Response to Douglas 4-5

Douglas holds nothing back in her attack of the book and film, Bridget Jones' Diary, targeting the main character as one who "wallows in prefeminist preoccupations about men and marriage that women are not supposed to obsess about anymore." Additionally,  Douglas asserts that the message of the novel and film are that women "naturally, even inherently, rebel against feminism and are genuinely pathetic slaves to the desires for men and marriage. While we are supposed to laugh at how pitiful Bridget is, we are also supposed to say to ourselves, 'Yes, this may be a bit exaggerated, but this is me'" (p. 116).  I personally love this movie. I find it to be very entertaining and can't help but obsess about Mark Darcy.  I understand that Bridget has an obsession issue that plays off of many notions feminists have been trying to disassociate with women. I do not agree with Douglas, however, that because of Bridget's extreme focus on the men in her lives, the message to the audience must be women are petty husband-hunters. I interpret Bridget as a woman who has some sense of integrity and pride as she is able to launch a new career following Daniel's betrayal and is also courageous (perhaps partly because she is so impulsive) when she actively and publicly speaks her mind. Yes, most times she is expressing her feelings about the men in her lives or her weight, but I see her as powerful because of it. I don't respond to her by thinking, I am just like Bridget. Instead, I think about the spectrum of female behavior, sexuality, femininity, and political involvement and can conclude that while Bridget may be obsessing about many notions prevalent in the prefeminist time she also has redeeming feminist qualities. I can then look to myself and say that I do not obsess about my weight and relationship status the way she does, but can still relate to her insecurities and worries of loneliness as I'm sure most people can.   While some media outlets "seize upon endless variations on insecurity and incompetence as emblematic of the new '90s young woman, and then praised them as being truly honest representations of women's inner lives and identities," I have always felt a very distinct gap between media representations and real life. While there are similarities, I place these somewhere on  the spectrum of feminism and female behavior and don't feel as if they inherently describe me. This brief time of Bridget's life shown in the movie where she is struggling with her relationships with two men doesn't mean she can't fend for herself and find happiness in other ways. I may be an idealist in thinking that but I didn't and don't take that phase in her life to define her.