As befits a frivolous sitcom produced at the dawn of the feminist era, Gilligan's Island offers a neo-Neanderthal view of women as succeeding in society only when they submit to dominant males. Yet even in this unenlightened milieu, the starring trio often assert themselves in a frightening (at least to the nearby males) progressive manner.
* The female castaways make their mark most memorably in Episode 20, when they balk at cowtowing to the boorish males and move to the other side of the island. Unfortunately (for them, at least), they end up cowering in the men's arms by episode's end.
* In Episode 38, the women assert themselves (er, somewhat) by vying for the honors in "Miss Castaway" Beauty Pageant. (Hey, I know it's not much, but in this milieu, this is what passes for feminism.)
* In Episode 42, the men, believing the island to be sinking into the ocean, do their belabored best to hide the truth from "the girls" because they believe the females won't handle the news well. Yet as soon as they find out, the women are the ones who start making survival plans, leaving the men to sit around with their mouths agape.
* In Episode 48, the male castaways, in an attempt to win over the visiting rock group The Mosquitoes, try to create a band of their own, with dismal results. The women, conversely, create a singing group called The Honeybees (theme song: "You Need Us," performed quite enthusiastically by the trio) that intimidates The Mosquitoes so severely that they return to civilization rather than admit that their game was won by the local women.
* In Episode 71, when the castaways inadvertently eat mutant vegetables, it is the women who come off the best. (Among the males, only Gilligan triumphs, with superstrength from eating spinach.) Mary Ann's carrot-eating results in her being able to read a book that the Professor left on a rock a half-mile away, while Mrs. Howell's beet-eating gives her more energy than Mr. Howell knows how to handle. (What Norman Lear would have done with a scenario like this!)
* In Episode 96, when the male castaways are trapped in a cave by a six-foot-tall spider [don't ask], it is the women who come up with the plan to use Mrs. Howell's mirror to see the spider and mistakenly identify it as a rival predator. It is only Gilligan, in his haste to move the plan along, who inadvertently breaks the mirror and temporarily hastens the castaways' demise.
Go to the page for:
Gilligan
Ginger Grant
Mr. Howell
Mrs. Howell
Mary Ann
The Professor
The Skipper
Gratuitous Dream Sequences
Home page
