Fierce Females on Television: A Cultural History

Coming October 15

A fascinating deep-dive into how shows from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to The Equalizer have changed the way women are portrayed on television.

The last three decades of television have been a formative and progressive time for female characters, as stronger, more independent women have appeared on screen to guide a new generation of viewers into their own era of power. These characters battle vampires, demons, corrupt government officials, and scientific programs all while dealing with the same real-world concerns their audiences face every day.

In Fierce Females on Television: A Cultural History, Nicole Evelina examines ten shows from the past thirty years to unveil the enormous impact they have had on the way women are portrayed on television. She reveals how Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Alias, Nikita, Agent Carter, Jessica Jones, Homeland, House of Cards, Orphan Black, and The Equalizer feature extraordinary lead characters who are at the same time utterly relatable, facing surprisingly familiar questions in their everyday lives regarding sexuality, gender, and how to fight back in a patriarchal world.

Fierce Females on Television shows how, even with their captivating mix of melodrama, mystery, magic, and martial arts, these shows nevertheless represent the audience’s own desires and fears. Finally, viewers of science fiction, fantasy, spy, and political shows have strong, modern women to watch, admire, and emulate.

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Reviews

“[An] entertaining study…The analysis is smart…[and] fans will enjoy the fresh insights into some old favorites.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“Expertly conveys how each of the ten shows was groundbreaking in its representation of women taking center stage and fighting against the many obstacles in their way while inspiring female audiences…A thoughtful and accessible read for teen fans looking for a deeper dive into any of the featured shows.” — Booklist

“[T]his is an accessible study of archetypes and their pop culture iterations. Evelina gives viewers of the featured 10 shows an excuse to binge watch some of their old favorites. — Library Journal

“When it comes to expositions on fierce and fearless females, there’s no better authority than Nicole Evelina. Her deep dives into the badass—and, sometimes, sadly forgotten—women of history is unparalleled, and her research is second-to-none…Fierce Females on Television is… a must-read for both feminists and gender studies scholars alike. – Bernadette R. Giacomazzo, author of In Living Color: A Cultural History and The Golden Girls: A Cultural History

“Mixes a breezy writing style with a comprehensive overview of the emerging bad-assery of women on television from the mid-1990s to the present day…[and] focuses on the nuances—and responsibilities—of power and what it means for a woman to wield it.” — Erin Giannini, author of Supernatural: A History of Television’s Unearthly Road Trip

Formats: hardback, paperback, ebook
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield