The Golden Globes didn’t disappoint this year, and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler set the stage for one of the most feminist nights on a primetime awards show ever. Here’s a look at our favorite moments:
1. In their opening dialogue, Tina and Amy took this dig at George Clooney:
Tina: “George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year. Amal is a human-rights lawyer, who worked on the Enron case, was an advisor to Kofi Annan regarding Syria, and was selected for a three-person U.N. commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime-achievement award.”
HA! Cue belly laughing and head shaking from feminists everywhere (including George Clooney himself)!
2. And there was no way they were going to leave Bill Cosby untouched. The allegations against Bill Cosby are numerous and horrific, and just because he’s an American icon doesn’t mean that he’s untouchable, especially for two feminist comedians.
Watch this 10 minute opening monologue to see both moments:
3. Then came Joanne Froggatt, the British actress who played the role of Anna Bates, a character who was raped. She could have just thanked all the usual people stars thank during an acceptance speech, but she used her platform to bring attention to an issue that is too-often silenced by shame and fear. She said,
“I received a small number of letters from survivors of rape. One woman summed up the thoughts of many by saying she wasn’t sure why she’d written but she just felt in some way she wanted to be heard. I’d like to say, I heard you and I hope saying this so publicly in some way means you feel the world hears you.”
If you’ve been raped and need help, please take advantage of the resources at www.rainn.org. Watch her bold and beautiful acceptance speech here:
4. Well-known feminist Maggie Gyllenhaal didn’t miss a beat with her speech either:
“I’ve noticed a lot of people talking about the wealth of roles for powerful women in television lately. And when I look around the room at the women who are here and I think about the performances that I’ve watched this year what I see actually are women who are sometimes powerful and sometimes not, sometimes sexy, sometimes not, sometimes honorable, sometimes not, and what I think is new is the wealth of roles for actual women in television and in film. That’s what I think is revolutionary and evolutionary and it’s what’s turning me on.”
So true. Women want to see themselves reflected in art, that’s what resonates. Thanks, Maggie, for using your platform to talk about real women. Watch her speech:
5. A show about the Trans community was nominated (and won) in several categories, and we applaud the Hollywood Foreign Press for giving this little-known show the platform it needed to help shine a light on trans issues. Just days ago, a transgender teen asked us to “fix society” in her suicide note. I hope this show helps society understand what transgender means and how we all can support and fight for the rights and care that the transgender community deserves. Both Jill Soloway, the show’s creator, and Jeffrey Tambor, took the time in their acceptance speeches to draw attention to trans issues. If you need transgender support (or just want to educate yourself), please know that there are MANY places that can offer help.
After I wrote this, I saw that Huffpost created a more exhaustive list of feminist moments during the 2014 Golden Globes. Make sure to read their list too!