I Love Romcoms and I am a Feminist

Corrina Antrobus is a film critic whose life’s work has been dedicated to championing underrepresented groups in cinema. In 2014 she founded London’s popular feminist film festival The Bechdel Test Fest - an ongoing celebration of films that pass the Bechdel Test, also known as the Wallace-Bechdel Test. The festival ran for seven years and hosted screenings, talks, created zines and produced the Who Is She podcast in 2019. Corrina has reviewed films for Empire magazine, Rolling Stone, BBC, Total Film, Huffington Post and was the resident host for Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. In 2020 Corrina wrote and voiced a documentary on Ava DuVernay for BBC’s Inside Cinema, was nominated for a Screen Rising Star Award in 2019 and was awarded a Women in Hollywood Trailblazer award in 2017. She has worked in film marketing for Virgin Movies, film distribution for Picturehouse Entertainment and now works as a writer, Q&A host, Culture Lead for her home town of Hackney alongside recently entering the world of motherhood. Lily O’Farrell is a feminist writer and cartoonist known as @vulgadrawings to her 300k followers. She’s been publishing funny, educational cartoons about millennial womanhood since 2018, covering topics like sexual violence, domestic labour and online misogyny. In 2021 she published Kyle Theory with The Indigo Press. Lily has collaborated on cartoons with organisations that campaign against domestic violence and online hate, like Refuge, Rape Crisis, The Centre for Countering Digital Hate and Kick It Out.  

The RomCom That…
Gave Women an Early Lesson in Self-Respect
Proved ‘When She Was Bad, She Was Better’
Inspired Women to Find a System of Their Own
Superseded Male Dominance
Showed She Could Have a Career and a Marriage
Had Her Wearing the Trousers
Gave Insight Into the Intelligence of the ‘Bimbo’
Liberated the Sexual Freedom of 1950s Women
Stuck It to ‘The Man’
Pioneered the Bachelorette Pad
Challenged the Idea Of the ‘Older Woman’
Highlighted a Broken Welfare System
Outed Sexual Double Standards
Battled Career Vs Motherhood
Embraced Her Career As Her First Love
Liberated The ‘Walk of Shame’
Gave Gaslighting Its Deadly Revenge
Taught Women to Recognize Their Worth
Proved You Can Make Your Own Opportunities
Changed the Way We Talked About Orgasms
Embodied the New Age Of 1980s Feminist Power
Gave Black Women Money, Power, Sex and Love
Empowered Women Who Refused to Settle
Deconstructed the Fairytale Wedding
Gave Us the Feminist Fashionista
Validated the Emotions of Black Women
Left Prince Charming at the Altar
Made Single Working Mothers Feel Seen
Shone Light On Black Lesbian Love
Centred a Black Woman’s Love, Not Pain
Showed Being Irrational Was Just a Rite of Passage
Fulfilled a Black Woman’s Sexual Desire
Saw the Internet As Both a Gift and a Curse
Taught Girls You Don’t Need to Conform
Proved There’s No One Way to Be Gay
Humanized the Hollywood Actor
Did Away With the ‘Bridezilla’
Explored the Equality of A Throuple on Her Terms
Took No Woman for Granted
Had Her Ambition Come First
Taught Women the Need for Self-Defence
Highlighted Women’s Economic Empowerment
Gave Us the ‘Strong Female Introvert’
Was a Love Letter to the 90s Woman
Got Us Talking About Sexual Fluidity
Reversed the ‘Dumb Blonde’ Stereotype
Showed How Liberating Bending the Rules Can Be
Made Room for Women in a Male-Dominated Space
Knew Solidarity Was How the Working Class Survive
Knew the Makeover Was for Her (Not Him)
Got Revenge on a History of Romcom Sexism
Put a Spin on the ‘Crazy’ Girlfriend Trope
Saw the ‘Made Woman’ for Who She Really Is
Reflects on Being a Better Feminist
Had a Plus-Size Lead Living Her Best Life
Taught Us About Invisible Labour
Empowered Women to Play Their Own Lead
Dared to Suggest That Not All Women Are Maternal
Demonstrated the Power of Saying ‘No’
Sang in the Face of Slut-Shaming
Explored All Options When It Came to Having Kids
Was the Revenge of the ‘Perfect Quirky Girlfriend’
Critiqued Backwards Attitudes to Sexuality    
Pointed Out That Love Wasn’t Enough
Proved, Once Again, That Women Are Funny
Normalized the Fact That Women Have Sex Buddies
Saw Her Triumph From Misogynistic Labels
Centred the Black Butch Lesbian
Proved Female Friendship Is Where Real Love Lies
Put the Emphasis on Her Orgasm Over His
Made Middle-Aged Dating Look Young at Heart
Had Honest Conversations About Trans Sex
Had Zero-Judgement About Abortion
Was Unapologetically Bisexual
Centred the Joy of Women … All Women
Gave Dimension to Saudi Arabian Women
Showed Going It Alone Was the Right Way to Go
Was an Unapologetic Ode to a Black Female Experience
Gave Toxic Masculinity a Dressing-Down
Had a Healthier Mother–Daughter Relationship
Brought a ‘Coco Queen’ to the Romcom Party
Was an Ode to Independent Women
Opened Up Honest Conversations About IVF
Called Out Workplace Inequality
Validated the Emotions of Teenage Girls
Proved Successful Women Can Be Loved
Gave India Its First Mainstream Lesbian Romance
Knew Loving Yourself Always Comes First
Illustrated the Challenges for Women in Politics
Was Perfect for the Imperfect Woman
Proved a Woman’s Heritage Is Where Her Heart Is
Reminded Women That 30 Is Still Young
Knew 40-Year-Old Black Women Could Be Sexy as Hell
Wanted More to Life Than Being Stuck in a Rut
Gave Lesbians a Very Happy Christmas
Centred the Teenage Love of a Black Trans Girl
Had Honest Discussions About Later Life Sex
Opened Up the Conversation About Assisted Marriages
Didn’t Whitewash the City
Took the Battle of the Sexes to a Whole New Level