The Brady Bunch: The Liberation of Marcia Brady

The Brady Bunch: The Liberation of Marcia Brady
ABC
February 12, 1971
Sitcom
DVD
B

The simplistic gender roles of the first season are cracking here, late in the second season, with
Charles Hoffman's middle of three Brady stories.  Marcia's point, a realization she comes to when interviewed by a local reporter, is that girls should have the same opportunities to try as boys do.  The ending is arguably a cop-out, with Marcia back in a dress, asking for the latest fashion magazines, and not going to the Frontier Scouts initiation, despite passing all the tests.  However, I think she just wanted to prove she could do it and it's not something she personally wants to do.  Meanwhile, Peter's attempt to become a Sunflower Girl (Greg's idea, but only Peter is between ten and fourteen) are played purely for comedy.  Poor boy, he already went through being called a "songbird" and a "sissy," and he looks very unhappy here.

Note that Marcia's friend Judy says her father and brother would "clobber" her if she talked like a women's libber, while Mike thinks women's lib is a little extreme, but he's generally supportive of Marcia here.  And Carol says something like, "I've never gone marching but I believe in some of their causes."  Things are starting to slowly change.