Fleabag: Womanhood and Magnificent Menopause
By Riley Kubaska
With its dark-humor, precise editing style, and charismatic performances, Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag is an instant television classic and a must-watch for anyone who consumes media. Rather than all of these aspects, what struck me the deepest was the series’ commentary on both the concepts of womanhood and femininity. A rich and impactful bar-stool soliloquy from the show reads:
“Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny. Period pain, sore boobs, childbirth, you know. We carry it within ourselves throughout our lives. Men don’t. They have to seek it out. They invent all these gods and demons and things just so they can feel guilty about things, which is something we do very well on our own… And we have it all going on here, inside. We have pain on a cycle for years and years and years. And then, just as you feel you’re making peace with it all, what happens? The menopause comes… but then, you’re free. You’re no longer a slave, no longer a machine with parts. You’re just a person.”
From Fleabag on Amazon Prime
Leaving audiences reeling, this conversation continues on- calling menopause both “wonderful” and “magnificent”. Now, when was the last time you heard those adjectives and the word menopause in the same sentence? By not only normalizing, but celebrating something that very few women discuss or admit to themselves, Fleabag delves into a deeper conversation of womanhood that is relevant to any age group due to its resonance, insight, and truth.
From Fleabag on Amazon Prime
Portraying women who are complicated and flawed, the character of Fleabag struggles with real-life issues and real-life insecurities that give audiences a taste of the reality of feminism as well as the struggles that come with self-acceptance. Throughout the first season of the series, Fleabag grapples with the effects of betraying the women in her life in a way that only benefits the patriarchal-centered society we live in. On her journey towards healing that follows, audiences see the humanity in trying to become a better person through the lens of a character who defies any traditional form of a female protagonist. Rough and raw, Fleabag’s rebellious naturalism is the furthest thing from the trope of feminine perfection seen constantly in the media. Fleabag acts with the aggressive independence and outrageous antics that women are often discouraged from displaying. Reclaiming the idea of feminism, Fleabag freely expresses herself and all of her ideas even if they are considered self-destructive or vulgar. In the end, Fleabag isn’t the story of a “difficult” woman at all… it’s the story of a real one.