She Loves Feminism

First produced in 1963, the musical, She Loves Me, is your typical Broadway love story. The main characters hate each other, they spend more and more time together, and they eventually fall madly in love. We've all seen a movie or a show with that exact same concept. But one theme I believe is grossly under-represented in the musical is the concept of increasing women's rights. Feminism has been gaining the media spotlight recently, and the current revival of the musical concurs with the importance of this movement.

From Amalia's first entrance, a male dominance is established. Upon asking for a job at Maraczek's Parfumerie, the workers do not take her seriously and deem her unfit to be a salesperson. At the time, only men were hired as salespeople, so Amalia knows she is fighting an uphill battle. This suspicion of rejection does not, however, stop her from persistently trying to gain Maraczek's respect. She dismisses the men's discouragement and boldly continues to show her qualifications. In the funny song, "No More Candy," Amalia proves her superiority when she is able to sell a music box to a customer, a task none of the men were capable of doing. Her wits and confidence land her a job as the parfumerie's first saleswoman.

Similarly, women today are taking a stand and boldly rising against male superiority. Feminists protest inequalities ranging from unequal pay to bias when hiring, much like Amalia detested the men's false assumption of her.

She Loves Me first came out around the beginning of this feminist movement, so it is no surprise the lead character is unafraid to stick up for herself. In an effort to raise awareness of women's rights, Masteroff purposely includes a strong female influence in his story; this once unheard of idea was then accepted by the public, and She Loves Me was widely praised.

Amalia calls to attention, specifically, the issue of bias when hiring for a job. Still today, our society has preconceived thoughts on which jobs are for men and which are for women. Amalia's character is one of the first on Broadway to call for change and press for new social norms. She goes against the status quo and magnifies the spark of the early feminist movement. Women could be inspired by her lack of fear and inability to fail, and those who were once told could not work in sales were now being shown that they had the ability to pursue whatever they desire.

Though the most obvious themes of the show involve forbidden love and the importance of hierarchy, feminism is also not only present, but is a major underlying drive behind the whole plot. Throughout the decades since it first opened, She Loves Me continues to be prevalent in today's society.

photo courtesy of BarbieFantasies

Photo taken from flickr.com.