Sucks that the scriptwriters didn't do their research, but "Harassing Women in Crisis Since 1973" is a classic!

Cheers,

TH

I WAS JUST ABOUT TO EMAIL YOU ABOUT THIS.

I've watched Veronica Mars since the very first episode, and I'm SERIOUSLY pissed about this one. I will be writing to the CW and Rob Thomas to complain.

One thing though... the promiscuity bit is continuity from the last episode in which Bonnie appeared, when she was cheating on her boyfriend with multiple guys. I don't like to throw that word around, but anyone who would sleep with the Dick character HAS to have some judgment issues.

What really makes me so sad is that Veronica Mars wasn't always like this. The first season was nearly always wonderful, second season was good but not as great, but the third has really gone downhill. Rob Thomas (the creator of VM, not the singer) has really disappointed me in his depiction of feminists in the first arc of season three. It was just incredibly lazy writing - gee, how hard is it to depict a group of feminists as humorless and reactionary?

Rob Thomas and the VM writers have been so irresponsible in the writing this season. First it's faked rapes and now it's misinformation on EC and RU 486? My love of VM is quickly fading.

As a person who works as an assistant on a TV show I can tell you first hand that the writers *may* have had good intentions (or not) and that the reality and facts of the situation lost way to the need to tell a story within one hour.

I've personally seen when the writers have had to go around reality in order to tell the story they need/want to tell and it's not always pretty or fair to reality but sadly that's what happens. I don't work for VM so I don't know what goes on in the writer's room and I can really only speculate but I wouldn't be surprised if someone pointed out these facts and they were dismissed in order to get the plot moving as needed. Or there really could have been a total lack of research altogether.

Whatever the reason it's not doing anyone a really good service to promote that that is how you can get RU-486.

And as far as the "promiscuous" thing goes, if she was having sex with her BOYFRIEND then why is she promiscuous? Or did she cheat? I stopped watching VM after the second season.

EC is often confused with RU-486 but this is over the top ridiculous!

Although this episode had problems, even during the first half of the season I thought they did a good job of highlighting the rape culture on campuses (campi?) and, by extension, the larger society. I know some of the characters and the faked rape was lame, but it wasn't all bad.

I personally think the show is at its best when it concentrates on its strengths of dramatic irony and carefully plotted, well-crafted, genuinely intelligent and surprising mysteries. I think the show handles "social issues" best when it does so indirectly, through presenting opinions in a revelatory light. I think the show's weakness is a tendency to collapse into a narcissistic focus on Veronica, and to turn other characters into one-dimensional props to her stories and emotions. The "Madison Sinclair" character represents the worst of the show, in my opinion: a cardboard-cutout character who can't even fill out one dimension and who patly embodies everything that's wrong with the world. But, those are just my impressions of the show.

I think the strawfems of Lilith are mainly there to make Veronica an outsider--to ensure there are no organizations with which she can easily identify.

It's portrayal also tends to soften by comparision the date-raping frat, which needs a rep improvement due to its new association with the somewhat sympathetic Dick character.

Just before reading this story I read another story on my local news paper. Apparently a Swedish guy didn't want a child and slipped his girlfriend some abortion pills in her food. She did get very sick but luckily didn't miscarriage. He's being charged with assault and breaking the abortion legislation. The article is here but it is in Danish...

http://politiken.dk/udland/article239069.ece

It doesn't say how he got hold of the drug, only that it requires a prescription. Some illegal transaction probably took place.

Sounds like they wrote it for Plan B and then, when they found out that it does not cause a miscarriage, hastily rewrote it with RU-486.

WTF??? You admitted this is your first time watching VM, yet you feel qualified to deem it a crappy tv show.

Your criticism of the factual information concerning RU-486 may have merit, but it's NOT a crappy show. Plus, it features a young woman as the heroine, and she kicks ass, intellectually. Young girls perhaps watch the show (given the CW demographic) and may feel inspired or empowered.

I challenge you to watch the Season 1 pilot and repost. And this is an ambush, because as any VM-phile knows, it's physically impossible to watch the pilot without watching the rest of the season.

Abbey, I think it's safe to say that the show jumped the shark when she graduated high school. If you haven't noticed, the budget was slashed and that's why Weevil Wallace and Mac have been relegated to so few eps.

This is really annoying. There is already so much misunderstanding about EC and RU486 with the general public. Last year in South Dakota the anti-choicers used this confusion to try to make people think that EC is an abortion pill ala RU486. Many people believed this and the line that EC was an exception for people in the abortion ban. People thought the ban only banned the medical procedure type of abortion and not a very early term pharmaceutical abortion. I don't get why someone who was against it would see one as ok and not the other, but such is the anti-choicer who is on the fence. The makers of Plan B really have to do more public education. I think there would be less regulation of Plan B if people clearly understood what Plan B and RU486 actually are.

WTF??? You admitted this is your first time watching VM, yet you feel qualified to deem it a crappy tv show.

jane, I knew someone would be irate over that comment. Honestly, I've heard nothing but good things about the show. But I thought both the acting and writing were truly terrible in this episode.

got it. Never underestimate fandom. I take a VM diss personally. Ditto for BTVS.

And I will add, by your logic, I could characterize Feministing as fluff based on the occasional fluffy posts. (And I wouldn't be the first person to do that, and invoke your ire).

Television, not just Veronica Mars, can be incredibly irresponsible when it comes to facts, medical or otherwise.

One point: RU486 can cause a miscarriage by itself in almost 60% of the women that take it. The other drug that is administered is prostaglandin, the same medication they give women to induce labor. It is given 48 hours after the first drug is given and causes the uterus to contract.

More information really does need to be out there about the difference between the "morning after pill", which prevents a pregnancy from taking hold and medication induced abortion.

Fair enough, jane. I should have referred to this episode as crappy (poorly written & badly acted...) rather than the show itself.

Well, let's see. I've seen every single episode,on air, of VMars since the pilot. I own the first season and have "converted" at least six friends to watching the show. I've followed Rob Thomas's career since 1999 when I bought his YA books and e-mailed him about them. Do I count as a "real" fan? With that in mind, this show has gotten amazingly crappy, and I quit watching.

Thank you, Ann, for giving a level-headed response to this episode full of misinformation so I don't have to bother watching. I *am* glad they clarified the difference between RU486 and the morning after pill but then what's with the deliberately misleading title? Sloppy and insulting.

Moreover, the rest of it points to EVERYTHING that is wrong with VMars this season, and maybe since the beginning, who dosed this girl? Why, another woman of course! Because no one, absolutely no one on this show, is nastier to each other than women are to other women. Check out the Veronica/Madison subplot or, hey, the STELLAR treatment this show has given feminists all season. Some of you who don't watch the show may not have been familiar with the outta sight description of feminists on VMars this season as shrill, unreasonable, humorless, harpies who not only rape people (by shoving foreign objects in a man's ass.) but lie about rapes themselves. Yes, it's the bane of the feminist movement as we know it, chicks who lie about rape to blame dudes and ruin it for all the other poor chicks that were actually raped. That's MY feminist agenda!

Rob Thomas doesn't get an easy pass as "He's a feminist no matter what!" because he created VMars as a character. The arc of this season featuring feminists was insulting and ignorant, and it made me HATE this show, a show I once, I assure you, loved deeply. And this? The spreading of misinformation on what RU486 does and how it is obtained, the implication that women are always dying to turn on each other and force their choices and opinions on one another? This is just the cherry on the top of why I am giving up on this show.

Let me clarify further: Forget about the difference between RU486//the morning after pill. Let's pretend the show got that 100% right, medically. Let all of that go. Let's talk, instead, about the absolute worst stereotype about the pro-choice movement! "There are women coming, and they want to KILL YOUR BABIES, and FORCE you to have abortions AGAINST YOUR WILL and WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT so that you'll live the life THEY want you to live!!" Wow. Need I say more?

Hee, I'm not the only who dislikes that show. :-P

This confusion about the 'morning after pill' and RU486 , the thing is, I many anti-choicers believe that Plan B is some kind of abortion, because most of them believe every sperm is sacred.

Sakura,

Indeed. If a sperm is wasted, God gets quite irate.

Wow, I love this site, but this post and the comments have made me so sad. I feel like I'm reading some crazy wingnutter site and there's a post about how John Kerry is such a pariah that no soldiers will sit with him at lunch, and all the comments go into this frenzy of affirmation and gratitude for having this brought to their attention and how, yup, he is a loser and they don't need to see the photo in question to know it--this proves it, so there!

What the heck? Can't we do better?

Come on... a "crappy show" or "crappy episode" seems a bit much after watching one episode. If I tuned into any critically acclaimed show, even on their best episode, it would probably seem sucky since I have no clue about the plot or characters or rhythm of the show. VM is good show; I'm not a crazy-fan, but it's good. Flipping out over one episode (and using misinformation yourself to do so) is so the-other-side... let them be the overreacting lunatics, please. Can we keep it together a little better, be a little less reactive?

Firstly, no promiscuous does not = sexually active. UGH, WITH THE OVERREACTION. This character was many episodes ago a certified hussy, as they say. Not only cheating on her bf with the scuzzbag whore Dick, but it was also previously implied she slept with a whole damn fraternity. That you wrote this line: "The "promiscuous classmate" in question (apparently "sexually active" = "promiscuous")," while admitting a lack of knowledge about the show or characters, demonstrates something that I wish we never had to see, being on this side of the fight, grounded in truth and reality and fairness. Leave the snarky, leap-to-conclusions judgmental-ness to the dark side who only wants to tear down.

Secondly, and I'd have to watch the episode again to be sure, but I am almost certain at no point did they say it was one pill she was slipped. The language was pretty loose around that. Every time anyone referenced what happened, "RU486" was said. Not "THE pill."

Yeah, the whole idea that someone could walk out of a clinic with this medication and not have taken a pregnancy test is absurd, and I thought so when watching; but this is a show that often makes leaps across huge gaps in plausible plot points... it kinda comes with the territory of this sort of show. It's annoying as a viewer but this instance was no more or less stupid than when it than happens 2-3 times on every episode.

I just... I think this whole page is too bad.

Sorry, like my post wasn't long enough... I forgot to say:

Yes, the promo material was terribly wrong, and in this instance had an effect beyond just misinforming as to the particulars of the plot that wouldn't really matter to watching the show (the promo info for shows is often way off -- you watch the show and don't even get what the hell, since characters mentioned may not even have been on that episode); however, it does matter here. And that sort of misinformation about which pill is which SUCKS and is a legit problem and perpetuates nonsense we need to clear up. Let's focus on that. And not as if it was some part of a nefarious plot by a "crappy" show or lazy writers, because I doubt it was either. It was just a sloppy promo. Happens every day. It would seem more constructive to write something that corrects the misinformation, simply, and makes sure everyone sees it and knows it.

And not as if it was some part of a nefarious plot by a "crappy" show or lazy writers, because I doubt it was either. It was just a sloppy promo.

It wasn't just a sloppy promo; it was overall sloppy writing. As Amanda pointed out, they probably wrote the whole thing around their incorrect notions of EC, and then quickly changed to "RU486" once they were set straight that EC does NOT CAUSE ABORTION.

And the other misleading details about RU486 ARE a big deal. This is a show that is watched by women who don't read blogs like this one every day, who don't know exactly how EC or medication abortion work, and who might now be more susceptible to the anti-choice argument that abortion providers just hand out RU486 to whoever knocks on their door, without asking any important questions.

It's of utmost importance that details in pop culture (movies, TV, mainstream women's magazines) about repro rights are accurate, because these media reach such a huge audience.

Yeah, that doesn't make it sloppy writing, though. I'm somewhat well-versed in these things and it takes me a second to think, "wait, morning after pill is..." what? compared to RU486.

And "they probably" wrote the whole athing around... ? Leap to definitive conclusions, of which you have no real knowledge, to suit your argument much?

And SO WHAT if they wrote the whole show thinking it was EC and then changed it???? Why does that matter? The change made it make more sense. Because RU486 would cause the miscarriage.

So what we saw then, was in fact correct. Hardly makes it sloppy.

That has nothing to do with the promo writers. They certainly didn't rewrite and reSHOOT the whole show after sending out the material to the promo department. So where exactly do you see the big violation? The promo departments notoriously SUCK--they do. That was a flaw, no doubt. But I fail to see what that has to do with the otherwise correct information during the episode. Hey, if they wrote the whole show one way and changed it (as seems so important a point), then GREAT, because in the end it means this show, which plenty of young girls watch and take (usually positive) cues from, got the correct information. Right?

No, Tisse. What you saw was not factually correct, as you would know if you read Ann's post:

"While mifepristone ends a pregnancy, you need to take four misoprostol pills, either orally or vaginally, to expel the contents of the uterus. Health professionals, please correct me if I'm wrong. But as far as I understand, it's unlikely that she could have taken only RU486 and completely miscarried without getting sick or needing to see a doctor to complete the abortion."

"Except for the tiny detail that clinics will not administer RU486 to any woman who has not had a pregnancy test and an ultrasound. They don't just hand this stuff over to any woman who asks. In real life, in order to procure RU486 and then give it to another woman, Bonnie's roommate would have had to be pregnant herself."

tisse - see the irony in the situation? Perhaps a validation of RTs depiction of organized feminism. Spit and Eggs, anyone?

Here is the thing - deconstructing TV is fun. And I do think it's worthwhile, because lots of people take their cues from TV.

I like VM,but it's no BTVS. After all, a sweet character aching for his parents love turned out to be a rapist/mass murderer because he didn't want anyone to know the man (who became the mayor) molested him. Then, a spoiled, rich, but sympathetic black girl morhped into a stereotype. There are various potential points of discussion here. Responsibility of a TV show to be accurate? Probably low. Our responsibility to point out it is inaccurate? Probably high. The writers will pull something like this last ep to SHOCK us - to get the "I didn't see THAT coming." Doesn't mean we shouldn't point out what's wrong (on various level) with that ep.

Wow it’s quite amazing that people can get so riled up because someone insulted their favorite show, I mean even it wasn’t so awfully cheesy…

Jane I am getting eggs and rotten tomatoes.

That should have been "morph." I LIKE the women in Lilith and keep expecting the show to do more w/ them. But then, see what they did to previously mentioned 2 interesting characters. That's why we have to deconstruct TV. It gets all LAZY on us!

Ah, sojourner, I like VM, but I have been reading this blog for a bit, and I LOVE you! No eggs here!

I've never seen the show, but I've heard some good things about it. Many of my friends seem to think I'd love it if I ever actually sat down to watch. I harbor no hostility towards the show because I know absolutely nothing about it, although I have heard that it's gone downhill this season.

But I think that Ann is absolutely correct in her assertion that this kind of misinformation is a huge problem. Perhaps if the political climate wasn't what it is now or if there weren't states trying to ban abortion by using scare tactics and incorrect information then it wouldn't be such a big deal.

If it was common knowledge that there's a huge difference between RU486 and EC then there would be less to be upset about. But when a popular show (whether it seems to be empowering to women in some ways or not) gives the anti-choicers ammunition and perpetuates confusion among people (especially young women, which I imagine a large percentage of their viewers are) someone should say something to clear the air.

And I'm sure many of us have seen something infuriating enough to forget that some of it may be taken out of context (i.e. the promiscuity comment).

I also understand fandom and how passionate people get when a show they believe in is attacked. As a Buffy addict, I can appreciate that too.

So I think this thread has been enlightening. Thanks, Ann, for starting the discussion.

And Tisse, generally even when things get crazy on here it seems to me that most everyone is coming from a good place and we all really do want the same things ultimately, sometimes we just disagree on how to get there.

Well, for what's it worth, I think the "morning after pill" in the title referred to Veronica's problems forgetting about Logan's dalliance with Madison.

But let it be entered into the record that Ann is totally kick-ass, and if you disagree with her emphasis or tone here (and that's really all there is to disagree with; she's dead right about the factual probs), there's no need to impugn her argumentative integrity or skillz.

Just wanted to chime in quickly about how one might alleviate at least some of the misinformation related to this episode. I suggest writing the CW and asking them to change the show title and episode description, so when the episode is aired again there won't be the same confusion between the morning-after pill and RU486. Speaking as someone who works in television, this is something that the network could do relatively easily.

Heraclitus, I think you're right about the title, but I'm pretty sure it was also supposed to be a play on words. The mix-up in the description was also a problem, and it would have been nice if they had addressed the possible confusion in the episode.

If you head over to Television Without Pity right now, there's people mixing up EC and RU-486 all over the damn board. There's been about two mentions that the promo material got it wrong.

However, I think she did take multiple pills. Her roommate gave her "prenatal vitamins" that I assume she was taking regularly.

With a little research, they could have used the pill, for ulcers, I think, that the young lady in Massachussetts used to try to cause her own miscarriage. (I'm in class and don't want to look up the name right now.) That would have made it way more interesting, because the pill is so easy to get in foreign countries, and Veronica could have still gone to the Women's Clinic for information. It could have been a much better episode.

mipsy6, that's exactly what I just did.

The episode itself took pains to make it clear that it was RU486, not EC; and though it didn't really make sense that Bonnie's friend could have just walked out of the clinic with the drug, they don't actually explain the mechanics of how the friend got it or how she slipped it to Bonnie. Or really, how the pill works.

The only place where EC and RU486 are conflated are in the title and in the synopsis on the website, nowhere that actually aired. Same with the promiscuous thing: Bonnie's a girl who was known to have been cheating on her boyfriend, so in the dictionary sense of having multiple sexual partners, she was, in fact, promiscuous. I think there's stuff to get mad about in terms of VM's politics, but it is not a show that's preachy about teen sex.

I've never seen Veronica Mars, but the issues raised in this post are the exact same reason why I absolutely CANNOT watch Law & Order, CSI, and the rest of those shitty "courtroom/crime drama" shows. They drive me insane! Constant factual inaccuracies sprinkled throughout as if they don't matter, huge logic gaps in the plot, complete ignorance of courtroom procedure, ridiculous conclusions and/or verdicts. Ugh. I get riled up just thinking about it.

Then again, my mother was a court reporter who was addicted to true crime books (Ann Rule was a favorite), so I have reason to be picky... I guess what I'm saying is it's similar.

As I was channel-surfing last night, I caught the tail end of this show. My mouth was hanging open, and not in a good way. Grrrr.....

Health professionals, please correct me if I’m wrong. But as far as I understand, it’s unlikely that she could have taken only RU486 and completely miscarried without getting sick or needing to see a doctor to complete the abortion.

This is true. However, it doesn’t mean the information presented on the show was incorrect. Bonnie took the RU486 (Mifepristone) unknowingly, had an allergic reaction, sought medical attention for the rash and swelling, found out she was slipped RU486 and then was presumably administered Misoprostol to complete the abortion. At least, that’s how I inferred her explanation of how things went down.

It’s really unfortunate that you don’t watch the show regularly. If you did, you would know “sexually active� does not equate “promiscuous� on the show. There are several “sexually active� characters (including the titular character) that are not portrayed as “promiscuous.� The character of Bonnie has been shown to be promiscuous over the course of the season. She has a boyfriend but has also slept with at least 3 frat boys on the side. Here attitude towards sex is “Another cute frat boy. What the hell?�

If you actually watched the show, you would know that the character of Veronica Mars is one of the strongest female characters on TV today. She should be praised by feminists, not vilified.

Thanks Brenda, for saying what I was trying to say in a nicer, more concise fashion.

And prairielily brings up a good point... her roommate was giving her vitamins. So not only did they NEVER say it was ONE pill during the episode, there was context which makes it plausible she took the required multiple pills.

Once again, despite the unwillingness to grasp this simple fact: there was no misinformation in the actual show. Period. Spin it how you want, it's just that simple.

As to the other supposed misinformation... EG, yeah, I read Ann's post; unfortunately, it was not accurate in the details of the show. On the show, it was entirely unclear, as someone else pointed out, how the roommate got the pills. God, you cannot assume plot points for the sake of an online argument. In no way shape or form was it made clear the rommate went to the clinic and played pregnant and got the pills. Ann's post is, frankly, responsible for spreading (and cementing in people's head) the misinformation, not the episode. She made the connection between the roommate having pills and someone playing pregnant to fool the clinic into giving her them. The show did not. It was so vague on the show... Maybe the roommate works there and swiped 'em. Maybe the roommate was pregnant, got the pills, gave them to her friend and had a clinical abortion for herself. I think there's plenty of absurd, tv-show-drama ways she could have gotten them, but let's be clear, the show did not give any factual misinformation. Only this original post did.

I don't mean to impugn Ann's argumentative integrity... but she is actually wrong about the factual probs. Hell, I love her tone, too, usually -- when it's based on truth. In this case, I happen to think she's off the mark on the facts. And I think it's disingenuous to argue by misrepresenting an issue (or the facts of an issue).

Furthermore, what's with the feminist policing? Do you really want a world where every feminist is a saint and every lesbian has a kind and generous aunt who works in an abortion clinic? Many people, some of whom are feminists, are assholes, and I for one whould be bored by a culture that is concerned with nothing but political betterment. I think this post, while bringing up important issues that could be misinterpreted, is guilty of the very thing it's accusing the show of doing. And inaccurately to boot.

Leaving aside this episode because, while I love the show, it does fuck up sometimes (hi, Season 2!), and also I haven't seen it yet, just responding to what some people said about the Lilith House:

At first I was also like "um, way to just randomly make fun of feminists in a really cliche and lazy way, show." But, by giving them first of all some moments of sympathy (putting on mouse traps to catch the frat boys in the grope room? genius!) and also in the end a specific motivation--seeking revenge for their friend, rather than some abstract ideology--I thought the show made them into characters more than charicatures, which to me meant that the show was not, in fact, saying "hey all feminists are like this." Especially with Veronica's line about "hurting the cause"--I think it's pretty clear that Veronica considers herself a feminist and to me, that's enough variety to say that the show was not saying that Lilith House = all feminists. Yes, if they'd faked rapes just for the sake of "feminism" that would have been very sketch. But they were doing it to get revenge for their friend--still sketch from a moral perspective within the show, but IMO makes for an interesting story.

Also, the fact that in a storyline where Veronica was let down by her dad and dumped by Logan--the two people who had come to her rescue in previous finales--her savior this time was Parker, not just a girl but the girl Veronica had originally sworn to help by catching the guy who raped her, and also a girl who made catching the rapist possible by handing out date-rape-drug-testing-coasters and rape whistles at the Take Back The Night booth... I thought that was quite the moment of feminist badassery. YMMV.

Plus, they featured in their third episode a guy who found his long lost presumed-dead dad, who was now a woman, and this was treated as totally acceptable (the son freaked at first, but at Veronica's heed started up a relationship again).

Overall, I would say the lines you mention about anti-aboriton extremists are much more indicative of the overall politics of Veronica herself and the show than the plot of this episode indicates. And the errors you mention are more indicative of the show's admitted tendency to gloss over things and sometimes fuck up because, they have a schedule, a very, very low budget, and a lot of things to get done--not to mention a desire to create dramatic TV (most episodes that deal with courtroom scenes suffer from similar problems).

Meh. Your objection seems to be mostly that the writers favored style over accuracy - they fudged how these products are provided in order to move the story along, they conflated EC and RU486 for the sake of a clever title.

The thing is, any actual television writer will freely cop to that "offense". They'll wear the label with pride. The thing is, TV is written such that the staff needs to turn in one script a week, for about 25 weeks solid. For a one-hour drama show, that's about 45 script pages and 3 interwoven stories every week.

And if they come up with a premise that can fill one of those slots, that offers conflict and revalation and opportunities to engage the characters' emotions, they're not going to just throw it out because that's not how something "works in the real world", especially if damn few people actually know how it works in the real world.

Now they could have given us a setup for how the roommate got the pill, but it probably would have taken two scenes at minimum - one showing how Veronica found out what the girl did, one telling us *what* the girl did. And those are two scenes that don't really change our understanding of the dynamics, that don't actually do anything towards advancing the central plot question (*who* gave the girl abortifacents) that take up time that could be used to advancing that or the other plots, or giving us more character moments, or whatever.

Pretty much, it's a truism in TV that if the facts conflict with your story, you rewrite the facts, not the story. After all, that's what the audience came for - stories - and no one's ever going to start watching a show because their friend gushed about how accurate it was.

All that said, I also want to warn against taking Veronica's indignation at the antis' photographer at face value. It seems to me that it was phrased so as to emphasize (to viewers, at least) the fact that as P.I.s, Veronica and Keith pretty much make a living doing the exact same thing - staking people out and photographing them in moments of intimacy and (imagined) privacy.

But then again, one of the endearing aspects of the show's authentic humanity is that, as a real people, Veronica and the other characters tend to hold themselves to a more forgiving standard than the rest of the world.

Furthermore, what's with the feminist policing? Do you really want a world where every feminist is a saint and every lesbian has a kind and generous aunt who works in an abortion clinic? Many people, some of whom are feminists, are assholes, and I for one whould be bored by a culture that is concerned with nothing but political betterment.

Feminism is a philosophy of equality and social justice. Anyone be a feminist. What we argue on this site is philosophy and whether people's actions further or hold back social justice.

On the show, it was entirely unclear, as someone else pointed out, how the roommate got the pills. God, you cannot assume plot points for the sake of an online argument. In no way shape or form was it made clear the rommate went to the clinic and played pregnant and got the pills.

I felt like the show went out of its way to make it clear that the roommate must have obtained the pills at the clinic. Veronica says, earlier in the episode, that the women's clinic was the only place in the area to get RU-486. And, the clue that led her to solve the case was the bookmark the roommate had put in the book she gave to Bonnie, which was mailed to women who had been seen leaving the clinic. There was also the really absurd statement from the clinic doctor that a woman could leave having pocketed a pill.

The only conclusion you could draw from the evidence given on the show is that the roommate got the pills from the clinic. And, given that we can assume she wasn't pregnant (because it is a huge stretch to imagine we're supposed to think that the roommate happened to be pregnant at the same time as Bonnie, got some RU-486 at one clinic for her, and then had an abortion for herself, without any of that being mentioned), that means we're supposed to buy that the clinic prescribed RU-486 to a woman who wasn't pregnant.

Regardless of that being politically irresponsible, which I do think it is, it's just lazy storytelling to have the "solution" to the mystery be something entirely unrealistic.

You know, I think I might be able to overlook this if it weren't for the way this show has treated rape in the past. I know it's been said that the "feminists are rapists/make up rape accusations" plot was revenge for raping their friend, but as a rape survivor myself, I find it absolutely disgusting that the show's writers think that raping somebody (raping the men) is an appropriate way to get revenge for rape. Even if we accept the premise that it was done for revenge, you DON'T rape somebody. Ever, no matter what they've done. Suggesting that there's an excuse for it is a breathtaking trivialization of a serious issue. And either this show's writers weren't trying to villify feminists and really believe that rape and false accusations are an OK form of revenge, or they know how horrible it is and still chose to villify feminists and feed rape misconceptions. You can't have it both ways.

That whole rape debacle also played into the idea that women lie about rape for revenge, however noble their reasons for revenge may be. While I would normally think it's cool to portray VM as an outsider who doesn't really identify with any group, why the HELL would the show abuse the issue of rape to get that across? If you want to show that she's even alienated from feminists, there are a lot of ways to do that without traumatizing every rape survivor out there and making the issue of rape into a three-ring circus complete with every vicious stereotype of survivors ever imagined. Show that feminists are sometimes insensitive to class or race or disability issues. Show that we bicker a lot amongst ourselves. But please, do NOT use rape as a way to get ratings. In a world where there are practically zero sympathetic portrayals of people who've experienced the world's second-worst crime, a crime which happens to one-fifth of American women, you can't afford to be too careful of how you approach the issue. And just because you approach it right once doesn't give you a free pass to treat it as a joke later on.

Also, I wanted to respond to the comment that we shouldn't criticize this show because VM is the strongest female character on TV these days. Well, that kind of tells you how far we HAVEN'T come. After our feminist foremothers got the vote, they didn't just say, "well, OK, that's the best women have had it in recorded history, so we'll just stop there." It is precisely BECAUSE Veronica is the strongest female character on TV today that we have to keep criticizing the show, because it's really sad if this is all the better we can do.

(And to be perfectly clear, I'm criticizing the show's plots, not the character of Veronica herself. She is a great character, it's just the plots lately that make the show suck.)

Tink! I am sorry I didn’t mean to imply that no one intelligent can like that show. It’s just that I don’t see how anyone could feel so strongly about TV to go on a rant about “organized feminism� because someone called their favorite show crappy. I love the X-files, I am sure some of you might hate it or may be able to point out to me what is stupid about it or whatever. I just won’t get up in arms and denounce feminism because some fellow feminists find the show I like “crappy�.

I'll concede that a clinic giving a girl RU486 without prior testing is unlikely. Lori is correct in her assertion that the roommate got the drug from the clinic because the bookmark clue came from the anti-abortion packet(which she received after going to the clinic). I don't think this type of misinformation is worthy of pages of debate myself. I don't think the show is guilty of misinforming anyone about "the morning after pill" and how it works, though.

Also, I wanted to respond to the comment that we shouldn't criticize this show because VM is the strongest female character on TV these days. Well, that kind of tells you how far we HAVEN'T come.

Why? Because the show doesn't promote feminist ideology every episode? Newsflash, it's a tv show. It's purpose is to entertain, not promote a cause. That said, the character of Veronica does demonstrate feminist qualities all the time. She may not be out picketing for women's rights, but she certainly is a feminist. She is independent, strong-willed, purpose-driven and has a lot of compassion for people who are persecuted or victimized. She can be a downright bitch if someone crosses her and she makes absolutely no apologies for being who she is.

I know it's been said that the "feminists are rapists/make up rape accusations" plot was revenge for raping their friend, but as a rape survivor myself, I find it absolutely disgusting that the show's writers think that raping somebody (raping the men) is an appropriate way to get revenge for rape.

I would totally agree with you if I thought that the writers did, in fact, find that appropriate; but I think Veronica's lines about hurting the cause and "how many of them were real--except Chip Dillard's?" acknowledges that Veronica is quite aware that that was a completely atrocious act, and inexcusable morally, no matter how compelling emotionally their reasons may have been. (also, side note--the friend they were revenging wasn't actually raped. but I digress).

I also disagree that they were using rape as a ratings ploy--I read an interview with the creator where he said he chose the subject precisely because it is one that is so common and yet that people are so unaware about, one that would make sense as an imminent threat to a female college freshman, and I think that makes sense. I guess you could say they were using rape as a dramatic device, but that's what fiction does.

Okay, having seen the episode (my earlier comment was a blanket defense of the series), being more accurate could have actually made the show stronger.

The ep could still have started the same, as the preacher's daughter and friend could believably *THINK* RU-486 caused an abortion, and even gone through the problems of dosing her and EVEN BELIEVING SHE DID THE NASTY DEED, only for VM to be set straight by the Clinic Doc (thereby educating audience) and then having to go find the REAL culprit.

You would have had to delete some tedious Logan/Veronica relationship stuff, though--a bonus IMO.

Regarding the portrayal of the Lilith House women, I disagree that they are meant to be representative of all feminists. In fact, they aren't - that's the point.

The Lilith House women held a grudge against the fraternity for something that wasn't even related to the rapes. They pursued their revenge-driven agenda under the guise of feminism. They implicated the fraternity in the rapes by faking a rape. But when Veronica realizes this, she calls them out and tells them point blank that they hurt the cause. (The cause in this case being catching the rapist.) She is right. But this doesn't mean the show is trying to make people think all feminists fake rapes to promote some agenda.

I think the show did a decent job of differentiating the "Lilith House" feminists with the "Take Back the Night" feminists (who were trying to help women by distributing GHB-detecting coasters and whistles). Also, I thought Parker (a rape victim) coming to Veronica's rescue when the rapist was about to attack her was very nicely done.

Because I love beating dead horses, while I do not think that VM is a "feminist" show (although it's exploration of class dynamics in the first and second season was certainly something), this particular episode was coming from a pro-choice viewpoint.

The very fact that Bonnie's miscarriage was never presented as "murder" is an indication that the episode was not intended in any way to disparage pro-choicers. Murders on the show warrant full-season or multi-episode arcs, generally; this was a simple stand-alone mystery. We were obviously supposed to think that the roommate was wrong (and she was--forced abortions are no more "feminist" than forced childbearing), but there was never any sense that we were supposed to see it as murder or even as criminal behavior.

Honestly, the show was a lot less harsh on the roommate than I would have been. I firmly believe that decisions about reproduction should be based on individual conscience rather than government mandate, but if somebody slipped me RU-486 to force me to miscarry, especially if I had an allergic reaction to the drug which could have been very dangerous, I would at the very least attempt to press some sort of formal charges against that person. But the fact remains that it's not murder. We can, and I think we're supposed to, understand where Bonnie's roommate was coming from, and see her as a person who deserves forgiveness because she did the wrong thing with good intentions. I think that kind of reaction would have been unthinkable if the embryo were an actual person. I can say, as a mother, that I could forgive someone for causing me to have a miscarriage, especially under circumstances like that, but there is no way I could have that kind of immediate understanding and forgiveness of someone who killed my child.

We can, and I think we're supposed to, understand where Bonnie's roommate was coming from, and see her as a person who deserves forgiveness because she did the wrong thing with good intentions.
Yeah, again, I haven't seen the episode, but VM LOVES characters who do bad things without being bad people (see: the girl who tried to get her boyfriend kicked off the football team because it was making him miserable; the Dean & his wife kidnapping the stepson's father to make him give them bone marrow to save the 9-year-old boy; ...Veronica, always--my personal favorite example being when she steals personal medical files. I love that she toes the line of morality).

Take THAT, dead horse! *thwap*

I'm another VM fan who has watched the series since the beginning. And I second the previous commenter who noted that the show has been on a steady decline with the first season being absolutely fantastic. I do sympathize with the creators of this series because it's clear that the money has been cut off and that they've been forced to "lower the intellectual bar" so to speak in order to be more mainstream and get viewers. I've heard rumblings that this season will likely be the last.

This week's episode really irritated me for reasons already well described in the post and following comments. I wasn't positive about how RU 486 works but I'd heard that it is taken as a series of pills and so the plot mechanics of this week's mystery rung false.

I haven't been impressed with this season overall and am tired of the constant portrayal of campus feminists as angry reactionary dykes. Regardless of how the writers intend this trope to be interpreted, this is a cliche that is part of our society's script and it will largely be received as completely a straight-forward representation of how "those bitches really are."

Mifepristone alone can definitely cause a miscarriage.

Of course mifpristone causes miscarriages, it cuts off the progesterone needed to maintain the pregnancy, but it won't expel the uterine contents, that's why it's always prescribed in concert with misoprostol. And this sort of dreck is why i don't watch network, it'll rot your brain!

Respect for pointing out the facts, but please take the time to learn a few more before you assume that everything is antifeminist. Of course "sexually active" does not equal "promiscuous," especially on "Veronica Mars" -- it was revealed in previous episodes that Bonnie slept with as many frat boys as she could get her hands on. That's actually exactly what "promiscuous" means. Sorry to disappoint.

I love Feministing, and I appreciated reading this post and learning more about RU-486, but stick to criticizing things that are actually problems, please. If you'd done your homework just a little, you'd know why Bonnie was described that way.

(And as a sidenote, Veronica has had a few sexual partners herself and the show dealt with the "slut" label she consequently received in a very sensitive and intelligent way.)

This post is totally late--and no one will probably read it, but....

I just talked to one of the fathers of one of the producers on Veronica Mars--he's the Dean of a Major Medical College and both he and his wife trained as OB-GYN's. He's going to literally scold his son over this--he's disturbed that such a mistake could be made in terms of women's health, and dog-gone-it, the science behind it is available with a simple web-search (or phone call home)....grrrr I'm a lowly office assistant, but I've made a wee bit of a difference here :)

Peace,
Heather

So, does life imitate art, or art imitate life?

Man slips RU-486 to a woman and causes her miscarriage... twice.