Ron Swanson: Actual Feminist

Recently I’ve been catching up on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. One of my favorite episodes so far has been "Woman of the Year". In this episode Ron Swanson, Pawnee, Indiana’s Director of Parks and Recreation, is named Woman of the Year by the Indiana Organization of Women, a title Leslie Knope would kill for. He immediately recognizes that he does not deserve the award, and that it should go to someone who has actually done something to empower women and is actually a woman. Of course, he only reveals this to the audience and goes on to mess with Leslie in an attempt to show her what little importance awards actually have. This is only reinforced when a representative from the IOW comes into the Parks and Rec office and explains the reasoning behind choosing Ron. She claims that the award and organization were looking for some recognition from the media, and chose a “Mustachioed, manly man” in order to avoid being called a “niche group” again, after years of choosing women for the title. While Parks and Rec is obviously a comedy show with often ridiculous situations, this stood out to me as something that could actually happen. Like Jackson Katz points out in Tough Guise, white men are the dominant group in our society. Now women make up about half of the world’s population so it seems odd that a group so large would be considered a “niche group.” However, because of the control white males exert over the media, this is actually very possible. What the IOW was trying to do was appeal to that group by awarding the picture of masculinity, Ron Swanson. Ironically, Ron rejects this idea, and pushes for Leslie to get the award. In the end all of the trouble is worth it for the following quote from Leslie: “The IOW is a bunch of sexist jerks who need to get back in the kitchen where they belong and leave the real feminist work to actual feminists like Ron Swanson. Oh my god what is happening?”