BROAD CITY: AN ANALYSIS OF BIOPOLITICS AND FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON TELEVISION

MA-THESIS: TELEVISION AND CROSS-MEDIA CULTURE

LISA LOTENS Date: June 24th 2015 Graduate School of Humanities University of Amsterdam Thesis Supervisor: Leonie Schmidt Second Reader: Toni Pape Word Count: 22993 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Scientific relevance 6 1.2 Social relevance 9 1.3 Chapter outline 10

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11

2.1 Governmentality, biopolitics and media representations 11 2.1.1 Government and governmentality 11 2.1.2 Biopolitics 15 2.1.3 Media and governmental politics 17 2.1.4 Media, governmentality and neoliberalism 18 2.2 Governmentality and Broad City 19

3. Feminism 21 3.1 First and second wave feminsim 21 3.2 Third wave feminism 21 3.3 Postfeminism and neofeminism 22 3.4 Contemporary waters 24

4. METHODOLOGY 25

ANALYSIS 30

5. Sexuality in Broad City 30 5.1 Biopolitics and sexuality in Broad City 41

6. Dress practices in Broad City 42 6.1 Cross-dressing 44 6.2 Mixing masculine elements with feminine elements 53 6.3 Mismatching lingerie 55 6.4 Biopolitics and dress practices in Broad City 58

7. Unruly working girls in Broad City 60 7.1 Biopolitics, unruly women and Broad City 68

8. CONCLUSIONS 70

8.1 Moving towards an alternative, intersectional ideal of “a woman?” 72

9. REFERENCES 74 ABSTRACT The recent trends of incorporating unruly women and feminist politics in visual culture possibly signify a new way of representing the female body. This thesis takes television series Broad City as an object of study to critically scrutinize these trends. It asks the question: How are women and female sexuality represented in contemporary visual culture and how do representations and (feminist) politics promote specific behavior? With the use of Foucauldian discourse analysis of sexuality, dress and genre, I examine the functions of governmentality and biopolitics in Broad City and I explore the different behavioral patterns that are promoted. This thesis proposes that Broad City indicates a shift from the neofeminist ideal of a woman to an alternative ideal that is characterized by gender-fluidity, non-normativity and an intersectional feminist political agenda. Furthermore, it proposes that Broad City is ambivalent towards neoliberal ideology as a whole, and that governmentality is not automatically interrelated with neoliberalism. 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years there has been a significant resurgence of claims to ‘feminism’ in popular culture. This stands in contrast with the predominant postfeminist era of the 00’s, which is characterized by individual choice and feminine consumer culture without an explicit political feminist agenda (think of Sex and the City (1998 - 2006, HBO). Examples of this resurgence are Beyoncé at the 2014 VMA’s, proudly taking claim to feminism while the word brightly lit up behind her (figure 1). In September 2014, actress Emma Watson delivered a proclaimed ‘game- changing' speech on gender equality and feminism, which has been watched on YouTube over six million times (2015).1 On the web a great amount of Tumblrs2, blogs3 and Facebook-pages4 have emerged, all dedicated to feminism. Earlier, in 2012, Lena Dunham premiered her series Girls (2012-, HBO), representing females, female sexuality and female friendship in a different way than for example one of the most influential series of the 21st century: Sex and the City. No longer is the woman glamorized in a ‘pink’ world that revolves around consumerism (figure 2). Girls, through its narrative and grimy aesthetics, was one of the first series that represented female bodies as imperfect, raw and authentic (figure 3). Dunham quickly became a feminist icon.

Figure 1: Beyoncé at the 2014 VMA’s (Source: Washingtonpost.com)

1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-iFl4qhBsE

2 https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/feminism

3 http://feministing.com/

4 https://www.facebook.com/everydayfeminism?fref=ts

1 Figure 2: The glamorized world of Sex and the City. (Source: theredlist.com)

Figure 3: Lena Dunham in Girls. (Source: paulienvr.wordpress.com)

2 Girls is not the only series with claims to feminism in visual culture. There has been a trend, especially in comedy, of females who write and produce television series, movies and web series and practice feminist politics in these series, such as Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation (Comedy Central, 2009) and Amy Schumer in Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central, 2013). These writers seemingly represent female bodies, gender and sexuality in a different way than the glamorized representations of women such as in Sex and the City. These women are less (lipstick) feminine. They are imperfect and fully acceptant of their flawed qualities: they do not confirm to societies rules imposed on women (they are, in contrast, failing their jobs, using explicit language, and they wear androgynous clothing). As Molly Lambert writes: “It seems like in recent times, the culture has expanded slightly to accommodate the idea that ladies can be dumb-asses, too.” (Grantland, 2014). In 2007, Sarah Silverman premiered the Sarah Silverman Program (2007, Comedy Central) (figure 4) in which she negotiated with stereotyped gender roles, race and sexuality. Other examples are Tina Fey portraying Liz Lemon in 30 Rock (a series which she created, and which first aired in 2006), Jenny Slate in Obvious Child (2014) and Abbi and Ilana in Broad City (2014). These unruly women, in contrast to the postfeminist woman – who is characterized by consumerism, individual achievement, and a youthful, overtly feminine appearance – are seemingly defying gender roles and are possibly changing the way we think of how a woman should act.

Figure 4: Sarah Silverman in The Sarah Silverman Program (Source: fanpop.com)

3 At the same time, there has been a strong backlash of this growth of feminism in popular culture. While pro-feminism websites began to grow, anti-feminist websites became bigger too. In 2013, a Tumblr “I don’t need feminism because…”5 appeared, showing girls holding posters stating that they’re anti-feminist, individualist, and independent human beings who believe feminism is no longer needed (figure 5). On Facebook, this page has garnered over 30000 likes6.

Figure 5: I don’t need feminism because… (Source: Tumblr)

In this same period, websites such as Womenagainstfeminism.com and Dontneedfeminism.com popped up, claiming that identifying yourself as feminist is a sign of weakness (e.g. “I don’t need feminism, because I am not a victim”).

5 https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i-don't-need-feminism-because

6 https://www.facebook.com/WomenAgainstFeminism

4 It is clear that our zeitgeist faces contradictions regarding feminism and female representation in media. Visual culture is trying to redefine the concept of female representation and women and men alike are trying to figure out what it really means to be a woman today. The trends of incorporating unruly women and feminist politics in visual culture possibly signify a new way of representing the female body. These observations raise a number of questions: How are women and female sexuality represented in contemporary visual culture and how can we understand this in a longer tradition of feminist critique? How do these representations reflect our zeitgeist, especially with regard to feminism? What kinds of politics are practiced by these representations? And how do these politics function to promote specific behavior? Or, in other words, how do these politics function in relation to governmentality and biopolitics? What claims to feminism do these constructions actually make and how are they (re)defining feminism in the process? And what changes and continuities are occurring in the representation of women in visual and popular culture? To analyze these questions, this thesis will primarily draw on the works of Foucault Governmentality (1978a), Discipline and Punish (1975), The History of Sexuality (1978b), Society Must Be Defended (2003), Security, Territory, Population (2007 [1977 - 1978] and The Archeology of Knowledge (1989). This thesis will provide an analysis on a narrative and visual level and will elaborate on discourses that are constructed through narrative, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, props and camera. Eventually, these observations will be related to governmentality and biopolitics: which behavioral patterns are promoted? This Foucauldian lens allows me to thoroughly scrutinize my object of study and expose hidden social structures and relationships of power and interrogating the governance of femininity and sexuality within Broad City.

This thesis will use television series Broad City (2014 - 2015) as a case study to explore these questions and examine the shifting tendencies of female representation in popular culture. Broad City started out as a web-series in 2009 and it was picked up by Comedy Central in late 2013. The series follows Abbi and Ilana, two women and best friends in their mid-twenties living their daily lives in New York City. It has gained significant popularity and critical appraisal. In late 2011, Wall Street Journal writes that Broad City encapsulates ‘sneak attack feminism’, dealing with annoyances such as cat-calling and having brunch with perfectly put-together girls (S1WEP, 5). Furthermore, A.V. Club critic Caroline Framke calls Abbi and Ilana worth watching, because of their “‘casual take-no-shit attitude’ that’s all their own” (Framke, 2014). Today,

5 running in its second season, approximately 5000 viewers rated Broad City with an 8.6 on IMDB (IMDB, 2015). In addition, it has been confirmed that Broad City is renewed for a third season on Comedy Central (TIME, 2015). In the series - unlike the postfeminist representation of women - the two are failing their jobs, use explicit language, wear androgynous clothing and constantly tangle themselves in awkward situations. However, they do not apologize for it. In fact, they fully embrace their flaws as women and they do not confirm to norms society imposed on them. Thus, the way these two protagonists and writers of the show deal with female representation, aesthetics and popular culture is part of the current ‘female fuck up’ trend mentioned above.

1.1 Scientific relevance This study of female representation in Broad City as part of the female fuck up trend is relevant for a number of reasons. First of all, when looking at the literature on contemporary female representation, feminism and visual culture, there is a significant focus on the politics and constructs of (postfeminist) representation. However, this field does not look at the functioning of the recent female fuck up-trend that is seemingly occurring. Furthermore, they do not examine the governmental function of gender on television. In Neofeminist Cinema (2011), Radner examines how postfeminist female representation in Sex and the City functions as a construct of neoliberal ideology. In Feminism at the Movies (2011) Stringer and Radner look at the construction of gender in for example Bride Wars (Gary Winick, 2009). Furthermore, they examine how narratives are generated through stereotyping. In What a Girl Wants: Fantasizing the Reclamation of Self in Postfeminism (2008), Diane Negra looks at the politics of postfeminism in visual culture. Throughout the book, she is trying to pinpoint the pervasiveness of postfeminism in contemporary visual culture. In ‘The Girls who Waited? Female Companions and Gender in Doctor Who’ Lorna Jowett examines how gender is constructed and identifies the position of women in Doctor Who (2005-). In Girlfriends and Postfeminist Sisterhood (2013), Alison Winch critiques media cultures of neoliberal postfeminism. Its focus is on the configuration of female friendship and the functioning of this representation. She argues, as Hannah Hammad explains in her review of the book, that “the cultural imperatives around girlfriendship in postfeminist culture is bound with those of the neoliberal economy” (Hammad, 2015). Hence, representations of postfeminist girlfriendship and neoliberal ideology are interconnected. In summary, this field of research has extensively examined the functioning and politics of female representation in recent visual culture. However, this field has not yet

6 researched the recent trend that is seemingly occurring. Furthermore, this field has not yet explored the governmental functioning of the representation of female fuck ups/unruly women in contemporary visual culture.

Second of all, when looking at the field of governmentality studies and media, there is a significant absence of studies in governmentality and fictional television. Let me start by outlining the diversity of governmentality studies. As Lemke and Krassman explain, rather than “being genealogically-historically oriented, most of [governmentality studies] used Foucault’s instruments to analyze processes of contemporary social transformation” (9). The field of research extends from, as Lemke and Krassman explain, criminology and education, to organizational sociology and critical management studies (9). In recent years, governmentality studies has also expanded its research field to media. In ‘Makeover Television, Governmentality and the Good Citizen’ Ouellette and Hay (2008) examine the functioning of governmentality in make-over television. They show how the ‘experts’ of these shows promote and legitimize certain ‘right’ behavior. In addition, in ‘The Fashion Police: Governing the Self in What Not to Wear’ Martin Roberts (2007) also examines how “contemporary lifestyle and lifestyle television have taken on the role of policing identities and behavior and their success in reconfiguring these in accordance with the economic interests of neoliberal capitalism” (244). In ‘Weighing in on NBC's The Biggest Loser: Governmentality and Self-concept on the Scale’ Tucker Readdy and Vicki Ebbeck examine reality television and its role as a technology of governmentality in neoliberal context. They examine “how audience members conceptualize and enact the messages communicated in the show within these intricate frameworks” (578). This literature, however, does not examine technologies of governmentality in fiction. How does governmentality function in fictional drama series? How does governmentality work with the absence of an expert? How does governmentality work in narrative structure? And, are neoliberalism and governmentality always interconnected? This thesis will examine how technologies of governmentality work in fictional series, specifically with regard to female sexuality. In this way, my study of female sexuality and media could add to governmentality studies.

As Stephan Lessenich argues, recent governmentality studies which deal with the recent change from “welfare society” to “active society” seem to limit themselves to classifying this transformation as a “neoliberal” move towards the construction of a self-relying homo

7 oeconomicus (Lessenich, 306). However, activating social policies, as Lessenich argues, are not only directed by an economic rationality. In addition, they are “guided at least as much by a social rationality: they aim at a construction of a “socialized self” who, in relying on and taking care of him/herself, is actually in the name and for the sake of “society” (306). In my analysis, I critically reflect on this limitation of governmentality studies. Furthermore, I will show in my analysis of Broad City how governmentality studies can also be used to indicate a move from, or indicate ambivalence towards neoliberal ideology. An active society is thus not necessarily immanent within economical rationality regarding neoliberalism. Hence, most governmentality studies regarding media (Roberts, 2007, Ouellette and Hay, 2008) are concerned with unpacking conservatism or exposing governance under the agendas and interests of neoliberal capitalism. In other words, governmentality forms the perfect neoliberal citizen. However, in my analysis I will show that governmentality studies can also be used as an analytic tool to highlight ambivalence (and resistance) towards neoliberal ideology. The question that rises, then, is the following: is governmentality always immanent within neoliberalism? And, if it is not, can we still call it governmentality?

In summary, gender studies and female representation studies have not yet extensively examined the seemingly current ‘female fuck up’ trend that is happening in visual culture. Furthermore, this field of study looks at politics of representation. However, how does governmentality function in the context of postfeminist representation? In addition, governmentality studies regarding media representation focus on reality tv. However, the question that rises is, how does governmentality work in fictional drama series? And specifically, how does governmentality work with regard to female sexuality in fiction? Furthermore, is governmentality always linked with neoliberalism? And if it is not, can we still consider it as governmentality? This thesis will critically reflect on these questions.

8 1.2 Social relevance Our contemporary society is characterized by contradictions, especially with regard to feminism - a term which I will define in chapter one -, as I explained above. In this thesis, one of my aims is to pinpoint these contradictions and show how these contradictions occur in Broad City in order to critically reflect on our zeitgeist. In a world where gender inequality still plays such an important role in our daily lives, and females stay underrepresented on television, it is important to critically reflect on female representation on television. Especially because media functions as an outlet through which biopolitics attempts to regulate and discipline the individual body and by extension the entire population (I will elaborate on this later).

Feminist critique is of great importance because gender inequality and the absence of female representation on television is apparent in our contemporary society. Furthermore, the (post)feminist ‘backlash’ that is predominant on television, among other media, and the extensive research that has been done regarding this topic shows that there is still a strong need for feminist critique (think of the works of Diane Negra and Yvonne Tasker (2007), Hilary Radner (2011) and Angela McRobbie (2008). My study will propose that there is a shift occurring which allows for claims to feminism. With regard to a continually shifting cultural climate, it is important to keep examining changes and trends occurring in society.

Furthermore, this study of power relations and social structures allows for a critical understanding of how media affects society and vice versa. On the one hand, by using governmentality as an analytic tool I will show how specific ‘right’ behavior is promoted to society and how norms are created and promoted to society in Broad City. On the other hand, I will show how certain existing norms that are imposed on women are frequently displayed and confirmed by characters of Broad City. Not only does governmentality give insight in how media represents women and which lifestyles they offer to women, it also exposes power relations that are enclosed within these representations. This knowledge is important because it exposes taken-for-granted behavior that is performed by neoliberal society. By exposing this, it could allow for a better understanding of how society works, and, possibly, it could allow for a step forward for women in their fight for gender equality.

9 1.3 Chapter outline The second chapter outlines the theoretical framework in which my study is positioned. It elaborates on Foucault’s notions of governmentality (1977) and biopolitics (1975). Furthermore, it outlines the ways these notions are related to media representations: how can we think of biopolitics and governmentality in regard to female representation on television? Chapter 3 will consist of a genealogy of feminism and will characterize different ways of feminism in order to get a clear view on how Broad City can be positioned in a longer tradition of feminist critique. In Chapter 4 this thesis will outline the method used to conduct my research, namely, a Foucauldian-inspired discourse analysis. It will demonstrate the differences between Critical Discourse Analysis and Foucauldian-inspired analysis and it will show how discourse analysis allows me to interrogate how textual discursive formations promote specific behavioral patterns regarding representations of femininity and expose regimes of governance, both on the level of the individual body as well as the entire population. Chapter 5, 6 and 7 consist of my analysis of female representation in Broad City. These chapters will examine how discourses on representations of sexuality, dress and unruly women are articulated and how these representations can be thought of in relation to governmentality and biopolitics. Chapter 8 takes up these last results and observations and translates this to a reflection of our zeitgeist, in relation to female representation on television: how does female representation in Broad City suggest alternative ways of thinking about gender and sexuality? And how can we position this in a longer tradition of feminist critique? Furthermore, it elaborates on limitations of this research and how this research allows for further research in contemporary female representation of women on television.

10 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Governmentality, biopolitics and media representations In order to answer the question how women and female sexuality are represented in Broad City it is necessary to critically examine the relation between media representations and society and vice versa. More specifically, it is important to examine and expose how society governs women to act in a certain way and how media representations are constructed by, and constructing, this governance, because these hidden social structures and power relations are commonly taken- for-granted. The main question here, then, is how media representations can exercise a form of governance.

2.1.1 Government and governmentality One way to expose social structures and means of governance in television is to analyze the (desired) constitution of the subject by using Michel Foucault’s notion of governmentality, first explained in his lectures at the Collège de France in 1978 (Tasker & Negra, 230). In order to get a clear understanding on the concept of governmentality and its relation to media representations I will start by giving a brief historical perspective on governmentality, then, I will explain the concept of government and its role today. Finally, I will explain how I will use governmentality as an analytic tool in this thesis.

For Foucault governmentality entails “a range of forms of action aimed in a complex way at steering individuals and collectives in a certain way” (Brockling, Krasmann and Lemke 2011, in Schmidt, 137). As Foucault explains, the notion of government marks a break in history. A break of exercising power, that is. To fully understand the notion of governmentality, it is important to break down different forms of power in history. First, Foucault describes that in the seventeenth and eighteenth century the sovereign power regime - top down exercised power, characterized by, for example, public executions of criminal bodies (Foucault, 1975, cited in Schmidt, 137) - was predominant. Second, in late eighteenth century, another externalized form of power became dominant in society. Namely, disciplinary power: “the body is not directly punished but treated as docile, useful and an object subjected to transformation and optimization” (Foucault, 1978). The most common example Foucault uses to explain disciplinary power is the panopticon, an architectural principle that is able to exercise surveillance on its inhabitants at all times. In other words, disciplinary power is an externalized form of power which is based on the

11 idea that someone tells you what to do and how to behave. Third, there is government or governmentality, an internalized form of power that became dominant in the nineteenth century and found its roots in religion, and more specifically, pastoral power. According to Foucault, “[Pastoral power] is the prelude [to governmentality] through the procedures peculiar to the pastorate, through the way in which, fundamentally, it does not purely and simply put the principles of salvation, law and truth into play, but rather, through all these kinds of diagonals, it establishes other types of relationships under the law, salvation and truth” (Foucault, 2007 [1998-1978]). In addition, Foucault explains, “[Pastoral power] is also a prelude to governmentality through the constitution of a specific subject, of a subject whose merits are analytically identified, who is subjected in continuous networks of obedience, and who is subjectified through the compulsory extraction of truth” (Foucault, 2007 [1997-1978]). Thus, the exercise of governmental power today entails the steering and conducting of individuals. This form of power is based on the idea to steer the subject into believing that what they do is good for their own being. However, their actions do not only benefit themselves, but also society and the state. An example is going to the gym, which benefits the individual body and soul, but also benefits society: it creates healthy citizens and opportunities for labor. I will elaborate on this form of power more extensively in the next section. It is important to note that these three forms of power - sovereign, disciplinary and governmental - are interconnected, happen at the same time and do not exclude each other, and are forms of power that are immanent within society today.

According to Mitchell Dean in “Governmentality: Basic Concepts and Themes” government can be understood as the ‘conduct of conduct’, or the articulated set of our behaviors. This refers to guiding and how this is to be done. It also refers to self-direction that is appropriate to certain situations such as etiquette and our behavior at work, at home, and other places (19). In order to regulate and control this behavior, there are agents or experts that are responsible for regulation. For example, schoolteachers teach kids how to behave properly in class, parents regulate children at home and teach norms and values, and the state governs people into not breaking the law. Government consists of “shaping - with some degree of deliberation - aspects of our behavior according to particular sets of norms and for a variety of ends” (19). In this regard, government is a plural undertaking through certain codes of conduct, or, in other words, codes of how humans are supposed to act (as a good citizen). Thus, there is “a plurality of governing agencies and authorities, of aspects of behavior to be governed, of norms invoked, of

12 purposes sought, and of effects, outcomes and consequences” (18). These authorities are what Foucault calls technologies of domination (Foucault, 1988).

Practices of government presume to know how people should act appropriately. As Dean explains: “if morality is understood as […] a practice in which human beings take their own conduct to be subject to self-regulation, then government is an intensely moral activity” (19). So what exactly makes government moral? Dean continues: “Policies and practices of government, whether of national or of other governing bodies, presume to know, with varying degrees of explicitness and using specific forms of knowledge, what constitutes good, virtuous, appropriate, responsible conduct of individuals” (19). In this way, government is not only a power flowing from institutions to bodies but also a power that flows through individual bodies. Thus, as Dean explains, “the notion of government extends to cover the way in which an individual questions his or her own conduct (or problematizes it) so that he or she may be better able to govern it” (19). Dean gives a film and literature censorship board that regulates access to material as an example, which shows it is concerned with moral matters, e.g. censoring the nude and violence (19). This censorship governs, thus, that nudity and violence is ‘wrong’ behavior. In other words government encompasses not only how we exercise authority over others, or how we govern abstract entities such as states and populations, but also how we govern ourselves.

The governing of the self is what Foucault calls the technologies of the self. According to Foucault, “technologies of the self permit individuals to effect by their own means, or with the help of others, a certain number of operations on their own bodies and souls, thoughts, conduct and a way of being, so as to transform themselves in order to attain a certain state of happiness, purity, wisdom, perfection or immortality” (Foucault, 1988). It entails “modes of training and modification of individuals, not only in the obvious sense of acquiring certain skills, but also in the sense of acquiring certain attitudes” (Foucault, 1977). In other words, technologies of the self are ways to discipline oneself. An example of the practices of technologies of the self is fitness. Not only does one modify the body to live up to a specific ideal and improve skill to acquire strength and stamina, it also could enhance ones self- confidence. Thus, again, government is not only the practice of conducting the conduct of others but also conducting the conduct of yourself, or governing yourself. How can we think of technologies of the self in relation to media? Media texts and its discursive practices offer us technologies of the self. The discourses that are formed through media texts offer us ways to

13 discipline ourselves. For example, advertisements on dieting offer us ways to modify our body in order to live up to a beauty standard and be a healthy citizen. Then, the question rises, how does this work in fictional television? Narrative and visual codes in fiction form discourses that, again, offer technologies of the self. In this way, fictional media texts offer ways to discipline or govern oneself. If, for example, a protagonist of a fictional series goes to the gym on a regular basis, this offers a technology of the self: going to the gym to modify your body is ‘right’ behavior.

To summarize, government concerns practices that try to “shape, sculpt, mobilize and work through desires, aspirations, needs, wants and lifestyles of individuals and groups” (Dean, 20). This definition is easy to bring into relation with politics, ethics and expressions of identity and (acting upon) the self. An example of self-government in this way is dieting, people transforming their eating habits and bodily shape to conform to an ideal. This is ethical because individuals problematize their own conduct. These practices imply it is good being slim, healthy and have control over one’s body (20). In short, according to Foucault, governmentality is “the contact between the technologies of domination of others and those of the self” (Foucault, 1988). It is important to note that government is beneficial to the individual. With the example of fitness in mind, it creates healthy citizens. Although this seems positive for the individual subject, the individual becomes ever more regulated. This, eventually, is beneficial for the neoliberal state: healthy citizens are cost-effective, they enhance workforce’s productivity and the expansion of the fitness-industry enhances labor opportunities in general.

In this way, governmentality is inseparably related to forms of power, especially the exercise of power over and through bodies and the individual. All of this is inherent to certain regimes of practices, which are “the organized practices through which we are governed and through which we govern ourselves” (Dean, 28). They are the “routinized and ritualized way we do these things in certain places and at certain times. These regimes also include, moreover, the different ways in which these institutional practices can be thought of, made into objects of knowledge, and made subject to problemizations” (28). Thus, there is always a relation between government and thought, in which way truth is produced and power relations are structured within a certain framework. Power, then, is not concentrated in institutions of the state, but is concentrated in all elements of society: the state, institutions such as mass media and individual bodies.

14 With this context of government in mind, Dean elaborates on the concept of governmentality as an analytic tool. Governmentality can be understood as a tool to expose hidden social structures that are taken for granted: “[governmentality] emphasizes the way in which the thinking involved in practices of government is explicit and embedded in language and other technical instruments but is also relatively taken for granted, i.e. it is not usually open to questioning by its practitioners” (25). Thus, this thesis will use governmentality as an analytic tool to expose social structures in Broad City that are taken for granted. It will show how relationships of power and the governance of femininity and sexuality within Broad City work, which will allow for a better understanding of gender representations on television. Furthermore, it will help us understand how we think about femininity and sexuality in contemporary society.

2.1.2 Biopolitics In order to fully understand the notions of government and governmentality and its relation to media representations it is necessary to further elaborate on how current power relations are structured within society. In Society Must be Defended (1975) Foucault elaborates on the concept of biopower. According to Foucault, this specific form of power has emerged in late nineteenth century. As mentioned above, instead of sovereign power that was prevailing in the eighteenth century and which is the power to take life or let live (241), and disciplinary power that gained dominance alongside sovereign power in the nineteenth century, this new power represented the opposite: the right to make live and let die. Instead of the anatomo-politics of the human body that was immanent within the eighteenth century, the focus of power in the nineteenth century centered around the biopolitics of the human race. Dominant exercise of power shifted from sovereignty to disciplinary to regulatory, from top-down hierarchy to a power spread through all veins of life: “It is as though power, which used to have sovereignty as its modality or organizing schema, found itself unable to govern the economic and political body of a society that was undergoing both a demographic explosion and industrialization” (242). Hence, power was concentrated in all elements of society.

In the words of Foucault, biopolitics are: “a set of processes such as the ratio of births to death, the rate of reproduction, the fertility of a population, and so on” (243). Furthermore, they are a set of (economic and political) processes and targets that need to be regulated and controlled: “Biopolitics deals with the population, with the population as political problem, as a problem that is at once scientific and political, as a biological problem and as a power’s problem” (245).

15 Foucault stresses the fact that these biopolitical mechanisms function differently from disciplinary mechanisms: “The mechanisms introduced by biopolitics include forecasts, statistical estimates, and overall measures. And their purpose is not to modify any given phenomenon as such, or to modify a given individual insofar as he is an individual, but, essentially, to intervene at the level of their generality. The mortality rate has to be modified or lowered; life expectancy has to be increased; the birth rate has to be stimulated (246).” Thus, biopolitics regulate population on a level of generalities, instead of disciplining at the level of individual bodies. It regulates population for optimization. In economical sense, for example, the longer people live, the longer they are able to work and consume.

The concept of this power that is spread through the body, the mass and life as such raises the following question: How does biopower operate in contemporary society? According to Foucault, there are two series through which biopower engages, firstly, the body-organism-discipline- institutions series and secondly, the population-biological processes-regulatory mechanisms State (250). In ‘The Life Function: The Biopolitics of Sexuality and Race Revisited’ Jemima Repo explains that Foucault describes these tactics of power of life respectively as, first, the “anatomo-politics of the human body that seek to maximize and utilize its capabilities, and discipline and integrate the body into a system of economic productivity”, and, second, regulatory controls. This is “the focus on the varying conditions that effect population through birth, death, health, life expectancy and longevity” (7). In other words, ‘biopolitics of the population’.

To illustrate the workings of biopolitics within society I will use the example of sexuality. Sexuality, namely, is an axis where governmentality and biopolitics, where disciplinary and regulatory strategies, intersect. According to Repo, sexuality is “an apparatus deployed for the management of population by categorising, disciplining and regulating its constituent subjects” (6). In other words, sexuality is an apparatus deployed by biopolitics. Foucault exemplifies this further:

Sexuality, being an eminently corporeal mode of behavior, is a matter for individualizing disciplinary controls that take the form of permanent surveillance. But because it also has procreative effects, sexuality is also inscribed, takes effect, in broad biological processes that concern not the bodies of individuals but the element, the multiple unity of the population.

16 Sexuality exists at the point where body and population meet. And so it is a matter for discipline, but also a matter for regularization (252).

This point, the crossroads where disciplinary and regulatory tactics meet, is an excellent starting point to illustrate the relationship between biopolitics and governmentality. Biopolitics, namely, is a form of governmental reason centralizing the human body. The point where disciplining and regulatory strategies meet, is also the point where governmentality and biopolitics meet. Governmentality as a disciplining tactic that disciplines the individual body, or as Foucault exemplifies: “A child who masturbates too much will be a lifelong invalid.” And biopolitics as a regulatory tactic which regulates the population: “anyone who has been sexually debauched is assumed to have a heredity” i.e. this “norm” will last for generations” (253). Hence, governmentality and biopolitical tactics have the power to create and sustain norms. Foucault notes that the norm is the element that circulates between disciplinary and regulatory sanctions. The norm is something “that can be applied to both a body one wishes to discipline and a population one wishes to regularize” (253). Our current society is then, for Foucault, a normalizing society: “a society in which the norm of discipline and the norm of regulation intersect along an orthogonal articulation” (253). In other words, biopower is a power of norms that has taken control of body and life.

2.1.3 Media and governmental politics With this in mind, how can we think of biopolitics and governmentality in relation to media representations and women? Media here, are an apparatus of the deployment of biopolitics as well as governmentality. Through media, biopolitics discipline and regulate the individual body and the entire population. Media representations, namely, promote certain behavior as ‘right’ or ‘good’. This way, body and life can be disciplined and regulated. The following example is a great way to illustrate this argument and show how governmentality and biopolitics meet in media representations. In 1915, exactly 100 years ago, the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar placed an ad displaying a woman in a toga-like dress holding up her arms, clearly without any hair7. The ad claims that summer dresses and modern dancing combined “make necessary the removal of objectionable hair”. This advertisement for depilatory powder embodies both disciplinary and regulatory sanctions. On the one hand, it implies that the behavior of wearing dresses and modern dancing cannot be accompanied by hairy armpits, this is even

7 https://outskirtsofthetwenties.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/it-started-with-harpers-bazaar/

17 ‘objectionable’. It is thus the ‘right’ behavior to cover up this hair with powder. It disciplines the individual body to behave or act in a specific way while in a certain situation, namely while dancing and wearing dresses. Which also contributes to creating the norms of femininity. On the other hand, it regulates a population in the sense that the norms that the ad creates speak to every human it reaches. The population is told to behave in a certain way, namely, to think that armpit hair on women is undesirable. In addition, this strategy of creating norms of femininity and the ‘right’ behavior is productive on an economic level: to expand the beauty industry. Furthermore, this strategy, or norm, will and (has) live(d) on for generations: even now we see shaving our armpits as a normality and an act to carry out our femininity (in other words: not shaving your armpits is gross and unfeminine).

Figure 6: Advertisement in Harper’s Bazaar (1915)

2.1.4 Media, governmentality and neoliberalism Then, how can we think of the notions of governmentality, neoliberalism and the media in our current society? Ouellette and Hay, in ‘Makeover Television, Governmentality and the Good Citizen’ (2008) show how reality television has instrumentalized the personal make over as a technology of citizenship in new ways. They concluded that “no longer outside the logic of public service, these popular non-scripted entertainment formats have become the domains through which television contributes to the reinvention of government, the reconstitution of welfare and the production of a self-sufficient citizenry” (40). Thus, television functions as an

18 instrument to optimize individual bodies as good citizens in a neoliberal society of self- sufficientness and economic gain.

In ‘Fashion Police: Governing the Self in What Not to Wear’ Martin Roberts clearly explains the relationship between governmentality and postfeminism: “the instrumental rationalities of governing the postmodern self are of neoliberal capitalism, with its associated ideologies of freedom and expressive individualism linked to consumption” (235). This governance of the (postmodern) self, also involves a governance of gender: the shaping of gender identities for particular ends” (236). In these perspectives, postfeminism functions as “an instrument of governance, in that it naturalizes a model of feminine identity and female power inseparable from consumption. It involves the policing of sexual and social identities.” In this way, female identities are defined, constructed and governed, under the agendas and interests of neoliberal capitalism (243). Roberts further explains: “gender itself is inescapably inscribed within practices of governance in that the social subjects whose conduct they seek to direct are always gendered subjects and therefore require different strategies and the mobilization of different rationalities depending on the identity of the subject in question” (232). In other words, female identities and practices of the self are governed within the political framework of postfeminism, which is inseparably related to neoliberalism and capitalism. Mass media, in this way, is an institution that creates, promotes and governs certain behavior and standards.

2.2 Governmentality and Broad City How will I use the concept of governmentality to analyze Broad City? In my analysis, I will use the concept of governmentality to study how media representations promote or reject specific behavioral patterns. I will use governmentality to unpack taken-for-granted normalities and normalized behavior. I will use this tool to expose power relations and I will examine how, through exposing these power relations, norms are transgressed or confirmed in Broad City and how, in this way, it promotes and legitimizes norm-defying or norm-confirming behavior regarding the representation of women (on television). Furthermore, it allows me to explore how Broad City may create norms. In this way, through governmentality and biopolitical studies I will be able to examine how discourses that are constructed in Broad City tell us what it means to be a ‘woman’ in contemporary society.

19 However, I am aware of the limits of using governmentality as an analytic tool, due to its tendency to take a “truth” stance. As Thomas Lemke argues: “In the perspective of governmentality we always have to reflect on the historical and social conditions that rendered a certain historical knowledge of society ‘real’, taking into account the possible theoretical and non-theoretical consequences of ‘truths’ (14). This means that the knowledge governmentality provides is not ‘true’ knowledge. Society or societal context is not something naturally given but always conditioned by historical and social constructions.

Thus, this thesis will not claim its findings are “true knowledge”, due to its subjective position within the political framework of neoliberalism it is situated in. I am too a subject living within the framework of capitalism and neoliberalism, which limits my position as an objective researcher. However, I hope to bridge this dualism as much as I can and make visible the particularities of processes of governance of television. Furthermore, this study does not study the process of subjectification. It only studies which models and patterns of subjecthood Broad City promotes. We, thus, do not acquire insight in how the subject steers him or herself and thus forms oneself.

In this chapter, I have introduced governmentality as an analytic tool for my thesis, and I have elaborated on its relation to postfeminism and mass media. Governmentality will function as a tool to expose relationships of power and the governance of femininity and sexuality within television, and more specifically, Broad City. This is important because in this way, governmentality studies “removes the naturalness and taken-for-granted character of how things are done” (Dean, 27), and thus shows that things might be different from the way they are presented. In this way, it will help us to further understand how gender representations are constructed and represented in television series and what changes are occurring in the way we think about femininity and sexuality in our current society.

20 3. FEMINISM In order to position Broad City and its means of female representation in a longer tradition of feminist critique, it is necessary to provide a brief genealogy of feminism. Of course, in this thesis it is not feasible to discuss all of feminist history. Thus, I will only provide a brief summary of the first and second wave of the feminist evolution. Most recent waves and movements such as postfeminism and the third wave I will discuss more thoroughly, focusing on current developments in feminist movement. This summary will be sufficient to position Broad City in a longer tradition of feminist critique, because my focus will mainly lie on postfeminism and third- wave feminism.

3.1 First and second wave feminism Feminism’s first wave brought to attention inequalities visited upon women in the 20th century, mainly concerning property ownership and suffrage. In 1928, with women over 21 winning their right to vote, the feminist movement started focusing on women injustices in wider society (Munro, 2013). In 1963, Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique sparked second-wave feminism. Highlighting women’s post-war unhappiness and the equality gap between the sexes, Friedan became one of the most important feminists of the second wave. She emphasized the great presence of sexism in women’s personal lives, the impact of patriarchy in the private sphere and breaking down gender stereotypes, implying that feminism is of importance for men too (Munro, 2013). Racism and classicism were the second-wave’s, (early 1960s) most present problem. Activists of the second wave movement, such as Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, treated women as a homogeneous group, concerning white middle-class women. Bell hooks noted this exclusion in her book Ain’t I a Woman (1981). She argues that the devaluation of women of colour and other classes only reinforces racism and classicism within the second wave (137). Ironically, there was an exclusion of different groups of women within feminism, while they were striving for equality.

3.2 Third wave feminism Diversity in feminisms also means diversity in feminist agenda’s. Postfeminism and third-wave feminism (1990s - present) are used interchangeably by academics and the media alike (Gillis and Munford, 1). However, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the terms ‘third wave’ and postfeminism by scholars such as Angela McRobbie, Hilary Radner, Yvonne Tasker, Diane Negra and Sandra Lee Bartky. These scholars have asked if postfeminism is a wholly new

21 phenomenon, how it builds on characteristics of the second wave and whether it entails characteristics evident in explorations of the third wave. In this thesis, I will draw on the ideas of Braithwaite in ‘The Personal, the Political, Third-wave and Postfeminisms', claiming the third wave and postfeminism both have overlapping elements and that they cannot be seen as distinctive phenomena (Braithwaite, 2002).

So what defines the third wave? According to Heywood and Drake in Third Wave Agenda, the theoretical features of the third wave are “incorporating multiple definitions from equity to gender feminism, strategically combining elements of poststructualist feminism and strategically combining elements of poststructuralist feminism, black feminism, women of color feminism, working-class feminism, pro-sex feminism and a feminism that is not age-specific” (Braithwaite, 341). Intersectionality - the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relations and subject formations - became one of the most important terms in new forms of feminism (McCall, 2005). Intersectionality gained prominence because women of color and ethnicity critiqued the second wave’s exclusion of women other than white. As Susan Mann and Douglas Huffman explain, “the crux of this new direction in feminism (i.e. a focus on intersectionality) was a critique of the ‘essentialist woman’ of the second wave, which they claimed ignored or downplayed differences among women” (Mann and Huffman, 56). Thus, intersectionality found its origins in a critique on second wave feminism.

Third-wave feminism is heavily influenced by queer theory. Gender and sexuality are fluid categories, and male and female cannot be seen as a vast binary opposition. Furthermore, third wave feminism is characterized by individual emancipation and micropolitics, a characteristic that has been one of the main feminist critiques in the last century. According to critics the shift from the ‘personal is politcal’ - as emphasized in the second wave - to neo-liberal motives, complicate broad political changes (Munro, 2013). This is seen for example in media representations of women in the twenty-first century, where sexualization of women seems to equal individual empowerment (think of discussions negotiating with nudity in videoclips by artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna and Beyoncé).

3.3 Postfeminism and neofeminism In Interrogating Postfeminism (2007), Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra define postfeminism as “broadly encompassing a set of assumptions, widely disseminated within popular media forms,

22 having to do with the “pastness” of feminism, whether that supposed pastness is merely noted, mourned, or celebrated” (1). As a reaction to and assimilation of second-wave feminism where the personal is political, postfeminism emphasizes that “feminism is no longer needed”, because it has been so overtly “taken in to account” (1). Thus, the individual emphasizes empowerment and independency, which is, then, translated into feeling independent from feminism as well: the individual does no longer ‘need’ feminism to feel empowered. Postfeminist culture “emphasizes educational and professional opportunities for women and girls, freedom of choice with respect to work, domesticity and parenting” (2). It focuses on individuality, physical and particularly sexual empowerment (2). Postfeminism is subject to political implications according to Tasker and Negra. First of all, postfeminism centralizes an affluent elite: the “valorization of female achievement within traditionally male working environments and the celebration of surgical and other disciplinary techniques that enable women to maintain a youthful appearance […] underlines class, age and racial exclusions that define postfeminism” (2). Second of all, feminism is being commodified via the figure of woman as an empowered individual and consumer: “Postfeminism confuses self-interest with individuality and elevates consumption as a strategy for healing those dissatisfactions that might alternatively be understood in terms of social ills and discontents” (2). Thus, consumerism and elitism are immanent within postfeminism.

Building on postfeminist characteristics, Hilary Radner suggests another more liberal-oriented term to describe contemporary feminism: neo-feminism. In her book Neo-feminist Cinema (2011), Radner explains the term as follows: “the tendency in feminine culture to evoke choice, and the development of individual agency as the defining tenets of feminine identity” (6). Within popular culture, Radner continues, “certain aspects of second-wave feminism were assimilated into the neo-feminist paradigm, notably those that emphasized individual rights and individual choice; however, these were translated into a language that found its most obvious expression in feminine consumer culture” (6). Thus, female (economic) independence became the equivalent of consumerism. Examples in popular culture would be the growth of chick flicks, such as Legally Blonde (2001) and Maid in Manhattan (2003), magazines, advertising and television programming directed at the economically independent woman (30). As Tasker and Negra conclude, these new forms of feminism are white and middle-class by default, anchored in consumption as a strategy for the production of the self (6).

23 3.4 Contemporary waters It is important to note that there is no hard distinction between different kinds of feminism. Thus, contemporary waters of feminism are all influenced by and intertwined with earlier waves. As mentioned before, in recent years, there has been a resurgence of claims to feminism. This is especially present in pop culture. Think of Beyoncé referring to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her song Flawless (2013), and Emma Watson’s famous speech on gender equality in 2014, stressing that feminism is not dead, stressing the inequality faced by marginalized men and women and stressing the fact that men are a subject of feminism, too (Youtube, 2014). Furthermore, there is a strong focus on intersectionality in contemporary feminism (McCall, 1171). According to Munro, intersectionality and the exclusionary nature of mainstream feminism remain a real concern. The political potential of the fourth wave centres around giving voice to those women still marginalised by the mainstream (Munro, 2013). Finally, I would like to point out that contemporary feminism is hard to grasp because of a continually shifting cultural climate. However, Roxane Gay in Bad Feminist (2014) suggests the following (personal) definition of contemporary feminism and what it means to be a feminist today:

Feminism is a choice, and if a woman does not want to be a feminist, that is her right, but it is still my responsibility to fight for her rights. I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves. I believe women […] throughout the world deserve equality and freedom but know I am in no position to tell women of other cultures what that equality and freedom should look like (10).

Thus, a feminist today believes in equality and encourages individual choice. Gay also stresses the fact that she is a bad feminist, but she embraces her flaws. She allows herself to be unruly, to “fuck up” and not be perfect (9). This too, are characteristics of feminism today.

24 4. METHODOLOGY The aim of this thesis is to shed light on Broad City’s reflection of today’s zeitgeist. I will examine the different ways women and femininity are represented in Broad City, and I will research underlying social structures that play a role in the construction of this representation. Lastly, this thesis will examine in how far these representations subvert from, or align with a longer feminist tradition.

Without doubt, the field of gender, sexuality and feminism in modernity is a large one to encompass. It is therefore not my goal to provide an ‘ultimate’ representative account of (women in) today’s zeitgeist. With my research, I hope to contribute to a better understanding of different ways women are represented on television and how we can position this in a theoretical framework and history of feminism by using Foucault’s notions on biopolitics. Furthermore, I hope to shed light on the quite comprehensive question what it means to be a woman today. In order to execute such research, I have chosen comedy series Broad City as my case study and corpus. Broad City is a relevant object of study to critically scrutinize the current trend regarding female representation happening within visual culture. Unlike series such as Girls and Parks and Recreation, the two characters of Broad City exhibit their imperfections without self-loathing or doubt. In addition, there is no need to conquer the world and have blossoming careers, which are prominent elements of the series mentioned above. Furthermore, unlike the sketch-show Inside Amy Schumer - which also embraces female imperfections and female sexuality - Broad City employs narrative development and a strong focus on female friendship and aesthetics. Therefore, Broad City is a unique object that allows me to examine a different way of female representation within this current trend, combining (dramatic) narrative structure, a focus on female friendship, sexuality, aesthetics and the acceptance of imperfections. Besides, my object of study is representative of this trend and our zeitgeist: the show started in 2009 as a web series, and is broadcast on television since 2014. In addition, its growing popularity and critical acclaim add to its representativeness: Broad City has an IMDB rating of 8.6/10 by 7.569 users (IMDB, 2015). Broad City, thus, has a wide audience that is appreciative of the show. This means that the governmental reason that is constructed and the norms that are formed in this show are being ‘communicated’ to a high range of people. Hence, Broad City’s uniqueness within this trend (and beyond) and its representativeness make for an excellent object of research.

25 In order to conduct my research I have watched EP1S1: What a Wonderful World (2014), EP5S1: Fattest Asses (2014), EP6S1: Stolen Phone (2014), EP8S1: Destination: Wedding (2014), EP4S: Knockoffs (2015), EP2S2: Mochalatta Chills (2015) and EP7S2: Citizen Ship (2015). After watching and analyzing these episodes multiple times with the help of analysis schemes, I have noticed that discourses regarding gender in Broad City are related to the following themes: sexuality, fashion, cross-dressing (dress practices) and unruly women. These themes need further attention to be able to abstract the specific discourses that are formed and constructed in these episodes. In the following section, I will briefly specify my choices of these scenes and episodes.

Theme: Sexuality Objects of study: EP1S1: What a Wonderful World (2014), EP6S1: Stolen Phone (2014) and EP10S1: The Last Supper (2014). Criteria: First of all, on a narrative level, these three episodes (beginning, middle, end) give an overview of character development regarding sexuality. This gives the possibility of examining a development in their attitude towards sexuality and their sexual behavior. Second of all, in these episodes, sexuality is a prominent factor. Not only is there a lot of conversation about sex, the two protagonists also act upon sexual acts in these episodes, which articulates specific discourses regarding sexuality on a visual level as well.

Theme: Dress practices Objects of study: EP1S1: What a Wonderful World (2014), EP5S1: Fattest Asses (2014), EP8S1: Destination: Wedding (2014), EP4S: Knockoffs (2015), EP2S2: Mochalatta Chills (2015), EP7S2: Citizen Ship (2015). Criteria: In these particular episodes, there is a strong emphasis on cross-dressing, fashion and femininity. In Destination: Wedding both protagonists are cross-dressed. In Knockoffs, one of the female protagonists is crossed-dressed, and in What a wonderful world and Mochalatta chills elements of cross-dressing play a prominent role in the representation of women. This also counts for fashion in general, these episodes display significant fashion choices that articulate discourses on women’s preferred behavior.

26 Theme: Unruly women Objects of study: EP1S1: What a Wonderful World (2014) and EP7S2: Mochalatta Chills (2015). Criteria: I chose these episodes as objects of study because in the first episode, the viewer gets introduced to Abbi and Ilana’s work-environment. This is significant because, as I will explain later in this thesis, the working woman is a prevailing stereotype with regard to the representation of women on television. In addition, I chose this specific episode from season two, to examine developments in their working-environment on a narrative level. Furthermore, key scenes in these episodes articulate discourses on the transgression of female representations in professional environments.

To examine how females are represented in these significant episodes of Broad City and how this reflects our zeitgeist I will conduct a Foucauldian discourse analysis. I will analyze both the visual and narrative level of the selected objects of study. However, it is important to make a distinction between different methods of discourse analysis, specifically, critical discourse analysis and Foucauldian discourse analysis. In ‘Discourse Analysis and the Critical Use of Foucault’, Linda Graham (2005) explains that critical discourse analysis is an “investigation of language to other social processes, and of how language works within power relations” (3). Critical discourse analysis thus provides a framework for a systematic analysis where researchers can go beyond speculation. Critical discourse analysis and Foucauldian analysis overlap each other through the fact that they both relate language to social processes. However, critical discourse analysis claims to truth through linguistics (Graham, 3). This is where the distinction between Foucauldian discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis lies. As Leonie Schmidt (2014) explains: “a Foucault-inspired analysis eschews claims to objectivity and truth” (55). She continues: “Rather than seeking a definitive account, a Foucault-inspired analysis emphasizes the process of analysis is always interpretive, always contingent, always a version or a reading from some theoretical, epistemological or ethical standpoint.” (Graham, 3 cited in Schmidt: 55). Thus, where critical discourse analysis takes a truth stance, Foucauldian discourse analysis renounces this claim to truth.

For my studies, I choose to conduct a Foucauldian discourse analysis. This allows me to relate social processes to visual and narrative language and texts. In this way, it allows me to examine power relations within visual texts and relate this to biopolitics and broader social processes. As

27 Foucault explains, a discourse is: “the general domain of all statements, sometimes as an individualizable group of statements, and sometimes as a regulated practice that accounts for a number of statements” (80). A statement, in Foucault’s sense, is “a function of existence […] that cuts across a domain of structures and possible unities, and which reveals them, with concrete contents, in time and space. It is this function that we must now describe as such, that is, in its actual practice, its conditions, the rules that govern it, and the field in which it operates” (97). Thus, the statements that are constitutive of discourses are always connected to relations of power (Schmidt, 56).

In my analysis, I will examine how visual and narrative elements of Broad City constitute discursive formations that articulate how a woman should be seen in our current society. Visual and narrative codes, namely, refer to ‘discursive practices that are situated in specific cultural contexts. They must be read critically to reveal their underlying meaning’ (Schmidt, 53). In other words, visual and narrative codes are sign systems which transmit meaning. It is important to note that, as Schmidt explains, the relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary and dependent on context (Schmidt, 57). Hence, visual and narrative codes allow for an interpretation and conveying meaning in the cultural context in which they appear, and therefore allow for the construction of discourses. In order to do this, I will conduct a visual and narrative analysis. As Schmidt explains, visual analysis “studies the functions of a world […] through pictures, images and visualizations rather than through texts and words” (Mirzoeff, 1999 cited in Schmidt, 56). The main goal of visual analysis is to unpack processes of power structures, beliefs, cultural sensibilities, discourses and ideologies. It shows how visual constructs conduct meaning, and, how the textual image is a social construction immanent within power (Schmidt, 56). In my visual analysis, I will focus on how the text is constructed through codes of sound/ dialogue, cinematography (framing, angle, movement) and mise-en-scene (props, dress, setting). As mentioned above, I will also convey a narrative analysis. It is important to note that visual and narrative analysis are different methods. Narrative analysis focuses on the construction of narrative through the entire text (Schmidt, 57). Narrative, thus, is understood as: “An ordered sequence of images and sound that tells a fictional or factual story” (Bignell, 2004 cited in Schmidt, 57). As Schmidt explains, narratives are central to how we understand and experience the world, and thus narrative analysis makes an exemplary site to interrogate female representation.

28 Through narrative and visual analysis I will examine how and which discourses are constructed in Broad City. These discourses allow for an analysis of governmentality and biopolitics. These discourses, namely, promote, reject and legitimize certain behavior and behavioral patterns and therefore negotiate with what it means to be a ‘good’ woman in contemporary society.

In summary, narrative and visual analysis allows me to interrogate how textual discursive formations promote specific behavioral patterns regarding representations of femininity and expose the workings of regimes of governance, both on the level of the individual body as well as the entire population.

29 ANALYSIS

5. SEXUALITY IN BROAD CITY Foucault’s notions of biopolitics, technologies of the self and governmentality offer me sufficient tools to apprehend the discursive means by which women’s sexuality is represented in Broad City. According to Foucault, “sexuality represents the precise point where the disciplinary and the regulatory, the body and the population, are articulated” (Foucault 1975, 252). There are different elements regarding sexuality to regulate and discipline, such as medicine and hygiene standards. However, in the words of Foucault, there is one element that swings between the disciplinary and the regulatory, which “makes it possible to both control the disciplinary order of the body” and biological processes (Foucault, 252). This is the norm. The norm is something that “can be applied to both a body one wishes to discipline and a population one wishes to regularize” (253). As mentioned before, media is one of the outlets through which biopolitics attempts to discipline and regulate the individual body and by extension the entire population. Media representations promote certain behavior as ‘right’ or ‘good’ and discourage or reject other behavior. In this analysis, I will show how media representations of women regarding sexuality, specifically of Abbi and Ilana in Broad City, promote ‘good’ sexual behavior. It is also important to note that, immanent within power lies resistance. According to Foucault in History of Sexuality (1978), resistance is immanent within power: “Where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, this resistance is never in a position of exteriority in relation to power” (Foucault, 95). This is important because, if power is everywhere, resistance is always present as well. This analysis will thus expose the biopolitical exercise of norms, but also the means of resistance to these norms.

In the following analysis I will show how different discourses that are constructed promote specific behavioral patterns and exclude others. In this way, these discourses create norms on what is seen as good sexual behavior. These discourses are constructed through editing, sound, narrative and setting. I will examine how these different techniques construct discourses, and I will relate this to Foucault’s notion of governmentality and biopolitics: in which ways are different behaviors promoted and how should a woman act in certain situations? And how can we position and understand female representation in Broad City in a longer tradition of feminist critique?

30 In the three episodes I have analyzed, What a Wonderful World (S1E1), Stolen Phone (S1E6) and The Last Supper (S1E10) I have identified the following main discourse regarding womanhood and sexuality: female sexuality is ‘good’ behavior to display and express. This main discourse is formed through several sub-discourses, namely: first, being sexually liberated is ‘right’ behavior; second, a woman should be in control of her body; third, feminine behavior and submissive relationships to men is objectionable behavior; fourth, openness about sexuality and sexual behavior is preferred and fifth, sexuality is an act one performs unroutinized. To illustrate how these discourses are constructed I will analyze them in respective order.

Through the use of sound, setting and props the opening scene of the first episode What a Wonderful World immediately articulates the discourse that women should be in control of their relationships with men, and that sex is not something that should be kept private or routinized. The discourse of a sexually liberated woman is formed. In the opening scene, Abbi and Ilana are Skyping each other and talking about if they are going to a lil’ Wayne concert that night. Abbi is holding on to a big purple dildo labeled with “Tuesday 1 AM” (figure 7). Meanwhile, Ilana is bouncing up and down on, which is revealed seconds later, a man named Lincoln (figure 8). Abbi does not agree that Ilana shares her sexual life this explicit: “Let’s set some ground rules here. I don’t want to see you have sex.” Ilana is visibly disappointed by this remark, which indicates that this, for her, is a normal way of doing things. Even if it includes having sex while talking to a friend. Thus, the conventional thought of sex being something private is partly confirmed by Abbi, because of her rejection of Ilana having sex in front of her. However, the fact that her dildo is out and she is still talking to Ilana (who is still having sex) quickly undermines this discourse. After the Skype-conversation Ilana says to Lincoln regarding the somewhat unconventional Skype-date: “That was cool. That was hot. That was like a threesome in a way.” Lincoln replies: “Ilana, what are we doing here? Are we hooking up, are we just having sex, are we dating, what is this?” To which Ilana replies: “This is just…purely physical.” This scene articulates discourses regarding power relations and sexuality, namely women should have power and control over their bodies and over the bodies of male subjects. In addition, women should be comfortable and confident about expressing their sexuality. Clearly, Ilana and Abbi are both very comfortable with their sexuality around each other. Furthermore, Ilana articulates her power and control over her own body and sexual preferences by being on top of Lincoln. The way the shot is framed constructs this in two ways. The first is that she is placed on top of Lincoln, which signifies power and control over the male subject. The second way that this is

31 constructed is via the high-angle shot, which articulates Lincoln’s submissive position (figure 2). Also, by verbally confirming the relationship between her and Lincoln is purely physical Ilana’s sexual and emotional independence of the male in question is signified.

Figure 7: Abbi is holding on to her date-labeled dildo

Figure 8: Ilana is having sex with Lincoln, while Skyping with her best friend Abbi

32 Another scene in the pilot episode that constructs the discourse that women should be in control of their body and the discourse that submissive relationships to men is objectionable behavior, is when Abbi and Ilana leave Abbi’s apartment. They then meet Abbi’s neighbor and love interest Jeremy. The use of sound, editing and framing specifically construct a discourse that women should not be insecure and submissive to men. In this scene Abbi is shown as a figuratively dreamy little girl in slow motion when she sees Jeremy, saying: “Jeremy, your arms” and “We’re making eye contact”, while Ilana is looking at Abbi like she is making a mistake (figure 9). This shot with a slanted camera angle articulates Abbi’s alienation from the real world and from her identity for a second: she is not able to get herself together. The use of slow motion, the specific slanted camera angle and Ilana’s disapproving face articulate the alienated and insecure position Abbi is in, which forms the discourse that this is not a position a woman would want herself to be in.

Figure 9: Abbi meets Jeremy, while Ilana is looking disapprovingly.

In the eleventh scene of episode one, another example of Ilana’s sexual dominance over the male subject is constructed. In this scene, Ilana is preparing for a street performance with Abbi. Then Abbi notices Lincoln watching them from behind bushes. Ilana is agitated by the fact that Lincoln shows up “before curtain” (meaning before it’s dark). She walks up to him and asks him why he is there, to which he replies: “I saw your tweet so I wanted to stop by, but I wanted to respect your space, that’s why I’m hanging back.” To which Ilana replies: “That’s cool, I respect you respecting me. I’m going to respect your dick later.” The dialogue articulates that (sexual) relationships are built on mutual respect. Namely, Ilana ‘rewards’ Lincoln for respecting her by

33 promising to perform a sexual act on him later. Furthermore, this reward that Ilana promises to perform later indicates that it is the woman who is in full control of which (and when) sexual acts in this relationship are being performed. This discourse is also formed by the explicit use of language in the scene: “I’m going to respect your dick later” forms, again, a preference of a physical dimension instead of an emotional connection.

Furthermore, in the first episode, Ilana critiques Abbi’s routined lifestyle in so far that she remarks: “I bet you even schedule when you jack-off (masturbate)” which Abbi then denies. This articulates the discourse that it is not preferred for them to routinize and plan their masturbation- habits. This discourse is strengthened in the last sequence of the episode. In this sequence, Abbi is in the same setting as the opening scene: behind her laptop with her dildo. She marks her dildo with the words “Wednesday OR Thursday” which indicates her masturbation sessions have become less routinized. However, this also articulates an opposing discourse, namely that Abbi has not yet found complete freedom regarding her masturbation sessions. Her options are expanded (wednesday OR tuesday), but still routinized.

In Stolen Phone (S1E6), the sub-discourse that is articulated is that women should get whatever they want, in this case, a sexual partner. Abbi and Ilana are sitting in Ilana’s apartment, which is dark and all windows are blinded by curtains. They are sitting behind their laptops. Sexual activity in this particular scene is discursively constructed as an activity women are able to sexually pursue people (in real life) instead of waiting for it to happen. When Abbi receives a friend request on Facebook from a guy she knew in high school, Ilana immediately sees this as an opportunity for Abbi to have a “new sexual partner” (S1E6). Abbi responds to Ilana by confirming this quote: “Alright, I am asking him out.” Ilana nods. Then, Abbi stands up and starts a monologue about pursuing men, which emphasizes their agreement on the subject and their autonomy as women:

Abbi: “This is so great, like, why are we waiting for guys to come to us Ilana. Did Amelia Earhart wait to be asked to fly around the world? Definitely not. She asked. And then they said no. But she still did it.” Ilana: “And she died, but she died doing it.” Abbi: “Exactly. I’m doing it again, I’m asking someone else out.” Ilana: “This is the Abbi I love and I’m obsessed with”.

34 The Amelia Earhart reference is significant. Amelia Earhart is the first female pilot in history and regarded as a hero in feminist circles. The fact that they compare themselves to her articulates the discourse that a woman should not be repressed by her gender to follow her ambitions. This reference and comparison also signifies, quite literally, a claim to feminism. In the following sequence, Abbi and Ilana look up different guys on Facebook to ask them out (figure 9). With every guy they ask out, their empowerment and self-confidence grows. Abbi screams she feels like she is on cocaine (a substance that is widely known as a drug that enhances your self- confidence) and Ilana dances on the couch. At one point Abbi screams: “We are like feminist heroes right now!” to which Ilana replies: “Yas!” (which is slang for yes). In the next scene, this mood has been immediately capsized. They have been rejected by 36 guys and one lady. However, Ilana does not take no for an answer and convinces Abbi to go outside with her: “You know, so what dude? The Internet is so nineties. Let’s go find some guys IRL” (which is slang for in real life).

Figure 9: Ilana and Abbi asking men out on dates via Facebook

Thus, on the one hand, the setting of the scene articulates the discourse that women have limited freedom in pursuing sexual partners: they are in a dark apartment with the curtains closed, on the virtual (safe) space of the Internet, where you do not need to fully show yourself in order to get in contact with other people. They are in their comfort zone. On the other hand, the dialogue in the scene articulates an opposing discourse: women are confident beings and

35 should get out there (in real life) to get whatever they want (in this case a sexual partner). The following scene also functions as an articulation of this discourse, this time through setting. We see Ilana and Abbi outside, in real life. They are at a bar, talking to different men and having a good time (figure 10).

Figure 10: Abbi drinking a beer at a bar with a guy she just met.

Their literal claim to feminism (“We are like feminist heroes right now”) during their quest for sexual partners, the Amelia Earhart reference and the fact that they get rejected by every single one of the Facebook-friends they pursued but still get out there in real life to pursue sexual partners outside of their apartment, all construct this discourse.

Furthermore, their activity of pursuing men revolves around sexual activity, and not around the prospect of being in a relationship. Abbi describes one man as a guy with a unibrow who became “fucking gorgeous” when he started waxing it. This constructs the pure physicality of their quest for sex. In another example, Ilana states: “I’m picking all white dudes right now, I must be craving pink dick”. The fact that she is craving “dick” and not men, depersonalizes the sexual act from the actual human being, which, again, suggests a preference of physicality instead of an emotional connection. This comment also implies that she is fluid in her choices of sexual partners regarding race. At the same time, through their explicit language e.g. “dick” and “dude”, which claims to masculine behavior, positions the female subject above the male

36 subject. This strengthens the discourses that women are sexually liberated and in control of their relationship with men, which in this sense means satisfying their sexual needs.

Abbi and Ilana’s dialogue and description of these men (and one female) signifies that they are solely objects for them to perform their lust on, which construct Abbi and Ilana as sexual beings with fluidity (though limited) in their sexuality towards gender and races. In the next scene, Abbi and Ilana are pursuing their sexual desires in a club. At one point, Abbi is in a conversation with a guy, who tells her she is hot. She is stunned by this remark, which implies that she is not secure of her body. After this, he asks her out on a date and leaves. Abbi is very happy about this fact and screams to everyone at the bar: “Did you hear that? I am the hot girl at the bar. Me is!” The fact that she is so excited about this comment signifies her insecurities about her looks. Then, Abbi asks Ilana how she’s is doing with getting “pink dick” to which Ilana replies: “Please, I haven’t even started yet.” Ilana turns around and makes different (unusual, but with confidence) facial expressions to men in order to persuade them to talk to her (figure 11). After some rejections, she eventually takes a man home.

Figure 11: Ilana tries to persuade men with her unusual facial expressions

37 This scene constructs different discourses regarding sexual activity and relationships. Whereas Ilana is looking for sex and getting it immediately by being confident and carrying out this confidence, Abbi has a rather awkward conversation with a guy and they agree to meet up the next day. This suggests different views on when and how to perform sexual activities and its consequences from both characters: while Ilana is just there to fulfill her sexual desire, Abbi is looking for something more than that, a confirmation of her sexual body and enhancement of her self-esteem through an emotional connection with a man. However, they both get what they desired, constructing both ways of women pursuing men as successful and an activity that is legitimate.

In the concluding episode of the first season, The Last Supper (S1E10), Abbi and Ilana are eating in a fancy restaurant, on the expense of Abbi’s father because it is Abbi’s 25th birthday. In this scene, again, the dialogue between Ilana and Abbi constructs significant and conflicting discourses on how women should behave. At one point, Ilana remarks the following: “Nose, vagina, butthole…if God didn't want us to put our fingers in there, then why did she make them perfectly finger-sized?”, “It’s 2014, anal’s on the menu” and “I want to put my fist in his mouth, sexually” referencing the waiter. Not only does Ilana make a controversial remark about God’s gender, she also normalizes specific sexual acts that may be seen as taboo in society, such as anal sex. Abbi is still reluctant about these remarks. She replies with comments such as: “Like a lady, I keep my eyes closed when I make love”. This specific comment quite literally constructs the discourse that it is ladylike to keep your eyes closed when having sex and not be confronted with each other’s bodies. However, Ilana advises Abbi to deal with her insecurities of sexual acts that may be considered as vulgar by society: “So what, you’re a nasty bitch, who cares.” Again, the significant discourse that is formed here is that behaving like a uninhibited sexual being and fulfilling your sexual desires is preferred and you should not let conservative norms that are set in society i.e. sexual hygiene and taboos influence your eroticism in any way.

This discourse is also constructed by the mise-en-scene (setting and clothing, see figure 12). Ilana and Abbi are talking about controversial sexual things in a public and quite fancy setting. The visitors of such restaurants are often regarded as people who practice and prefer ladylike etiquette, which Abbi and Ilana completely defy through their conversation, clothing and looks (Ilana is wearing a two-piece in which her belly is showing, Abbi is wearing a tight blue dress and on top of this, Ilana is also having an allergic reaction to the seafood which makes her face

38 blow up) and eating behavior: Ilana is sucking on her crab, slurping her oysters, and overall not conveying to eating etiquette.

Figure 12: Ilana is looking at her allergies in the restaurant mirror

The fact that they ignore restaurant etiquette (Ilana more so than Abbi), articulates, again, that you should not let conservative norms or ladylike etiquette influence your expression of sexuality. It also, in the case of Ilana as she is sucking on her food (figure 13), articulates that you should not be negatively influenced by elitist beliefs, or, in other words, it articulates the rejection of elitist beliefs. However, the opposing discourse is articulated when their behavior gets rejected by their waiter’s facial expression (figure 14).

Figure 13: Ilana is sucking on her crab.

39 Humor is derived from their “disgusting” behavior and talk in a fancy restaurant. Which, on the one hand, constructs a norm-defying discourse because Ilana never confirms to this preferred ladylike and elitist etiquette and even Abbi, later in the scene, stands on a table to give a speech because she got injected by Ilana’s EpiPen (she is, thus, under influence of drugs) (figure 15). On the other hand, the way humor is derived (and the faces of rejection by the other guests, figure 15) confirms the “weirdness” of the situation, and, it therefore confirms that this is not ‘normal’ behavior.

Figure 14: The waiter rejects Abbi and Ilana’s behavior by saying: “Ew”.

Figure 15: Abbi stands on top of the table, while the other guests are shocked.

40 5.1 Biopolitics and sexuality in Broad City How do the discourses mentioned above relate to Foucault’s notion of governmentality and biopolitics? As mentioned before, an analysis of governmentality studies examines the ways in which truth is produced in social, cultural and political practices. Television creates, promotes and governs these truths, as well as specific behaviors and norms. The discourses mentioned above negotiate what it means to be a (‘good’) woman and a sexual being at the same time in current society. The setting, dialogue, and narrative of these episodes form the main discourse that female sexuality is ‘good’ behavior to display and express. The sub-discourses that strengthen this main discourse are: first, being sexually liberated is ‘right’ behavior; second, a woman should be in control of her body; third, feminine behavior and submissive relationships to men is objectionable behavior, fourth, openness about sexuality and sexual behavior is preferred and fifth, sexuality is an act one preferably performs unroutinized. These behavioral patterns are preferred. This is strengthened by the fact that, as these discourses show, Ilana represents the embodiment of a sexually liberated woman. Furthermore, she leads the way for Abbi, who is sometimes still hesitant to subvert from existing conventional norms regarding sexuality in society. These discourses also transgress from existing norms and behavioral patterns. They exclude sexuality as a taboo and something that should not be displayed and expressed by a woman. It excludes heteronormativity (they also got rejected by a girl in the apartment scene), and it excludes ladylike etiquette regarding sexuality. In the behavioral model that the discourses construct, and the technologies of the self these discourses (that are constructed) offer, women should not be ladylike and limited in their sexual behavior. They should be sexual beings that are confident with their sexuality. Hence, the body plays a central role in the creation of these behavioral patterns. Through their individual behavior, norms in regard to women’s behavior in general, such as sexual liberation and resisting patriarchy are created and legitimized. In this way, Abbi and Ilana govern specific feminine behavior as ‘right’ behavior. Thus, Abbi and Ilana promote a specific set of behavioral patterns (as mentioned above) regarding sexuality which have norm-defying power.

41 6. DRESS PRACTICES IN BROAD CITY According to Chris Straayer in Redressing the “Natural” (1996), cross-dressing is “the manipulation of a system of codes commonly used to signify gender” (411). Cross-dressing, in this way, is able to expose the naturalness of gender roles: “[It] offers a potential for the deconstruction and radical appropriation of gender codes and conventions” (411). It challenges gender fixity.

Judith Butler in Gender Trouble (1990), explains how the body is constituted as a gender-coded unity in hegemonic culture, and is therefore subject to (the possibility of) political expression: “The very shape and form of bodies, their unifying principle, their composite parts, are always figured by a language imbued with political interests. The political challenge is to seize language as the means of representation and production, to treat it as an instrument that invariably constructs the field of bodies and that ought to be used to deconstruct and reconstruct bodies outside of the oppressive categories of sex” (125). How exactly is a body constituted? Butler continues: “The very contours of the body are established through markings that seek to establish specific codes of cultural coherence. Any discourse that establishes the boundaries of the body serves the purpose of instating and naturalizing certain taboos regarding the appropriate limits, postures and modes of exchange that define what it is that constitutes bodies” (131). Thus, cultural boundaries are imposed on the body as such and often also naturalized. In other words, these cultural boundaries are taken for granted.

It is the performative nature of cross-dressing, of impersonating another gender, that exposes the non-existence of gender identity: “The structure of impersonation reveals one of the key fabricating mechanisms through which the social construction of gender takes place” […] It mocks both the expressive model of gender and the notion of a true gender identity. In imitating gender, drag implicitly reveals the imitative structure of gender itself, as well as its contingency (137). In this way, the parody is of a very notion of an original. Thus, “this perpetual displacement constitutes a fluidity of identities, that suggests an openness to resignification and recontextualization. Parodic proliferation deprives hegemonic culture and its critics of the claim to naturalized or essentialist gender identities” (137). In other words, the notion of essentialist gender identities is a social construct that can be exposed through cross-dressing.

42 In this analysis, I will explore how Broad City negotiates with hegemonic culture and gender identities. I will show how Broad City subverses taboos persistent in hegemonic culture and challenge fixed gender identities through impersonations of gender. Broad City, in this way, rejects the notion of a true gender identity and presents an alternative way of thinking about gender, while expanding the boundaries of femininity in heterosexual hegemonic culture.

It is important to note that I am aware of the fact that this analysis of dress practices is limited. As Yvonne Tasker suggested in Working Girls: “To reduce the analysis of cross-dressing to gender […], is to remove it from a complex historical relationship to constructions of race, class and sexuality and to particular lesbian, gay and trans-gender identities (drag, butch, femme). (Tasker, 21)” Thus, gender transgression cannot be fully discussed and understood without implementing race, class and sexuality discussions. However, it is not feasible here to also fully incorporate these elements. Nevertheless, with this analysis, I hope to contribute to exposing ‘naturalness’ and I will show how gender fixity is challenged and confirmed through fashion and cross-dressing in Broad City and relate this to governmentality and biopolitics in order to create a better understanding of our zeitgeist. In order to do this, I have chosen to analyse the following episodes: What a Wonderful World (S1E1), Fattest Asses (S1E5), Destination: wedding (S1E8), Knockoffs (S2E4), Mochalatta Chills (S2E2) and Citizen Ship (S2E7). Because fashion and cross-dressing is such a recurring and eloquent element in Broad City, I have chosen to only elaborate on key scenes and particular moments in episodes in which they are wearing significant clothing. These scenes display powerful elements regarding the role gender, cross-dressing and fashion play in the construction of discourses on womanhood and gender fluidity.

The main discourse that is articulated in the selected scenes is that women are gender-fluid bodies: women should perform gender whichever way they want, instead of performing imposed hegemonic gender conventions. Or, in other words, women should not be constricted or held back in any way by hegemonic gender conventions. Through this main discourse Broad City demonstrates that there is no ‘true’ gender identity. This main discourse is constructed through four different recurring elements, namely cross-dressing, mixing masculine with feminine elements in clothing and wearing mismatching lingerie. These elements form multiple sub discourses, which are: it is preferred behavior to explore eroticism in any way, subverting from imposed boundaries of hegemonic heterosexual culture; it is preferred behavior to take on

43 different gender roles; and in fact, this enhances a woman’s agency in regard to eroticism. In these discourses, gender-mixed or androgynous clothing expands what can be counted as feminine, defying gender roles is a victorious performance, a woman’s sexual agency is not influenced by choice of lingerie.

6.1 Cross-dressing In Knockoffs (S2E4), Abbi and her crush Jeremy are finally in bed with each other in Jeremy’s apartment. Jeremy is on top of Abbi, which articulates and confirms the discourse of the conventional gender role: the male figure is in control in bed (figure 16). After a while, Abbi suggests to “switch it up”, to which Jeremy replies: “Oh, awesome”. However, Abbi meant switching positions. Jeremy interpreted this suggestion as Abbi performing anal sexual activity on Jeremy with a strap-on dildo. Jeremy excitedly hands over the dildo to Abbi, who is confused. At this moment, the camera angle changes from a two shot to a shot of Jeremy’s head, with Abbi standing in the background holding the dildo. This articulates the submission of the male- subject within this erotic context. Jeremy tells Abbi to put it “right in the butt” (figure 17).

Figure 16: Abbi asks Jeremy to switch positions.

44 Then, Jeremy realizes Abbi meant switching positions, and apologizes. The low-camera angle positioned on Jeremy and high-angle camera positioned on Abbi again constructs Abbi’s dominance and Jeremy’s submissiveness (figure 18 and 19).

Figure 17: Jeremy is submissive to Abbi.

Figure 18 and 19: Seperate stills of a high-angle and low-angle camera position

45 This challenges hegemonic gender roles regarding heterosexual eroticism: the female figure is dominant in an erotic context, which gives her agency and constructs her as a female and sexual being. However, her visible and verbal hesitation (she stumbles when she talks) indicates the opposite discourse: she is not sure if she wants to take up this gender role.

Abbi decides she needs a moment for herself to decide if she wants to do this or not. She then leaves for the bathroom, where she calls Ilana. Ilana, who is in a basement with her mother picking out bags, answers her phone. The following comment Abbi makes and Ilana’s reaction articulates the continual play between existing gender norms:

Abbi: “Listen dude, I’m freaking the fuck out right now. We were doing it and I was like we should switch positions. And then he throws me a strap-on.”

At this moment, Ilana puts down her phone, and starts to dance enthusiastically (figure 20 and 21).

Figure 20 and 21: Ilana is dancing enthusiastically while Abbi is in serious doubt.

Ilana’s physical enthusiasm articulates that expanding what can be counted as feminine is encouraged. This is further strengthened by Ilana’s verbal response through the telephone: “This is a dream come true. Thank you for sharing this with me.” However, Abbi replies aggravated: “Dude, I’m calling for advice.” This emphasized her hesitancy with the situation. Again, Abbi is insecure about challenging these gender roles, afraid to step out of the hegemonic heterosexual construct of gender. Then, Ilana normalizes the situation by answering: “Ok, so start by lubing up the head…” This is normalizing because her tone is serious. Her response is not comical, not awkward, but fully embracing the situation and trying to give Abbi

46 helpful advice. This constructs the discourse that there is no secrecy surrounding this subject, in fact, it is perfectly ‘normal’ to talk about this, which again challenges taboo. This is also affirmed by the fact that her mother is only one feet away from Ilana, trying to find purses and not paying attention to the situation at all. Normalcy, again, is constructed and confirmed. Then, Abbi replies that “it is going too fast”, while Ilana responses with fury: “Abbi, at college, I slept with a strap-on on just in case the opportunity came along, that you get handed on a fucking silver platter.” Not only does this dialogue and its tone articulate the discourse that it is good behavior to act on fluid gender roles and blur hegemonic boundaries of femininity, it is even preferred behavior. Abbi replies to Ilana, still not convinced: “I imagined myself in a lot of ways with Jeremy, but just not this way”. This sentence confirms an opposing discourse to the previous: heteronormativity (and the gender conventions that align with heterosexuality) is preferred behavior. It implies that, as a heterosexual couple, you do not perform sexual acts that articulate reversed gender roles, or even, that articulate homosexuality (having anal sex using a penis or dildo is widely seen as a homosexual activity). Then, Ilana goes on a rant:

“We are going to my grandmother’s shiva (which is a mourning period in Judaism), and the reason I’m not crying is because that bad ass bitch did everything she ever wanted to. You want to go to the grave dreaming about Jeremy’s hairy, adorable little butthole? Or do you want to die, knowing that you brought him pleasure, by plowing it like a queen?”

To which Abbi replies: “I just don’t know Ilana.” Ilana responds: “Bitch, you know. Otherwise you wouldn’t have called me.” First, Ilana’s rant about her grandmother places her grandmother on a pedestal. Her grandmother functions as an example of ‘right’ behavior. It promotes the behavior that it’s a good thing to do everything you want and live life to the fullest. This is reinforced by the sentence: “plowing it like a queen”. A queen represents a woman with the highest power; this indicates that, not only does performing this sexual act on Jeremy defy gender roles, it also articulates power on behalf of the woman. Abbi, as “I just don’t know, Ilana” implies, is still in doubt. What is significant about this shot, and this sequence for the matter, is that Abbi, while having this conversation with Ilana, is standing in front of the mirror. However, she only looks at herself in the mirror when her last doubt (“I just don’t know”) is cast (figure 22).

47 This signifies self-reflection. Abbi is, throughout this conversation, reflecting on herself as a woman and how to behave as a woman. She considers existing gender norms, and through hesitating and constant reflection (as seen in the dialogue above) she confirms these norms. However, it is Ilana's persuasiveness and her own self-reflection in the mirror that convinces Abbi that it is completely normal, even preferable to defy gender norms and expanding what can be counted as feminine, blurring fixed gender boundaries.

Figure 22: Abbi is looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Furthermore, the moment that Abbi looks at herself in the mirror is, in this way, the ultimate self- reflection: to behave like a woman, to behave like Abbi, is to do everything you want to, to embrace experiment and to defy gender fixity. And it is Ilana who reinforces this self-reflection: “Bitch, you know (emphasis added), otherwise you would not have called me”. This not only implies that Abbi knew all along but did not act upon it because she was constricted by existing gender norms, this also makes explicit that Ilana is the one who promotes how to behave, and, again and again, convinces Abbi to blur gender boundaries, to which Abbi then agrees. In the following shot, we see Abbi coming out of the bathroom confidently (she throws off her bathrobe) with the dildo strapped on her body and says to Jeremy: “Turn around” (figure 23). This literally signifies Abbi stepping over the gender boundary (with the door functioning as the boundary), stepping into “the male territory”. This constructs the discourse that female agency, in this way, is enhanced, gender-fluidity is confirmed and the boundaries on what can be counted as feminine are blurred.

48 Figure 23: Abbi confidently stands in front of Jeremy.

Figure 24: The camera is position between behind Abbi’s legs, displaying the dildo.

The fact that she is wearing a bra (figure 23) which emphasizes her femininity, while also wearing the strap on, which emphasizes her masculinity, too constructs the discourse that she is blurring gender boundaries. As seen in figure 24, the camera position forms this discourse. Her feminine legs are displayed, while the dildo is hanging in between them. Again, femininity and masculinity coincide. Furthermore, in the end scene of this episode, she has decorated her wall with the dildo, which functions as a necklace holder. This also constructs gender-fluidity: on the one hand there is the phallus-symbol, an object of masculinity, and on the other hand there are

49 the necklaces, objects that represent femininity. They coincide into gender fluidity. To take it even further, the dildo itself also represents gender-fluidity. Namely: a dildo is most commonly used by females, it is something regarded as feminine. However, in this scene, the dildo, a token of femininity, is used to penetrate a male, which is of course literally the deployment of masculinity. This, again, reinforces the encouraged notion of gender-fluidity, or, in this sense, blurring gender boundaries.

Thus, in the particular strap-on scene and later in this episode, through editing, narrative, props and setting, Abbi and Ilana are expanding what can be counted as feminine and expanding what can be counted within the range of sexual activity that is socially acceptable, especially because ‘pegging’ is only something that can be done by a woman to a man. In other words, they defy conventional gender roles by performing and encouraging an act that is, firstly, seen as something masculine and dominant (performing anal sex on women) and secondly, seen as ‘unnatural’ and taboo in our society; women do not strap on an artificial penis to penetrate a man. Furthermore, this activity disrupts the boundaries of what constitutes a body. As Butler explains: “The rites of passage that govern various bodily orifices presuppose a heterosexual construction of gendered exchange, positions and erotic possibilities. The deregulation of such exchanges (in this case a woman penetrating a man), accordingly disrupt the very boundaries that determine what it is to be a body at all” (133). Thus, not only does this activity defy gender boundaries, it also blurs boundaries on what it means to be a (gender-coded) body in contemporary society.

Another episode in which Abbi and Ilana defy gender roles and expand what can be counted as feminine is Destination: Wedding (S1E8). The opening scene begins with Ilana and Abbi running with one female friend and three male characters through New York City. The female characters are wearing dresses, except for Ilana. Ilana is wearing her catering suit, which looks a lot like a tuxedo (figure 25).

50 As seen in figure 25 the two male characters are wearing tuxedos as well. At one point, Ilana remarks: “I thought that we were all wearing our old catering uniforms, together. To which Abbi replies: “Nobody said that, dude. You were supposed to return it when you quit.” Ilana responds with: “Oh please”. This conversation implies that it is not a conscious decision that she is dressed in a suit with masculine aesthetics. She is thus not ‘disguised’ as a man. This is also articulated by the fact that she is wearing lipstick and mascara. Thus, she is performing multiple conventional (wearing make up as a female) and unconventional (wearing a tuxedo as a female) gender codes without purposely performing drag.

Figure 25: Ilana in a tuxedo.

The fact that she is wearing a tuxedo to a wedding challenges conventional gender roles. However, an opposing discourse is articulated through the confirmation of conventional gender roles. Namely, the other two females are wearing dresses and the men are wearing tuxedos. However, this discourse is ambivalent because of the fact that this non-intentional disguise never gets ‘exposed’ in this episode. Ilana never takes off her tuxedo. Also, she does not change into more conventional feminine clothing to expose her true gender. Thus the viewer never gets the affirmation that this is unnatural, such as in traditional television where cross- dressing plays a significant part (Straayer, 423). This is only reinforced by the fact that Abbi, in the last scene of the episode is in a tuxedo as well (figure 26). This, again, articulates the discourse that it is ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ to perform gender-fluid identities. Because the viewer is never reminded of the fact that it is an intentional disguise of their “true” gender identity.

51 In the last scene of this episode, as seen in figure 26, Abbi and Ilana are both wearing tuxedo’s on the streets in New York. Abbi is now also wearing a tuxedo because her dress got wet from fish leftovers she accidentally got all over her in the bus on their way to the wedding. They never make it to the wedding. While they are walking in the streets, they are talking about which one of them would be Penn or Teller. These are male illusionists (Pennandteller.net, 2015). This simple game of “who would you be” again indicates a transgression of conventional gender roles. Namely, they are talking about literally embodying the male gender. Then, they stumble upon a gentlemen’s club. While standing in front of the gentlemen’s club, Ilana and Abbi have the following conversation:

Ilana: “We’re perfect gentlemen dude” Abbi: “We’re in tuxes” Ilana: “Right, it’s like … Abbi: “We have to, right?” Ilana: “Your call bud, captain” Abbi: “I say we do it, let’s do it”

To which Ilana yells affirmingly. Then, they enter the club as women dressed as men.

Figure 26: Abbi and Ilana both wearing tuxedos.

The club is a representation of gender difference and gender discrimination. A gentlemen’s club (in its name) excludes the opposite gender. This is relevant because, some gentlemen’s clubs still do not admit women (The Guardian, 2015). Here, Ilana’s and Abbi’s bodies are used to express feminist and political statements. They are literally entering an exclusive men’s world, dressed as men, while still having feminine aesthetics. This constructs the discourse that they

52 claim to both masculine and feminine aesthetics (which becomes political as well, as they enter a gentlemen’s club). This indicates that they are stepping out of the gender binary. This discourse is reinforced by the fact that, while they are inside (which is not displayed on screen, but the viewer can still hear the dialogue off-screen), they are talking about the interior: “Love hardwoord floors”. This can be interpreted as feminine talk in an environment where probably talk about women’s aesthetics by males is dominant. However, the fact that we do not see them inside reinforces the fact that it is still a space of exclusion of women. Thus, what is significant about this episode is that the continuous performance of different gender identities, by representing masculine and feminine aesthetics through individual bodies exposes the notion that there is no ‘true’ essence of gender identity. This sub-discourse that is formed by these examples (there is no true essence of gender identity) helps to construct the main discourse, which is that women should not be constricted or held back in any way by hegemonic gender conventions.

6.2 Mixing masculine elements with feminine elements In What a Wonderful World (S1E1), Ilana and Abbi are cleaning a man’s apartment in their underwear for money, because they need it to go to a lil’ Wayne concert. In this scene, Ilana is wearing a bra and boy shorts (figure 27), which, on the one hand, functions to challenge fixed gender roles regarding fashion (it is ‘normal’ for females to wear feminine underwear), and, on the other hand, defies the glamorization of women, such as seen in most fashion advertisements where the models wear matching underwear. On this last observation I will elaborate later. However, the fact that she is wearing a lacy red bra does confirm her femininity, which constructs the discourse that it is possible to wear gender-mixed underwear and still be feminine. These boy shorts are also reappearing in different episodes which strengthens the discourse that it is normal to wear boy shorts as a female (figure 28). Furthermore, she is wearing it underneath her day-to-day clothes, which indicates normalcy: this is what she wears on a day-to-day basis. This is also articulated by the fact that she knew, throughout the episode, that she was going to clean a man’s apartment in her underwear. This signifies that she is not conforming to male objectification of women and, also, she is not conforming to the neo-feminist ideal, which commonly prefers feminine and sexy underwear. However, the fact that she is wearing a feminine bra articulates that she is, partly, conforming to the male ideal of women.

53 Figure 27: Abbi and Ilana are cleaning a man’s apartment in their underwear.

Figure 28: Ilana is wearing boy shorts again in S1E3: Working Girls.

This discourse - it is possible to wear gender-mixed underwear and still be feminine - recurs several times in Broad City. Another example of mixing feminine clothing with masculine clothing is in the episode Destination: Wedding (S1E8). Ilana and Abbi are wearing a tuxedo while also wearing make-up (figure 26). When Abbi and Ilana are walking through a store in episode In Heat (S2E1, figure 29) Ilana is wearing a basketball jersey, cap and black lipstick. The cap and jersey are clear indications of masculine clothing. However, the lipstick and short shorts indicate strong feminine elements. This also indicates gender-fluid fashion. Again, the discourse that it is ‘normal’ to wear clothing with feminine and masculine elements as a woman is promoted, which helps to construct the main discourse: women should not be constricted or held back in any way by hegemonic gender conventions.

54 Figure 29: Ilana wearing gender-role defying clothing.

The opposing discourse that is articulated here is that it is unfeminine to wear clothing with masculine elements. Unlike Ilana, Abbi most commonly wears casual, feminine clothing. However, when she does mix masculine and feminine elements in her appearance (think of the strap-on scene, or the scene where she wears the tuxedo alongside Ilana (c.f. 5.1), this particular way of dressing oneself is not rejected. In fact, there is a ‘defying gender roles victory’ involved in these scenes for Abbi, which, then, promotes the behavior of dressing oneself however one likes, and, preferably, not letting imposed gender limitations getting in the way. In the strap-on scene for example, there is a personal victory for Abbi in that she conquers imposed gender boundaries and liberates herself sexually by eventually (and proudly) pegging Jeremy.

6.3 Mismatching lingerie Another significant element that helps to construct the main discourse that women should not be constricted in any way by hegemonic gender conventions, is the fact that both protagonists wear lingerie without it being matching sets. This is important because the general consensus of women in lingerie is women that wear matching underwear, as seen in fashion advertisements and magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar (figure 30). This forms discourses on what women should look like underneath their clothes, namely glamorous. However, through mismatching their lingerie, Ilana and Abbi propose the opposite discourse: the unglamorization of women. Namely, the discourse that they articulate and promote is that it is normal for women

55 to put on whatever comes natural to them, which is, in this case, wearing a bra and panties that do not necessarily match and still have sexual agency. And, it is not necessary for women to feel self-fulfilled and confident without catering to the sexual objectification of women by men (that is, wearing matching lingerie). In other words, a woman’s sexual agency is not influenced by her choice of lingerie.

Figure 30: Vogue, 6-11-2013

For example, in Abbi’s strap-on scene (cf. 5.1), she wears mismatching lingerie, which indicates, especially in the presence of a man (that is, Jeremy), her rejection of catering to the sexual objectification of women by men and society’s conception of what a woman should look like in the bedroom. Furthermore, her personal victory of accepting her sexuality without limitations by confidently wearing the strap-on only strengthens this discourse (figure 31).

In addition, in the scene where Abbi and Ilana clean the man’s apartment (cf. 5.2) Abbi and Ilana wear mismatching lingerie (figure 27) as subjects of sexual objectification by a man. This signifies two elements: Ilana was already aware of the fact that she was going to clean this man’s house but still wears her mismatching lingerie, even with boy shorts. This constructs the discourse that she is not conforming to traditional representations of women in erotic context. Furthermore, Abbi did not know she was going to clean this man’s apartment, which articulates that she was wearing this lingerie underneath her clothes, on a day-to-day basis. This

56 strengthens the discourse on a more realistic approach to the representation of women in erotic context.

Figure 31: Abbi wearing mismatching lingerie.

These instances where Abbi and Ilana represent women that do not conform to traditional representations of women in lingerie thus also articulate discourses on realism. This unglamorization of women, namely, promotes empowerment, self-fulfillment, sexual agency and being confident not through an emphasis on consumerism and conforming to erotic media representations of women but through an emphasis on realism. Hence, these examples articulate a more realistic approach to representing women in erotic context. Finally, I would like to make a comment in my analysis of the body, something that has always been a constant factor in analyzing dress: movement. Specifically, Ilana’s dancing. Throughout the series, Ilana’s movements and dancing as natural bodily movement - as seen for example in the scene where she is dancing in the back of a moving van to keep her balance (Destination: Wedding, figure 32) and the scene where she is happy about Abbi’s possibility of pegging Jeremy - actively resist norms that are set in society. Either stepping out of sexuality boundaries, as seen in the pegging scene, or stepping out of gender boundaries, by dancing feminine in a tuxedo. Her movements symbolize this resistance, this groove of avoiding a neoliberal ‘feminine’ ideal. Her dancing indicates a performance of gender-fluidity. She is thus the embodied ideal of a gender- fluid, non-normative woman, who Abbi happily embraces as a guide (throughout the episode, Abbi does everything Ilana tells her to do: clean a man’s apartment, leave her work etc.).

57 Figure 32: Ilana dancing in the back of a van.

6.4 Biopolitics and dress practices in Broad City How can we relate these articulated discourses to governmentality and biopolitics? Which behaviors do they promote? As mentioned before: through media, biopolitical discourses discipline and regulate the individual body and the entire population. Media representations promote certain behavior as ‘right’ or ‘good’. This way, body and life are disciplined and regulated. Furthermore, biopolitics and governmentality function at the level of exposing taboos and creating new norms. With this in mind, these particular scenes and episodes of Broad City promote an alternative way of thinking about gender at the level of the body in our hegemonic heterosexual society. They are creating new norms for our current society through the individual body. Abbi blurs gender boundaries and hegemonic heterosexual culture by taking up on a masculine act: performing anal sex on a man with a strap-on on. Ilana encourages this blurring of gender boundaries by reacting overtly enthusiastic. This also exposes the unnaturalness of the subject: the comedy here is partly derived from Ilana’s over the top excitement about something that is so obscure and taboo to express such enthusiasm for. However, this enthusiasm and Abbi’s agreement to this enthusiasm promotes and naturalizes the act. In short, this particular scene and episode normalize and promote the act of pegging, and, in this way, promote expanding what can be counted as feminine, emphasizing female sexual agency, promoting specific sexual acts within the spectrum of normalcy, challenge conventional gender roles and promote alternative ways of thinking about gender. Furthermore, as the examples mentioned above show, these female representations and the discourses that are constructed

58 offer technologies of the self. They promote and normalize the ideal of a gender-fluid, non- normative woman at the level of the body, which, in this way, creates the norm of gender-fluid femininity for society at large.

In this analysis I have shown how the act of cross-dressing and fashion at the level of the individual body is promoted and legitimized. Furthermore I have shown how it creates norms and offers technologies of the self on different strategies regarding gender at the level of society. Media representations of the bodies of Abbi and Ilana, attempt to discipline individual bodies of the viewer by promoting ‘right’ behavior. They regulate society at large by promoting a gender- fluid ideology. Power is thus exercised through these media representations, on the level of the body and by extension on society at large. I have shown how Broad City promotes and normalizes an alternative way of thinking about gender and promotes specific behavior regarding sexuality and femininity.

59 7. UNRULY WORKING GIRLS IN BROAD CITY In recent years there has been a significant growth in displaying female characters as fuck ups in film and television. Think of Liz Lemon in 30 Rock (2006), Sarah Silverman in The Sarah Silverman Program (2007), Jenny Slate in Obvious Child (2014), and Abbi and Ilana in Broad City (2014). This way of representing women in visual culture displays a shift in the way we think about women and women’s behavior in contemporary society, especially in regard to professional environments. Whereas, in the 90’s and 00’s, the ‘working girl’ and the ‘girly girl’ were the prominent articulation of women in visual culture, now, the female fuck up, or unruly woman, is growing in popularity.

What does the term female fuck up entail and how does it differ from earlier representations of women in popular television and cinema? Let me start by explaining the concepts of working girls and girly girls, which were prevailing female stereotypes in the 90s and 00s. According to Yvonne Tasker, author of Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema (1998), “Hollywood representation of women is characterized by an insistent equation between working women, women’s work and some form of sexual(ised) performance, across a variety of genres” (3). A prime example of these kinds of films is Pretty Woman (Gary Marshall, 1990). However, Hilary Radner in Neofeminist Cinema: Girly Films, Chick Flicks and Consumer Culture (2008) argues that we are already in a post-Pretty Woman era, namely that of the ‘girly films’- era with as prime example Sex and the City: the Movie (Michael Patrick King, 2008) (4). This neo-feminist representation of women is “a celebration of the unmarried, childless working woman who delights in the pleasures of independence, consumerism, and sex, and performing an unchallenging kind of feminine independence acceptable to patriarchal norms. In her conformity and youthful feminine performance, she remained stuck in a perpetual adolescence, forever a ‘girl’ who played a supportive role in the public sphere, and found ‘fulfillment’ through earning and spending her paycheck on personal, trendy goods” (Alison Hoffman-Han, 2012, 68). Thus, there is great emphasis on consumerism, self-improvement as a sign of individual agency and the sexual availability of women as a form of personal empowerment, without explicitly stressing the political agenda of feminism. Again, Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City is a prime example of this feminine ideal, because she represents the glamorization of women by dressing and acting in a conventional feminine way (figure 33).

60 Figure 33: Carrie Bradshaw as the embodiment of neo-feminism in Sex and the City.

However, the representation of women as female fuck ups that has been growing in popularity in recent years indicates a cultural shift in the representation of women on television. The term, picked up by popular blogs such as Flavorwire and Grantland, is described as “all about accepting failure” (Grantland, 2014) and “rougher female characters because patriarchy means having an acute consciousness of your own flaws, deviations from the gender norm, failures with respect to delicate mascara application or proper tone when talking to bosses and boyfriends”. (Flavorwire, 2015) Furthermore, “female fuck ups rarely view themselves as fuck ups. Rather, they think of themselves as being awesome and the people who do not recognize their awesomeness as idiots.” (Grantland, 2014). In short, these are women struggling with their jobs and general life as twenty-somethings. However, they fully accept this struggling, and do not see this as a flaw. There is less emphasis on consumerism and personal advancement in their working life than the neo-feminist ideal. Furthermore, these female protagonists do not confine to conventional gender roles and the prevailing feminine ideal: they do drugs, experiment with sex, live through their desires, wear masculine clothing and clothing from retail stores, fail miserably at their jobs, ride the subway instead of taking taxi’s and do not apologize for it. Stupid decisions are joyful. These women resist patriarchy and resist what society tells them to do. According to Anne Helen Petersen in her blog on the Los Angeles Review Of Books (2014), these are unruly women: “Unruly women have unruly bodies — they’re too big for their

61 clothes, their hair refuses to stay down. They talk too much, laugh too loudly, say things ladies should not say. They fart and burp and poop; they make themselves known, refuse taming.” Examples of shows with unruly female protagonists are Girls, The Sarah Silverman Program and Broad City. To summarize, the unruly woman, or female fuck up, does not confirm to societies rules imposed on women.

In this analysis of Broad City I will show how, through narrative, props, sound and mise-en- scene, the female protagonists represent this idea of the female fuck up, the unruly woman and therefore promote this behavior, while at the same time resisting neofeminist femininity and personal advancement in the work-environment. I will focus on the prime notion of the neofeminist ideal, that is that of a glamorous autonomous working woman, who performs feminine independence in such a way that it is acceptable to patriarchal norms and in sync with consumerism. For this analysis, I chose to analyse S1E1: What a Wonderful World and S2E2: Mochalatta Chills, because in these episodes there is a strong focus on how Abbi and Ilana deal with their jobs. The main discourse that is articulated in this episode is that it is preferred behavior to act like an unruly woman. Sub-discourses that form this main discourse are a rejection of the work-environment in general, a rejection of obsessive self-government of the physical body, a rejection of society’s beauty standards, a rejection of elitism, encouragement of self-respect, a rejection of work-environment norms imposed on women and an encouragement of female agency in the work-environment.

In What a Wonderful World (S1E1), viewers are introduced to Abbi and Ilana’s jobs. Abbi works as a cleaner in a fitness centre named Soulstice, which is also printed in big white letters on her T-shirt, to remind her of her rank in the hierarchy of the gym (figure 34). Her career perspective is to become a trainer, but her ultimate dream is to become an illustrator, which is, in itself, a career that does not promise a big bank account. Abbi’s boss is a trainer and only lets her do the dirty jobs such as cleaning body hair from the showers.

62 Figure 34: Abbi at work wearing her “cleaner” shirt, while talking to her boss.

On a narrative level, Abbi’s determination to become a trainer does confirm the neo-feminist ideal, to have a career and a steady income and to govern self-advancement, even literally on the level of the body. However, the fact that Abbi never really becomes a trainer, and even more so wants to become an illustrator, rejects this neo-feminist ideal. In addition, Ilana’s continual performance of ‘saving’ Abbi from her work-environment and convincing her to resist what society longs from her articulates this rejection of the neo-feminist ideal. For example, when Ilana comes to visit Abbi at work, Ilana convinces Abbi to lie and leave with her because Abbi does not get treated well at work. Abbi takes her job very seriously, so when Ilana steps over the line and into the fitness area without membership, Abbi immediately corrects her (figure 35):

Ilana: “Sorry, I forgot about the line. I'll see you in the second-class citizen area.” Abbi: “It’s called the non-member pen and you know that.” Ilana: “Ew listen to yourself. I think you deserve like an Abbi Bueller's day off.” Abbi: “I can't just leave work in the middle of the day.” Ilana: “Yes, you can you just lie, and leave.”

63 Figure 35: Abbi telling Ilana to stay behind the line.

Both the mise-en-scene and dialogue articulate a rejection of fitness-culture, hierarchal work- environments and self-government through obsessively working out. This satire of obsession is articulated through Abbi’s boss who is quite extravagant: always moving and doing exercises while he talks to Abbi, which has a comedic and satirical effect (figure 36).

Figure 36: Abbi’s boss walks up the stairs, while also doing a leg workout.

As shown in figure 35 the verbal and visual emphasis that is put on the line confirms the fact that the world behind the line is “exclusive” and for an “elite” which Ilana is not. Ilana verbally rejects this elitism by saying: “Ew, listen to yourself.” Then, Ilana convinces Abbi to skip out of work. Abbi eventually agrees to this and lies to her boss, who is again, hopping and working out

64 while talking. By leaving, Abbi literally and figuratively steps over the line and out of the ‘exclusive’ and hierarchal working-world, rejecting the fact that she gets treated badly by her boss and rejecting conforming to capitalist society and governmental authority. This discourse, namely the rejection of conforming to capitalist society and governmental authority also gets formed by the “Abbi Bueller’s” day off comment, which references Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), a film about a boy who rejects disciplinary authority (school) to do whatever he feels like doing. Also, the fact that they ‘hustle’ ‘dirty’ money throughout the episode by giving street performances and cleaning a man’s apartment articulates this discourse. Furthermore, it rejects the self-government ideal that is so prominently inherent within fitness-culture. At the end of the episode, Abbi confirms that she “really needed to get out of her element today, thank you Ilana.” Which confirms and promotes this behavior of being unruly or not living up to stereotypical feminine standards.

This fitness-culture satire thus articulates a criticism on the way women need to govern themselves to live up to a standard of femininity. This is further constructed through the fact that Abbi does not have the body-type or lifestyle that is expected from a trainer. This satire constructs the discourse that women do not need to live up to society’s beauty and capitalist standards. It promotes the behavior of being an unruly woman with regard to society’s expectations of women. Furthermore, it promotes a transgression from repression in a professional environment: Abbi is not treated with respect by her boss, which Ilana emphasizes: “They do not respect you.” The fact that she lies to her boss to get out of work due to lack of respect indicates transgression.

Another scene where the resistance against societal expectations (and repression) of women and the expression of the unruly woman is prevailing is at Ilana’s work. Ilana works at a groupon-like company, selling deals. At one point, she is sitting at her desk, doing different things except for being at work such as looking for ways to earn money easily and fast. The setting, props and dialogue all articulate the discourse of resistance of work-environment standards imposed on women and capitalist ideology in general.

65 First, she is wearing a casual vest and short shorts, which is highly uncommon to wear in a professional environment. Second, her screensaver consists of photos of rapper lil’ Wayne (figure 37), who is known for his raunchy lyrics and ‘bad’ attitude, and third, when her boss notifies her on her lack of work, she just leaves:

Boss: “Ilana, this is not work.” Ilana: “Oh. Ok. I’ll take lunch.”

Figure 37: Ilana’s screensaver of lil’ Wayne at work.

These discourses are strengthened by a significant scene that occurs in the episode Mochalatta Chills (S2E2). In this scene, Ilana has hired interns to do her job for her, which is closing deals. The scene starts with Ilana, while wearing a crop top and short shorts. She walking in front of one of her interns. Non-diegetic drum music is playing. This is a reference and satire of the ‘power walk’ as seen in the romantic comedy The American President and the West Wing series (Bruzzi, 2013). The intern greets Ilana: “Hi miss Wexler” to which Ilana replies: “Please, call me Ilana.” This signifies Ilana to be on the same hierarchal level as her interns: calling each other by their first names. However, Ilana decides that she does want him to call her miss Wexler because she thinks its ‘dope’, which gives her authority over her intern. The camera is twirling around Ilana during her power walk (figure 38), which, in combination with the drum music functions to construct her authority over the interns. Then, she slaps her intern on his bottoms, compliments them on their work, encourages them to find their own solutions (i.e. she does not

66 have to think of answers) and kisses her colleague (figure 39) who constantly, throughout the whole series, disapproves of her working habits. After this, she calls for her interns to gather around:

“Okay, kids, when I started this day, I had one goal and that was to get a deal. […] But then I learned what commission is, and now my goal is money, money, money, bitch. Now, I'm gonna take lunch, but I need you guys to keep it on, on, on, on, on. Please don't leave the building so that you work and also I won't be able to sign you back in 'cause I won't be here.”

Figure 38, 39 and 40: Separate stills of Ilana doing her power walk.

67 Then, Ilana leaves. An intern comments on her monologue: “What a cool boss.” This scene articulates multiple discourses. The power walk is a parody of the prevailing representations of powerful men in office environments. Her representation of (the most) powerful person as a woman in the office - which is also articulated in figure 40, via an high-angled camera position focusing on the interns with an over the shoulder perspective of Ilana - indicates a transgression from the patriarchal status quo that is immanent within professional environments. The fact that Ilana is wearing short shorts and a crop top and is completely incompetent in what she is doing, functions as an undermining and critique of this patriarchal display of power. The sexist gesture she performs on a male intern, functions as a critique on office sexism that is still prominently present in professional environments (The Guardian, 2014). Furthermore, the fact that she leaves work and let her unpaid interns do all the work, and their affirmation of this behavior by mentioning she is a cool boss affirms and promotes this transgressive and unruly behavior.

7.1 Biopolitics, unruly women and Broad City In this analysis I have shown how the setting, camera, props, dialogue, and narrative of Broad City represent Abbi and Ilana as unruly women in their work-environment. Looking at this through a Foucauldian lens, how can we relate this to biopolitics and governmentality? The discourses articulated on the resistance against societal expectations and repression of women and the expression of the unruly woman promote different behavioral patterns and offer technologies of the self. On the level of the individual body, it promotes a transgression of self- advancement standards that are present in the neo-feminist ideal, such as being obsessively engaged with fitness-culture. Hence, there is no need to obsessively modify the body in order to live up to a specific beauty standard. This is also articulated by Broad City’s satirical representation of a fitness-centre. In addition, it promotes transgression from (disrespectful) authority and hierarchal repression of women in a professional environment. For example when Abbi rejects her boss’ disrespect towards her and leaves work. Furthermore, it promotes resistance to work-environment standards imposed on women. For example when Ilana wears a crop top and short shorts to her work and parodies the ‘power walk’. Also, it promotes a resistance to capitalist ideology in general. For example, Ilana’s continual refusal of closing deals and letting her unpaid interns do all the work. This latter act functions as a criticism on the exploitation of interns and misuse of power in capitalist society. Another significant point to mention, moreover, is that this transgressive and unruly behavior of both Abbi and Ilana is never ‘policed’ by society in Broad City. Abbi has the same body throughout the series and Ilana never

68 gets fired from her job. This too affirms this unruly behavior as ‘right’ behavior for women. On the level of our population, as I have shown in my analysis, through constant affirmation of these different behavioral patterns in Broad City, the norm of the transgressive and unruly woman as the ‘right’ behavior is created and legitimized.

69 8. CONCLUSIONS This thesis has shown how female representation on television can promote specific behavioral patterns and offer technologies of the self. It therefore can function as an instrument to create norms and exercise power. It has suggested how prevailing norms in society influence female representation on television and how the characters of Abbi and Ilana in Broad City negotiate with these predominant norms. It has demonstrated how Foucault’s notions of biopolitics and governmentality function as important notions in order to understand how media power and prevailing ideas in society interrelate.

In my analysis, which focused on a narrative and visual level, I have proposed that Broad City articulates specific discourses on sexuality, dress and what it means to be a woman. Through these discourses it promotes specific behavioral patterns and creates specific norms for women. I will now mention these discourses in respective order. In my analysis of sexuality, the main discourse that is constructed is that female sexuality is good behavior to display and express. In this way, the norm of a sexually liberated woman is created and legitimized. In my analysis of dress, the main discourse that is formed is that women are gender-fluid bodies and should perform gender whichever way they want, instead of performing imposed hegemonic gender conventions. Hence, the norm of a gender-fluid body is created and legitimized. In my analysis of the genre unruly women, the main discourse that is articulated is that women should transgress from self-advancement and norm-confirming standards imposed on women (especially in the work-environment) that are ever so present in the neo-feminist ideal. Thus, the norm of an unruly woman is created and legitimized.

It is important to note that Broad City seems to be a reversed world in which social conventions of being a ‘good’ citizen and neoliberal ideology are resisted. Abbi, whose behavior largely confirms neoliberal standards, - she is focused on personal achievement in her work- environment, conforms to ladylike etiquette and lives a routined life - is portrayed as being hesitant and insecure of life as such. Sometimes, as shown, she breaks out of these imposed boundaries, but with hesitance. Ilana contrasts this lifestyle. Through her body she acts upon being an unruly woman, resists social conventions and is fully acceptant of herself and her supposed failures. However, in the series, she functions as Abbi’s guide, paving the way for progression, to which Abbi eventually agrees. In this way, Ilana’s lifestyle and beliefs are promoted and preferred. Moreover, through their actions, Ilana and Abbi naturalize a model of

70 feminine identity and female power that is seperable from consumption. This means that Broad City as a whole is ambivalent towards the neoliberal ideology of society and paves the way for an alternative ideology.

I have examined the functions of governmentality in fiction. I have asked the question: how does governmentality work in fictional series and how does it function in the absence of an expert? In make-over television, for example, politics of governmentality work in the same way as in fiction. Good behavior is promoted and bad behavior is rejected. However, the goal and results of the workings of governmentality in both platforms are different. Whereas in reality shows the subject gets disciplined and regulated to become the perfect neoliberal citizen - a hard-working, confident and empowered woman that lives up to the standard of neofeminist beauty (think of What not to Wear, TLC, 2003) -, in Broad City, the opposite is promoted. Namely, to free the woman from contemporary neoliberal power relations. As I have argued, governmentality studies are mainly concerned with the functioning of governmentality as a move to neoliberalism. Then, for governmentality studies the question that rises is: is it possible to disconnect governmentality from neoliberal context? And if so, can we still call it governmentality? My thesis has proposed that neoliberalism and governmentality are not automatically interrelated, and, that governmentality can function in a different way.

According to Foucault, - as mentioned before - resistance is immanent within power. As Susan Bordo explains: “Prevailing norms themselves have transformative potential. While it is true that we may experience the illusion of ‘power’ while actually performing as ‘docile bodies’ it is also true that this can have consequences that can be personally liberating or culturally transforming” (Bordo, 254). This is how Broad City and relations of power intersect. Broad City negotiates with prevailing norms in order to resist them. The governance and exercise of power of society at large allows them to resist this governance, and, through biopolitics, exercise governance on their bodies and the bodies of others: disciplining bodies and regulating population into progression. Instead of promoting the perfect neoliberal citizen, Broad City promotes just the opposite: to break free from these conventional neoliberal power relations. Hence, the result of governmentality, here, is different. This means that, as I have proposed, governmentality can function independently of the neoliberalist ideal while still being present in full neoliberal context.

71 8.1 Moving towards an alternative, intersectional ideal of a ‘woman’? Then, how can we understand Broad City in a longer tradition of feminist critique? Feminist critique in recent years focused on unpacking conservatism, examined neoliberal power structures in fiction and pinpointed a feminist backlash in contemporary popular culture (Radner, Tasker, McRobbie). Broad City, however, found itself in an alternative position, ambivalent to the neoliberal ideal and (re)defining feminism in the process. My studies of Broad City as part of a larger ‘female fuck up’ trend indicate a shift away from a neo-feminist ideal to an alternative ideal that is characterized by gender-fluidity, non-normativity and an intersectional feminist political agenda. The focus lies not on personal achievement in work-environments and self- advancement through consumption, but on an acceptance and expression of the self, whichever identity that may be. The identified discourses encourage an experimental and adventurous lifestyle, and promote a post-racial, pro-sexual and gender-fluid ideal. This is best exemplified with a comment Ilana makes on gentrification: “In three generations, gentrification is gonna be a non-issue because, statistically, we’re headed toward an age where everybody’s going to be, like, caramel and queer” (S2E3). Moreover, this alternative ideal publicly make claims to feminism through verbal statements and performances of the individual body, (re)defining feminism in the process. Hence, different ideas of the representation of a ‘full’ woman are governed and normalized in Broad City. This is in contrast with the predominant neofeminist ideal that was apparent in the 00s.

Whereas men have been portrayed as leading fuck ups on television for years (Californication (2007), Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990), Married with Children (1987), now, it seems to become socially acceptable for women to do so too. This is an important shift, because it indicates a transgression of and resistance to normalizing society and conventional norms imposed on women. Boundaries are blurred and expectations imposed on women by hegemonic heterosexual society are being limited. This indicates a possibility for further liberation for everyone who identifies as a woman. It invites society to think about what it means to be a woman in an alternative, progressive way. Nevertheless, we should not forget that women are still largely subject to sexist and racial oppression. This current trend is just a tiny indication of progression within a world of hard-shelled beliefs and conservative social constructions.

The main argument of this thesis invites for further research on the current trend that is happening in visual culture and contemporary society. This study has consciously excluded specific dimensions of race, class and queerness. In order to fully understand what it means to

72 be a woman today, it is necessary to examine these dimensions as well. This is clearly of significant importance because of the few representations of other racial identities than white on television. In fact, most of the females on television mentioned in this thesis are white. A set of new questions then arise: how can we think of female representation on television with regard to race and class? How is power exercised on marginalized groups through media representations? In what ways does this indicate progression, or not? How does intersectionality play a role in media representations and how does it create progressive norms? And how can we position this in a longer tradition of feminist critique?

With regard to Broad City specifically, further research could look into female friendship and media representations of women. Because Broad City is focused on friendship between two protagonists. This is usually male territory on television (think of Turk and J.D. from Scrubs (2001), Will and Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, even Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street (1969). Thus, the questions that rise are: how is female friendship represented and how does it promote specific female behavior? Which behaviors does (masculine) gendered language, expressed by females promote? And, lastly, how do television aesthetics promote specific behavior and what does this say about what it means to be a woman today? Furthermore, another interesting field of research could be in aesthetics. Broad City started out as a web series, then converted to television. However, the web aesthetics or mumble core aesthetics are still prominently present (think of fast editing, camera movement, abundant use of background sounds and gritty surroundings). How does this function in relation to media representations of women? And what kind of behavior does this promote or reject?

With my research I hope to have contributed to a broader understanding of today’s zeitgeist and the changes that are occurring in the context of female representation, and, specifically, with regard to feminism and society at large. Moreover, I hope to have actively contributed in possibilities for further research on this topic.

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