FEMINIST FRIDAY: Netflix’s New Wrestling Series ‘GLOW’ & Youtuber Documents Her Repro Health Journey

It's Feminist Friday again! Which means we get to take a break from our regular slate of content and share our favorite videos of the week with our readers. This week we're crossing platform barriers with videos from Netflix and Youtube, just to shake things up a little.

Our first video is the trailer for the new Netflix series ‘GLOW' which stands for Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling'. Inspired by a real-life, short-lived ’80s phenomenon, the story follows struggling Los Angeles actress Ruth Wilder (played by Alison Brie) who stumbles her way into an audition for a show about women who wrestle.

In this series we get to see female-driven drama and comedy, along with outfits from arguably one of the greatest eras in music and fashion. It should also be noted that ‘GLOW' comes from the maven behind Netflix's other female-driven comedy hit, ‘Orange Is The New Black' – Jenji Kohan. So it's no surprise to see a cast of diverse women featured in the trailer. We're betting big on this one. In fact, it's a female powerhouse team running the whole damn show: executive produced by Liz Flahive (Homeland, Nurse Jackie), Carly Mensch (Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie), Jenji, and Tara Herrmann (Orange is the New Black).

It will be released in its entirely on June 23rd, so mark your calendars for a binge-watch sesh!

Our second video comes from spoken word artist Aranya Johar, whose slam poetry performance ‘A Brown Girl's Guide to Gender' was part of an UnErase Poetry showcase in India on March 6th. Aranya talks about rape culture and sums up sentiments felt by women all across India, and the world.

Since the wake of the Nirbhaya gang rape incident in Delhi in 2012 which sparked a wave of protests, the problem of gender violence has been unearthed in a way like never before. More rapes and assaults are being reported, more bold advocacy is happening, and women are raising their voices about a culture that has kept these crimes silenced for too long.

Aranya says the men she can trust are few, and even references the powerful and shocking documentary ‘India's Daughter' by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, who interviewed the Delhi gang rape perpetrators to expose their utter lack of shame or remorse for their horrific crime.

Aranya's experiences may be her own, but she is speaking words on behalf of millions of women who cannot. Her voice and words need to be shared far and wide.

The final video gives viewers a very different look into the life of popular Youtube host and personality Erin Robinson from Clevver TV. Based in Los Angeles, most of her followers and fans are used to seeing Erin talk about pop culture, lifestyle and entertainment.

But she recently experienced something very personal that she wanted to share with her audience, in the hope it would encourage more young women to take care of their health. Released in time for National Women's Health Week here in the US, ‘It Got Real' is a 5-episode web series that details Erin discovering she had 13 tumors on her uterus.

The cameras follow Erin and her husband visiting the doctor, discussing surgery, the long-term implications of her reproductive health and learning she may not be able to have children, and having an OBGYN exam. There is something profoundly powerful about a woman sharing her personal story, especially when it comes to healthcare.

Right now in the US women's access to certain types of healthcare is on the chopping block by politicians who don't understand the complexities of reproductive care, and by those who would rather create policies based on harmful, regressive ideology and religion, rather than medical facts.

Sharing knowledge and information is what is going to break through these barriers and allow more women to be empowered in taking care of their own bodies. Celebrity advocacy is a powerful tool, especially in the digital age, and we are glad Erin was willing to be vulnerable enough in the hope it may help young women watching. See the trailer below, and watch each episode on Youtube.


 

 

2 thoughts on “FEMINIST FRIDAY: Netflix’s New Wrestling Series ‘GLOW’ & Youtuber Documents Her Repro Health Journey

Leave a Reply