Although there is a clear issue of gender equality in superhero output in film and TV which needs to be addressed, popstar Miley Cyrus seems a little upset about one of them: Supergirl.
In an interview with Variety, Cyrus said, “I think having a show with a gender attached to it is weird. One, it’s a woman on that fucking billboard — it’s not a little girl. Two, what if you’re a little boy who wants to be a girl so bad that this makes you feel bad? I think having a title like Supergirl doesn’t give the power that people think it does.”
Responding to the criticism, Supergirl executive producer Andrew Kreisberg (who also produces the other shows in the Flarrowverse) told a press screening, “It’s based on a pre-existing property that’s called Supergirl, so we never had any intention of calling it something other than that. I think we worked hard, especially in the early part of season 1 to address the discrepancy. We actually had a scene about Kara herself lamenting, ‘Why aren’t I called Superwoman?’ and had Cat with her great rejoinder about how the word ‘girl’ in and of itself is not offensive. We continue to be proud of this show, we continue to be proud of Melissa and the character she represents and the hero that she represents. We stand by the show.”
He added: “For us, the strongest feminist thing about this show is Kara herself, and just as a character, what Kara does week in and week out, and the challenges she’s presented with and how she overcomes them both physically and emotionally, that, to me, is the biggest statement toward having a powerful female on television, is by not talking about it, but actually showing a powerful female on television.”
Supergirl airs on The CW on Monday nights. Follow all of our coverage here.
Originally published October 13, 2016. Updated April 13, 2018.
