Name: Is BMO From Adventure Time Expressive of Feminism? | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios
Uploaded: 2015-06-30T05:19:03.000Z
Duration: 8 min 10 s
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Here's an idea: BMO from Adventure Time is expressive of feminism!

So if you still have not seen Adventure Time and need some background, we have got you covered.

We made this, earlier. You should watch it, but for those of you who ain't got time for that,

and this is YouTube so lets be honest, ain't nobody got time for that,

here's a very quick refresher: Main characters jake the dog and finn the human go on all

go on all kinds of mathematical adventures in the magical land of Ooo

Alongside Finn and Jake there is a cast of weird and crazy characters, like the Ice King,

Flame Princess, Peppermint Butler, and the weirdest slash craziest of them all:

Right now we're gonna talk about BMO, who lives with Finn and Jake and is a

thoughtful and sentient videogame system... and alarm clock, and outlet, and TV, and camera.

A surprising little gadget, BMO is all the more intriguing because she... he

BMO self identifies as both male and female and loves other unclearly-gendered objects.

I wonder... could this... make BMO a Third Wave Feminist?

Now, before we get much further: Yes. We are going to talk about feminism.

Not about the role or effectiveness of feminism, which for the record, I am 100% and completely for.

for. But my support of feminism has nothing to do with this video.

But about how gender and feminist theory might be applied to BMO,

and once applied what the effects might be.

Which brings us, presently, to an important question: what is Third Wave feminism? Well,

First Wave feminism was focused on institutionalized inequalities,

like women gaining right to vote, execute contracts, or own property.

Second wave feminism broadened it's focus to cultural inequalities:

the treatment of women as generally inferior or unfit for tasks outside of the home.

Third wave feminism's approach is even wider.

Where previous feminist movements felt focused on white, heterosexual women,

Third Wave Feminism tries to account for women of all backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations and genders.

Yes, you heard correctly. Women of all genders.

A central tenet of modern feminism is that gender is not as strictly

embodied or experienced as our language and cultural structures make it out to be.

The "gender binary", that every person is strictly male or female,determined solely by their biology

Something which David Bowie or Grace Jones, for instance, clearly demonstrated in the 70s and 80s,

but which for some reason we seem to have distanced ourselves from.

In Gender and Language, linguists Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet write that

"It is our social world and not biology that insists on a binary classification

and on the permanence of that classification."

They explain that gender discourse is about

connecting the concepts of woman and man that are grounded in reproductive biological theory

and practice to a wide array of other theories and practices.

This can be sort of frustrating for people who wanna do things a little outside their genders role...

like women who want to cut their hair short or men who want to carry tote bags.

But downright imprisoning for people who do not feel the gender their biology has assigned them.

With all that social insisting, the burden can get pretty massive.

BMO and her friends provide a model for how it could be like... with less... insisting.

BMO implicitly challenges the genderness of all his wacky adventures

and even goes one step further to challenge whether or not a character need even BE a single gender at all.

I mean, it's a little easier for her because she's a... video game system.

And doesn't have a biology grounding gender expectations...

But then again... neither do R2D2 or Rosie from the Jetsons and there is no question

of their gender or what's expected of them based on it.

BMO, on the other hand, is a kind of Gender Ubermensch or... Uberfrau.

He exists in a perfectly nonbiological, personal, fluid gender zone.

BMO has role-played as a hard-boiled, presumably male, noir detective

and referred to herself as both a "little boy" and "real baby girl" while talking to her mirrored alter-ego Football.

Other characters - including Finn and Jake - refer to him as "he", "she", "m'lady" and

In the gender swap episode, where all of the characters' genders... are... swapped...

BMO is the only character who is essentially unchanged.

And sure, BMO IS always voiced by a woman but so is Bart Simpson. So that easy answer

Finally! Amongst her objects of desire, BMO most famously falls in love with a bubble...

...who, though voiced by Lavar Burton, is similarly of an unclear gender, because y'know,

bubbles don't have gender. Unless you speak French, in which case they're feminine.

Which, actually, raises a really good point concerning BMO's relationship to feminism

grammatically gendered nouns like la maison or le stylo don't express a gender;

La Bulle, the bubble, is not a feminine noun in French because bubbles themselves are innately feminine...

...but because a cultural impression of bubbles or sound of the word itself is in some way

Similarly, BMO doesn't express feminism. BMO is not a feminist mascot.

He is simply expressive of some feminist ideals:

She is a silly little being who leads an awesome, love-filled life with friends who think she is red hot like pizza supper.

Or neither or something else all together. Whatever!

No one needs to ask, or challenge and BMO doesn't need to defend because that's just who BMO is.

His multivalent gender is part of his character but not his defining characteristic, like Jake's

can-do attitude or Finn's love of adventure. Time. C'mon and grab your friends.

This is arguably the most forward thinking thing about BMO's characterization by the creators of adventure time.

By not radicalizing her gender situation, they make her totally normal, which she is!

Well, except for the fact that she's a talking video game.

They reinforce the notion that this is just... how some people are, but not all they are.

That wherever their gender lies on the non-binary continuum, is perfectly acceptable.

What do you guys think? Is BMO expressive of feminism? Let us know in the comments.

And if you wanna subscribe, just click  on this BMO that my friend Michelle made.