Rugrats Feminist?


Okay so recently I was poking around buzzfeed as one is prone to doing when one is bored (aint I posh?) and noticed a post called '14 Forgotten Feminist Cartoons from the 90s' and saw that the thumbnail for the post was a picture of Charlotte Pickles from Rugrats.

Intrigued by this I clicked on it and read through the list, most of which was pretty agreeable, but in the number 1 spot was the aforementioned Charlotte Pickles. This puzzled me a little because she is not exactly a great character from the show, and if we're honest she is possibly the worst one of the bunch to have chosen for the number 1 spot on that list.

I can see why someone might choose her if I'm honest, she has a high profile job at a powerful company and is the main breadwinner for her family ( I know that her husband has a job as well but it's clear that she's the one who makes the most money if you watch the show) so at first glance she seems like a great pick; however if you closely examine what she's like it seems a little less tenable to keep her there.

Firstly because she totally ignored her child, seriously most of the time she's too busy on her phone to even listen to what her little girl is saying. Now I'm not saying that she should have a shitty job or no job at all so she can stay home and look after her child, that sort of attitude hasn't made sense since the 1940s and even then it was bloody stupid, but when she's not at the office she should at least be willing to make some time for her child.

I know that the parents in the rugrats weren't amazing, I mean the amount of time they lose their children in the show is a good enough indicator of that, but for the most part the parents in the show take a genuine interest in their children. Charlotte pickles would rather have her head in the business world than spend any amount of time with her daughter (In her defence Angelica's a little B*tch).

In my opinion Charlotte Pickles should not have been that number 1 spot, if anything it should have been Betty Deville, she ignored gender stereotypes by being the masculine half in her relationship, she doesn't take crap from anyone regardless of gender or station and manages to make time for her children without being a slave too them.

I know that it's never made clear in the show if she has a job or not (at least as far as I know) but having or not having a job doesn't make someone a good feminist character, her outspoken nature and unwillingness to let people walk all over her because she's a women is what makes her a decent feminist character. She defies stereotypes without letting her defiance of those stereotypes turn her into a token 'anti-stereotype' character

I know that Charlotte had her moments as both a feminist and a parent but for the most part she was obnoxious annoying and a downright horrible person, whereas Betty was strong, a great role model and managed to defy the common perception without letting that denial define here. If anyone from that series a good role model for young girls it was Betty.

(UPDATE: I just found out from the rugrats wiki that Betty was indeed the breadwinner for her family as her husband Howard stayed at home and looked after the house and kids, I was pretty confident of this already but it's nice to have it verified) 

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