“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for.” – Jo March, Little Women

#1: The Wilds

The Wilds (on Amazon Prime Video) follows a fictional group consisting of nine girls from very different backgrounds and social groups learning to survive on their own on a deserted island. After surviving a plane crash, they land stranded in the middle of nowhere. The big twist is that these girls did not end up on this island by chance: two out of the nine girls are special operatives helping out a scientist who is completing a social experiment on the young women. These special operatives send back data to the main woman conducting the study. The study is based around the theory that women could form an upstanding society if cleared from the patriarchy. The woman directing the study dreams of creating this perfect “gynotopia.”

#2: Lady Bird

Lady Bird (on Netflix) follows a strained relationship between a mother and daughter and the struggles of growing up as a girl. This relatable coming of age, comedy-drama sheds light on the rollercoaster of emotions that is being a teenage girl. Christine, nicknamed “Lady Bird,” aspires to attend a prestigious college in a big city despite her family’s financial hardships. Her mother does not support her dreams, nor believe she could ever be successful enough to get into such a college. Her mom reminds her time and time again that she is ungrateful for what she has, but Lady Bird continues to want more. This film was written and directed by a woman, Greta Gerwig. Gerwig went on to win an Oscar for her directing of Lady Bird.

#3 Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a French film, but available for streaming in the US on platforms like Hulu or Amazon Prime. Not only are the two main characters in this film played by two women, they happen to also be two queer women, making it a source of significant LGBTQIA+ representation. Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows the story of an affair between an aristocrat and the artist commissioned to paint the woman. The wealthy woman is being sent off to marry a noble man, but falls in love with the artist that is sent to paint her. Portrait of a Lady on Fire won the Queer Palm at Cannes which became the first film directed by a woman to win that award.

#4 A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own is a film based on a true story. Since men were deployed for World War ll, MBL owners made a professional all-women’s league. The Owner of the Chicago Cubs, creates the film’s main team to keep the love of baseball alive. The movie shows fictionalized accounts of what happened during the making of the team, as well as the struggles these women (some who were mothers) faced during the war.

#5 Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures is also based on a true story. The film tells the story of three women of color who work at an Aeronautical Laboratory in the 1940s. These three women play a crucial role in the development of aviation and space technology. They continue to persist through their career despite the discrimination they face behind their race and sex.