Text Review: Why Women Kill

I want to review and discuss the television series, Why Women Kill by Marc Cherry, season 1 streaming on Paramount+. The show is about three couples set in different eras of time, the 1960s, 1980s, and present day. The question is presented, why would women kill? Is it cheating, disloyalty, or overall unhappiness within the relationship? What pushes these people over the edge of no return? This show provides its fair share of humor while maintaining its dramatic edge. It feels like a cutting-edge novel or something that has you hooked waiting for the next episode due to its genuinely suspenseful nature. Cherry has created a rollercoaster of emotions from episode to episode, leaving you begging for more once you’ve reached the end. One of the most noticeable aspects of the show is the cascading power balance between the men and women of each couple, notably Gennifer Goodwin’s Beth Ann Stanton and her overpowering husband Rob Stanton, played by Sam Jaeger. Beth Ann is treated as a personal servant by her husband Rob; he views them on entirely different scales of power and ultimately feels dissatisfied with his wife. Beth Ann is a clear example of an “other.” Initially, she thought that nothing was wrong with their marriage and that being at your husband’s every beck and call was utterly ordinary. Beth Ann learns to express herself in different ways even if they are chastised by her husband, who could be doing the same thing. Rob is a hypocrite in textbook fashion. This power imbalance represents the injustice put on women in the 1960s, which continues today. This treatment of women felt similar to that of Iran post-revolution after reading and watching another unforgettable story called Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Overall, the creator wants us to think about the injustices and hardships women deal with daily and bring to light what happens once someone snaps. I believe that more people need to watch and recognize the points being made by this show because each couples’ experiences call for a different topic of conversation.

Diary of Systemic Injustice Showcase: Injustice Towards Women’s Health in Different Societies

Women throughout the entire world have dealt with a series of injustices within this male-dominated world. Specifically, I have spoken about abortions and the healthcare system on multiple occasions and how it has always been discriminatory towards women in different parts of the world. Throughout history, women have been seen as worth half of a man and have never consistently held power within any aspect of life. Hearing about the unequal laws in Texas and now Ohio sparked an interest in learning more about how women are treated in the healthcare system. Also, Reading and Watching the film/story of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi allowed me to compare these issues in the United States with those in Iran.

Iranian women, after the revolution, started to deal with numerous issues as time progressed. For example, the Islamic Republic suppresses women by forcing them to wear veils and putting them in a systemic hole within their society. According to Marjan Keypour Greenblatt, “The combined effect of these legal inequities and societal practices is that half of the Iranian population lives with a degree of systemic vulnerability that would astonish Western observers” (MEI, 2020).  These women and girls are vulnerable to abuse and discrimination within their society. The Iranian authority has forced women to keep their children and has criminalized abortions. Even though these laws and treatment seem horrific to western culture, the United States doesn’t wholly stray from these same ideals.

Iranian women are dealing with the changes of the revolution.

In the United States, women are still mistreated within this “land of the free.” Throughout history, women in the U.S. have not had the authority or equality they deserve, similar to the ideals of Iran. There have been proposed bills that prohibit abortion to unrealistic extents in Texas and Ohio and reward those who expose clinics or women trying to get an abortion. These bills, just like Iran, are criminalizing abortion and placing women into a box within their choices for healthcare. Women are systemically oppressed in the medical care system, and it stems from the misogynistic history of the world.

Protesters against abortion in front of a Planned Parenthood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.mei.edu/publications/women-iran-political-representation-without-rights

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/11/514717975/protests-against-planned-parenthood-rouse-dueling-rallies-nationwide

https://abcnews.go.com/International/iranian-authority-mandates-pregnant-women-reported-prevent-criminal/story?id=80416961