by Anne-Marie Jones
Elaine Benes from Seinfeld is for me, one of the most unforgettable female characters on television in my lifetime. With her distinct hair and those suits that could perfectly be described as 'snazzy', Elaine is, to me, the perfect example of a strong female character, ahead of her time.
Here are 4 ways Elaine is iconic as a woman on T.V:
Elaine is sexual, but not sexualised.
Long before Sex and The City, Elaine was blunt about sexuality in a way that wasn't common for female characters at the time, especially for a PG-rated, prime time sitcom. An episode of Seinfeld called "The Contest" had the storyline of the three male characters agreeing to a "no masturbation" contest (the 'm word' never actually being said, of course). To their surprise, Elaine volunteers to take part, openly admitting to having as healthy an appetite for self-love as her male friends. It's dealt with tastefully and casually, and not seen as a big deal at all.
In another episode, Elaine's choice of contraceptive, 'the sponge' is being discontinued, and she has to decide whether or not her dates are 'sponge worthy'. Elaine's views supporting abortion are made clear in atleast one episode, with no hesitation. Elaine is a woman in full control and confidence of her sexuality. For a show that pre dates Sex and The City by a long shot, I reckon that's pretty ahead of it's time.
Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is an attractive woman but never seen as 'eye candy', never considered a 'hot' or traditionally beautiful character, and her male friends don't see her in a sexual way (besides her previous history with Jerry).
Elaine isn't desperate to find a man, have kids, or 'settle down'
Yes, she does date, that's a pretty normal storyline for any adult T.V character, but Elaine's plots don't depend on her trying to follow a 'traditionally female' path, despite her being in her 30's, when female characters are often depicted as 'the clock's ticking! If I don't get married now, I'll never get married! I'm running out of time to have a baby!". Elaine has a good career and is independent, and not at all reliant on finding a man.
Elaine is never 'not like other girls'
Maybe this is more of a modern T.V trope but this seems to be a thing, where they make a female character seem stronger by being 'not traditionally female'. "I don't like to wear makeup or go shopping, I like watching action movies, I'm not like other girls!". Guess what? Women can and do like literally anything.
I feel like today, anything 'traditionally female' is looked down on and treated as a weak character trait and I think that's quite misogynistic. If you want to be a woman who loves pink and cries at romance movies, that's completely acceptable and just as valid as a woman who races cars and has short hair - do what makes you happy, THAT'S what's empowering.
I appreciate Elaine's character that they never went in that direction, she never tries too hard to be 'one of the guys' or act like 'she's not like other women'. She is who she is, unashamedly, 100% Elaine, and I love her for that.
Elaine isn't a victim of "I'm a lady" script writing
Many screen writers fall into the trap of not knowing how to write women, or write for women. Some female characters are so cringe-worthy, I think of David Walliams famous "I'm a Lady" sketch in Little Britain. "I'm a lady! I do lady things".
I feel that some writers are like, "Oh God, what do women like, what do women talk about? Um...shoes? vaginas? Periods, do women like periods? Hmm, this writing shit be hard". Sitcom characters are pretty one-dimensional in general so it's rare and amazing to get a woman like Elaine with intelligent thoughts and opinions.
When the show 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' was first being written, Rob McElhenney was struggling to write a female character, he felt the dialogue felt unrealistic and unnatural. He was given the advice to just write a character - not specifically a female character, just write. He came up with Dee Reynolds, who works great as a character because her character isn't 'forced' to be female, her dialogue and humour flows as comfortably as all the other characters.
I think that's why a lot of todays modern female characters 'fail' - because writers try way too hard to make them female. Movies like Ghostbusters (2016), we need to constantly be reminded "HEY WE'RE FEMALE! We're WOMEN! We're Ghostbusters WITH TITTYS!". If you hate the movie or don't pay money to see it, oh it was flop because WE'RE FEMALE.
Really, these movies flop because no one (regardless of gender) wants to see these dull characters. There are some fantastic female-oriented movies (e.g The Descent), or movies with strong female leads (e.g Alien), the secret to writing good female characters is to stop reminding us they're female and just write a damn good character - like Elaine Benes.
What are your favourite Elaine episodes or moments in Seinfeld? Who are your other favourite women on TV? Drop us a comment!
