The Powerpuff Girls episode “Equal Fights” does not hold up 25 years later

Some of you may have heard of the show The Powerpuff Girls. Personally when I was in grade school I was obsessed with that show. But as much as I loved it with all my heart, I just can’t let everything in it slide. That’s right, I’m going to focus on the episode “Equal Fights” that first aired on August 11, 2000 in Australia, September 16 in Canada, and October 1 in the UK. However it didn’t reach the US until January 5, 2001. Had to make it make sense as to what I’m referencing in the title.

First of all, I want you all to understand that I have just recently watched this particular episode and I didn’t get the chance to watch it as a kid as it possibly got banned, as far as I’m aware of. If I actually had the chance to watch it during my innocent childhood days, I most likely wouldn’t have understood the supposed moral of the episode. Now as an adult, I see things through a much different lens based on my personal experiences.

Anyways, let me do a brief summary of the episode:

The girls encounter a stereotypical ripoff to Batwoman and the Amazonians combined type of villain named, bear with me, Femme Fatale. Off to a rough start. Femme Fatale’s purpose is to rob banks and hate men. Yep, that’s it. That’s her whole personality. And keep in mind, she doesn’t want any old type of money, oh no, she just wants Susan B. Anthony coins. Because hear this, it’s the only change that has a woman’s face on it.

Here’s my next issue, I don’t know a single woman, let alone a single PERSON who wants a certain type of change only because of the person’s sex or race! Men, maybe, but women? Gimme a break!

Anyway, let’s continue. When the girls capture Fatale, she attempts to use “feminism” to persuade the girls to let her go. Of course, they fall for it and set her free, all while believing that all boys and men are bad. Another red flag, it is unrealistic as it traces back to the assumption that women don’t want to be arrested or “held accountable” simply because they’re women. The reality on the other hand is far from true. Women have been placed under scrutiny for many things, especially for those that aren’t even their fault to begin with! This is not to say that women should evade responsibility if they commit any wrongdoings, we should be held responsible as well as men.

Moving on. At school, the girls glare at all the boys in the playground, until one boy plays rough with a random girl by throwing a ball too hard at her. As a result, they scare all the boys off. At home, when Professor Utonium spots the girls, he asks them to clean their rooms. The girls respond by giving him a death glare. In their rooms, they got a phone call from the Mayor telling them to fight crime as usual, only for Blossom to scream at him to do it himself.

Meanwhile, Femme Fatale is off enjoying her life of crime, robbing banks and all. Then the girls get a phone call from the Mayor’s overly sexualized assistant Miss Bellum telling them to come to the Mayor’s office. They do so, are then told to sit down, and are then confronted with a perp sweating scene surrounded by Miss Bellum, their teacher Miss Keane, and a few other anonymous women. This scene was honestly the most uncomfortable thing to watch, as they’re all just glaring down at the girls, as if they’re monsters or something.

They break down what actually happened, and are given a “you suck” speech over the reality of how Femme Fatale behaves. Of course, this all goes back to the mention of the Susan B. Anthony coins.

Holy shit. There’s so much to unravel here. First of all, the exemplification of “misandry” is highly exaggerated. While there are real life cases that inequality can harm men as well, it doesn’t hold a candle to how misogyny occurs. And that’s pretty much where a lot of cartoon reviewers of that show, and specifically that episode, miss the mark. Most children, at least before the internet became a thing, don’t learn this type of behavior from strangers, they instead learn it from people they know or even their own family members.

My second issue is from the intervention scene, while I do believe children need to be called out for bad behavior, they went a little too harsh on the girls. I mean, the dark atmosphere, the perp sweating! And the extremely nasty looks on the victims’ faces! Those are a bunch of kindergarteners, for fuck’s sake!

The third issue I have is the resolution. What it’s trying to tell us is that a bunch of minors are wholly responsible for the crisis in Townsville, because who else can we blame other than the shitty laws and reinforcements?

But that’s not the worst part, wait until the end of the episode. Speaking of which, the girls finally confront Femme Fatale once more to talk about Susan B. Anthony, claiming she doesn’t know anything about her. They explain that Susan B. Anthony wanted to be arrested after voting when the law said it was only for men, indicating that she wanted to be “equal” and didn’t want “special treatment”. The girls end it off by beating the shit out of Fatale and throwing her in jail, ending the episode.

Well, here we are. The bottom of the barrel. I am astonished by how the writers of that episode got the history of Susan B. Anthony SO WRONG! They claimed that B. Anthony WANTED to be arrested for daring to vote in a male dominated field in order to be “equal”. What’s next? Trying to justify domestic violence and the feminist rage bait of men beating the shit of women all for the sake of “equality”? Oh wait! IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING!! They took the topic of feminism and blew it out of proportion! It’s like they don’t understand how feminism ACTUALLY works. It’s no wonder Lauren Faust hated it. And no wonder the episode itself got banned.

Now, let me do a commentary on a YouTuber named “Just A Robot” who claimed he was “anti-SJW”. Well, we’re off to a nice start. Allow me to break down a few highlights on his video because holy shit, I’m about to reek hell upon this dude who speed out the most “centrist” arguments any white nationalist can imagine!

Anyways, let’s get started:

”DiD tHe mAyOr jUsT caLL tHe GiRLs SwEeT?! ThAt’S sExUaL hArRasSmEnT! I bEt hE aLsO sTaRe rApEs PeOpLe!”

Typical centrist argument. Do you realize that would be called child pedophilia instead? Are you insisting that rape and sexual harassment shouldn’t be taken seriously? I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re against the MeToo movement.

”yEaH! AnD wHiLe yOu’Re aT iT, pUt a bLaCk wOmAn oN tHe 20 dOLLar biLL!”

What’s wrong with putting black female icons on income? I’d die for it honestly! Anyway, just say you’re a racist and move on.

When Blossom fails to think of more than one female superhero…

”Now this is a typical feminist tactic. They ask a female “hey do you know many women in THIS genre?” that you don’t know too much about. They do this because the average woman doesn’t know too much about comic books and video games.”

Typical feminist tactic, my ass! If anything, I’ve heard far more MEN ask this question, especially the misogynists to make the women look like dumbasses, because you know, men rule and women drool. Also, why is it only the average WOMAN? What about men? There are plenty of dudes that don’t know shit about comic books and video games! It’s sexist to generalize women as a whole and assume we’re a monolith just because you met only a few women that give you this response. And finally, never call women FEMALES again!

”But if you ask a woman who IS into comic books, she can name at least ten at the top of her head.”

So what? Ten female superheroes don’t compare to hundreds (or even thousands) of male superheroes! It’s like naming a specific type of inventions that wouldn’t have been made if inventors simply kept their mouths shut and remained polite.

”This is another feminist tactic. They like to say things like “did you ever notice that most billionaires are men?” but they fail to mention that most homeless are also men.”

Even if men are more likely to be unsheltered, women experiencing homelessness have a much higher risk of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. Intimate partner violence, trafficking, and the gender pay gap are all significant causes of homelessness that disproportionately affect women. Just because there are more homeless men doesn’t mean there aren’t any homeless women, or transgender individuals. Their less visibility doesn’t make it less real.

”Because after a gender study course, things that used to be average everyday life is now SUPER PROBLEMATIC!”

And recognizing these problems is a BAD THING now? Are you saying that rape and domestic violence is “average everyday life”? Never mind the bloody bruised woman desperately pleading for help! She’s just a typical woman living a privileged life! Women, amirite?

After the Professor gets intimidated when the girls glare at him after telling them to clean their rooms…

“Man, Samurai Jack became a total cuck after Ashi died.”

”Cuck”? Oh god, don’t tell me you’re one of those incels! Also what does Samurai Jack have to do with the Powerpuff Girls, other than both of them having the same animators?

After the girls point out the Professor makes them do chores only to realize he only wants them to clean their rooms…

”This sounds similar to another feminist complaint. All the feminists complain about how the men, when they come home from work, they sit on the couch and don’t help with the house chores. But here’s the thing: a man has been at work, ALL DAY! He’s exhausted!”

Seriously?! You really think working at an office is more exhausting than as a stay-at-home mom?! What’s next? Do you want your kids to wipe your ass now?! Household chores are a shared responsibility, not solely the woman's duty, and that framing them as "helping" reinforces the idea that they are exclusively hers. Only difference is that a man who works at a job is getting PAID while the woman who has to do household chores DOESN’T! Also, you’re ignoring all the working women, the stay-at-home dads, and especially SINGLE PARENTS! There are single mothers out there that both have a job AND take care of their kids! You men think you have it all bad? Try being a single mother whose husband died or left you!

”There are feminists who I DO like, like Christina Hoffsummer, who’s a CHOICE FEMINIST, she believes that women should make their own choices in life. But according to feminists like Anita Sarkeesian, choiced feminism is just for women who want to use patriarchy to work for them.”

Yet you spew out that feminism is bad, like you did in your previous arguments? And what exactly do you have against Anita Sarkeesian?

”Anita’s type of feminism isn’t looking out for all women. They’re only looking for a specific TYPE of woman. As soon as a woman steps out of line, she’s no longer a part of their group.”

My dude, that’s not what feminism actually is. What you’re defining is TERF propaganda, which isn’t feminism at all. And from what I’m listening to your sample of Anita Sarkeesian and recalling, I don’t hear anything “segregating”. Mind you, if you’re going to pull in the topic of racism to debunk feminism, I’ll have you know that Sarkeesian is Armenian descent, so she has faced both sexism AND racism!

Phew… Thank god I got that off my chest. In summary “Equal Fights” is a horrible episode and does a disservice to today’s community of feminists. In other words, it definitely does not hold up. End of review.