Marty Glenn as a Representative of the Riot Grrrl Movement
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| Title: | Marty Glenn as a Representative of the Riot Grrrl Movement |
| Creator: | Lone Gungirl |
| Date(s): | July 11, 2000 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | The X-Files |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Marty Glenn as a Representative of the Riot Grrrl Movement |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Marty Glenn as a Representative of the Riot Grrrl Movement is a 2000 essay by Lone Gungirl.
It was one of the essays at The X-Files University.
Some Topics Discussed
- description and history of the Riot Grrrl Movement
- a character in an X-Files episode called "Mind's Eye," and how Mulder and Scully relate to her; Mulder wins, Scully fails...
Excerpts
When I saw Marty Glenn in the episode _Mind's Eye_, I immediately knew: A fellow riot grrrl! Hooded sweater, heavy boots and uncombed hair are signals that Marty belongs to the riot grrrl scene. The typical punky outfit of riot grrrls is not just a fashion statement. It is an important way to criticize the conservative female gender role.
But it's more than an outfit that makes Marty Glenn a riot grrrl. Riot Grrrl is an angry movement. Angry music, angry writing, angry films, angry women. We are angry because we feel oppressed by the patriarchal society. Marty Glenn is angry too - angry to the core. She only learns in the end of the episode that it was male violence against women that took her ability to see away from her. But her instincts always knew about the correlation. She takes drugs, steals, and assaults people when they enrage her. A fury. When Mulder calls this attitude an "angry-young-blind-girl comedy routine" during their first interrogation, she violently knocks the glass of water he has offered her off the table and tells him to go to hell.
Mulder, on the other hand, represents the progressive men in the episode. And as soon as Marty realizes that Mulder is her ally, her hostility vanishes. Riot grrrls are not man-haters. They long for men who are on their side. And Mulder, who is a fair-minded and warm-hearted man, who has deep respect for women and all oppressed beings, is in fact a very popular and well-liked character among the members of the Riot Grrrl Movement.
Contrary to Mulder, Scully can not relate to Marty. Scully, like Marty, is a role model for many feminists. But Scully represents the intellectual, conservative feminist who is integrated within society and has learned to suppress her feelings. Marty Glenn on her part stands for the animalistic and wild feminist who follows her instincts and is an outcast. Scully's averting behavior towards Marty Glenn is a typical reaction of conservative feminists confronted with Riot Grrrl. Conservative feminists are usually shocked by the wild riot grrrl attitude and the raw way the riot grrrls perform art and make political statements. That causes a lot of misunderstandings and conflicts within the Women's Liberation Movement.
In _Mind's Eye_, the sensitive man (Mulder) doesn't listen to the conservative feminist (Scully) and finally bonds with the riot grrrl (Marty Glenn). And since an important goal for feminist women is the solidarity of sensitive men, it means that Riot Grrrl has the edge on conservative feminism in the episode.
But you don't only have enemies as a riot grrrl. In the last scene of _Mind's Eye_, Mulder reaches through the bars of the prison cell to take Marty's hands. Mulder is an ally, and so are other men.