Ilana on Broad City discovers something completely shocking while getting her masturbation on in the episode "Kirk Steele": Abbi's boss Trey used to be a porn "star." This hilarious scenario could only happen because Broad City embraces women watching porn. Although characters being into porn on TV isn't really revolutionary (Ilana's experience could have easily happened to Adam on Workaholics), what makes it unique is the fact that Ilana is a woman. When have we ever seen a woman freely get her masturbation session on with her Internet porn on television? Uh, besides maybe in an actual porn, I'm going to branch out and say never. And that's the kind of detail that makes Broad City the show that demonstrates gender equality most successfully in my eyes.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Abbi Jacobson said, "We are totally feminists and love the idea of gender equality. It's important to us but we're gender equality, we're not like women get to rule everything and f---k men. No, we love men. Our show has so many men and it's more of like a humanism than feminism." Although Jacobson's statement has a somewhat controversial reference to feminism, I love that Broad City's focus is on representing people — male or female. Abbi and Ilana display a side of women on television that is so rarely shown — and although it's insane at times, their portrayal of unabashedly ridiculous woman is also realistic.
Of course, no one is surprised by Ilana pulling out her dildo because the world of Broad City has shown us that Abbi and Ilana aren't afraid of their sexuality or their bodies (oh, how I love the plethora of blurred out crotch shots). And that's what helps makes the show gender equal — because the media barely ever discusses male characters not being "afraid of their sexuality" because that's not even a topic that we associate with men. So the women of Broad City are making it a topic that's not relevant for them either. Yes, there is hilarity and shock value to Ilana's masturbation setup (she keeps it classy with candles, green lipstick, her Latina earrings, and a yoga mat — she even slurps down an oyster to get her in the mood), but that scenario would be amusing whether it was a woman or man doing it.
And what is even more interesting is the fact that not one person judges Ilana for watching porn in the first place. I mean, everyone was watching porn in the coffee shop (men, women, the child Ilana was babysitting), so those java hounds had no room to judge. And of course, Abbi doesn't bat an eye when her best friend tells her she was watching porn (that's nothing new). What's so cool about the episode is that there's not even a moment when anyone could be possibly judging Ilana — well, maybe except that jerk girl who worked at Beacon's Closet, but she was throwing shade Abbi and Ilana's way for other reasons than porn watching.
Thank goodness for Ilana and Abbi embracing all of the outrageous quirks that humans possess and for not allowing any room for people to pass judgment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch Trey's porn alter ego Kirk Steele ride that inflatable whale in the pool again.
Images: Comedy Central (screengrab); ilanawexler/Tumblr
