Veronica Webb

As a feminist, if any show could make me change my mind and start hating women, this would be the show. STRIFE portrayed Australian women in business/media as selfish, tone-deaf, narcissistic "girlbosses" who are unable to perceive the world outside of their own experiences. Perhaps this does accurately portray the state of "women's media" owned by white women – the lead actor did a fabulous job of portraying an extremely unlikeable person with no relatable or reasonable traits whatsoever. It's hard to tell if that was the goal of the writers; if so, maybe they succeeded. I see STRIFE as a warning about what capitalism and greed has done to feminism in the 21st century – pushed community, kinship and shared values aside until women in the business world are competing against each other like men, ignoring and erasing the unique strengths women have in order to climb the corporate ladder. It was quite sad to watch and reflect on Australia's lack of high-profile ethical feminist role models; this could have been a good message IF the show was self-aware, but I really sense that it wasn't.