Summer's latest hit TV show, “The Bold Type,” covers real women's concerns. Young women face difficulties in life ranging from slut-shaming to body image. The main characters Sutton, Jane and Kat are best friends who meet from working at Scarlet Magazine, a fictional women's publication.
The show highlights the struggles and adventures the girls go through in New York City daily while working in a media environment.
While television can exaggerate about characters’ problems, “The Bold Type” highlights issues in a relatable way. The trials each of the girls go through are heavily focused on rising problems within current events.
Sexual orientation, body peace, race and feminism are some of the show’s chosen topics, and each character has a personal connection with one of more of the trending issues.
Sutton is slut-shamed in Season 2 when it is believed she is receiving preferential treatment because she previously dated a company boss, Richard Hunter, following a recent promotion to fashion assistant.
This is an example of when a modern women achieves career success, and it is assumed to have been rewarded for non-career related matters. It is not fair or accurate for any woman to be treated this way after giving great dedication and loyalty to a company.
Sutton deserved the successes she achieved. As Sutton’s best friend Jane begins to move up the career ladder at Scarlet, she also faces trials.
After being promoted to a writer at Scarlet, Jane begins to feel a bit confined with her editorial voice. She feels frustration with not getting to write about the types of topics that she wants to write about, and this leads her to get a new job, from which she is eventually terminated. She tries to go back to her old job at Scarlet, but gets denied, forcing her to learn from her personal failure.
Additionally, Jane’s best friend Kat deals with more battles within her personal life.
After being promoted to social media director, Kat begins to question her sexuality when she begins dating a woman for the first time. The idea of coming out as a lesbian is a daunting task for Kat, but she gains tremendous support from Jane and Sutton. She also finds herself stuck when choosing racial identity, because she has a black father and a white mother, while writing a biography for her new position.
The trending topic that each of “The Bold Type” women happily represent is body peace.
Sutton is given the creative leadership role for a photo shoot where she decides to include her friends. This photo shoot features the women nude, showcasing their physical insecurities such as freckles, birth marks and scars. This shows that it is important to be comfortable in your own skin.
“The Bold Type” highlights important problems that young women face while pursuing career dreams, while also creating a great example of how to tackle them.
