Greta Gerwig’s Cinematic Manifestos Develop Feminism via Popular Culture

Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2019) and Barbie (2023) embed and transmit more wholesome and inclusive feminist concepts, contributing to the progression of gender equality through the fourth wave which emerged in the 2010s. Both films’ characterisation and narratives amplify feminist concept ‘women’s culture’, which celebrates women as equal individuals, evidencing the achievements of second and third-wave feminism’s fight for women’s egalitarian representation. Identified in Little Women and developed in Barbie, the fourth wave’s online mobilisation marks a significant advancement of feminism. This is as its depictions of women onscreen work to acknowledge intersectionality, which, through social media, globally promotes a more inclusive feminism.

Little Women (2019) adapts Louisa May Alcott’s novel (1868) “freshly urgent for a 21st-century audience” (O’Rourke, 2023). Little Women aligns with third-wave feminism’s advocacy for all women away from gendered constructs, yet its impact was largely gaged through the fourth-wave’s online mobilisation, positioning in this era. Gerwig advocates for ‘women’s culture’ through Hollywood film, which this research outlines as an honouring of the experiences and contributions of women within a sociocultural framework (White, 2020, p.3). This research specifies Gerwig’s honing on ‘girlhood’, which, through successful internet circulation, promoted a positive celebration of women’s identities and thus ‘woman’s culture’.

Gerwig’s detailing of Jo March’s authorship and opposition to societal expectations reveres women beyond their definition by their romantic pursuits. Though Alcott intended to make Jo a “literary spinster” (Alcott, 1892, p.28), she conformed to the 19th century’s traditional gender roles of women’s housewifery, ending the novel with Jo’s marriage. Gerwig however depicts Jo as an empowered, independent author, giving Alcott her desired ending and characterising Jo through a feminist lens. This is exemplified in a monologue where Jo opposes the expectations of women, stating:

In this, Gerwig amplifies Jo as “unafraid to negotiate her worth” (Lafly, 2019) through her longing for an understanding beyond society's definition of women by their 'beauty' or romantic relationships. Gerwig centres the camera on Jo which, like in The Piano, accounts for a woman's experiences and emotions. She however advances beyond Campion’s implicit symbolism by promoting feminism through explicit address, evidencing an increase in the noticeability of feminist addresses in Hollywood cinema. This is intensified through the character Meg. When Jo debates her sister’s decision to marry as an abandonment of her agency, Meg reminds her that “just because my dreams are different than yours, it doesn’t mean they’re unimportant”. This is a relevant sentiment to refute the ‘feminist’ concept ‘pseudo-feminism’ (Neeraja, 2023, p.1), which attempts to champion female empowerment. It however proves redundant to the very cause of feminism, as it defines stereotypically feminine pursuits (like Meg’s desire for domesticity) as supportive of the patriarchal order. This shames, rather than embraces women’s individuality; thus rejecting the right to choose that equality and ultimately feminism should embrace. Meg’s choice to be a homemaker and to find love is her personalised empowerment. Pseudo-feminism falters greatly in the fact that it limits and/or categorises women’s respective lifestyles. Through Meg, Gerwig notes this.


The unabashed honouring of the March sisters rebuts sexist perspectives of women, which de Beauvoir posits is essential to shifting said perspectives (Beauvoir, 1953, p.89). With Little Women, Gerwig sets in motion ‘women’s culture’ in contemporary Hollywood cinema. Though cinema’s storytelling is influential in of itself (O’Hara, 2021, p.8), deeper significance is found through the fourth-wave’s use of the internet (O’Hara, 2021, p.296). It elicited another channel for feminist ideals, like those in Little Women, to be widespread by anyone online - furthering its scope for influence (O’Hara, ibid). Specifically, journalists and fans took to Twitter and Buzzfeed (Thompson, 2019, see Appendix 1) to share the emotional and political impact that Gerwig’s representations of girlhood had on them. This online honouring of Gerwig’s direct, celebratory feminist adaptation can negate patriarchal perspectives on a global level (Parry, 2018, p.46), as its mainstreaming of women as valid and important (Cosslett, 2019) promotes their equal image.

Little Women doesn’t however support the fourth-wave’s inclusivity, as it “contends with the iconicity of white girlhood” which “risks maintaining it as the guarantor of female moral authority” (White, 2020, pp.3-8). Whilst Gerwig may have been faithful to Alcott’s novel which does not feature any women of colour, her reorienting of the narrative could’ve included an imagining of racial diversity; offering an inclusive feminist representation to resonate closer with all women (Budgeon, 2011, p.1). As previously noted, - representing certain, rather than all women does not equate to feminism, meaning that though Little Women greatly supports ‘women’s culture’, it shows limitations.


Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) significantly develops advocacy for ‘women’s culture’ through film, seen through its inclusivity, as well as marketing which made it a sociocultural phenomenon. Barbie centres around the famous Mattel doll, imagining her life in ‘Barbie-land’ where many Barbie dolls live as diverse, independent individuals able to find personal and professional success away from gender constructs. It specifically supports second and third-wave feminism’s focus on women’s careers and individuality. Upon arriving in the ‘real world’, Gerwig depicts ‘stereotypical Barbie’ s horror upon seeing the untenable societal pressures heaped upon womankind (Bramesco, 2023) and patriarchal order. Gerwig essentially centres the narrative on the importance of feminism (represented in Barbie land), because of the immorality of gender inequality (the ‘real world’). Like Little Women, we contextualise the feminist messages that create impact. Gloria - a mother who meets Barbie in the real world and returns with her to Barbie-land - explains the real world’s deep-seated sexism to Barbie. With a passionate stream-of-consciousness, she declares:

“It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and so smart…it kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough…We have to always be extraordinary, but somehow, we’re always doing it wrong…You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money, because that’s crass. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas…You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time…It’s too contradictory!”

Gerwig gives a candid explanation of feminism’s fight against patriarchal norms regarding women’s financial, professional and maternity rights. This echoes de Beauvoir’s second-wave advocacy that is still “alive and well” for today’s feminist arguments (Rampton, 2015) such as Gerwig’s. Barbie sees Gerwig strengthening her film’s feminist agendas beyond Little Women, as it centralises its entire narrative around gender equality, promoting it with unfiltered commentary. Despite critiques of its simplicity (Owen, 2023), this direct articulation of core feminist concepts allows for a wider understanding of women’s experiences in society and culture; contributing to this women’s culture.

This is deepened through Gerwig’s celebration of diversity. In a scene where Barbie sits at a bus station next to an elderly woman, looking at her with great sentiment before telling her “You’re beautiful”, to which the woman confidently replies, “I know!”. Both characters chuckle; creating a feminist statement as they own their beauty - something that the male gaze has sexualised (O’Hara, 2021, p.149) and sexism has defined as reflective of women’s superficiality, and thus one-dimensionality (Beauvoir, 1953, p.439).

Gerwig’s honouring of women of varied ages represents them further, also seen through her development beyond Little Women’s lack of racial inclusivity. The opening states “Barbie is all of these women…all of these women are Barbie”; successively introducing Barbie dolls of varied races (President Barbie), disabilities (wheelchair Barbie) and situations (pregnant Barbie). This presents a harmonious image of the diversity of women in society (UN Women, 2020) and promotes postfeminism while rectifying its exclusivity to white women (Wilkes, 2015, p.1). Additionally, this is developing in Hollywood, as seen through the recognition of female directors like Chloé Zhao (Keegan, 2022). The diversifying of women’s representation in the film industry, and consequently, society shows the 2020s to develop beyond inclusivity that was previously lacking – as seen onscreen with Gerwig and offscreen with Zhao.

The internet and pop culture trend ‘girlhood’ promoted the film’s celebration of women’s femininity and diversity, advocating for inclusive postfeminism. As social media’s extensive audience reach broadens the parameters of feminist debates (Parry, 2018, p.46), the influence of Barbie garnered through the fourth-wave contributes to the mainstreaming of gender equality in society. During ‘the summer of Barbie’ (Cristo, 2023), Gerwig’s film was circulated by reporters and fans across seven million posts, reaching an astronomical potential audience of over nine billion (Galliot, 2023). From this, audiences globally celebrated Gerwig’s ‘girlhood’ by “dressing up…and chirping “Hi Barbie” at each other at the movie theatre” (Cristo, 2023), creating not only an internet, but a pop culture trend. This found influence as it not only represented adolescent girls but reached wider audiences (see Appendix 2) to transmit gender equality. Barbie’s online feminism furthermore enforced true progression for women’s equal representation, as Gerwig made history as the first female director to make 1 billion USD at the box office (McClintock, 2023). Considering this, Barbie’s global celebration of women influenced their true flourishing, as seen through Gerwig’s monumental achievement, demonstrating the influential role of film (O’Hara, 2021, p.8) for women’s movements.

Gerwig’s films champion women, yet the notion that Barbie successfully mainstreams gender equality is not entirely truthful, as sexism in the Hollywood industry, and consequently, in sectors of society, remains. At the 81st Golden Globe awards, host Jo Koy made a comparison between Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which he introduced as the retelling of a “72-page Pulitzer Prize-winning essay”, before overviewing Barbie as “a film based on a doll with big boobies!” (Koy, 2024). Though a tongue-in-cheek comment, this sexualisation only reinforces the patriarchal subjugation that Gerwig ingeniously and influentially opposed through Barbie. This proves a setback from de Beauvoir and Mulvey’s claims that research established as outdated, as the Hollywood industry continues to “view women’s work as less creative than men's'' thus “belittling (their)…experience” (Proudfoot, 2020). Barbie’s sociocultural impact beyond this comment does show a meaningful shift away from society’s attempt to restrict women through representation outside of the industry, yet the industry must still be modernised to broaden gender equality (O’Hara, 2021, p.307). This nuanced analysis highlights both the strengths and limitations of Gerwig's films in shaping the evolving landscape of women's culture in Hollywood cinema, evidencing the positive trajectory of feminism.

Contemporary female-directed films like these are working to refute and eliminate sexist sociocultural perspectives of women that have barred them from becoming self-determining subjects. Gerwig positively develops the fight for women’s equality, which is essential as said equality overall exercises great governance and is a fundamental right (Budgeon, 2011, p.1).

Cinema is impactful to the cause of feminism, as it reflects what we value, who we empathise with and how we see the world, making it so that if our film were more egalitarian, so would our society (O’Hara, 2021, p.2). When a woman’s career or personal endeavours are made a negative point in question based on gender, she is othered. When she is painted in a patriarchal light, she is limited. Women in Hollywood like Gerwig are, through their films and directorial roles, respectively pushing for their positive representation to cement their equal rights as creatives.