Normalizing Non-Normativity and the Masculinization of Unlikeable Women in HBO’s Girls

Girls is [...] a landmark in the modern media landscape in its normalization of that which was previously swept under the rug by television’s idea of a woman: the uncomfortable reality of a 20-something-year-old middle-class white girl’s life. In televising authenticity, Girls standardizes ‘unlikeable’ behavior and life experiences which previously appeared outlandish or even crude as a direct result of the history of straight white women in television, framed by the gender performance of its girls.