Perhaps, in recent weeks, you've seen NoKat's videos from the series "Girls Are Assholes" circling the Internet. Sounds like fragile territory, right? While the title is suggestive enough, the videos themselves have elicited mixed reactions from various audiences. Considering the supposedly typical dramatizations of culturally conditioned behaviors exhibited by American females, we can see why it might rub some viewers the wrong way. Some people find it hilarious, others don't really get the joke, and others still find it downright offensive.
Yesterday, The Gloss made an excellent point: "The videos are obviously meant to be a satirical statement on how people perceive women." Yes, we would like to live in that world. A world where these generalizations aren't taken literally or used as cannon fodder for card-carrying MRA members. Certainly, that's not the intention. The description on YouTube reads: "People can be assholes. This is a series about half of them."
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But, we do think it's worth pointing out that, like anything, there will always be those who can't grasp the subtlety of satire. These might be a commentary on what we, as a society, expect in our stereotypes of female behavior. Still, the top-voted comment on one video about two girls competing to order the daintiest lunch is "On a good note, come the zombie apocalypse, these chicks will be too starved to run quickly, thus providing a distraction so regular folks can make it to safety." Another one, on a feature about women rejecting certain types of men at a bar, reads: "I know this is a skit, and it was a funny but true observation. This seems what modern feminism has [sic] bread a lot of American women into.. total narcissistic b*tches who think the world revolves around them. I can't count how many times I've heard a female say the word rape incorrectly."
Stupid commenters aren't a reason not to make something great and funny. But, these comments also point out the thin line these videos are currently walking, whatever their intention is. What do you think? Is this series perpetuating negative stereotypes, or making a subtle and smart commentary? Or, third option: Are they just not that funny?