MovieChat Forums > The Women (1939) Discussion > Women as Petty, Vicious Gossips

Women as Petty, Vicious Gossips

posted 14 years ago by RubyHypatia
25 replies | jump to latest

I hate how this movie portrays women, in general, as petty, vicious gossips. Mary was discussing her husband's affair with her mother and her mother warned her against confiding in her friends about it because they'd just gossip about it to everyone. Then she follows that up with, "I know my own sex." So basically, women are so petty they will even gossip about their own friends. Sure there are some women like this (and men too), but most women wouldn't be so horrible to their friends.

[–] ethereal_tb 14 years ago

The movie is exaggerated for comic effect, I doubt women then were that cruel back then, but still the core is true. Women can be that vicious to each other and it starts in the playground and just goes more underground when we are adults. My friend (who doesn't normally watch "old movies") watched it with me on TCM last week and she kept saying, "Well, nothing has changed much!" I work in a office full of women and trust me, it is basically true about how women interact with each other, especially when it is a bunch of women alone, with no one with testosterone there to help balance things out. :)

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."

[–] RubyHypatia 14 years ago

I wasn't talking about gossiping in respect to female bullying. I was talking about women supposedly being so petty that even friends can't be trusted. That's a horrible way to characterize women in general, as backstabbers. Unfortunately, this feeds into the misogynistic attitude some men have.

[–] ethereal_tb 14 years ago

Yes, but the point was they really weren't her friends. I think a lot of women think someone "fair game" if the don't like them, like Sylvia not liking Mary.

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] RubyHypatia 14 years ago

Gossip has a practical purpose in that people need to know about other people so as to decide if they would be acceptable as an aquaintence, particularly if they're considering that person becoming a member of the family. Unfortunately, people often lie, and use gossip solely for the purpose of hurting someone they dislike. So it's important not to believe everything you hear.

As for men and gossip, don't think they don't engage in it.

[–] ethereal_tb 14 years ago

"As for men and gossip, don't think they don't engage in it."

No, they only engage in exaggeration, from what I hear. :)

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."

[–] KlutzyGirl 14 years ago

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."

Ahh, my absolutely all time favorite PBS miniseries (the first one)!!

"DaDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"

[–] RubyHypatia 14 years ago

Then I think her mother should have made that point that they weren't true friends instead of making a blanket statement about women not being able to trust their friends.

[–] candle_79 14 years ago

It's a certain kind of person who becomes a vicious gossip, one who likes to level people. It really has nothing to do with gender. Look at Howard Stern and his Joe Six Pack demo. All they talk about is sex and any dirt they can dig up about anyone. I don't see how men like that are any different than these women. The style/delivery is different but the content is still there. It just comes down to people with screwy priorities and too much free time.

http://woxy.com/

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] aasoloway 11 years ago

Don't put Howard Stern into this (and I had to look up Joe Six Pack to know what that was.) Howard does more than talk about sex and gossip and the men look as dumb as the men ...

If women are portrayed badly in The Women it is because women (mostly) created the movie.

I'm a woman and I can't keep up with the fast-paced conversations. Their behavior is an exageration of reality for comic effect. One thing I've noticed is that while men also may gossip and be petty, in the end they will give each other a certain amount of respect. Women try to destroy each other for no apparent reason. That's why we'll remain second-class citizens.

[–] TheLightFantastic 11 years ago

It really has nothing to do with gender. Look at Howard Stern and his Joe Six Pack demo. All they talk about is sex and any dirt they can dig up about anyone. I don't see how men like that are any different than these women. The style/delivery is different but the content is still there.

This is spot on. I used to work in a male dominated environment and my goodness, they were just as catty, petty and gossipy as women are routinely portrayed as. They would laugh and joke with a certain person and as soon as that person walked away, they would start talking bad about them. You'll really see the claws come out if a guy thinks a woman is dating a loser. It could be because he thinks she should be with that woman or some other reason but I've listened to grown men vilify another guy simply because he was dating a certain woman or if he was considered a ladies' man.

Men are just as bad. Trust. They're less overt for the most part but yep, they still engage in all that catty business and will spread a rumor or two.

[–] Bree_33 14 years ago

George Cukor's The Women is an overwrought, bitchy melodrama in which, true to its title, the male presence is entirely eliminated in order to focus on the gossip, backbiting, betrayals, and catfights that go on among a group of society women.

Peace and quiet is for libraries!

[–] TheLightFantastic 14 years ago

I hate how this movie portrays women, in general, as petty, vicious gossips. Mary was discussing her husband's affair with her mother and her mother warned her against confiding in her friends about it because they'd just gossip about it to everyone.

I don't believe The Women portrays all women as petty, vicious gossips - just a particular group of women hence Mary's mother's statement. If this particular group of women weren't petty and vicious, the film would've been mighty boring.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Blondfashionisto 14 years ago

I agree 100% - Reality shows are nothing but gossip, really. And, the more catfights, the higher the ratings.

Not to mention workplaces...Hotbeds for gossip...By both men and women...

‘Six inches is perfectly adequate; more is vulgar!' (Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Re: An open window).

[–] BlondeVixen 14 years ago

I concur. I have heard both genders gossip. I work with a small group of women, no men in our dept., and a couple of them are nosey gossips, but one in particular, has a very petty, backstabbing, bad-mouthing nature. Guess it makes her feel better about herself to tear down others.

[–] dvlaries 11 years ago

And this is why the 2008 remake failed, since it was set in contemporary America. If Diane English had portrayed the characters obsessed with gossip, grooming and other women's husbands, feminists would have crucified her. But there was no such political correctness to worry about in 1939.

However, with all the venom extracted, the remake then became an insubstantial female 'buddy movie,' just a couple months after the theatrical "Sex and The City" had drained the market. Result: bomb.

- -
Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies every problem.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

I'm watching this now (first viewing). I've watched about 20 minutes of it and I'm wondering if these women will be doing anything besides gossiping in this film....which happens to be over 2 hours long..... *sigh*.......

A film with an all-male cast wouldn't have the males behaving so idiotically. For example, the 1940s film Sahara....

Well, off I go to finish the movie, or at least I'll really try to finish it.

~~
JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen

[–] GoUSN 11 years ago

This comment displays the very tendencies the poster pretends to dislike.

[–] bedrock1960 10 years ago

You mean women aren't petty, vicious gossips? Gee, you could hardly prove that by some of the women I work with every day. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[–] daughterofolaf 10 years ago

Exactly. It's not like the portrayal is really that far off from reality.

It wasn't me who was murdered, was it?

[–] mmathur5689 10 years ago

this is satire.

MathurMarquee.Blogspot.com Facebook.com/MathurMarquee

[–] MitchConnor24 9 years ago

Usually I don't go in for PC nonsense and things like that and I get this was satire; but I just thought it was quite sad at how women were portrayed as being so dependent on men for (predominantly) their social status.

I was hoping that the film (especially with the cast involved) would be more of a celebration of women, but in all it left me rather flat.

It wasn't a bad film by any means and there were quite a few funny moments and there is a kind of distorted message there somewhere, but it was far from one of my favourite films from that era and I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again.