5 Times Gossip Girl Was Problematic (& 5 It Was Empowering)

The show Gossip Girl has often been criticized for normalizing sexism and toxic relationships. The show which aimed to take a realistic look at how the one percent live, took some rather absurd leaps with its storylines and some of the developments were so bizarrely problematic that viewers were left baffled.

However, there were some rather feminist moments on the show since it featured some powerful women and made some major statements about women power. Here’s a roundup of some of the most toxic and most empowering moments on Gossip Girl.

10 Problematic: Minors Dating Adults

Almost everyone in the Gossip Girl has dated adults when they were minors and this glaring detail was normalized throughout the course of the show, so much so that it wasn’t even depicted as an issue. Yes, Nate was somewhat hassled when he found out that Sage was actually 17 and had a small argument but continued dating her anyway, and her father Steven knew about it.

Nate himself dated Catherine, an older married woman when he was still a minor. Catherine was the mother of Marcus who was seeing Blair at that point, and this entire thing was almost too cringeworthy. Plus, Dan had a fling with his teacher Ms. Carr when he was still in school.

9 Empowering: When Blair Saved Serena From Taking The Fall For Dating Her Professor

In academia, there exists a problematic culture of female students getting penalized for mingling with professors, while the male teachers or professors usually just get a light swat on the hand. And that’s exactly what happens when Serena’s relationship with Colin, her guest professor at Columbia goes public and Dean Reuther accuses Serena of using her body to score good grades.

Blair saves the day, by destroying the proof of their relationship in front of the dean, so that nothing can be proven in a trial. Not only was Blair’s move gutsy, but she made a statement by throwing the USB in a glass of champagne to point out how the system was quite blatantly misogynistic against its female students.

8 Problematic: When Chuck Literally Sold Blair For A Night

If someone rounded up all the toxic boyfriends from pop culture, Chuck Bass would definitely be in the top 5. Not only did he emotionally abuse Blair and led her to public humiliation, he was also dangerously possessive, so much so that he did not want Blair to be happy if she didn’t end up with him.

In season 3, Chuck sold the teenage Blair to his much older uncle Jack, that too for the ownership of a hotel; the worst part is that Blair was ready to sleep with Jack to help Chuck quite unwittingly, when he had offered to give back the hotel. It was only much later that she realized that Chuck had set the whole thing up.

7 Empowering: When Blair Wanted Her Own Legacy

Most trust fund kids do not really care enough to break away from their inherited legacy,  but Blair was very adamant about making it on her own. Blair’s mum was a Tier-1 fashion designer who was globally renowned, so it was all the more crucial for Blair to forge her own path in fashion.

And Blair has always been very passionate about what she wants to do, and even when she was in college she had acquired enough resources to set up her own fashion label without her mum’s help. Her career was also something she wanted to accomplish before she could marry Chuck because it was a huge part of her self-fulfillment. 

6 Problematic: The Classist Bullying

Gossip Girl normalized classism to an almost ridiculous degree. Dan and Jenny were kids of a famous musician, and in reality they would never be bullied or isolated in an elite private school just because they were from Brooklyn, or because they were not trust fund kids.

This perceived class discrimination becomes the crux of several crucial storylines and as the show’s target audience grew up, the plot design of Gossip Girl came across as unrealistic and silly. There’s no way Blair could have bullied Jenny to an extent that she would be terrified of coming back to New York, or Dan not being a one-percenter would actually drive a wedge between him and Serena, even after he finds astonishing literary success.

5 Empowering: Blair’s Burlesque Performance

Though several critics have referred to Blair’s impromptu burlesque jig as problematic because Chuck manipulated her into getting on stage, in reality, the performance was a means of her emancipation.

Blair had just broken up with Nate, who was the love of her life. She takes Chuck up on the challenge to explore the adventurous side in her and come to terms with her own sexual identity and desires.

4 Problematic: Serena Making A Sex Tape With Dan Without His Permission

This was one of the worst things Serena had ever done, and the fans were shocked that it didn’t get a bigger reaction out of Dan, because the sex tape she made without his permission was a clear violation of his trust. This was a really big shock because unlike Blair, Serena doesn’t usually play dirty and shares a long history with Dan.

Plus, she claims that she never stopped loving him. So using Dan just to get back at Blair and making a sex tape without his knowledge was a really unethical move.

3 Empowering: Blair’s Handling Of Her Breakup

Season 4 saw Blair take control of her own narrative, in her personal and social life. Blair and Chuck’s break-up was tough on her, especially because she realized that she still wanted a physical relationship with him.

Chuck and Blair did continue to have sex but on Blair’s own terms, which was a power move, especially because in the past she has often caved into Chuck’s priorities. Plus, the break-up also bought along a clear demarcation of their territories considering they are A-lister socialites and Blair was adamant about not holding on to her choice of fashion weeks and major global events.

2 Problematic: Chuck’s Abuse Of Blair

Blair and Chuck’s relationship was a cry for help because they were clearly trying to fill their own voids by lashing out at each other. But Chuck was of course, the more toxic partner, who has not just emotionally manipulated and blackmailed Blair for years but has also physically assaulted her.

But the most unsettling thing about their relationship was their dynamic and how a messy, abusive relationship was normalized by the show under the guise of a power couple. Chuck’s treatment of Blair was appalling, especially if one looks at how he got significantly more toxic and possessive as he grew older.

1 Empowering: When Jenny Quit Waldorf Designs

Jenny quit Waldorf Designs because it became obvious that Eleanor was ripping off her designs, passing them as her own and earning all the credit. She didn’t want Jenny in meetings because she didn’t want her to be the face of the company. This is actually a crisis many talented young creatives face and can’t often fight back because they are not established enough and need to earn money.

But Jenny figures out the problem and calls out Eleanor’s unethical behavior and quits the label and takes the dress that Eleanor wanted to show the clients because she knew her talents would be appreciated elsewhere.

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