The OC’s Julie Cooper is a lowkey feminist icon
We’ve already established that Julie Cooper is the second worst mom in recent TV history. (The only worse one was Gillian Darmody, who went ahead and slept with her own damn son, cuz incest is worse than banging the captain of your daughter’s HS polo team.)
But what Julie lacks in maternal skills, she makes up for in pure badassery.
Julie Cooper seemed villainous at the beginning of “The O.C.,” but she soon emerged as a much more complex and sympathetic character. At first glance, Julie was the stereotypical “Newpsie” — a nipped and tucked MILF who spent her days at yogilates.
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But as the series progressed, we learned that Julie wasn’t born rich. In fact, she’d finessed her way out of Riverside and into Newport by dating Jimmy Cooper (and, oops, getting pregz out of wedlock with Marissa). Acquiring capital through marriage is not the most feminist act in the world, we admit. But let’s not forget there was a time when the only way women could move up in the world was through who they picked to marry.
Julie Cooper is a smidge too young to use that as an excuse for relying on men for cash. We certainly wouldn’t recommend doing that. But the shame women face for marrying guys who are richer than they are is totally unfair, and the fact that “The OC” didn’t treat her like a harlot for this is admirable.
Julie might have been the closest thing to a villain on “The O.C.,” but it’s time we raise a glass to her savage ways.
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