Willa Fitzgerald, who plays 28-year-old cheer coach Colette French on the USA show Dare Me, says that when creating her character, she wanted Colette to be a woman who doesn’t smile. Well, she succeeded. Throughout the previous four episodes, there are no visible instances where Colette smiles. Actually, other than when they paste a fake grin on their faces as they mount the top of the cheer pyramid, none of the other female characters ever smile either. Smirks, sneers, mocking laughter, all of these appear, but not one single inviting expression graces a single woman’s face on the show.
It might be a surprising statement to make of a show about such a traditionally feminine sport, especially one where, yes, the women do hook up with men, don short skirts, and in one such scene, dance on top of their kitchen counter. But, Dare Me affectively shuns the male gaze, even while doing all of the above. In one scene at an outdoor campfire party, star tumbler, and narrator of the series Addy Hanlon (Herizen Guardiola) is making out with a boy named Jordy. Jordy attempts to push Addy’s head down, trying to coerce her into giving him head. She immediately straightens with an appalled, “Really? The head push?”, when he asks her what it is that she wants, she responds, “Just make me feel good.”
Throughout the series, the male characters are mostly archetypes or tools to push the plot forward. None of the female characters seem to care much for them beyond what they can get for them, a refreshing twist on a tired trope. Mostly they are vessels for pleasure, and often not even that.
A queer love triangle dominates the plot of Dare Me. Addy has a semi-romantic, very co-dependent friendship with ferocious, calculating, unhinged “top girl” Beth Cassidy (Marlo Kelly). This friendship becomes threatened when Colette steps in as their new coach and Addy develops a fierce admiration, and a slight attraction to Colette, which Beth notices and definitely doesn’t like.
A murder mystery would likely be the driving force of the plotline, but the real meat is in the love triangle. What is more refreshing is that author of the original novel, and showrunner Megan Abbot has said point-blank that Addy is absolutely in love with Colette, and that Beth and Addy have also canonically slept together. There was also an extremely sexual “massaging” scene in the previous episode which left very few questions open concerning the relationship, but it’s always nice to be validated.
The show is sexual and violent, not even counting the off-screen murder. Beth kicks a younger cheerleader in the stomach in the very first episode, and later on drunkenly points a gun at Addy, threatened by the potential loss of their bond. A dangerous competition involving ice baths, that is basically just an excuse for hazing, nearly kills a Freshman cheerleader, and in every single episode, someone falls headfirst from the top of a pyramid, or is kicked in the shoulder by a toppling girl.
The girls are captivating and stunning, impossible to look away from. But they aren’t likable. They aren’t inviting, and their sexuality certainly doesn’t open them up for any male lust. So much has been said about creating “strong, female characters”, but I find that what I am really drawn to are the female characters who seem real, and who seem relatable.
So much progress has been made in the creation of modern-day cinema. We certainly have more diversity than we have ever had before. But what I find is that creators still manage to get caught up in making their diverse characters as palatable to the majority audience as possible. It’s time for them to stop doing that and just let these characters be real. Let your humans act like humans.
Let women be women.