During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
Bobby: “I’m bored.” Betty: “Go bang your head against the wall… Only boring people are bored.”
My mom was always reading multiple parenting books when my sister and I were young. The books encouraged raising children to conform to the compulsory gender binary and were no doubt flawed in many other ways. But at least there was something available. Betty is stuck with the job of being a parent to three children. Don’s involvement is fleeting at ...

During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
Yes, we are publishing this Monday column on Tuesday again. Between Omega and the VMAs it couldn’t be helped.
Pete tries to market Admiral Televisions to black people, harasses Hollis.
Pete represents an interesting shift, realizing money can be made from African Americans as consumers while still being racist. His approach is all about the bottom line – black people are buying Admiral Televisions so the product should be marketed to them. It’s the most logical economic ...

During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
Peggy moving to Manhattan. “You’re gonna be one of those girls?” Peggy: “I am one of those girls.”
I love this! Own it, Peggy. Her response seemed aspirational — especially given her exchange with Joan over the ad and her initial meeting with the roommate. She doesn’t quite think of herself as “one of those girls” yet, and this new apartment is an important step. -Ann
I loved this line so much. My crush on Peggy ...

During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
Derby Day and “going back in time.”
Change was once again central to this episode, but this time the focus was on class in a way it hasn’t been on Mad Men before. We got to see old money performing class in a way that is quickly becoming antiquated and the complexities of living as an upwardly mobile person uncomfortable in a world one wasn’t born into. All of this while perched precariously at the end of ...

During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
Marketing Diet Cola to women.
I thought this was a great selection of a product for exploring what I think will be some of the major themes of season 3. Change was a big focus of the episode, which included foreshadowing of a major change in the U.S. occurring on the date of Roger’s daughter’s wedding, November 23, 1963. Patio (wow, what a terrible name) marks a major change in how soda will be marketed, but the ...

Welcome to our newest series! During the third season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.
The opening dream-like sequence
I was struck in the opening moments of the episode by the intense sexism that defines Dick Whitman’s back-story and the degree to which Don Draper seems to be aware of this. Here is a man who is a proud misogynist, yet the past he rejects is shaped by the treatment of women as objects for sexual pleasure and reproduction, patterns Don has repeated. –Jos
Previous flashbacks for ...