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ENGL 101

24 September 2018

#ElderMillennial

In her latest comedy special, Iliza Shlesinger discusses her recent engagement and

the struggles women face as they try to find a suitor themselves a suitor. Shlesinger is a

well-known feminist and makes jokes based on many different stereotypes about women

in relationships. It is interesting the see her take on the process that females go through,

either with their appearance or with getting a man to approach them when they are out

with their friends. During her comedy special, Elder Millennial, Iliza Shlesinger appeals

to ethos through various inflections and impressions to explore feminist conflicts;

through her becoming the voice of various feminine stereotypes, she underscores the

conformist ideals that are expected of women to appease men .

One of Shlesinger’s main themes is about how strong, independent women are

typically found less attractive by men. The gazelle narrative is one example of how

women who have a life outside of a man are a “harder meal” for the men to hunt.

Because she is a strong woman, Shlesinger takes on the identity as both herself,

represented as a strong, fast gazelle, and a more emotionally dependent woman, an

injured gazelle, to compare the two. She also briefly assumes the male's identity, the

hunting lion, to imitate his reactions to both options. The lion is more likely to go after

the injured gazelle; this is due to men having the unconscious urge to fix things, making

women who are put together and “healthy” seem less attractive. The idea that strong
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women are not attractive is oppressive due to the concept that women are better when

weak. Shlesinger comments on the fact that the term “damsel in distress” is coined

because it is attractive to men when women are vulnerable and fragile. This approach is

ironic because weakness is viewed as a strength or attractive, whereas strength is viewed

as a weakness or less attractive.

Shlesinger highlights the pressure women feel to be weak as to attract men. Over

the years, women have perfected the art of “performing” weakness, acting against their

natural personalities, in hopes to gain attention from men. The reason women have

become so good at the performance is because not all women are really that weak, but

they fear that guys will not see them as attractive if they are smart and capable of doing

their own thing. A lot of women put on a facade and dumb themselves down or act

helpless when they are around a guy because guys like being the alpha.SheShlesinger

demonstrates that men don’t like strong women, which is an argument on our society

because it shows that the norms we face on a day-to-day basis emphasize the idea that

men are the strong ones in relationships. Men are expected to get over things quickly,

however women hold on to everything fight or troubling conversation they have with

their partner. It can get to an extreme point where it the anger and frustration becomes

“part of the fabric of their personality” (16:00).

Furthermore, Shlesinger examines how society teaches little girls that it's always

the quiet, hot girl who gets the guy rather than the strong, opinionated girls. Iliza sheds

light on the fact that society teaches young girls that “men don’t like a lippy woman, so

zip it hottie” (23:05). Iliza makes a comment about how She notes that women get

rejected for speaking up about important things such as “wanting to govern our own
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bodies, having our own thoughts, or getting paid the same for the same job a man does”

(13:35). She Iliza also argues that there is no such thing as not knowing when you’re hot

as a woman; “No one’s walking around like ‘What do I do with these giant breasts and

thin legs? How did I get on this Victoria’s Secret catwalk? I’m choking on my silky hair”

(23:24). The combination of being “lippy” and the emphasis on physical features runs the

risk of conveying the idea that women, like children, should be seen and not heard. One

of Iliza’s sub arguments that she makes using this quote is about how the media portrays

female leads in TV shows or movies, etc. She mocks the storyline of the girl who is

unsure of herself, always getting the guy who sees through her insecurities. This is the

fairytale ideal that they teach girls growing up. Shlesinger critiques the message

“princesses get saved”. She emphasizes thatthe underlying message that women need to

be saved by a man is a false narrative. Shlesinger recognizes that there are different types

of women in this world, each with her own strengths. However, Although she pokes fun

at the girls who are “wallflowers” or “shrinking violets”, she assures her audience that

whatever type of woman they choose to be is correct.She doesn’t tell her female audience

how she thinks they should act because everyone is entitled to live their life however they

choose.

Shlesinger jokes about how much effort women put into being noticed by men

and how “annoying” it is when men don’t acknowledge the effort women put into their

appearance. Shlesinger claims that women shouldn’t have to hit on the guy because of all

the “sacrifices” women put into looking good. There is a process that women go through

when they get ready- they have to do hair, makeup and outfit. Shlesinger jokes about

how, as the night goes on, with each drink a girl has and with every song she dances to,
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all of her hard work on her appearance goes down the drain (27:16). All the time spent

preparing for her date becomes moot when her hair and makeup fade with dancing and

the consumption of alcohol lessens the standards of beauty.

She also points out how women get rejected less than men and how women are

not equal to men when it comes to hitting on someone they are attracted to. For example,

guys get are rejected much more frequently than women because they have more “at

bats” and they take more shots with women (14:24). Women are usually not the ones to

hit on the men because they are not as used to being rejected by men because they are not

typically the ones to make the first move and flirt with men. Shlesinger also mentions that

Guys get are rejected much more frequently than women because they have more “at

bats” and they take more shots with women (14:24). SimilarlyAdditionally, women don’t

hit on men first because that puts women in a position of authority, which intimidates

men. Shlesinger playfully fantasizes about a day where our great-granddaughters can hit

on men after generations of women being prohibited by social norms. By making this

joke, Shlesinger argues that society has still deemed it unacceptable for women to make

the first move on men. As a culture, we need to be better at not shaming powerful,

independent women so they can grow up without the idea that they need a man. The goal

is that our future generations of women can be self-dependablereliant and our future

generations of men will not be intimidated by strong women.

She is able to insert a sly Iliza makes a comment about how women get rejected

for speaking up about important things such as“wanting to govern our own bodies,

having our own thoughts, or getting paid the same for the same job a man does” (13:35).
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Through this comment, Shlesinger makes an argument about argues that how the

government ridiculously controls women over things that are not their place to control.

Shlesinger also mentions that guys get rejected much more frequently than

women because they have more “at bats” and they take more shots with women (14:24).

Similarly, women don’t hit on men first because that puts women in a position of

authority, which intimidates men. Shlesinger playfully fantasizes about a day where our

great-granddaughters can hit on men after generations of women being prohibited by

social norms. By making this joke, Shlesinger argues that society has still deemed it

unacceptable for women to make the first move on men. As a culture, we need to be

better at not shaming powerful, independent women so they can grow up without the idea

that they need a man. The goal is that our future generations of women can be self-

dependable and our future generations of men will not be intimidated by strong women.

Iliza Shlesinger uses her platform to mock typical female stereotypes, while still

subtly highlighting her own feminist viewpoints. She uses different jokes to emphasize

the main themes of femininity and masculinity. Shlesinger focuses heavily on how

masculinity is typically threatened by strong, feminine women. In her comedy special,

Elder Millennial, Iliza Shlesinger discusses important feminist stereotypes and makes

jokes out of them to bring awareness to the underlying societal issues that the stereotypes

present.
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Works Cited

Shlesinger, Iliza, Comedy Special Elder Millennial on Netflix.