I am not going to lie to you guys, at first I loathed ABC Family for being bought out and changing their name to Freeform. I watched a good amount of the old ABC Family TV series when I was a teenager. My favorites consisted of "10 Things I Hate About You", "Nine Lives Of Chloe King", "Greek" and "Secret Life Of The American Teenager". The list can go on. Freeform has come a long way since the good old ABC Family days. Now that is not to say that they do not have any good shows now. I have a list of series that I am pretty drawn to, but one stands out in particular -- "The Bold Type". This series is about three best friends who are trying to -- and have somewhat succeeded to-- make it big in the grand ole' big city of New York. The girls are working through their individual struggles, and show the empowerment of being unapologetically a woman trying to make it big. It tackles some important topics, such as sexuality, women in politics, immigration, sexual assault with grace and integrity, and the BRCA gene test. This show brings a new light to TV and here's why you need to be watching it:
1. Feminism
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This show embodies some powerful feminist movements. From #freethenipple to some hard-hitting situations dealing with important topics. There is never a dull moment when it comes to feminity and the women in this series standing up for themselves. All of the women depicted in the series come from varying backgrounds and inevitably show that they have what it takes to keep up with the highs and lows of the journalistic and fashion-forward company.
2. Friends & Healthy Relationships
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I have grown up with numerous shows depicting best friend relationships, but "The Bold Type" tops the cake. I have never wanted to be in someone's shoes, more than I want to be in Jane Sloan's -- mainly due to her amazing best friends and pretty cool life. No matter what curve balls life throws at the three of them, they still have each other's backs. Even with issues. such as race, they still manage to be there for and do whatever it takes to make sure that they have a healthy friendship. It also shows a combination of relationships gone awry, but in the end, fixing them so that there is no healthy relationship left behind.
3. Sexuality
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I am loving the more ~normal~ relationship outlook on life that some TV shows are debuting. Not only does the show contain hetero-normative relationships, but they also show the internal struggle one character faces when she begins to question her sexuality. From relationship drama to questioning one's sexuality, "The Bold Type" knows how to break the limits and make some realize some of their own issues in their personal relationships too.
4. Relatability
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Yes, this is a norm for most shows. But the difference with "The Bold Type" is that they give multiple women for others to relate off of. From Jane Sloan, who wants to be a journalist, to Sutton Brady, who wants to make it big in the fashion industry, this series has a wide variety of strong women to look up to. This show breaks the boundaries of what society used to consider normal.
5. "Empowering Women, Empower Women"
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Not only do Sutton, Kat and Jane look up to each other, they all look up to the head of Scarlet, Jacqueline Carlyle. Jacqueline is the mother figure in the magazine that helps the girls when they are astray. She is also a shoulder to cry on and gives some of the best advice. Jacqueline is shown as a strong independent woman, who is capable of running a million dollar magazine. She empowers -- not only the three friends but -- other women to be themselves and to not let "no" keep them doing what they want. The number of women to look up to in this show is incredible and I am LIVING for it.
6. (Who Run The World?) Girls
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If I have learned anything from the Scarlet magazine crew, it is that more women are becoming more empowered and making a name for themselves. This is something I want to see more in the world -- not only in TV Shows. This show breaks the boundaries when it comes to women in the office and as CEOS. From the board that oversees Scarlet being all men to Jacqueline petitioning to bring an ~athletic mom~ on to the CEO board, it shows that women are becoming all the more powerful in the workforce.
As I said earlier, this shows breaks boundaries more than any other TV series I have seen in a while. It leaves a feeling of empowerment and excitement once the 45-minute show is over with. The women are relatable af and make you want to get out of your comfort zone to do the things you never thought manageable. I am obsessed and cannot wait for Tuesdays when the show airs at 8 p.m. on Freeform.
