Television is showing us more women who are just like us. Remember when “the girl next door” went up against “the sex kitten” to capture the heart of the handsome hero? Clichés like that haven’t totally disappeared from the small screen, but today’s most popular TV shows are busy throwing the old rules out the window. Stars and creators who are letting us see ourselves in their shows talk about the one scene that changed everything for women.
When This Is Us Let a Woman Put Herself First
What’s up with a woman who breaks up with her fiancé? “Women aren’t taught to put themselves first. They’re taught, ‘Don’t shine your light; diminish it.’ Kate’s figuring out who she is and that it doesn’t matter at what age that happens.”
—star Chrissy Metz*
When Atlanta Revealed Our Rituals
The character gets out of bed, pull off her headwrap and starts taking down her bantu knots.
“For me, taking the time to detangle and braid my hair before going to bed is a part of my personal routine. But the moment isn’t only about hair: It’s about choosing to share how people actually live their lives.
—star Zazie Beetz
When Master of None Used Personal Experience to Shatter a Stereotype
The mother simply tells her gay daughter Denise ‘I’m happy for you.’
“It’s such a pivotal moment for women, particularly women of color, who may be struggling with what it’s like to have a gay child. The grabbing of the hand, the looking in the eyes and saying, ‘I’m happy with the way you turned out,’ instead of this long speech of ‘It’s OK that you’re gay,’ is a moment of acknowledgment.”
—writer and star Lena Waithe
When Better Things Tackled Motherhood…Like a Mom
The mother faces upheaval when her daughter fakes sick, kids scream and other kids descend on the house.
“They all leave, and I just go back to bed. When you’re a mom, you have all this chaos around you all the time. When the quiet hits you in the face, you’re like, ‘I just want to be still.’”
—cocreator and star Pamela Adlon
When Orange Is the New Black Didn’t Pull the Trigger
Prisoner Taystee held a gun on prison guard Piscatella and didn’t shoot.
“I love that she chose not to shoot him because, to me, that was saying that we, as a country, don’t have to do the eye for an eye thing. We can be better than our enemy, and we can be better than operating out of this hateful place.”
—star Danielle Brooks
Read More in Glamour’s: 8 TV Stars on the One Scene That Changed Everything for Women
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