WOMEN’S AUTONOMY AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN GRETA GERWIG’S LADY BIRD
A LIBERAL FEMINIST PERSPECTIVELIBERAL FEMINISM IN GRETA GERWIG’S LADY BIRD
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21274/ls.2026.18.1.93-118Keywords:
Feminist values, Lady Bird, liberal feminismAbstract
Film serves as an important cultural medium that reflects social values, gender roles, and women’s struggles for equality. Although contemporary coming-of-age films often portray young women’s search for identity and independence, the representation of liberal feminist values in these films remains relatively underexplored in academic discussions. Therefore, this study analyzes Greta Gerwig’s film Lady Bird (in (2017)) through the lens of liberal feminism, based on the theoretical framework proposed by Tong and Botts (in (2024)). This study aims to identify the liberal feminist values represented in the film and to examine how Lady Bird portrays a young woman’s effort to achieve autonomy and self-development within familial and social expectations. This research applieds a qualitative method. The data were collected through repeated observation of the film and note-taking techniques to document significant dialogues and scenes related to liberal feminist values. The data were then categorized and analyzed based on several aspects of liberal feminism, including autonomy and personal choice, economic independence, respect for diverse life choices, and social responsibility and moral agency. The findings show that Lady Bird’s desire to determine her own identity, pursue higher education, seek financial support, and negotiate her personal choices with family expectations reflects liberal feminist ideals. The film also portrays her growing awareness of moral responsibility in her relationships with others. This study contributes to feminist film studies by showing that liberal feminist values in coming-of-age films can be represented not only through explicit political resistance, but also through everyday personal choices, family conflicts, educational aspirations, and moral development. The study also implies that Lady Bird can be read as a text that encourages discussions of women’s autonomy, rationality, self-determination, and equal opportunity in contemporary cinema.
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