Maid Marian - or how i became a feminist

[RuffleCrow]

I've always a been a bit puzzled as to where my feminist inclinations came from. Certainly not my parents or anything else in my upbringing.

Anyway I had to take one of the dcs to the hospital recently and picked up one of those magazines from kids tv shows of the 70s/80s/90s to share with her. Along with the usual stuff on Bagpuss etc there was a a feature on the late 80s/early 90s CBBC classic Maid Marian and Her Merry Men.

I was inspired to watch on youtube with the dds and had a huge 'aha!' moment. I must have absorbed so much of her character into my character without even realising it!

It's not exactly Bechdel friendly, but looking back I can see the influence the (still subversive) premise had on me, as it would have been first aired when I was between the ages of 8-13. Given that so much of the kids tv at that point had women and girls in a supporting role (if at all), I can see why it must have stood out for me.

Watching it now what strikes me the most is that although Marian is undoubtedly the protaganist, and Robin a foppish fool, King John and the Sherriff of Nottingham simply can't entertain for a second the idea that a woman could be constantly outwitting them.

I think it's aged very well compared to lots of shows too.

I loved this show and she was a great role model!

At 16, reading Pride and Prejudice when Charlotte Lucas,shuddering at the idea of 'being a burden on your parents' needed to marry the creepy vicar.
God bless the (child) girl who's got her own

It's not exactly Bechdel friendly, but looking back I can see the influence the (still subversive) premise had on me, as it would have been first aired when I was between the ages of 8-13. Given that so much of the kids tv at that point had women and girls in a supporting role (if at all), I can see why it must have stood out for me.

I feel the same about Ripley in Aliens - I first saw it in my teens and it was so great to have a strong, capable female lead with great leadership skills.

The pancake day song is a classic.

I loved this show and bought in on DVD whilst at uni. My DC ask to watch it regularly, they love MM and ask why there aren’t more shows with “women as the bosses”.

I have them all on DVD. Love it!

My sister and I loved this (and now I have the pancake day song going around in my head!).
We had very few videos we used to re-watch but this was one of them!

I absolutely loved MM, partly because she was a smart kick ass woman, and partly because I had a monster crush.

I didn't know what your thread would be about, but as soon as I saw the title the theme song came into my head!
😁
Loved this show when I was a kid!

So glad to see how fondly this show is remembered. Must have had quite an impact on us as a generation.

Me too @Whatisthisfuckery virtually all the women i've been attracted to since then have had something MM-ish about them but I didn't put two and two together until rewatching the other day! It was like a lightbulb going on in my own psyche.

My dcs love the pancake day rap too. Think we'll have to make that a part of next year's traditions.