“I tend to suspect that my female characters are, to quote a famous criticism of Hemingway, men with tits.” - David Simon

Tania Modeski’s essay “Femininity as Ma(s)querade: A Feminist Approach to Mass Culture” immediately called out to me to be related back to The Wire. Many of the articles I have read regarding The Wire and feminist theory have called out the show for having male characters who are much more interesting, complex, and relevant than their female counterparts. I kind of agree and kind of disagree—makes for a riveting argument, I’m sure, but here’s the thing: The Wire depicts lives and life itself accurately. There are certainly no normal, well-adjusted males on the show and there are certainly no normal, well-adjusted females on the show. Not only would it not make for a good show, it would make for an inaccurate show. Kima Greggs, Rhonda Pearlman, and Brianna Barksdale (ostensibly the main female characters on the show) are all incredibly interesting and two-dimensional. Hey, they can’t all be Omar.

Kima Greggs is a no nonsense police detective who works alongside some of the biggest scumbags in the Baltimore Police Department. She is openly gay and has many issues with her partner, particularly after they chose to have a child together. I believe that Modleski would refer to the operative used in Douglas’s work where “masculine = production and work; femininity= consumption and passivity” (51) and say that Kima has turned this formula on its head. I, however, disagree with the notion of a woman doing a “man’s job” being inherently feminist. It seems, as Modleski would say, to “masquerade as theories of liberation” (54). Kima is amazing at everything that she does. She kicks ass, takes names, and drinks with the best of them. She is definitely a strong person, but why does she have to be a strong woman by acting like a man? Rhonda Pearlman is incredibly similar to Kima. So similar that it is unnecessary to devote another paragraph to her. She is an amazing lawyer with a no nonsense attitude, but, again, couldn’t we give these characters some depth? Some sort of weakness inherent to all living people? Rhonda and Kima’s characters just fall flat when compared to the interesting and lively back-stories of SO MANY of the male characters.

I find Brianna Barksdale, the sister of Avon Barksdale and mother to D’Angelo, to be incredibly interesting, however. She plays a pivotal role in the survival of the Barksdale drug trade (at least for a little while) as she ensures D’Angelo does not snitch on anyone in his quest to rid himself of the guilt he feels over Wallace’s murder. She is a matriarch in every sense of the word and holds the family together while her brother and son are in jail. At times, she seems villainous, but she does what she has to do in order to survive and continue having cash flow into the Barksdale account. Eventually, Brianna realizes that Stringer is the man who should be held responsible for her son’s death in prison and demonstrates a rare moment of weakness—making her character that much more believable. I view Brianna as a strong person, mother, and businesswoman. She plays the game the best she knows how, but also holds herself accountable for her mistakes.

Ultimately, David Simon really gets into hot water with me with his depictions of the girls involved in the sex trade during Season 2 and his inability to create female character that is both a stripper and a person with any smarts. I will end in his defense, however, by saying that every character on The Wire was offered a chance at both redemption and failure, regardless of gender.