R or Cleaver s with Generation Z and its cancel culture?
eaver should be sacked immediately. ut perhaps the biggest change has een when it comes to love.
The 15-year-old me was under the mpression that having a boyfriend was he be-all and end-all (thanks to ridget). There was also a big emphasis n having to get married and have hildren by a certain age.
Now, with more emphasis on elf-care” and “self-love”, a generation f strong independent woman know xactly what they want – and it isn’t ependent on a man.
Women love doing things for emselves, being their own biggest fans nd knowing their worth. Girl power. Plus, the idea of an “ideal” man is astly different to what it was in 2001. Back then it was men who moked, drank too much, ad a good career and ved to flirt. The aniel Cleavers.
And then there as the stiff pper lip, hard o impress ut secretly omantic ero, Mark arcy, played the films y Colin rth and terally unchanged from the Jane Austen character that inspired him.
Since the days of Bridget Jones, women have come so far in not settling for less, and maybe that’s why being single is a lot more common these days.
But it’s not as clear cut as I may make it sound. Colleagues who were from Bridget’s generation have a different view.
One was quick to point out how refreshing she is, and was, next to the other female roles of the time.
“We were coming out of the heroin chic era of the 90s,” said one. “A time when size zero was the new thing and the Kate Moss supermodel era was in full swing. “It was all about flat stomachs, low-rise jeans and Paris Hilton’s micro
miniskirts. Next to that, Bridget was a breath of fresh air. She was the one person on screen who was brutally honest about what real women are like.”
Her infamous knickers are indeed as much a part of culture as Bridget herself. Women today will say they have “Bridget Jones knickers on” when referring to wearing anything other than a thong.
My colleagues made another point. With social media showing so many “perfect” snaps of our friends, celebrities and influencers, people are caught up in seeking validation online.
How is that any different from Bridget worrying about making a fool of herself and desperately looking for love? “You say Bridget is a bad influence because she’s obsessed with her weight,” says our columnist Jessica Boulton.
“But today’s youngest generation isn’t really as woke and accepting as they pretend. People say they are all about promoting difference and embracing body positivity – that we should all love ourselves just the way we are.
“But that’s the lesson Bridget (and Mark Darcy) taught us, not the lesson Gen Z is teaching us. We are more looks-obsessed now than we’ve ever been. We just say we’re not. Look at today’s dating apps –you swipe left or right based on a picture.
“And look at social media and reality TV – it’s not some normal slightly plump girl with no make-up like Bridget, crying into her ice cream, getting likes. It’s the one posting bikini selfies with hair extensions, fake tan and Photoshop.
“Bridget might be ditzy and she should have cut out the smoking, but she’s a far more honest, natural and healthier role model than many famous females today.”
It’s true – Bridget Jones was real, even when she went to a family party dressed as a Playboy bunny, and she was chaotic, emotional and funny.
But unlike my colleagues, I don’t think that Bridget “being herself ” was a healthy representation of what women today should aspire to.