I Care a Lot (2021)

It’s no secret that men are in a position of power across most of the world. The United States has always been a patriarchy, and that doesn’t seem like it’s changing any time soon. In Ladies First, a misogynistic man gets a taste of his own medicine when he hits his head and wakes up in a universe where women are in charge. Over the course of the film, Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) realizes how horribly he treats the women—namely, his subordinate Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike)—in his life. Meanwhile, the audience learns just how deep the internalized misogyny of the film’s writers goes.

In the flipped universe, women are in charge. They are also given incredibly masculine characteristics. Some of these make sense. Men manspread and mansplain because they are taught that they should take up space. If women were superior, of course they would also do this. However, at other times it feels like they’re mocking women. The ladies of the matriarchal world are shocked that Damien will drink anything other than pink fruity cocktails. They expect him to not wear a suit and instead wear loose, gender neutral clothing. Ladies First has a fundamental misunderstanding of what's feminine because of the patriarchy and what women do because they genuinely enjoy it.

It’s not to say there was nothing to like about Ladies First. At times it’s incredibly funny. Sacha Baron Cohen is excellent at portraying the worst type of powerful business man, and his shock when women start treating him that same way is fun to watch. Kathryn Hunter gives a standout supporting performance as Glenda, a cleaner in the patriarchy and the business’s owner in the matriarchy.

While film and TV still have a long way to go when it comes to LGBT representation, there are so many more opportunities for LGBT people to see themselves onscreen than there were even a few years ago. Best of all, some of the best LGBT films and shows are available online for free or on popular streaming services that you might already be subscribed to. Here are some of my top picks for films and TV shows with positive LGBT representation, sorted by where you can find them. (Note: This list is accurate as of June 2021, but streaming libraries change frequently.)

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