Calendar girls, is a 2003 film featuring cast such as Julie Walters and Helen Mirren.
The film is about a group of women who belong to a typically feminist organisation, the woman's institute where women cook, sew and do arts and crafts (typical feminine past times). This film presents itself as a Post feminist text as due to a bereavement the women go against feminist tradition, to raise money for a charity posing nude for a calendar. They do not rebel totally from feminism as they retain their modesty, by covering themselves in a variety of ways which links to the W.I traditions e.g. cakes. Although this film is seemingly post feminist, they are far from the regenerated post feminine woman the Ladette. The women are refeshingly open without be overtly sexual. Post Feminism or Third-wave Feminism suggests that ‘feminism’ has moved on and been made relevant for the current gender climate. They believe that feminism is irrelevant in today’s society e.g. inequality isn’t an issue in modern day society. They believe that the changes feminists’ fought for have now been achieved, and is now time to move on from it. This movement took place from the 1990’s to the present day. It embraces change and diversity, and accepts that women can be of all races, religions, and backgrounds. This new ‘modern’ idea about women and more so young women illustrates the new meaning of freedom for women, in terms of gender; sexual freedom.
“Old-fashioned femininity can be retrieved. Post- feminism in this context seems to mean gently chiding the feminist past, while also retrieving and re-installing some palatable elements, in this case sexual freedom".
