The Feminist Focus

S3E5 - Performing Desire: Gender, sexuality and power in The Graduate and Y Tu Mamá También

Content warning: this podcast episode discusses rated R films, with themes such as sex, that may not be suitable for all listeners. On this episode of The Feminist Focus, host Olivia Hallinan-Gan (‘26) focuses on gender performativity as it evolved through film. She explores “The Graduate” (1967) and “Y Tu Mamá También” (2001) as two films during different feminist movements, and looks into how the films illustrate desire and hypersexuality

S3E4 - Sex work, race, class: who gets to be ‘empowered

Content warning: this podcast episode discusses sex work and may not be suitable for younger listeners. On this episode of The Feminist Focus, host Olivia Hallinan-Gan (‘26) dissects empowerment in the sex work industry. She focuses on how sex work can look extraordinarily different depending on race, class, ability, gender and sexual orientation among many other things, and researches how the stigma differs among varying groups.

S3E3 - Unmasking misogyny in the age of red pills

On this episode of The Feminist Focus, host Olivia Hallinan-Gan (‘26) looks at the recent rise of “red pilling,” a term taken from the 1999 film The Matrix, where the characters chose truth over illusion. Now, choosing the red pill means "waking up" to the supposed reality of the world. This term has been used by alt-right groups to justify male supremacy and hatred towards women.

S3E2 - Reclaiming the Villain: She’s not crazy, she’s complicated

On this episode of The Feminist Focus, host Olivia Hallinan-Gan (‘26) dives into the classic “villain” archetype. She examines how male villains are often viewed as misunderstood and female villains are seen as psychopathic.

S3E1 - Gendered epidemic: women’s struggles, roles during the AIDS Crisis

Content warning: this podcast episode might not be suitable for all listeners. On this episode of The Feminist Focus, host Olivia Hallinan-Gan (‘26) looks into women’s roles and struggles during the AIDS epidemic. She focuses on how women were historically ignored as victims of the crisis, and how Black women were disproportionally affected.