In Episode Three: “The Women Behind the Clothes.” The Bold Type tackles the backlash that often arises from being “bold” and stating your opinions.

While the show is about strength in the face of adversity, it is realistic and makes one of its strongest and confident characters, Kat Edison, break down in tears when dealing with internet trolls. It does not simply tell the viewers to be strong when faced with these barriers rather it shows how to be strong. No matter how rewarding it would have been to have Kat somehow shut down the Twitter Trolls, it would have been highly unrealistic. Rather the show gives its viewers supportive relationships and sound advice “Not to Engage” – Jacqueline.  From Jane and Sutton comforting Kat in the fashion closet to Jacqueline’s sincere conversation with Kat about the haters, the episode juxtaposes the hate with these endearing interactions.

In this episode, the show pushes the age-old message about how love always triumphs hate. The creator of the show Sarah Watson mentioned that the inspiration behind this episode was to give women hope in the face of hateful misogynist comments such as the ones Kat is facing. In an interview, she stated that “I felt like I had the opportunity to give Kat a little bit of a win. I wanted to show women that.”1 As a result, the show writes Kat an empowering ending to the episode, with her banding together with other women to create a kindness campaign.

Jacqueline Comforting Kat

Jane and Sutton Comforting Kat

The episode highlights how one can feel powerless, in the words of Kat Edison “There is nothing [we can do]” when faced with faceless haters behind a screen. However, the show makes it clear that one kind message, such as the one Kat received from the CEO of a VR company, has a greater impact than the millions of hateful comments often circulating online.

 

  1. Highfill, Samantha. “’The Bold Type’ Boss Reveals the Inspiration Behind Our Favorite Moments.” com, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2017, ew.com/tv/2017/08/15/the-bold-type-sarah-watson-story-inspiration/.