Womanhood, subtle nods of everyday misogyny, and related observations
Here's my off-the-cuff, messy attempt to point out small ways the show has acknowledged gender bias, usually subtly, but also consistently. I'm not gonna remember all the details I noticed on my last rewatch, so please chime in with your observations.
I truly believe with writing this fantastic, and Katie Dippold being a genius,she and her writers crafted this meticulously. The details acknowledging misogyny are deliberate.
The doctor lied to Chelle about if the baby was coming and then took her husband aside and told him the truth. This is the kind of thing that has been happening to women in medical settings for ages. Especially when it comes to childbirth. To ignore the patient and consult with her husband was standard practice up until just a few decades ago, it actually still happens; medical gender bias is still a massive problem. I feel like this was a standout moment among the show's recurring nods to issues of gender bias and gender roles.
--Tom carelessly tells Patricia that because she's 40 the Boogeyman wouldn't want to attack her. This is the kind of misogynistic comment that women get all the time -- especially women who have reached middle age. What's more insulting: That the psycho predatory serial killer who has haunted her psyche for years would be someone she'd WANT attention from? That because she's 40, she's finally "safe" now? That if the homicidal zombie doesn't want her, she's reached a stage of life in which nobody else would likely want her? It's bananas. There's more but I digress.
--More on the "40" thing: In the show, and on this sub, there are several mentions of female characters being 40 or over 40, which is around the age when some women may receive fewer opportunities (dating, jobs, validation) and experience diminished social value compared to their younger days, or compared to younger women. Which brings me to....
---The issue of fertility. Obviously the entity is in favor of keeping the population going. But there's something unusual: >!Ruth had a secret pregnancy, and did not get to raise Lauren. Lauren had a "surprise" pregnancy, and did not get to raise Evan (and her very own existence after delivery became a secret). Chelle's mainland delivery is blocked by the storm that the entity sent; she has to stay, and thus there will be another soul on the island permanently. The doctor is sexist, but in private where she can't hear him. What's with all the secrecy, disruption?!< These instances are not coincidental; the writers are not just incorporating the matter of procreation, but womanhood. The references to pregnancy without motherhood, pregnancy that's a secret, and the island's need for more humans could possibly echo real-life women's issues today, such as a huge entity (government) controlling the circumstances of pregnancy and childbirth, women being used as birthing bodies in the interest of a nefarious entity. Dead babies and lesbians are worthless to that entity.
--Sarah was so relieved to have found a husband and kids, even though they're total strangers on some creepy island. She makes reference to having no children (a fact which lowers her worth) and going unmarried for so long in her maiden days that she almost ran out of time (to marry was to have societal worth and respect, and a chance to live a longer, more rewarding life, all if she could avoid becoming a spinster).
--Sarah, during her brief time with the Warrens, is ordered around by her husband as if she is a servant. She even lies to her own journal, "He's back. I was only joking. OK going to bed now." (That's what she means by "I say this in jest.")
--Frances Warren, a young female child who was rescued at sea by Barnabas, initially became his adopted child, and then, as early as possible, she became his child bride. Such a thing wasn't uncommon then, although horribly wrong. And similar practices still occur today around the world.
--PJ calls their new gal friends "bitches," and he says Tom is "gonna get his dick wet." Not very surprising speech from a punkass teen, but definitely disrespectful, and aligns with some of these other details.
--Patricia does not have a crush on Tom. When asking about Tom's car ride with Marissa, Patricia speaks up because she's alert to potential discrimination and hypocrisy (and others' experiences, like Ruth being judged), and she just wants the deets, and to give Tom a hard time. Where there's potential hypocrisy, she wants to investigate. She wants people to notice when they're acting biased. Tom drove past her when she had a flat tire, but he gave a ride to a younger, pretty, long-haired girl in a sundress. Then you see Patricia driving Tom around town all the time.
--Those teenage girls the Boogeyman murdered, and Patricia running for her life. We know it from slasher flicks, but for a lot of women and girls this is a genuine threat. Women and girls being chased, stalked, hunted, attacked, assaulted, slaughtered -- it happens in every corner of the world.
Some of these observations are sort of "out there" but I will be curious to see if Season 2 expands on stuff like this.