Moments of Movie Wisdom: The Outstanding Woman of the Year
Commentary
Katharine Hepburn was one of the brightest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She was an excellent actress who appeared in dozens of outstanding films, so I often write about her. Whenever I do, I inevitably receive a comment about her feminism, her affair with Spencer Tracy, or her liberal lifestyle. These points often have nothing to do with the film or character discussed in the article, but the points are valid.
Katharine Hepburn was indeed a liberal feminist who is known to have had a long-term affair with her frequent co-star Spencer Tracy. She was a troublemaker around Hollywood, maddening the studio executives by refusing to conform to traditional standards of feminine appearance, such as wearing skirts and makeup. Some celebrities played against type to make their images more palatable to average American audiences, but not Kate. Many of her most famous characters are very strong women who challenge traditional feminine roles by being active in the workplace instead of being homemakers and competing with their husbands, often in a professional as well as a personal sense. Such films always have a strong message, however, about how this competition between husbands and wives is often fatal to marital happiness….