedy Central, 24 February 2016. Amazon Prime Video. Web. 15 August 2016. Corner,James. Recovering Landscape. Essays in ContemporaryLand­ scape Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. Print. "Destination: Wedding." Writ. and Ilana Glaz­ er. Dir. Nicholas Jasenovec. Broad City. Comedy Central, 12 March 2014. Amazon Prime Video.Web. 17 April 2016. "Do the Right Thing." Writ. and Abbi Jacobson. Dir. Tim Bierbau. Broad City. YouTube, 8 November 2010. YouTube. Web. 17 April 2016. "Fattest Asses." Writ. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Dir. John Lee. Broad City. Comedy Central, 19 February 2014. Amazon Prime Video. Web. 17 April 2016. Holmlund, Chris. "Postfeminism from A to G." Cinema Journal 22.2 (2005): ll6-121. JSTOR. Web. 3 March 2015. Lindner, Christoph. Imagining New York City: Literature, Urbanism, and the Visua/Arts, 1890-1940. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2015. Print. "The Lockout." Writ. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Dir. Lucia Aniello. Broad City. Comedy Central, 12 February 2014. Ama­ zon Prime Video. Web. 17 April 2016. Maffi, Mario. New York City:An Outsider's Inside View. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2004. Print. McDowell, Linda. Gender, Identity and Place: Understanding Femi­ nist Geographies. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. Print. ---. "Place and Space." A Concise Companion to Feminist Theory. Ed. Mary Eagleton. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. 11-31. Print. Mikula, Maja. Key Concepts in CulturalStudies. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. Mitchell, Don. The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space. New York: Guilford, 2003. Print. "Pu$$y Weed." Writ. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Dir. John Lee. Broad City. Comedy Central, 29 January 2014. Amazon Prime Video. 17 April 2016. Stevens, Quentin. The Ludie City: Exploring the Potential of Public Spaces. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print. "Stolen Phone." Writ. . Dir. Lucia Aniello. Broad City. Comedy Central, 26 February 2014. Amazon Prime Video. Web. URBAN SPACE ODDITIES AND PosTFEMINISM IN BROAD C1TY 177

17 April 2016. "Two Chainz."Writ. Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello. Dir. Lucia Aniello. Broad City. Comedy Central, 17 February 2016. Ama­ zon Prime Video.Web. 15 August 2016. "What a WonderfulWorld." Writ. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glaz­ er. Dir. Lucia Anniello. Broad City. Comed Central, 22 Janu­ ary 2014. Amazon Prime Video. Web. 17 Aprir 2016. "Working Girls."Writ. Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs. Dir. Lu­ cia Aniello. Broad City. Comedy Central, 5 February 2014. Am­ azon Prime Video. Web. 17 April 2016.